Selim choked on his scrambled eggs. He had to cough a few times and drink the already cooled tea.

Defne got scared and stood behind his back, ready to hit them if the man still couldn't catch his breath.

- Are you better? - She asked, leaning her head out of her right side.

- Yes, I'm fine now,' he replied, grunting.

- Are you sure? - she wanted to make sure. - I can pat you on the back.

- You don't have to do anything. It's okay - answered Selim, looking at her. - You are dangerous.

- I'm sorry - sighed Defne, returning to her seat. - I didn't know you would react like that. I mean... I expected you to burst out laughing.

- You surprised me - said Selim, smiling. - I've known you for a while now and I know you have crazy ideas, but I didn't think you would ask me to do something like this.

- I know how it may look from the side - Defne lowered her eyes. - Really, I haven't come up with anything better. You guys are my last resort.

- I understand your situation, Defne - the boy put his hand on her hand. He wanted to give her comfort this way. - Look at me. - The girl complied with his request. - I promised to help you and I will keep my word.

- Thank you - answered Defne, smiling involuntarily.

- Just one thing puzzles me - stated Selim. - Why did you think that my cousin would be better than me? We get on well together. No problem, I could be your fake boyfriend.

- I had to take a lot of things into consideration - said Defne. - You're right, me and you get along well, but if I chose you, it would be unreliable. In appearance you are different from Lord Onur.

With this Defne was right. Selim was better built than Onur. Therefore, it was the other Korkmaz who was better suited for the role. Visually, Defne saw herself next to Onur.

- 'I'm sorry if I offended you,' Defne sighed, reaching for her water. She drank it to the end. - I care about appearing credible.

- It's okay - replied Selim, pulling out his phone from his shorts pocket. He called his cousin, asking him to come to him.

Onur showed up at Selim's house about thirty minutes later. The man had just returned from his morning run, so he was dressed in sporty clothes.

He was surprised by Defne's presence, as his cousin had not mentioned her in a word.

The girl told him about her problem. Selim listened to the story once more and understood that it was Onur who must go with her to this meeting. He decided to do everything to make him agree. He knew that it would not be easy.

- Could you help me and be my boyfriend for one evening? - Defne asked, getting nervous. - Actually, just for a few hours. I don't intend to be there very long.

- Defne, I respect and admire you, but I can't agree,' replied Onur after a long moment. - This is a crazy idea.

- Brother, let's talk in private - announced Selim, getting up from the table.

The men walked away from the table. When they were at a safe distance, Selim looked at Defne and winked at her.

- You must help her,' Selim said, looking at Onur. - Please, agree.

- I have done many things for you in my life, but this time, your request crosses the line. I can't.

- I promise this is the last time - asked Selim. - You see how she cares - the man directed his gaze to Defne. Defne was holding the phone in her hand, writing a message. You could see her fingers walking despite the distance separating them. - 'Don't refuse, I beg you.

- We're her last resort, she said. Just as well, you can help her - Onur rightly pointed out.

- I can't! - Selim shouted. - My muscles disqualify me. She is counting on you. Don't do this to her.

- Selim, I have a girlfriend in Istanbul! I don't want to take any chances. What if one of her friends takes a picture of us together? I'll have a relationship problem!

- Asli will definitely understand everything - assured Selim. - I can even talk to her.

- Do you know that I can also make a phone call that will make you attend the meeting yourself? - growled Onur.

- It's a completely different matter,' sighed Selim. - You can't compare the two things. It doesn't work that way.

- Good. It wasn't right,' Onur retorted, trying to control his emotions.

The men discussed among themselves for some more time.

Eventually Selim managed to make his point. What he did not know was that Onur had a plan in all this.

- I agree," Onur said, returning to the table where Defne was sitting. Waiting for a decision was an eternity for her. She didn't know what to do with herself, so she played with her fingers out of nervousness.

- Really, do you agree! - said Defne enthusiastically. - I don't know how to thank you.

- It is nothing of the sort. You have to help each other. You helped me develop the space in front of the hotel, so now I will be able to repay you," Onur replied, sending her a smile. Selim did the same. - However, before we start pretending to be a couple, we should give up this "master" - the man stood up and extended his hand towards Defne. - I am Onur.

- That's a good point,' Defne replied, following suit. They both exchanged a handshake. - I am very grateful for everything,' she said as they sat back down. - You have done... You have done so much good for me. First you helped me get my suitcase back, then you got me out of detention...

- You freed yourself from detention - Selim remarked, laughing.

- 'Yes, that's true, but Onur's lawyer also did a lot in this case. At least I made a deal with my former boss. And he doesn't cause me any more problems.

- I am glad - smiled the less muscular cousin.

- Why don't I make you some coffee? - Selim suggested. - I don't want to throw you out, but I have a meeting from my office in half an hour. I have to get ready. That's why I'll leave you here alone.

- Then why don't I go? - Defne, rose from her chair. - I took up too much of your time anyway.

- I should also go,' Onur said. - Things at the hotel are waiting for me.

Defne and Onur said goodbye to Selim. They moved towards the exit.

- 'We'll discuss the details of the class meeting at lunchtime, okay? - suggested Onur when they were outside the gate.

- All right - Defne, she smiled. - I'll prepare a list of things that need to be decided. Can I give you a lift somewhere?

- Thank you, no need - Onur also smiled. - I live nearby. I will run over.

***

Defne went straight to the restaurant to give Özge the car and the keys. The girl had learned how the meeting at Korkmaz's had gone from the joint chat, in which Janset had also participated. Nevertheless, she wanted to ask about some details face to face.

The cousins were sitting on the patio, eating an ice cream sundae. Defne repeated everything again. It was evident that she breathed a sigh of relief.

- 'Did you know that Mr Onur, suggested that I call him by his first name? - said Defne, scooping another portion of dessert onto her spoon.

- Are you serious? - Özge asked surprised. She had worked for Mr Onur for several years and still addressed him formally.

- Yes, she nodded. - But when it's all over I'm going to go back to "Mr Onur". It feels strange to address my boss as a friend.

- You will do as you wish,' Özge acknowledged. In a small way she was jealous. However, after a moment's thought, she came to the conclusion that it was necessary. After all, they were going to pretend to be a couple in front of everyone. - What are you going to do now?

- I am to prepare a list of things that we need to establish - Defne replied. - I definitely need to introduce Onur, the more important people from the class, so he knows who is who.

- Knowing Ceren, you certainly won't be able to avoid the question about how you two met - prompted Özge.

- You're right! - Defne opened her notebook and started making notes. In big letters, she wrote down 'Love story' as the first point.

The girls spent time together thinking about what they should pay attention to so that Defne and Onur would come off believably. All the ideas the curly-haired one wrote down in a notebook.

***

Selim spent most of the day at home. The meeting dragged on a bit, but the man was ultimately satisfied with the results. He managed to get a new client while being far away from the headquarters of the architectural office.

Later, he talked to his friend who was replacing him in his absence. The woman gave him all the reports and agreed on a plan for the next few days. Korkmaz was grateful to Gülcin for helping him so much and keeping an eye on everything. If not for her, he would not have been able to leave his friends and go to Bodrum.

- I told you I would manage," said Gülcin smiling. - It has been more than three weeks since you left us and the office is functioning as before!

- I am very happy about that! - Selim replied, relaxing in his chair. - I think you all deserve a good rest. After all, you have been working hard together for 23 days for our success.

- Speaking of rest, are we organising a team-building event this year? - Gülcin asked. - After all, it is our tradition.

Selim remembered with a smile on his lips every company party he had organised for the whole team during the summer. He believed that such gatherings had a good effect on everyone he worked with. Everyone worked hard all year to attract new customers, so Korkmaz felt that a three-week holiday was not enough of a thank you. That is why he invented team-building events. The co-workers came to them with their partners and children.

- Of course! - he spoke after a long while, scratching his chin with his fingertips. - I've been thinking about it lately and I've come to the conclusion that you could come to Bodrum with your whole team. At my expense, of course.

- A wonderful idea! Everyone will be happy," Gülcin supported the suggestion, twisting in her office chair. - A change of environment will be useful for all of us. Personally, I would love to come and visit you.

- Don't tell anyone about this for now, okay? - The interviewer nodded, smiling. - I have to see if there's room for a big reservation, because we have a lot of tourists this year.

- Do you know that you can count on me for anything? This conversation will stay between us until you know more details. Actually, you could use a rest too. You look tired.

- Last night I was at the club with Onur," Selim confessed, turning in his chair. Slowly the lack of movement began to bother him. Normally, during a meeting he could move around. Now he was restricted. He wanted Gülcin to see his face all the time. - We had some fun.

- I understand now. Is this nice? I'm working up a sweat here!

- I came not only to help Onur with business, but also to spend more time with him. The truth is that we hardly see each other outside of work. There is no time for that. That's why yesterday I said "yetti artık" (enough of that)

- I would love to chat with you longer, but my break is coming to an end. I want to make myself a coffee before I return to my duties.

Selim therefore did not keep his friend. He said goodbye to her and drove to the restaurant, checking that everything was in order. He had to go over once more whether all the products for Defne's friends' party had been ordered.

***

+18

In the evening he finished his work. He called Onur, being curious how his preparations for the class reunion were going. He quickly found out that his cousin was not finished yet. In addition, the man boasted that he was spending time with Defne in his office. To prove it, he switched the voice call to video, showing a silhouette of the girl. She waved at him, knowing that Selim could see her.

As a result, Selim decided not to interrupt any longer. He knew that there were still a lot of things to take care of in front of them, and time was getting short. The day was coming to an end and they only had one left, which would surely be more intense than this one.

He didn't want to go home yet, so he decided he would help Çinar at the bar. An extra pair of hands would come in handy, especially on a day when karaoke was taking place. They had quite a few guests in the restaurant. The idea of organising such evenings turned out to be a hit.

Çinar was happy to see the boss behind the bar. They agreed that Selim would take the orders and fill the bills, while he would prepare the drinks and other alcoholic beverages.

Standing behind the bar didn't last long because Özge came in and asked Selim for help. The karaoke equipment started to malfunction and the staff could not fix it.

So Korkmaz took care of that as well. After some time everything was working fine again and the guests could enjoy the party.

- Tomorrow we will have to find out exactly what caused the malfunction," Selim said as he approached Özge, who took note of the information.

- Of course - she confirmed. - If necessary, we'll call a specialist. Let everything work as it should.

- Actually, you can go home now - announced Selim, looking at his watch hanging on the wall. - You have done a lot today.

- I can still stay, but since the boss himself tells me to come back, I will take the opportunity - replied the girl. - Thank you.

An hour and a half later Selim went outside the premises to smoke a cigar and breathe fresh air. The night was warm.

He came back inside after ten minutes, where he collided accidentally with a dancing girl. It turned out that she had come here alone. And as an apology, she wanted Selim to dance with her. He agreed, because he felt like having some fun after a hard day's work.

And so half an hour later, accompanied by a girl he didn't know, he ended up in a club with her, where they had a few drinks. He found out that her name was Nesrin. Her friend had recommended his restaurant to her, so she came to see if it was really as nice there as she said. The girl enjoyed the karaoke. Selim was pleased with the flattering opinion of his establishment.

Nesrin had dark, mid-back hair. She was slim, wearing a red short dress with thin straps that clung to her body. Her shoes were classic - black stiletto heels.

They returned to the dance floor, where they danced to a slow song. The proximity of their bodies awoke their passion. Nesrin could not stand the tension for long and started kissing Selim. He, unable to resist the newly met beauty, reciprocated the kiss, holding her face with his hands.

The kiss did not end there. A moment later they left the place, holding each other's hand, and went to the hotel where Nesrin was staying. It was not far away, so after a few minutes they found themselves in a lift that took them to the right floor. In the lift they started kissing again. This time also at the initiative of the girl.

Selim was a man who began to miss such closeness. He was aware that it was a one-time adventure, but as a grown man, he had experienced it more than once. Although he was single, he could not complain about the lack of women in his life. Sometimes emotions just got the better of him and he ended up exactly like now.

Nesrin opened her room, pulling Selim into it, whom she held by his shirt at waist level. As the door closed with a bang and twilight fell around them they began to kiss passionately. Nesrin unbuttoned Selim's shirt between kisses, wanting to get rid of it as quickly as possible. When it finally fell silently to the floor, the girl began to touch the man's chest with her fingertips.

Selim enjoyed this very much. With a touch of his hand, he found the zipper of her dress, which he undid with a decisive movement.

The red material airily fell to the floor without being needed any longer.

***

One day.

Only that much, or maybe that much left until the school reunion after years. Defne was busy with her work from the very morning, so she had no time to think about it. She personally made sure that all the rooms in the hotel were ready with due diligence.

When she finished inspecting the last room, she closed the door behind her, smiling to herself. She was ready to receive her guests. Those she missed, as well as those she would rather not meet. However, she promised herself not to worry about it for as long as necessary. There were still a lot of duties waiting for her. Her time after work was also filled almost to the minute.

Running down the stairs from the second floor, she bumped into Selim, who looked as if he had just arrived at the hotel and was heading towards the office.

- 'Are you going to see Mr Onur? - She asked once they had greeted each other. At the same time, she knew she was not supposed to use that term, but she felt more at ease this way in a space where other hotel employees were hanging around, mingling with the guests.

- 'I wanted to ask if there was anything I could help you with regarding tomorrow?

- I think we are ready now - she stated with uncertainty in her voice. - Mr Onur had to learn a few things. I am just going to question him - she laughed.

- In that case I want to see it! - replied Selim, smiling.

Less than half an hour later Onur's examination was over. The man had memorized most of the information he had had to assimilate over the past night. However, he still needed to practice to get to perfection. He suggested that Selim help him with that, since he had gotten him involved in this situation. Having no other choice, the brunet agreed . He wanted his cousin to play his role perfectly.

- I was captivated by your love story - he said, commenting on the tale about Onur's alleged acquaintance with Defne.

- I have been composing it for hours! - interjected Defne. - It is not easy to come up with something realistic in such a short time.

- 'You have many talents,' Selim said, handing Defne the notebook in which the love story was written.

- That's why I wanted Defne to work with us - announced Onur, playing with a pen. - One cannot get bored with you, every day you surprise us with something new.

- That's all very well, but I'm missing something - said Selim, looking at everything from the side.

- What have we not thought of? - asked Defne, staring at Selim, sitting on the top of the chair.

- I know how you met - here he made inverted commas. - However, I don't see any photographs of you together anywhere!

- I knew it! In my haste, it didn't occur to me at all.

- Don't worry, Defne, we'll sort it out - said Onur. He was not entirely convinced by this suggestion, but what could he do. It was too early to present to anyone the plan he had formed in his head, yielding to Selim's requests.

For that Selim, offered to take some pictures of them, which they could show to Defne's friends tomorrow. As long as someone asked about them at all. However, it was worth having them on hand.

The spontaneous session took them another two hours. Onur and Defne had to change their clothes a couple of times so that it wouldn't appear that all the photos were taken on the same day.

Afterwards, Defne returned home where she and Janset went through her clothes to decide what to wear tomorrow. This too was time consuming. Eventually Janset decided that she was taking Turan shopping. Özge, who had been informed, joined the girls as they got off work, which was also busy.

The three of them visited clothing shops in search of a suitable outfit. Defne came up with many styles. Each of them was discussed by Özge and Janset. As the girl began to tire of more fittings, finally the girls decided that they had found what they had been looking for all along. Delighted Defne, breathed a sigh of relief.

In the evening, after Defne had taken a refreshing shower to relax her somewhat tense muscles and washed her hair and thought she would be able to go to bed, Janset surprised her by inviting her to a home visit to a manicurist. In her spare time, the blonde woman took care of that. She would visit women in the area and do their nails.

Later that evening Defne's new nails were ready. It was a delicate design. Each nail had a different colour, which was only laid on the end of the nail.

- 'I'm ready,' said Defne as she sat with the girls at the kitchen island. Each of them had a cup of tea in front of them. There were also sunflower seeds. - 'Thanks to you, I can go to the class meeting with my head held high.

That night Defne had trouble falling asleep. The various thoughts that swirled around in her head were all related to tomorrow's event. Although she felt that she was prepared, she was afraid that something might not go as she wanted it to.

_____________________