2 Queenie Baby - Out of Office Read Free

find these guys?"
    I ignored him and stared up at Andre. His dark eyes were laughing. "How do you get yourself into these situations?" he asked softly.
    My brain couldn't catch up to reality. "Andre," I said blankly, "what are you doing here?"
    He shrugged. "Still working for asshole rock stars."
    The officer snapped back into arrest mode. "Time to take you back to the office." He grabbed my elbow to lead me away.
    "Arrest her for what?" Mark demanded. "You can see there was a mix-up with the guitars."
    The officer was adamant. "She's broken at least five laws. Some are quite serious," he said in his best sorry-you-are-going-to-jail voice.
    "Jes," agreed the taxi driver, "an' she broke my taxi with her guitar."
    "Starting trouble wherever you go." Andre shook his head. "You haven't changed a bit. Except the cuffs. Nice addition." He gave me a smoky look that made my stomach drop and my girlie parts tingle.
    Mark ran his hand through his hair. I felt bad for him. Knowing me was probably going to make him bald. "Reunion's over," he huffed, stepping in closer.
    Andre tore his eyes from mine for a glance at Mark. I saw surprise in his eyes and something else that I couldn't quite identity.
    Andre turned to the taxi driver. "Señor, you are mistaken," he said smoothly. "The guitar was not the lady's. It belonged to Carlos Rodriguez."
    Everyone gasped; I rolled my eyes.
    "Carlos Rodriguez," the taxi driver repeated reverently.
    "Yes," said Andre. "His sister brought it back from the States as a gift for him. She took the wrong case when she got off the plane. This lady," he said indicating me, "was trying valiantly to return it."
    Everyone looked at me.
    "Yeah! I wasn't breaking any laws." I could feel a drop of sweat between my shoulder blades. The tropical air felt like a furnace compared to the icy coolness inside the airport.
    "Carlos Rodriguez would consider it a personal favor if you would release the lady," said Andre smoothly. "He will, of course, pay for all repairs to your taxi and would like you to have front-row tickets for you and your families at his concert on Saturday. Will you do him this small favor?"
    I had to hand it to Andre; he certainly hadn't lost his touch. He could be a little overbearing at times, but right now I was happy to have him on my side.
    The taxi driver bobbed his head and smiled, already re-telling this tale in his head.
    The officer was equally impressed, but trying not to show it. "It does appear that the lady was trying to return Mr. Rodriguez's guitar. Her intentions were good, despite the way she went about it." He gave me a disgusted look. "I certainly would release her, however, the other officers," he said, nodding to the dozen or so behind him that looked like they couldn't wait for me to run so they could shoot me, "may not see it that way."
    Andre nodded. "Perhaps they would like to accompany you to the show. Did I mention Carlos would like you all to come backstage after the performance?"
    A wide smile split the officer's face. "Okay, loco lady," he said and snapped off my cuffs, "you free to go cuckoo somewhere else. Just don' do it in my airport!"
    I bit back a retort. I'd had it with people calling me cuckoo today.
    Andre walked back to the limo, presumably to get business cards and info on the show for the taxi driver and the officers. The crowd started to disperse; traffic, however, was still snarled.
    I turned to Mark. "I am so sorry about this. What a mess!"
    He stared at me for a second. "That has to be the understatement of the year." He shook his head and pointed towards the limo. "Who is that guy? Another old boyfriend?"
    I hesitated, not sure how much to reveal. That's the tough thing about old boyfriends and new boyfriends. You wanted them to stay in separate universes, not colliding into each other and going all black-hole on you the way it usually worked out for me. Andre had been a summer fling with the potential for so much more. He had been the bodyguard for Billy