Page 13 of Not the Plan

CHAPTER FIVE

Isadora

At a quarter after nine on a Thursday, Isadora hurried to prepare the small meeting room next to her office for a face-to-face over a freeway bill with one of the legislative directors to Senator Julian Brown. The well-earned mistrust between Senator Brown and Majority Leader Etcheverri extended to Christina and Isadora, their respective aides. As members of the same party, both representing parts of San Diego, the senators publicly supported each other. But there was no love lost between the two women. Not after years of behind-the-scenes opposition and what amounted to political violence. On more than one occasion, Julian had been responsible for undermining Daniel’s projects and building coalitions against him. As ridiculous as it was in Isadora’s eyes, she’d accepted her place as a member of the House of Montague in the rivalry. That morning, she was hosting her counterpart from the House of Capulet. The last time Christina had been in her office, she’d come to tell Isadora that Julian would give Daniel his complete support on a massive project. The next day, Julian had voted against it. The bill had passed anyway, but when Julian voted no, it had caused a significant delay on the senate floor during the vote and almost caused the bill to fail, which would have been a serious blow for Daniel. That moment of drama had been exactly what Julian had wanted. He wasn’t the majority leader, but by playing up the divisions within the party,Julian found a way to make everybody dance from time to time. And he did it just because he could.

Isadora was about to scoop some coffee into the machine when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” she said.

She raised her head and suddenly she couldn’t catch her breath. Christina wasn’t alone.

“Hi, Isadora,” Christina said, as she turned to the green-eyed demigod following her. “This is Karim. He’ll be taking over for me in a few weeks. Karim, this is Isadora, Majority Leader Etcheverri’s chief of staff. She’s one of the most skilled and knowledgeable people in the senate.”

A surge of adrenaline blasted through Isadora’s chest as she stuffed down teenage giggles.

“Nice to meet you, Karim. Welcome,” she said, offering her hand. “And thank you, Christina. That’s very kind.” She held Karim’s gaze a beat longer than necessary, willing him to act like it was the first time their paths had crossed. He got the message.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he said. He might have said something else. The tingles coursing over her skin sent static reverberations through her ears. Christina was saying something about his background, but it didn’t register. All her efforts were focused on hiding her excitement.

“…only been with us a little over a month. But based on his experience and credentials, I think he’ll be a great fit, don’t you?”

“I’m sure he will be. But I don’t understand. He’s taking over for you?” She had to pretend he wasn’t there in order to hear Christina.

“Honestly?” She captured Isadora’s full attention with her tone. “We wanted to keep it a secret until the second trimester, but I’ve been far too sick already. I want to work for as long as possible, but we thought it best to bring Karim on board quickly.”

“Oh.” Babies and pregnancy were well outside of Isadora’s comfort zone, so she opted for a short but polite reply.

“I’m sorry you’re not doing well. Though I doubt anyone can take your place, Christina.”

“Thank you. Is it okay if he joins us for this meeting?”

“Of course. The sooner he gets his feet wet, the better.” Isadora made the mistake of smiling at him. The tingles returned and her heart took off again.

“We’ll be more comfortable here than in my office,” she said, indicating the meeting room. “Please, take a seat.”

Christina went in first, sitting closest to the door, her back to them.

“Hi,” Karim whispered.

“Hi, yourself,” she whispered back, cheeks burning. With a hand on the doorframe, she started to cross the threshold, but she’d left her notes beside the coffee maker.

“Oops, forgot something,” she said, turning around, bumping into him again. He caught her elbow as she went off balance.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, sorry.” She shook her head at herself. “Guess I have a problem running into you,” she whispered.

“It’s not a problem,” he whispered back. “Not at all.”

Heat flashed over her scalp. She ducked her face down to pass him and retrieve her notes. Choosing the seat farthest from the door, he chatted with Christina. Isadora seized the moment to study him. His lips were as full as she remembered, cheekbones and jaw sexy and masculine; his nose was straight, but prominent enough not to be perfect. Black hair, styled but not tamed. Same charming glasses.

Joining them, she pulled a third chair to the table.

“Would you all care for anything before we get started? Water, maybe a tea? I haven’t made the coffee yet, would—” As soon as she said “coffee,” Christina’s eyes went wide, and she glanced at Karim. He pointed behind her and she shot up, grabbed the trash can he’d indicated, and stepped through the doorway, retching into it out of sight.

“Don’t say ‘coffee,’ ” he mouthed at Isadora.

“No?” she mouthed back.

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