Free In Deep Shitake (A Humorous Romantic Suspense) by Patricia Mason Page B

don’t see how calling the police will do any good.”
    Ross definitely didn’t want publicity. In his situation, with the new contract, any publicity was not good publicity. “If the whole thing is just a one off, it doesn’t matter, but what if it’s not?”
    “A one off?” Mo asked.
    “Something that happens once.”
    “What if it isn’t just a one off? That fellow may have something to do with the mysterious client who allegedly hired your agency to investigate me.”
    "I don’t see the connection." Mo shook her head causing a section of her long hair to sweep forward again. “ Gigantor had to have mistaken me for someone else.” She nodded. “Yeah, it was clearly a case of mistaken identity.”
    "You hope," he muttered.
    "Yeah," she admitted.
    “Did he say anything that would provide us any sort of clue about him?” Ross asked.
    “He said something that sounded like sucker. And he mentioned wanting to find something or someone. Understanding him was difficult. He had an accent that sounded Slavic or Russian… or maybe Greek. I couldn’t tell. Everything happened so fast.”
    “He sounded sort of Russian to me,” Ross commented.
    Mo lapped at another spoonful of ice cream. “Come to think of it, when the agency did an investigation at a strip club owned by a Russian, I found out that Sooka means bitch. I suppose Gigantor could have been calling me a bitch and that would mean he’s Russian. Oops, I said bitch.” Mo held a hand over her mouth and then relaxed after a second. “Oh well, it doesn’t count as a slip since I was translating.”
    “Do you have any reason to think Russians are involved with the client who hired you to break into my car?” Ross tried to take his eyes off her lips.
    She waved her spoon at Ross. “Don’t go thinking you’re going to use that guy to bootstrap your way into going with me to talk to Clarence.”
    Mo shook her head, throwing her hair back and out of the way again before taking a fourth mouthful of the obviously delicious concoction. Ross wanted to run his fingers through that length of silky brown hair, wrap the strands around his hand, pull her toward him and then…strangle her. She was completely impossible.
    Although she had agreed to have lunch, with Ross paying of course, Mo refused to even consider allowing him to be involved in discovering what was behind the attempted break-in of his car. The only information she’d reveal was that the agency receptionist had relayed the assignment. None of his logical arguments had yet penetrated her utterly illogical head.
    Mo placed her lips around another bite.
    “ Mmmmmm . Youshouldtrysommmme ,” Mo said with her mouth full.
    “No thanks.” Ross sipped at his tasteless coffee.
    Mo picked up a fork and then mashed the utensil into the crumbs on the plate with the obvious intent of finishing off the remnants.
     Ross knew he wouldn’t be able to stand it if her next move was to lick the remaining ice cream from the plate. It would bring to mind too many other uses for that tongue.
    “Would you like another dessert?” He asked, arching his eyebrows at her.
    Mo dropped the fork and it clinked noisily as it landed on the plate. “No, I would not.” Her tone was indignant. “But thanks a lot for implying that I’m fat.”
    “I did not imply any such thing. To the contrary . You have no need to diet…and I already told you that you’re quite beautiful.” Ross immediately regretted revealing so much.
     “Thank you." Mo smiled. "But for the final time, I am not going to take you with me to talk to Clarence. Plying me with fattening deserts is not going to get me to agree to compromise my ethics. Flattery will not work either.”
    Her words catapulted his mind into thoughts of the compromising positions Ross would like to contort Mo into. The urge to strangle Mo was quickly slipping away to be replaced by a craving to spank the brat. Hmmmm . The right type of spanking could be ideal.
    “What do your