Good Karma by Donya Lynne Page A

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