Page 61 of Not the Plan

“Okay, I’ll be in touch.”

“All right.”

Martin hung up. Karim stayed in the dark for a few moments. He preferred keeping his anger and frustration there, rather than in the busy hallway. It wasn’t a surprise that Laila would start playing games with the divorce. The greater surprise would have been if she’d gone along with it peacefully.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Isadora

“Majority Leader Etcheverri sees his colleagues across the aisle as partners, not competition,” Isadora said on the phone the following Thursday, letting her irritation coat her voice. “I can’t imagine you’d expect us to be amenable to your client’s goals after such a threat.”

The lobbyist on the other end of the line hemmed and hawed. He was too new to have known how his attempt to force Daniel’s hand by asserting that an ancient allegation of bribery was really evidence of ongoing corruption would backfire, but Isadora had no qualms about teaching him. She wasn’t surprised that the old story had come up again, but she had expected it in two years’ time, when Daniel would be running for U.S. representative. And she hadn’t expected the creative new spin. She rolled her eyes at the time she was wasting on this phone call. Although she could have left it to her staff, every now and then opportunities popped up that her skill and experience were uniquely honed to deal with. Sometimes shit just required her to take off the gloves and be a boss bitch. Particularly when it involved snot-nosed little lobbyists trying to get Daniel to support their client’s agendas by threatening to go public with shiny new exaggerations. She cleared her throat.

“I’d strongly suggest you let your boss know about the little stunt you just tried to pull, before she finds out from someone else. The senate is much smaller than you think. Particularly as aquick Google search would have told you that Kim and I debated together for Berkeley.”

She caught his sharp intake of breath at the sound of his boss’s name. He didn’t need to know that she wasn’t going to get in touch with Kim; she had enough on her plate.

“I’ll um…I’ll let her know,” he said.

“Wise choice. I trust the subject is closed?” Isadora asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Leaning over to put the phone back on its base, a wisp of hair tickled the back of her neck and she stood to check in the mirror next to her office door. A section of her crown braid had fallen out of place. She slipped the pin out and into the corner of her mouth while she got the hair back into position. There was a knock at the outer office door. Her ten thirty appointment was early.

“Anybody home?”

She jumped at Karim’s voice and gasped, the pin falling out of her mouth.

“Be right there!” Holding her hair in place, she searched the floor, then the narrow entry table below the mirror for the pin. His steps got closer. She didn’t want him to see her, elbows in the air, but the whole thing would come undone if she let go.

“Hi,” he said, in the doorway of her office. He cocked his head at her bizarre position.

“Hi, yourself?” Heat flooded her cheeks as she resigned herself to being embarrassed. He glanced down at her jacket.

“Looking for something?”

She followed his gaze, and there it was, the errant black hairpin as clear as day dangling from the edge of her tan lapel. She chuckled.

“Yes, I was. Thank you.” She reached for it, but another bit of hair fell.

“May I help?” he asked. His voice was warm and deep and honeyed.

“Um, yeah. Thanks,” she managed. He took the pin, careful to touch only that, and stepped behind her. He put the documents in his hand on the edge of her desk and studied the disobedientsection of hair. Every inch of her body began to hum. Time slowed down. Air became difficult to find. His body heat seared her through her clothes, drawing her to him like a magnet. She wanted to fall into his reflection in the mirror.

“I…” He paused to lick his lips, meeting her gaze. “I don’t really know what I’m doing here.”

She smiled, rolled her hair into place and tapped a spot with her finger. “Can you slide it in right there?”

He followed her instructions and then lowered his hands. She lowered hers. He met her gaze in the mirror.

“I…I came by because I wanted to see you. I know it’s risky.” Things had been getting spicier, more interesting with their phone calls every night. They’d managed two Zoom dates where they’d shared dinner, but the second had been cut short by Julian calling Karim. His voice was soft, his breath caressing her neck. Her attention fell to her fingertips on the table.

“Um, okay. But I have an appointment. They’ll be here soon,” she whispered.

“Oh. Won’t take long. It’s just that…” He took a deep breath. “I wanted to—” He closed the remaining space between them and kissed her nape, just below her hairline. Fire and ice radiated from his lips, scalding and freezing every bit of her. A high-pitched sigh fell out of her mouth. He sighed and caressed her skin with his prickly cheek, brushing his lips across the birthmark he’d mentioned in the car. She gasped. Their eyes met in the mirror again, both breathing fast.

“I hate that we’re in Sacramento,” she whispered.

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