Two Lines

Chapter 9

"To wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect"
― Jane Austen, Persuasion

Author's note: Hi, if you're still here I can only say thank you for bearing it with me. Since it's been such a long time, this is a bit of a filler chapter so that I can cross some t's and dot some i's and see where the characters are in the story and in my mind. I have a little more time now and should be posting again soon. X

Defne

'So, since you'll be working for Passionis as well as us for a longer period of time, you'll get paid additionally, of course. I set up a meeting for you to go and negotiate how much you're going to charge them in a sort of consultant capacity since you're still officially our employee here at StillVagonu. Defne? Are you listening to me?'

Pamir bey began moving his hand in front of her face and she looked up to find him smiling at her.

'Did you have a nice trip? Were you listening to any of that? It's kind of important for you.' No, she was thinking of Ömer in a swimsuit. Holding their son. Damn him.

'Um, sure. It was about money, right?' She looked up at his kindly amused face and felt sorry for not paying attention. He was such a nice guy, she was lucky he never seemed to think to be short-tempered or angry about anything. Like his cousin could be.

'Yes, you'll get more of it, but I'm more concerned about your workload. Is everything all right, Defne?' See? Kind.

'Oh, sure. And if I can still get Ayptekin to work more closely with me, then I should be able to handle both companies. It won't be forever, right?' It can't be, she was already going to be seeing so much of Ömer, she needed some time away from him to compose herself.

'Yes, you can have Aytekin to yourself, he can even call himself Assistant Director if it makes him feel more important. Just make sure you mention it to Sinan when you speak with him so they know who's going to be handling their stuff, as well as make sure he gets paid. As for how long it'll take... I don't believe it'll be forever, no. In fact, as soon as your sort everything in a routine and Seda and Sinan stop having heated arguments about those issues, we'll get legal involved and each company should have its own logistics department. This is temporary, one more month, two at the most.'

Good. She could deal with this being a temporary situation.

'You seem relieved.'

'Do I? How can you tell?' She wasn't supposed to let people see she was still slightly uncomfortable working closely with Ömer again.

'It's how I usually feel after I sort anything out around here because I'm always waiting for the time when I'll mess something up.' That was surprising news.

'Really? You always look calm and collected.' Maybe she could learn how to fake it, too.

'Yeah, my aunt was the one who asked me to be here, as a favor, since she knows I'm nothing like Ömer. However, it's been good. I find I like the job, and that's never happened to me before, I can tell you that much.' He smiles at her like a proud boy and she laughs a little. 'So how has it been, working with Ömer and Sinan? You guys worked together before, right?'