Lies we tell

Chapter 4

 Lies We Tell

Serkan

As if it wasn't enough to have been rejected by one of the few women I didn't consider a slut in the world, on top of that I would have to put up with that beautiful girl as an employee. Serkan, if she had slept with you the first night, she would not have been as exciting as she is now for you. She would have been just one more in the crowd of women that frequent the nights in the big metropolises. Of course she was different, she had a strong personality that I could feel from meters away. This attracted and repelled me at the same time. But, after all, I knew that I possessed a rather difficult temperament and was fully aware that I was mistreating her because I had been rejected. She was not stupid. I just didn't know what to do with her. But I had really important matters to attend to on that construction site. I had been hired as Albaf's general manager to manage and protect in court those projects that needed lawyers with experience in complicated matters, and this was a complicated matter. I had already offered R$2 million to this man, an old man who didn't want to sell us his house, and he wouldn't accept anything. Who knows, if I took that american girl, who understood his customs, to talk to him, maybe it would produce some results.

We went to the parking lot together. I put on my sunglasses and deactivated the car alarm. Giulia stopped beside what she thought was my car, a gray pickup truck, and looked at me. I crossed my arms and pointed to my car, a sporty Ford Mustang. She widened her eyes and moved in my direction.

On the way, I looked at her legs in that gray dress that let me see her knees, discreetly so that she wouldn't catch me looking. We stopped at a red light and I leaned my arm on the window. She looked at me quickly and I returned her curious gaze. I confess that I did not like the looks that one of the lawyers gave her, but I could not let it be known that I was bothered and that I did not even know how to behave in this country. Things were just different, people behaved differently, and I would never understand what those too many smiles meant. Friendship? Interest? Everything was complicated for me. I needed a primer on how to behave in the USA.

Finally we arrived. I jumped out of the car and Giulia did the same soon after. And there was that single two-story house in the way of the condo construction. I, as a lawyer, had already offered the owner of that property twice what his property was worth, but he was stubborn and did not want to sell it to the construction company. I was one of the most successful lawyers in my country, even at the age of 32. I didn't know what to do anymore to make that american sell his house. I descended from a long family of renowned lawyers, from my great-grandfather. My father Metin Sadik was always consulted by me in Istanbul, because I didn't know what to do anymore. He knew why I had taken that job in USA a year ago. I was desperately running away from a marriage to the daughter of one of the family's best friends. We were promised in childhood, but everything changed so fast in Turkey! I did not feel obliged to marry anyone and the families were not bothering me, but her parents had expectations of me and like in a nightmare I accepted the engagement. This was indeed a nightmare that haunted me every night because Asli had no attraction for me. When they started talking about arranging the wedding, I fled to America and accepted a great job in Albaf's office. The owner, a Turkish family, had known my father for years and one phone call was enough to solve my life. But with all my experience, I no longer knew what to do with that old man. I approached Giulia and smiled unwillingly. She needed to try for me. One last time was necessary. After that I would tell the construction company that there was nothing more I could do.

“ Giulia, please talk to this gentleman and make him sell the house to my clients.”

She looked at me seriously and then smiled.

“ You want me to convince someone to sell his house?”

“Yes, exactly. “

I put my hands on my waist and looked at her, still knowing that she couldn't see my pleading look through those sunglasses.

“ How am I going to do that, Mr. Serkan?”

“ Well, I don't know, you understand him, you´re americans, maybe you can tell him something that I don't know, tell him that there is another place better than this one that I don't know about.

“ Oh my God, I'll try”.

She answered impatiently. I knocked on the door. Someone groaned inside the house and then opened the door.

“ Oh, it's you, you Turkish bastard! “ answered the old man.

He was about to close the door in our faces when I held it open.

“ Sir, please listen to my employee, she has something to tell you”.

Giulia stood there looking incredulous. Then she looked at him. I noticed the old man's clothes, he seemed to be drinking, he was wearing pajamas and the few hairs on his head were totally disheveled.

“ Mr. Albert, I came to explain to you that this here will be a luxury condominium, with people who don't look like you. They can be rude and stuck up “ She looked at me, I thought about where I fit in that sentence “ Better you accept the 2 million dollars they want to pay you and go live by the sea, what do you think? There are wonderful houses near the sea... For that price...

He didn't let her finish speaking.

“Kid, I know that your intention may be good, but it is better to know soon, my dear departed wife died in this house, it is like a sanctuary for me and I will not sell her favorite place in life. “ His eyes showed emotion and longing. There was sorrow in his voice.

That was my last resort. There was nothing else to be done and the builder would have a completely different house from the others around. A house that looked like crap, it had not been painted for a long time and everything was poorly maintained. I turned around, running my hand through my hair in despair.

“It's not possible, my lord! Your late beloved is no longer in this house! She is in heaven, if Allah so willed!”

“Allah? What is Allah, boy? What do you know about death and my wife?!”

“ Mr. Albert, Allah is God to him, he is God, and his wife is in heaven, that's what he said.”

“ Well, I'm not from your religion and that's why I'm not going to sell my Elisa's grave to anyone!”

“ I can't take this anymore, you want to rot in there, rot in there! “ I shouted and walked back to my car.

I heard the high heels behind me and knew that Giulia was following me.

“ Mr. Serkan, aren't you going to wait for me?”

I stopped, my eyes staring at the ground. What a hot country!

“Of course I'll wait for you. What infernal heat! I want to go back to the air conditioning, this was useless, this man is an idiot, it's 2 million!

“ But his will must be respected, the law is on his side.”

I stopped and examined her features. It wasn't possible that she was trying to tell a lawyer whose side the law was on.

“ I know, Giulia, I know! Let's go!”

I got into the car completely annoyed, feeling the sweat dripping down my face, absolutely annoyed, not knowing how they could stand such a temperature in that city. Giulia got into the car and was sweating equally. A few strands of hair were sticking to her neck and she looked nervous. In one swift movement, she put her hair up in the air, leaving her neck showing. She was voluptuous, with full breasts, wide hips, a really beautiful woman. I didn't realize that I stared for so long, since she noticed and gave me a confused look. I averted my eyes to the direction and turned the key to get out of there. I soon turned on the air conditioning and my mood improved.

Upon arriving at the company, everyone went their separate ways and I tried to forget the incident of the old man and that girl. How was it possible that only one night had left such an effect on me? I couldn't believe it. Not me, not Serkan Sadik. The rest of the day was unproductive and sluggish. I just wanted to go home and try to do something to get over the girl's effect on me.

But I had to be thankful. I had to be grateful for the effort Giulia had made in trying to convince the stubborn old man. It was polite to say thank you, but I also wanted to see her one more time. And it all spiraled out of control when I simply invited her over for tea. I should have gone quietly to my gym, then to my house, turned on the air conditioner, and continued being a rude and happy man. And it all went wrong again, with people who don't look like you. They can be rude and stuck up