Stay with me

87 Taming the stubborn

"Mr. Omer sends me to a company specializing in information security. Passionis and Sapphire need to have a highly qualified specialist in this area."

Mert spoke while glancing at the menu and not looking at his companion. She was more cheerful and perked up.

"And how long will you be away?" She asked.

"A year," he replied. "I will simultaneously complete my Master's degree at the University of Rome."

"For a whole year?" Jansu was surprised. "What about your job?"

"I can do it remotely. The main thing is to have the Internet. And to solve simple problems, Mr. Omer hires an IT specialist for technical support."

Mert selected the dishes and named them to the waiter who approached. Jansu, without even looking at the menu, made her order and, waiting for the waiter to leave, said, "A whole year. That's a long time. Esra and Banu will get bored without you."

Mert's lips twitched. But that was the only manifestation of his emotions. His voice sounded completely calm. "Esra and Banu won't have time to get bored. University and student life await them."

Jansu looked intently into his eyes and asked, "And you? Are you going to miss them?"

Mert did not answer. He just smiled wryly with one corner of his lips.

Jansu did not tell Mert that she had signed herself as his bride. He is leaving. No more collisions with Niko. And in a year Niko himself will not be in Istanbul. Returning to the office, she tried to get the burning black eyes out of her head and get down to work. Only they again and again surfaced in front of the inner gaze.

In the evening her father called. He, as usual, spoke to his daughter warmly and affectionately, but Jansu caught his concern and demanded to tell what new problems had arisen in Izmir.

Her father did not lie. The time when he saw a little girl in his daughter had passed. For a couple of years now, as in business matters, he communicated with her on an equal footing.

"I hired a specialist and he checked the security systems of our Izmir stores. They have serious miscalculations. I have to stay here for two or three weeks," he said.

Jansu decided not to tell him about Niko for now. Her father already got some serious problems on his mind. There's no need to add new ones to him now. The appearance of a former son-in-law will not be a source of joy for him. She only reminded, "Saturday is Emine Diana's birthday. She will be upset if you are not there."

"I will come," her father promised. "I'll arrive in the morning and fly away in the evening."

Dad will arrive. So, she has to tell him. But not now. Saturday morning.

They had barely finished the conversation when the phone rang again. Thinking that it was her father who had forgotten to tell something, Jansu, without looking at the screen, mechanically took the call. But the voice on the phone wasn't her father's. Its thick notes and Italian accent made her heart flutter in her chest.

"Are you alone?" Niko asked.

"Strange question," she replied. "I do not understand the reasons for its occurrence."

"I'm standing outside your house," he said. "The light burns only in your window. I know that your father is in Izmir. I heard at the reception. But I understand perfectly well that you can have a guest in your room. So I ask - are you alone?"

Jansu gasped in anger. What does he allow himself, this Niko Bianco? Ignoring the question, she asked her own, "Where did you get my phone number?"