Good Karma (7 page)

He cleared his throat, straightened his tie,
and smiled. “Small world.”

“Yes, it would seem so.” She held out her
hand. “I’m Don’s assistant, Karma Mason.”

The ruse of being a model was officially
over, not that he’d believed her in the first place. She was a
whole lot of nobody special. She wasn’t a model or a rich, Chicago
socialite, or even Cinderella. She was Karma, executive assistant
by day, wannabe journalist by night, and about as conservative as
Mother Teresa, even if her innermost thoughts seemed to have taken
a more liberal track in the last few days.

Mama T would not approve.

Mark’s brow ticked with awareness, and he
took her hand as he tilted his head slightly to one side. “Pleased
to
finally
meet you, Karma.”

The choice of his words, as well as his
inflection, made it clear he referred to the fact that he had never
actually gotten to know her, just as she had never really gotten to
know him. So much for charades, because there was no way to hide
the truth, anymore.

His gaze swept with swift efficiency down her
body and back to her face. The once-over took all of a second, but
she felt stripped on the spot, as if he were kissing her again,
right there, in Solar’s lobby, casting away her logic and reason
with little more than a glance.

She gestured toward the stairs. “I’ll take
you up to Don’s office.” Forcing her feet to move was like slogging
through mud. Or maybe nearly set concrete.

“Karma,” he said thoughtfully as they started
up the stairs. “So, you’re Don’s assistant?”

“Yes.” She took hold of the railing, willing
her legs to stay under her.

“You know, I recently met a woman named
Karma. She was…intriguing.”

Oh boy. Breathe, just breathe.

Heat flooded her face. “What a coincidence.”
Her wobbly legs threatened to give out. Mark was so not what she’d
expected today. She had thought she would never see him again, yet
here he was, in her world instead of his.

This was no longer a fantasy. It was a
nightmare.

When Mark had arrived at Solar this morning,
the last thing he had expected was to come face-to-face with the
woman who had captivated his thoughts the better part of yesterday.
He had felt awful about how he had treated her Saturday night and
had racked his brain to figure out a way to learn her identity and
how he could reach her to at least send a note of apology. He never
imagined he would actually see her again. And now, here she was,
leading him up the stairs to meet with Don Jacoby…apparently her
boss. Talk about your strokes of luck.

He trailed behind her, studying her mannish
suit, the unremarkable, low-heeled patent leather shoes, and the
tight chignon holding all that beautiful hair in a bundle that
denied its glory. Her story and everything about her was beginning
to make sense. Her innocence, her mystique, the way she had seemed
so unsure in that dress. And yet, the dress and the strappy gold
stilettos had seemed to fit her personality better than this
masculine garb and clunky footwear.

“So, not a model,” he said at the top of the
stairs as he fell in beside her.

Her cheeks flushed. “No, not a model.” She
lowered her gaze to the floor then started down the hall.

The self-conscious gesture tugged at his
curiosity. Seeing her here, in her regular surroundings, wearing
what he could only guess were her regular clothes, with her hair
pulled into what was probably her regular hairstyle, he couldn’t
integrate the woman in front of him with the woman he had met this
past weekend. They were two totally different people sharing one
body. Which persona was real? Which one was a front?

“Nothing wrong with that,” he said. “Models
are too high maintenance, anyway.” He had dated a model once. Never
again.

She looked up at him. “High maintenance?”

“Absolutely.” He lightly elbowed her arm.
“Being an executive assistant is much better.”

Biting her bottom lip as she smiled, she
turned her attention to the front again.

Life had given him another opportunity to set
things right. To apologize and behave like a gentleman instead of a
heathen ass.

“Karma, I wanted to—”

“Mark, good to see you again.” Don walked
around the corner, hand outstretched.

Mark had met Don only once, during his
off-site meeting with Solar’s executive team a few weeks ago.

His apology momentarily interrupted, he shook
Don’s hand. “Likewise.”

Don led him away from Karma, toward his
office. “Can I get you a cup of coffee? Water?”

“Coffee’s fine.” He glanced over his
shoulder, wishing he’d had just a few more seconds with Karma.

Don turned toward her. “Karma, could you
please grab Mark a cup of coffee? Thank you.”

Under the circumstances, with his apology
still sitting on his tongue, Mark hated that Karma now rushed away
to fetch him a cup of coffee like some waitress. It smacked of salt
on a wound. Mark would have preferred helping himself, but he
followed Don into his office, set down his briefcase, and
unbuttoned his jacket as he took a seat.

A moment later, Karma appeared beside him,
holding a steaming mug of coffee. She handed him cream and sugar
separately. “I didn’t know how you take it.”

“Black, one sugar,” he said, mesmerized by
her pale green eyes the same way he had been Saturday night. “But
this is perfect. Thank you.”

With a polite nod, she turned and exited the
office, closing the door behind her.

As he and Don forged past the usual
pleasantries and started in on the business at hand, he vowed to
follow up on that apology as soon as he got the chance. Life had
given him a second opportunity to make things right, and he refused
to waste it.

Chapter 7

One of the
essential principles for living an aspired life is to remember that
our desires don’t arrive on our schedule. They arrive when they’re
supposed to.

-Wayne Dyer

Karma collapsed into her chair, picked up her phone,
and dialed Lisa’s extension.

“Hey,” Lisa said over the line. “What’s
up?”

“It’s
him
,” she whispered.

“Who’s him?”

“The
consultant
.” Karma glanced around
to make sure no one was listening. “It’s him, the guy I met
Saturday night.”

Lisa took a moment to make the connection. “WHAT?”
She quickly lowered her voice. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. What do I do?”

Lisa paused then giggled. “Go home and put on
that incredible dress.”

“I’m being serious.” How could Lisa joke at a
time like this? “I am so screwed.”

“Whoa, hold on, just wait a minute. You are
not screwed.”

“But—”

“Karma, listen to me.” Lisa’s voice grew
softer. “No one else knows. Just you, him, Daniel, and me, and I’m
not going to tell anyone.”

“But what if someone finds out?” She sounded
as panicked as she felt.

“Now, just relax. Take a deep breath,
Karma.”

She forced herself to inhale heavily then
blew out a loud breath.

Lisa continued. “You two didn’t do anything
wrong, and so what if you did?”

“But—”

Lisa cut her off. “Uh-uh. No. You’ve done
nothing wrong, and you’re not going to get in trouble.”

Karma lowered her voice even further. “This
is a nightmare.”

Lisa laughed.

“You think this is funny?”

“Actually, yes. You’re freaking out over
nothing.”

“This isn’t nothing. This is a man I kissed,
who took me to his hotel room.” A man she would have slept with if
she hadn’t been such a chickenshit.

“More power to you, sister.”

“Lisa!”

“Oh my God, girl. Go for it. He’s here. Don’t
you think this is a sign?”

“A sign? Yes, it’s a sign I never should have
gone Saturday night.”

Lisa sighed. “You’re hopeless. No, what I
mean is don’t you think it’s a sign that the two of you were meant
to hook up? I mean, you met Saturday night in Chicago, and now he’s
here. Don’t you think that’s more than just a coincidence?”

Lisa and her signs. Like Daniel, she was
forever thinking life was one constant circle of signs and
metaphysical influence.

“What about the nonfraternization policy?
Shouldn’t you be telling me to stay away, not hook up with
him?”

“Are you kidding me? Hell no. And you know
how lax the company is about that stupid policy. If you want him
and he still wants you, I say go for it. I won’t tell anyone.”

True. The company all but referred to their
nonfrat policy as more a guideline than a hard and fast rule.
Still, Karma couldn’t imagine “going for it.” That wasn’t how she
behaved, at least not in the real world. Sure, just this morning
she had wanted a second chance, but that was before her prince had
turned into Solar’s new consultant. This fantasy had just taken a
very real turn.

“I can’t do that.” She sounded more like she
was trying to convince herself than Lisa.

“Oh, Karma, live a little. Have some fun for
a change. Just keep it on the down-low.”

Karma shot a glance to Don’s closed door.
“Aren’t you supposed to advise against this sort of thing?”

“Not when it’s you we’re talking about.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that I have your best interests in mind
before Solar’s. And I think you need to go for it with this guy.
There’s a reason he’s here. It’s a sign, I’m telling you.”

“I don’t know, Leese.” She didn’t want to put
any credence on the
it’s-a-sign
theory.

“What’s not to know?” An exaggerated sigh
came through the line. “Just…okay, all I’m saying is to keep
yourself open to the idea. It could be fun, and I saw that smitten
look on your face when we were talking about him this morning.”
Lisa made a breathy noise. “And Lord knows you could use a little
bow-chicka-wow-wow.”

“Oh my God, really?”

“Oh, you know what I mean.”

Yes, Karma knew all too well what Lisa meant.
If a woman could become a born-again virgin, she
was
one.

“You’re not helping, Leese.”

“I am so. You’re just not listening.”

“I gotta go.” This conversation was going
nowhere.

She hung up and stared at the closed door
again. Behind it, not even twenty feet away, was the most
captivating man she had ever met. A man she had lied to, kissed,
and almost done unspeakable things with in his hotel room. But also
a man she had fled from like a silly adolescent girl when things
had gotten too hot. Just like she had done to Tony back in high
school.

She dropped her head into her hands.

God, shoot me now.

* * *

At four thirty, Karma wrapped up the day’s
work and prepared to go home. Mark’s arrival, which felt more like
a head-on collision, had left her mentally exhausted, and all she
wanted was to escape to a pair of sweats, an oversized T-shirt, and
an evening on her couch.

Just as she was filing the final operational
report from last week, Mark stepped out of the conference room,
which had become his makeshift office. “Karma, do you have a
minute?”

She glanced toward Don’s closed door. He had
left fifteen minutes ago to take his wife to the airport, so only
she and Mark remained. “Uh, sure.” She closed her e-mail and
followed him into the conference room.

The door latched quietly behind her as he
closed it.

“I wanted to talk to you about Saturday
night.” He took a seat.

Of course he did.

She sat down, folded her hands in her lap,
and closed her eyes for a moment to gather her courage to face the
elephant that had stood between them all day. He was probably upset
that she hadn’t told him the truth about who she was. If she had
been honest, maybe he wouldn’t have walked into Solar deaf, dumb,
and blind, and she wouldn’t have been caught off guard.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted at the same time he
did.

Her cheeks heated and she looked away as he
smiled.

“Why are you apologizing?” he said. “You
didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I lied about who I am.”

“You
innocently misled
me.” He sounded
like a lawyer leading his witness.

“Same thing.”

He paused then said, “I think you already
know that I knew you weren’t a model.” His dark, benevolent eyes
softened what could have been a much harder blow under the
circumstances.

All she had wanted was to pretend to be
someone else for a night. If she had known what the consequences of
her actions would be, she would have reconsidered her behavior.

“But that’s not what I want to talk to you
about.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to apologize for how I
behaved. With you, I mean.”

This was surprising. “Why?”

He sighed. “I never should have taken you to
my room. I made assumptions and moved way too fast.” He met her
gaze with sincerity. “Yes, I found you attractive, and yes, I
enjoyed our time together, but taking you to my room like some
one-night stand isn’t who I am. It’s not who I aspire to be, and
you deserve better than that.” His lips pressed into a thin line.
“I don’t normally treat women so casually, Karma, and I just wanted
to apologize for my behavior.” He took a moment to study her.

All she could do was stare.

“And I’d like to make it up to you. Let me
take you to dinner and show you that I do know how to behave myself
while in the company of a beautiful woman.” He grinned and one lone
dimple creased his right cheek.

He wanted to take her to dinner? This just
got better and better. Lisa’s words crept back into her thoughts.
Go for it.
Was she really considering doing just that?

“Tonight?”

“Actually, tonight I’m meeting your boss for
dinner, but if you’re free Friday night, I’ve made reservations at
St. Elmo’s.” Then, as an afterthought, “I never miss an opportunity
to eat at St. Elmo’s when I come to Indy.”