Page 22 of My Lucky Star
IWAS USED TO EMIRbossing me around. Usually, I removed myself from the situation, pretending I didn’t care. This time, watching Aria washing her plate so piously I could only assume she was avoiding us, I cared.
We didn’t have to treat her this way. She’d helped me multiple times and tolerated borderline sexual harassment. Not even borderline, I thought with a grimace. I’d been well over the line.
“What’s the problem?” I hissed in Turkish, glaring at Emir. “Quit being a dick.”
He shot me another one of his looks, a calculating one, then focused his piercing gaze on Aria. “Miss Aria?”
She turned around, quickly wiping the corner of her eye, but I saw the tears. Her distress felt like a gut punch, and I sucked in a quick breath, instinctively leaning forward. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Her brave smile didn’t fool me.
Emir pulled out a chair next to him and she sat down, still holding a soapy sponge. “Did Cem mention you look like an actress he used to work with, Burcu Yilmaz?”
“It... came up.” Aria’s hand flew to her mouth and her gaze dipped to my crotch, and that’s when I realized the accidental pun.
I fought hard not to laugh but didn’t fully succeed. Especially as I noticed her cheeks turning pink.
Emir observed us with suspicion. “We were discussing Cem’s image. We need to present a softer side to him. Like when Burcu was still in the picture.”
I sighed. “I’ll find a date. Let’s pack up and—”
Emir held up his hand. “Getting you back to Istanbul to date a random woman will not help. You have a reputation; everyone would assume it to be casual. We’d need multiple dates, shared holidays...” Emir shook his head, face drawn. “There’s no time for that. But if you were seen with someone special, someone you have a history with... someone the public wants to see you with. Like Burcu—”
“How’s that going to work? No one’s seen her in years!”
Emir fired me a weighty look, and I finally understood. We both turned to Aria.
“What?” She whispered, her sponge-holding hand frozen in mid-air.
Emir softened his expression. “You look so much like her. If we were to...” He took the sponge off her hand and set it on the table. Then he studied her bewildered face, head tilted. “She needs a bit of work, but it’s doable. We can cover that thing.” He pointed at the freckle under her eye.
Aria stared back in terror, her fingers trailing up her face to cover the mark.
Emir held up his phone, aiming it at Aria as if to film her. “Are you used to being photographed? Ever done any acting?”
Her cheeks flamed pink. “I have a degree in film production and on-screen acting, and I’ve had some minor roles, but—”
“Wow.” Emir raised his eyebrow to me before turning back to her. “If we took a few photos of you two together, we might start a rumor about Cem being back with Burcu.”
I felt hot and cold. I could follow his logic, but it didn’t feel right. “How could we do that to Burcu?”
Aria said nothing, but her eyes had turned into saucers. Blinking saucers. Her fingers hovered above the mark under her eye, and I wanted to punch Emir.
My brother ignored our reactions and kept his tone calm. “A rumor like that wouldn’t hurt Burcu. Quite the opposite. Have you seen what they write about her?”
I’d seen the headlines but couldn’t bring myself to read the articles. I already knew they were filled with hearsay and outright lies – dramatic claims about drug use and mental illness, one shocking diagnosis after another. Burcu deserved better.
Aria found her voice. “What if she’s photographed doing something else, or seen with someone else when she’s supposed to be with Cem?”
Emir shook his head. “She hasn’t been photographed doing anything in three years.”
Aria’s eyebrows shot up and she turned to me for confirmation.
“It’s true,” I said. “She’s been... unwell. Her family keeps her out of the public eye.”
Emir managed to make his voice sound almost pleasant. “No one’s seen her, not even friends. She’s on heavy medication, not able to work. I don’t expect her to react in any way.”
I watched Aria, half-expecting her to walk out. Who in their right mind would want to be any part of this? I didn’t, obviously. It was risky and crazy, and there must have been another way to polish my reputation so that it was wholesome enough for Epic Studios.
