Good Karma by Donya Lynne Page B

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