Page 13 of S.O.S. Billboard

Billboard was still talking. “I don’t want to get a call that either of you have been one of these assholes’ new victims.”

Well, hell.

O’Shea already felt like a victim. Of a broken heart. But that was all on her.

Because despite what she’d dreamed of, over and over, Billboard had never made a single overture on which she’d based her foolish crush.

CHAPTER FIVE

Billboard sat back in the tiny receptionist chair; his mind blown.

O’Shea.

Hadn’t he just been thinking about her this morning?

Billboard scoffed. Whenhadn’the been thinking about the gorgeous, kick-ass woman who’d captured his attention and interest when the team had been in Louisianna?

And now she was in town.

He’d told himself repeatedly—pre-Peggy of course—that if he ever got the chance to be around her again, he’d try to…

What? Be awkward? Get tongue-tied?

But then Peggy had happened, and Billboard had been able to put O’Shea—mostly—out of his mind.

Since the break-up, however, O’Shea had crept back into his waking and sleeping dreams, haunting him with possibilities that didn’t seem reasonable, considering how far away she lived.

Now, however, she was here.

He cursed at himself. He hadn’t asked if O’Shea was only in Boston for the night or if her stay would be prolonged. He actually hadn’t said much, other than hello. Not an auspicious beginning if he—

“…Mistah Seingold…Mistah SEINGOLD!”

Billboard snapped out of his stupor, sitting up straight in his chair and planting his feet firmly on the floor to see a slightly annoyed, but highly amused Mizzay confronting him from behind her ubiquitous coke-bottle glasses.

“Uh, yeah?” he answered, somewhat sheepishly. He certainly hadn’t heard her come in, and… Had she asked him something?

“I said you can head to your office now that I’m back,” she told him cheekily. “ButnowI see that youz have a lot on your mind.” Her face turned calculating. “Have there been any phone calls?”

Billboard nodded at the desk-based device. “Brigid.”

“Ahh. I get it.” A small snort escaped from her pert, upturned nose. “Does that mean yah daydreamin’ has somethin’ ta do with a certain police officah who happens to be in town visiting?”

When Billboard remained silent, she pressed.

“Well, does it?”

Billboard didn’t know whether to deflect or admit that O’Shea was the reason for his preoccupation, but since he’d been going with complete honesty today, maybe heshouldspill to Mizzay. He knew the woman was a secrets-vault, and wouldn’t leak anything of what he said to his teammates, but… He glanced around to see if anyone would hear them speaking, and grimaced when he noticed both Del and Sarge’s doors open.

Mizzay noticed, too.

“Right. Come on, doll.” She crooked a finger at him, winked, then sashayed her fine self into the conference room.

Billboard sighed. If he’d thought to use nosy ears as an excuse not to comecompletelyclean, that was now off the table.

With another long-suffering sigh, he got to his feet, preparing himself, but before he could come around the desk, Mizzay yelled back to him. “Make sure any calls that come in get forwarded ta the conference room. This convo might take a while.”

Great.The woman was planning on grilling him for however much time it took, and according to everything he knew about Mizzay, she was an expert in interrogation.

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