Page 20 of King of Wands

“Okay. Yes. I’ll go.”

I could have sworn King sighed with relief, but I didn’t get a chance to look at him to find out because Adam drew my attention to him.

“Isa, could I possibly steal you for a dance? I know King will completely eat up the rest of your night if I don’t snag you now. I want to talk about the brand strategy.”

That’s how I wound up on the dance floor with Adam Callaway. He was a good dancer. A really good dancer. Excellent rhythm and a gentle command that made him easy to follow. I didn’t know a ton about racing, but I did my research, so I knew that Adam had been a driver when he was a teenager, but left the sport after an accident. For several years he was an engineer with Mercedes before coming back to racing. He was “stolen” (those were the headlines) by Luis to join the Braun-Evans team and he’d gone from an engineering position to head engineer to King’s chief strategist. He was considered one of the most brilliant minds in Formula 1 racing, changing how teams operated and winning championships.

“The helmet design is perfect. So is your entire plan, Isa. You should consider a career with the team.” A classical song played and we swayed and swirled with a dozen other couples.

“Did Marcy put you up to this?” It smelled of Marcy-like interference. She wouldn’t be happy until I agreed to her long-term plan.

“No, though I will admit she did approach me. I turned her down.”

Interesting. “So what is this?”

He studied me for several long beats. “A personal plea. A team is only as strong as the people who build it. I’m always looking for people who fit, even when it comes in unexpected places.”

“I want to get my PhD.” I wanted to do research and teach classes. I kind of wanted to be Elizabeth, actually.

“And you’ll be brilliant at whatever you put your mind to. I’m in love with an academic and I see the same qualities in you.” He twirled me around once. “But, you have other talents and if you ever decide you want to stay closer,” he glanced over my shoulder. I turned and saw King glaring at us. “We could really use your talents full time.”

Work for Braun-Evans—not as an intern out to satisfy an overprotective parent, but as the best fit for my talents? Until this moment, with Adam looking at me with genuine hope, I hadn’t really taken this idea seriously. He was, though, and I had to admit the idea of being wanted for the knowledge and expertise I currently had was a little bit exciting.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He spun us in a new direction and led me away from King. “One other thing.” He dropped his voice low. “King likes you. And that means I need to pay attention to your relationship. How he’s feeling affects his head, it affects his ability to drive.”

My feet stopped moving.

“Isa?”

I blinked up at him. “I barely know him. How can I affect him? We’re not together.” Even though it sounded insane I knew it was true. All those sideways glances, every hand hold and thumb rub, for whatever reason, King was affected by me.

Adam put his hand on my hip and guided me back into the dance. “Can I tell you something? Something personal?”

At this point I wondered if anything I thought mattered at all. “Sure why not? Fire away.”

Adam smirked. “I met Elizabeth one night at a restaurant. I’d never seen her before but I knew from fifteen feet away that I was going to introduce myself and convince her to fall in love with me.”

“That sounds terribly romantic. How did that work out for you? Did she call the cops?”

Adam laughed. “No. But two weeks later we both changed everything to be together. We’re married now so I’d say it’s working out pretty well.”

“And why are you telling me this?” Of course he had a point to sharing me such a personal story. He wasn’t talking for the fun of it.

“Because I know what it’s like when you know.”

“Know what?”

“When you’ve found the one.”

I stared at him. And stared some more. “I’m sorry. What?” Somewhere between the twirl and the sashay I must have taken a turn down a wormhole.

“King’s heard stories about you for years, so maybe in some small way he feels like he already knows you, not that it matters. When you meet the right person you just...know.”

“And he knows that I’mthe one.He said this?” The room was spinning and it wasn’t because we were dancing. Oh no. It was the rush ofwhat the hell is happening right nowthat was making the world tilt.

The one?The one?I was just beginning to wrap my head around the idea that I liked King and King liked me. We liked each other. And for more than just body bumping good times. I liked him as a person and cared about his happiness.

“No. He hasn’t said anything. But I saw the way he looked at you during dinner last week, I heard how much he talked about you in Austria. He’s taken with you Isa. I know the look in his eye because I’ve had that look.” The song ended and he brought us to a stop. “I have no idea how you feel about King but I thought you should know because it will affect his career. He’s an emotional driver. It makes him damn good. But if his head is confused or his heart is being strung along, it will slow him down, or worse, get him hurt. If you have feelings for him, don’t play around. If youdon’thave feelings, make sure he knows now, before things get worse.”