Good Karma (64 page)

It was better this way. Seeing her here would
have made it that much harder to leave, and he wasn’t sure either
one of them would have been able to hide their disappointment.

“Yes, I hate not getting a chance to say
good-bye to her,” he said truthfully, even though he had said his
good-byes last night. “Tell her I wish her well in her new
role.”

“I will.” Don gave his shoulder a reassuring
pat. “Thank you for all you’ve done for us, Mark. You’ve left us in
better shape than you found us, and I think all of us are
grateful.”

There was one person in particular who had
been left in better shape than all the others, as well as
worse.

Karma.

She was no longer the shy, timid woman he had
met in Chicago, trying to be someone she wasn’t. She was well on
her way to being the woman she was born to be, but because of the
time they had spent with one another to help her achieve that
status, she was now worse. Hurting the same way he was.

“Just doing my job, Don. And I’m happy I
could help.” He shook his hand again. “Make sure to contact me if
you need anything else. I’m just a phone call away.”

“That goes both ways,” Don said. “My door is
open any time you’re in town, so don’t be a stranger.”

Mark made his rounds then ventured down to
the lobby.

“Good-bye, Nancy.” He waved to the
receptionist.

“Bye, Mark.” She flashed him her best sexy
eyes, and he smiled.

“If only it could have worked between us,
Nancy,” he teased.

Nancy had made no secret about how attracted
she was to him during his stay.

“Story of my life.” She rolled her eyes and
laughed. “Will we see you again?

He shook his head. “Not if you play your
cards right.”

“Well then!” She got a glint in her eyes.
“I’d better get started screwing things up.”

He laughed at her. “Be careful, or they might
send someone else next time.”

She sighed. “It was worth a try.”

He waved and walked out the door.

As soon as he got in his car, he pulled out
his phone and typed out a message.
Missed you at the office. I
hope you’re okay.

He refused to go until she replied. He didn’t
want to be driving when her message came through. He needed to be
ready.

So he waited. And waited.

And waited some more.

Karma?

Was she okay? Why wasn’t she answering? He
tried again.

If you don’t reply, I’ll be forced to stop
by your apartment to make sure you’re okay
. In a way, he hoped
she wouldn’t reply, because that would give him an excuse to see
her one last time. But if he saw her, he wasn’t sure he could
leave. But maybe that was what needed to happen. Maybe this was a
sign. Maybe God or the powers that controlled the universe—or
however Rob had described it on Fourth of July weekend—were trying
to tell him something. That he couldn’t go. Not without her.

He closed his eyes. “Please, please, God,” he
muttered under his breath, suddenly desperate. “If this is a sign,
let me know before I make the biggest mistake of my life.” Maybe he
could
try a long-distance relationship. He could come down
one weekend a month, and she could go to Chicago once a month, and
then they could figure things out later. But first, he needed a
sign. And if she didn’t answer him and he had to go see her, that
would be it. That would be the sign he needed to know that God
wanted him to take a chance again on love.

He was about to put the car in gear and drive
to her apartment when his phone chimed with a message. All hope
dissipated in a blink.

Good-bye, Mark.

The finality of her text kicked him in the
gut and brought him back down to earth. Even though they hadn’t
been spoken, the words drove like a dagger into his heart, and the
message was clear. She was moving on, and this was her way of
telling him to do the same.

He had gotten his sign. So then why was he so
disappointed?

Clearing the emotion from his throat, he
typed out a final text.

Good-bye, Karma. I wish you well. Stay in touch.

As much as he hoped she would, he knew she
wouldn’t. He tucked his phone away and pulled out of Solar’s
parking lot for the last time. And even though every instinct
screamed at him to turn into Karma’s apartment complex as he drove
past, he set his jaw and drove on.

She needed to move on without him, and he
needed to do the same without her.

Their chapter was over.

* * *

Karma sat in the parking lot across the
street and watched him leave. Tears flowed like twin rivers down
her face and dropped off her chin. One even splattered on the
screen of her phone as she lifted it and re-read his last message
for what felt like the tenth time.

After twenty minutes, with tears still
streaming her face and blurring her vision, she finally dropped her
phone in her purse, backed out of the parking space, and drove
home.

Her apartment felt empty.
She
felt
empty.

She would hurt for a while. Maybe even get
depressed now that he was gone. But in time, she hoped the edges of
the pain he left behind would dull, and she could move on.

But as she lay on her couch, the morning
turned to afternoon, then to evening, and she began to fear the
worst. She would never get over Mark. She would never forget his
kisses, or the way his fingertips felt on her face, or the way he
turned to mush at the sight of her black high heels as she slipped
her feet into them.

Maybe she shouldn’t have responded to his
text. The one in which he threatened to come to her apartment if
she didn’t reply. She could have raced home and seen him one last
time, because she knew he would have followed through on his
threat. But that would have just made his leaving that much more
unbearable. She needed to rip off the Band-Aid and let the wound
heal, and seeing him again would have only delayed the healing
process.

The longer she lay on the couch, though, the
more she knew that no other man would ever fill his shoes—because
no other man was Mark. No matter how many men she dated or slept
with for the rest of her life, none would ever truly make her
happy.

Why?

Because she was in love with him.

She had fallen in love with Mark Strong.

And now he was gone. She had let him leave
without so much as a fight.

Now it was too late.

At seven o’clock, her phone chimed. She
jumped up and grabbed it off the table, eager to see his message.
She deflated in an instant. It was a message from Lisa.

Daniel and I are on our way.

She texted back.
K.

A few minutes later, Karma opened the door.
Daniel held a pizza and a bag of Ben & Jerry’s. Lisa held a box
of Kleenex, flowers, and a DVD.

Karma broke down in uncontrollable sobs and
fell into Lisa’s arms.

“Sshh, sweetie. It’ll be okay. We’ll get you
through this.”

Daniel ushered them inside, set down the
pizza and ice cream, took the flowers and Kleenex from Lisa, and
the three of them made a hug circle, with Karma in the middle.

She needed her best friends now more than
ever…because the best thing that had ever happened to her was
gone.

Epilogue

Never give
up on something you really want. However impossible things seem,
there’s always a way.

-Sophie Kinsella

Six weeks later…

“And for all her efforts to transition operations
through our recent changes, employee of the month goes to…Karma
Mason.” Don gestured toward Karma while the rest of the employees
took a break from their Halloween luncheon to applaud.

Karma ducked her head as her face heated.

This was Mark’s legacy. The employee of the
month program had been his suggestion, and how fitting was it that
she should be its first recipient?

Don handed her a gift card. “Congratulations,
Karma.”

“Thanks.” She tucked the fifty-dollar card
into her pocket. She didn’t know what she would spend the money on,
but in time, as the clouds lifted from Mark’s absence, she would
figure it out.

Lisa nudged her arm. “Way to go, girl. I knew
you’d get it this month.” She was in charge of the fledgling
program. “Here, have some chocolate to celebrate.” She grabbed a
piece of Dove chocolate from inside one of the small plastic
pumpkins decorating the tables and set it in front of Karma.

“Uh…” Karma frowned at the piece of chocolate
that reminded her of her favorite lesson with Mark and pursed her
lips as a jab of pain knifed her chest.

“Oh, um…I’m sorry.” Lisa quickly removed the
blue square of chocolate, tossed it back inside the pumpkin, and
fished out a Snickers instead.

Karma sighed, took the bite-size bar, and
offered Lisa a wan grin. “It’s okay,” she said. “I have to move on
eventually, right?”

Lisa stroked her arm. “You want to come over
to my place for Halloween tomorrow? We could make popcorn, watch
scary movies, and pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters. And you
can help me decorate the front yard. It’ll be fun. What do you
say?”

“I don’t think so, Leese. I’m just going to
stay home.”

Lisa sighed and nodded sympathetically.
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind.” She stood with her
empty plate. “I’m gonna get back to work. Congratulations again.”
She smiled warmly then headed off.

Back at her desk, Karma’s gaze strayed to the
empty conference room Mark had made his office over the summer.
Another stab of sorrow cut into her heart. Where was he now? Was he
standing on his balcony, looking at Lake Michigan? Had he taken on
a new assignment in another state? Had he met someone new? Someone
he could teach all his lessons of love to the way he had her? Did
he even think about her, anymore? She still thought about him every
day.

She had thought that, with time, the sadness
would diminish, and in some ways it had. She no longer cried
herself to sleep every night, but she still couldn’t look at a Dove
chocolate square or a brownie without tears prickling the backs of
her eyes. She still couldn’t wear her red scarf or her peep-toe
pumps, either. And she hadn’t touched her stack of books since he’d
left. They still sat on her dresser, right where they were the last
time he was inside her apartment.

But getting through her days was getting
easier. Baby steps, right?

“Hey, Karma.”

She looked up as Jasper stopped in front of
her desk. “Hey, Jasper. What’s up?”

Jasper was one of Solar’s project managers.
He was about her age, slim but fit, with straight brown hair that
always hung a little over his eyes. He brushed it aside and smiled.
He had a nice smile. She had never noticed before.

“We need another girl for tonight’s softball
game. You interested?”

Softball? She really wasn’t up for softball
or anything else. “I’m not sure, Jasper. It’s been a while since I
played, and—”

“That’s okay. We just do it for fun. I have
an extra mitt if you need one.”

“No, I’ve got my own mitt.” She hadn’t used
it in years, but she had one.

“Come on. It’ll be fun. We go out after for
burgers and drinks at the Stacked Pickle. You should join us.” His
brown eyes sparkled with an interest that was deeper than his
desire to fill a vacancy on the team.

Jasper was an attractive guy. Karma had never
paid him much attention before, but now that she really got a good
look, he was sort of handsome. Was he boyfriend material? Was he
worthy to replace Mark in her heart? Probably not. But she would
never know if she didn’t give him a chance. Didn’t he deserve at
least that?

“Well…okay. I suppose I can help out. Sounds
like fun.” As with her affirmations, if she said it enough,
eventually she would begin to believe it. And she had to start
somewhere.
Baby steps, Karma. One step at a time, one day at a
time.
If she kept that in perspective, before long she wouldn’t
have to remind herself to have fun. She just would.

“Great.” Jasper nodded, grinned, and held her
gaze for a long moment before saying, “We meet at the Midwest
Sports Complex around five thirty. Game starts around six.” He
hesitated. “You can ride with me if you want.”

She shook her head. “No. Thanks, anyway. I
know where it is. And I have to go home and change first.”

He looked a little disappointed. “Oh, that’s
right. Okay.”

“But I’ll be there.”

He brightened. “Then I’ll see you at five
thirty. Thanks, Karma.”

She watched after him as he headed off to the
war room. Then she glanced back into the conference room. Mark was
gone. He wasn’t coming back. She needed to move on, even if it hurt
like hell to pull him from her heart and give someone else a shot.
Life couldn’t be put on hold just because Mark had vacated hers.
She needed to find her way toward living again. Filling in on the
company softball team was a good first step, but she could do even
better.

She grabbed her phone and dialed Lisa’s
extension.

“Hey,” she said when Lisa answered. “About
tomorrow. I changed my mind. What time should I be at your
place?”

Baby steps. Little tiny baby steps.

* * *

Mark carefully removed the bandage from his
chest, a little left of center, where the hair had been shaved. He
inspected his new tattoo, a pair of Asian hieroglyphics inside a
three-inch-diameter circle. It looked like a stamp, which was
fitting given its meaning and placement. His skin was still red and
irritated, but the black oriental symbols looked good. Clean and
crisp.

Karma.
That’s what the symbols stood
for.

A nostalgic smile touched his lips. The
tattoo was his way not only to brand Karma on his body but also to
honor the promise he had made to the universe while driving back to
Chicago six weeks ago. Leaving her had been the hardest thing he’d
ever done, and, more than once, he had almost turned around.
Finally, halfway to Chicago, when, once again, he had almost pulled
off the interstate to go back, he struck a bargain with God…or
whatever higher power controlled fate.