Page 25 of Not the Plan

“Oh?” She accepted the two stapled pages. Her eyes narrowed, and she pursed her lips as she read. By the time she’d placed the pages on the table and turned to the window, she was like a tiny sun, emanating anger instead of light. When she faced him again, his stomach dropped. She wore the mask of professionalism she’d worn with Christina. The mask he hoped she’d never use with him.

“So, it was a ruse?” she asked.

He didn’t follow.

“All your polite little questions on Saturday night. You were trying to soften me up, so I would be more amenable to changes today.”

Scanning the list, his blood went cold. More than half of the items touched on his questions from Saturday night. It hadn’t occurred to him. Glancing back up at her, he caught a shimmer in one eye. He wanted to crawl under a rock.

“No, Isadora, please. There was no ruse. Julian sent me a list on Sunday morning and by yesterday evening, we reached this. My questions were…I wanted to…they had nothing to do with these suggestions.”

“So, it’s a coincidence that you weren’t sure about the timing of the project, and now Julian would like Daniel to accept a significant delay for our district, but an immediate start for yours and several others?”

“Yes,” he said. “It is a coincidence.”Gotta be professional. Do your job.

“I explained how important the Environmental Quality committee is—in terms of its status, and to Daniel himself—and now, oddly enough, Julian wants us to commit to things that will cause controversy with multiple environmental protection groups?”

Karim pressed his lips together and nodded. It was the best reaction given the circumstances. She stopped speaking and scrutinized him. A sparkle of desire burned his insides as he maintained eye contact, but its flame didn’t catch.

“If the shoe were on the other foot, I would be suspicious as well,” he said. “This bill is an excellent idea and would certainlybenefit our constituents and the state as a whole. Even though we are further apart on our goals than we were at our last meeting, I’m confident we can still find a way to make this work.”And I’m sorry and I hate that this situation has made you think I’m playing a game.

She raised an eyebrow but remained silent. Other than looking at the list again, she did not move. Her phone buzzed.

“Will you give me a moment?” she asked, glancing at it. “It’s Daniel, I have to reply.”

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll give you some privacy.” He returned to the outer office and poured himself a half-cup of coffee. Isadora was still within earshot, so he pulled out his phone to text Christina. After a quick back-and-forth, he got what he needed to know: points five, eight, and fourteen were the least likely to force Isadora to refuse. And his hunch was right. Julian usually left Ike’s with a long list of bad ideas.

A sigh escaped him as he slid his phone back into his pocket. Three options were much more attainable than eighteen. Two of the three were related to the bogus questions he’d sent her on Saturday night, so she might remain suspicious. But there was nothing else to do except move forward. He’d find a way to earn her trust, to get her to be as relaxed with him as she was with that guy in the hallway. Reasoning with himself, he went over yet again why this attraction to Isadora was such a bad idea. But it was getting pointless. He envied that guy. He wanted her to laugh with him like that. And when she’d asked him if his emails had been a ruse and he saw what might have been the glimmer of a tear in her eye?

It was too late. He was smitten.

CHAPTER NINE

Isadora

Rage and disappointment battled inside Isadora when Karim stepped out of the room. She went back to the start of her morning, dreaming of him in a large, luxurious bed with gleaming white sheets. His smile, licking his lips as she approached. Then she was on top of him, riding him. His hands on her hips, moving up her back, his face buried between her breasts. He rocked up hard into her, she was so, so close.

Then her alarm had gone off and ruined everything. Perhaps it was an omen for her day. He’d made her pulse skitter in the hallway. He was polite and attentive when she’d first arrived. And now Julian and his list of impossible demands had come blaring in and destroyed it all. If there was one positive thing, it proved her hunch had been correct—Julian had been behind Karim’s oh-so-charming emails on Saturday. She wanted to believe his denial, but it all fit together too well. He was gorgeous and loyal—to his boss.Should I have expected anything else?She’d almost lost her temper when he said he was “confident” about making the bill work. Good that Daniel had texted her when he did. She shifted in her chair, making sure her body concealed the screen of the phone from the doorway and checked what he had to say.

Daniel:Morning. You in with Christina on the freeway bill yet?

Isadora:In the mtg, but with the new aide.

Daniel:Julian’s already promising contracts and rates.

Isadora:Before we even have the bill in committee?

Daniel:Heard from 3 contractors who wanted to know why they hadn’t had the chance to bid.

Isadora:Wow. OK.

She paused a moment, glancing out the window, weighing options.

Isadora:When did the contractors find out about the project?

Daniel:Lunch yesterday. Julian told some Labor Fed reps the deal was already sealed.

Isadora:Did they ask about what cities and when?

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