6. Evren
Evren
N ina is in such a different place in her life if she can go out and get drunk on a Wednesday night.
I can’t remember the last time I partied, let alone let loose and got drunk.
Or even a time when I didn’t work nonstop.
A good ten years for sure, probably more like fifteen.
The amount of freedom she has to do it whenever she wants makes me more than a little jealous.
Maybe that jealousy influenced my tone toward her last night.
I didn’t even know I struck a nerve until she reacted.
But maybe it’s for the best, for us to put some distance between us.
She’s almost twenty years younger than me, and she clearly has zero responsibilities and work ethic if she’s out partying on a random night in the week.
When she comes into the kitchen, she glances at me with bloodshot eyes. It looks like she didn’t sleep at all since coming home a few hours ago. I didn’t expect her to show up after our argument—but she’s here. And just like that, my entire morning shifts as relief slams into me.
She struts to the cabinet like she owns the place, full of confidence and wearing a shirt that has writing on it that’s a little lopsided.
I do a double take. None of Nina’s designs are ever anything but perfect.
I take in the words over the top , but what catches my attention even more are the O’s.
Instead of regular letters, they're my logo—a stylized S's, inside a sleek shield.
What does it mean? Does she think she’s over the top? Or my team? Or me? Or all of the above?
“Had that lying around, did you?” I ask, nodding to her shirt.
“Yes, yes I did.” She stands taller and grins. “And maybe I’ll sell it. It’s nice, don’t you think?”
“Didn’t we already have this conversation?”
“Oh, right,” she says. “We’re back to that? So, what? Are you going to sue me?”
“Not if you keep stubbornly refusing to accept my franchising deal.”
“As if you really would want me to sell my designs with your logo on it.”
“Why is it so hard to imagine that I believe in your talent?” I demand.
She snorts. “Be real. You wouldn’t want me to sell this shirt.”
“It’s not the direction I’d take my brand in, no. But maybe there are people out there who need to think that the team is over the top, or themselves, or they see some humor in it, or maybe even comfort, like they’re not alone.”
She stares at me for a long moment, blinking rapidly before clearing her throat. “Right…well…I’ve got to run.”
She spins on her heels and all but jogs out of the kitchen, leaving her usual cereal untouched.
It’s…disappointing. More than it should be.
I stand there, finishing my coffee in silence, fighting the growing ache in my chest. I should be relieved she’s gone—after all, I want more distance between us.
But as I stare at the empty spot where she normally sits on the counter, it’s painfully clear: I’ve been looking forward to seeing Nina in the mornings more than I care to admit.
Hell, I look forward to the little ways she’s trying to mess with me.
I hate how much I miss her presence already, like a shadow that lingers even when she’s not here. It’s infuriating, this pull she has on me, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve already let her in more than I ever planned.
That’s fine, I can fix this. Attraction is just a chemical reaction. That means I should be able to resist it and her. I need to, because finding a new sponsor and preparing for our next season should be my priority. Not Nina.
“ Kardesim ,” Zeki says, breezing into my office wearing tan, tailored pants and a blue shirt with the top two buttons undone, showcasing his tanned chest. He looks like he just got off a yacht, complete with boat shoes and all.
He hasn’t shaved in days based on the scruff coating his jaw.
But no matter what he does in his spare time, he always looks put together, especially his dark brown hair that hangs almost down to his jawline.
I put my pen down slowly on the table, not believing he’s actually here. “You came.”
Zeki snorts. “I told you I would.”
“And to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Zeki lounges in the chair across from my desk. “I thought I’d check out the city you love so much. And help you repair your home.”
“I have contractors who can do that.” I’m starting to regret ever telling my family about my house flooding.
Mom’s been messaging multiple times a day, as if she knows something more happened than a freak accident to cause the flooding.
Of course, I didn’t tell her the truth, that my system was hacked.
That would only worry her. And now Zeki’s in town?
“So?” he says. “I’m doing you a favor. If you refuse my help, you know Mom will come to clean it all herself.” I wince and he grins and says, “But seriously, I’m here to help you find out who hacked your house.”
“How do you know someone hacked my house?”
“I have my ways. Do you have any suspects?”
I debate if I should tell Zeki my thoughts.
That it might be Mert. When I cut ties with Mert and fled to America, I told my family that Mert tried to oust me from my own company by turning the board against me, but that I sold it before he could get his hands on any money.
It’s a lie. Mert got his hands on money, far too much, all to protect Zeki.
Zeki doesn’t know that Mert’s blackmail was related to him.
Zeki’s offer to help me is unexpected, but it’s not like he has the skills to help find out who hacked my house.
I’m also not used to telling him about my problems; that’s not the type of relationship we have.
But he looks so sincere, and he does have an expansive network, especially back in Istanbul.
Maybe he might be able to tap into that to find out what Mert’s doing.
“Besides Mert?” I find myself saying. “No.”
“Have you pissed anyone off lately?” he asks. I scoff and he says, “More than usual, I mean.”
I think about it for a minute. “Well, a major sponsor—Stonehaven Bank—recently pulled out, and I was a little rude to their CEO after he told me that.”
“Hmm, that could be something.” He says it with more seriousness than I’ve ever heard from him. “Anything else weird happen related to the sponsor topic?”
“Actually, yes. Every company I’ve called over the past week to begin sponsorship discussions has refused to take my call or call me back. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m starting to wonder if Stonehaven is spreading rumors about me.”
“Did you tell Nate about this?”
I shake my head. Potential rumors about me are not a security risk and there’s no need to tell Nate about it. But Zeki frowns before typing something on his phone.
“What are you doing?” I ask .
“Getting someone to look into Stonehaven and put some feelers out to confirm if anyone is spreading rumors about you.”
“I… That would be helpful.” A large part of me doesn’t trust that this is going to work out well for me. Zeki isn’t the most reliable person and there’s a big possibility he won’t follow up with whoever he just wrote, and I’ll just have to redo all the work he’s doing now myself.
“Does anyone else come to mind?” he asks. “Anyone you’ve pissed off lately?”
“Nope, well, except my roommate, but?—”
“Roommate?” Zeki sits up suddenly. “Since when do you have a roommate?”
“It’s not a big deal. Stella insisted I stay at her house.”
“And is this roommate a woman?” he asks.
I ignore his question and stare at my computer screen.
“I see.” He grins. “How did you keep the fact that you have a girlfriend a secret?”
I glance at him. “We’re not dating. It’s not like that. At all. She’s a friend of Stella’s and I’m pretty sure she hates me…”
“Well, now I have to meet her. What’s her name?”
“Nina.”
Zeki laughs and doesn’t stop for a good three minutes. “ She’s your roommate?” He chuckles again. I’m seriously regretting ever telling him about Nina all those months ago when loneliness loosened my tongue unexpectedly. “ It’s official, we’re having dinner all together tonight so I can meet her.”
“No, and you’re not moving in with us.”
“Why not?”
“First, the house is completely unfurnished.” In Turkish culture, Zeki would stay with me without question, even if I didn’t have room. But I’m not going to do that to Nina. “But also because Nina’s already pissed I’m there, and I don’t want to make it worse.”
“Fine. But I’m coming over tonight to meet her.”
“Fine.” An uncomfortable tightness fills my gut at the thought of Nina and Zeki meeting, and I’m not sure why.
“Do you have a map?” Zeki asks Nina, holding her hand in his for far longer than is polite. “Because I just got lost in your eyes.”
Nina snorts and I hit the back of Zeki’s head. We found her painting the master bathroom in zigzags of yellow, pink, and green. Her overalls, and her black tank top beneath, are covered in streaks of the colors. There’s even some in her dark hair that’s piled on the top of her head.
“Well, aren’t you a charmer,” she says and glances at me. “Much more than your older brother.”
Zeki laughs, still holding her hand and I’m this close from ripping it out of hers.
“See?” Zeki says. “We’re a match made in heaven. ”
Nina snorts and extracts her hand. “You’re too sweet for me.”
“Is that a thing?” he asks.
“Definitely.” Nina leans against the bathroom counter. “What brings you here?”
“This and that,” Zeki says, giving her a wink. “I’m a man of mystery.”
“Like an international man of mystery? Are you…Austin Powers?”
I hold in my snort and Zeki just looks confused as he asks, “Wait, who’s Austin Powers?”
“Apparently you,” Nina says with an evil grin.
Zeki whips out his phone and his keyboard clacks while he types in the name. He whistles and glances at us. “You think I look like him?” He flashes his phone toward us and points to the picture on it.
“I mean,” Nina says, “maybe you should think twice before claiming to be a man of mystery.”