2 Queenie Baby - Out of Office Read Free Page B

intersection selling beer if it wasn't?"
    Mark glanced in the rearview mirror. "I don't know. I'm just trying to avoid any more run-ins with the law."
    He had a point.
    I handed the guy a five, and he handed me back two beers. Puerto Rico was getting better by the minute.
    I took a swig and groaned in delight as the ice cold beer slid down my throat. "Selling beer at intersections. What will they think of next?" I smiled at Mark.
    He shook his head in disapproval, but his lips twitched with a suppressed smile.
    As we drove to the hotel, Mark brought me up to speed on the search for his cousin, David. David's mother, Marcie, was able to confirm that Charles and David still had the jump drive containing the stolen employee files. David had said that Charles was getting paranoid and looking over his shoulder constantly. Charles was sure the gangster he had originally promised to sell the files to, and then had double-crossed in lieu of the higher offer, was in Puerto Rico to hunt him down. Mark's job was to pay Charles the money for the fake files and convince David to come back home with him. Ed didn't care about the money as long as they got David back. Once David was out of harm's way, they'd try to get Charles picked up by the authorities.
    Only things weren't going so well. Mark had arranged two prior meetings to make the exchange, and both had gone bust when Charles got spooked and never showed up.
    "I'm supposed to meet him tomorrow morning at the beach," he added, finishing up the story.
    "Then what?" I asked.
    "Then I hand David a plane ticket on the next flight home. It's up to him to take it or leave it." Distaste was evident in Mark's tone. There was no love lost between the cousins. David had been jealous for years because of his perception that Ed favored Mark over him.
    "Sounds simple enough. But we've seen this go bad before," I reminded him.
    "Yep, but this time David and Charles are scared. The investigators I hired in Miami are sure that the gang-banger they double-crossed is in Puerto Rico. It's only a matter of time before he tracks Charles down."
    That didn't sound like it would end well for Charles. "So if the exchange goes as planned tomorrow, then you're free for a few days?" I asked hopefully.
    "Yes," he said with a smile, "I am. And I plan on spending them watching you in that bikini you promised to bring."
    "Just watching?" I asked with a laugh.
    "I like to watch," he said, putting his hand on my leg. I caught my breath as his hand traced a lazy path up my bare thigh.
    I purred. "How far away is the hotel?"
    "Not far."
    The radio played a soft Spanish love song. My eyes closed, finally feeling a bit of peace.
    And then I heard it.
    Dun-da-dun, dun-da-dun, dun-dada-dun-dada-dun-dun-dun . I shot up in the seat and turned the radio up.
    "I can't believe it!" I shouted at the radio.
    "I know. I couldn't believe it either the first time I heard it. It's surreal," he added with a sympathetic look in my direction.
    "The Rum Song" was blaring over the radio, sung by a man with a Spanish lilt. I had to admit he was doing it justice, but it irked my every nerve to know no one knew it was my song. I know I should've been excited just hearing my song on the radio. But I was more pissed than anything else at the moment.
    "He's a thief!" I growled. "And Roger and Phil are going to pay for this."
    "So explain this to me again," said Mark, trying to talk me down off the ledge. "You turned over your rights to 'The Rum Song' in exchange for them producing it?"
    I shook my head. "No. I turned over the rights to three of my songs, but I am supposed to be paid a percentage of every sale once the production costs are covered. And I am supposed to have creative control over the songs. Meaning I get the last say on how the songs are used." That clause had taken more than a little arm-twisting.
    "And you haven't heard from either of these guys since when?" Mark asked.
    "Since October," I replied. "They sent me an email saying