4

Ethan

I was surprised when Uğur, my sister’s husband from Istanbul, called me. Technically, we weren’t full siblings. We shared the same father but had different mothers. He was much older than my brother and me.

After the usual greetings, he got straight to the point.

“So listen, our Berat has a friend from university. Apparently her dad is going through a rough time. Berat begged me to help her find a job. Turns out her family recently moved to Elazığ. I thought of you. You’ll help out your nephew’s future lawyer friend, right?”

“Of course, I’ll help.”

“You’re the best, Ethan. Your sister sends her love. She says you all have to come visit during the holidays.”

“Maybe this time you come to us. Things have been busy lately. I’ll send the jet for you.”

“Oh, so now we’re talking jets? Alright, we’ll come then. Bahar is excited too. We’ll definitely make the trip.”

“Alright, talk soon.”

After I hung up, I called Arslan and asked him to come to the office. I didn’t want him thinking I was backing out of the bet. A part of me thought maybe this was for the best. No point in inviting trouble into my life when I already had enough of it.

That afternoon, Arslan came over and Ahsen brought us our coffee.

“You look tense. What’s going on?”

“About the bet we made last night. We might have to cancel it.”

“Why? Are you chickening out?”

“Come on, you know me better than that.”

“I do. So what’s the reason?”

“My sister’s husband called this morning. He’s sending someone over. A friend of my nephew’s, apparently fresh out of school. I’ll probably have to hire her. I don’t know if she’s married or single. I didn’t even ask if it’s a woman or a man. But I can’t say no. Not when my sister’s name is involved.”

Arslan took a thoughtful sip from his coffee before responding.

“I get it. But we made a one-million-dollar bet. If the person doesn’t fit the terms, I’ll help them find a job somewhere else. Simple as that. But you can’t hire anyone who doesn’t qualify for the challenge.”

I saw the excitement in his eyes, as if the money was already in his pocket. But he would be the one losing, not me.

“Fine. Have it your way. I’ll meet whoever shows up tomorrow and we’ll talk about it then.”

“Alright. I’ll swing by again tomorrow. And who knows, maybe she’ll be a total knockout.”

“Don’t get your hopes up. Even if it’s a woman, what do you expect from one of Berat’s friends? I’m sure she’s just another soft type.”

“You never know. Let’s wait and see.”

Arslan looked at his watch.

“It’s almost eight. Come on, let’s head out.”

“I’ve got a case to prepare. You’re on your own tonight,” I said. I had a psycho whose file I needed to close. My guys had already picked him up and were waiting on me.

When Arslan muttered, “Hopefully the girl turns out to be pretty and single so we won’t have to deal with your workaholic nonsense for a while,” I decided to delay that lucky bastard’s punishment. Let him sleep one more night with all his bones intact.

“Alright, stop whining. I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Where are we going?”

“There’s a new place that just opened, but it’s in Harput.”

“Harput’s full of shrines. That place gives me the creeps. Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Stop complaining and get up. We weren’t put on this earth to work. We’re here to live, brother.”

*