Bears & Beauties - Complete (16 page)

In the weeks since the final bout with Darrel in the arena, life had been bliss. True to his word, he’d returned ownership of the company to me the following morning. Apparently, he had drafted a living will that returned the company’s stocks to me in the instance of his disappearance or death as well. So even if I
had
gone through with killing him, I’d still have my company back. If nothing else, the man didn’t break promises. After some thinking and much to his dismay, I turned control of the company over to Tony. Right after I axed Brandon, Jason, and Mark.

Megan had passed her exams with flying colors and was still in the process of joining Doctors Without Borders. I’d told her over and over again that she’d never have to so much as lift a finger if she didn’t want to, but she assured me that she still wanted to do good in the world. With my newfound freedom from the corporate world, I’d decided that I would accompany her on her travels.

After hearing about the events in New York, Chase had gotten in touch with me, offered a sincere apology, and invited Megan and myself down to his cabin in Boone, North Carolina. With a grudging reluctance, I’d accepted the invitation at Megan’s behest, and here we were. I’d since learned that Chase had sold his stake in Hammer Industries several months ago in order to spend time with his own mate, Andrea Sloan. Darrel taking control of the company was just a side effect of that, and his identity as a shifter was something that came to Chase as a surprise. The fact that he couldn’t smell the stink of the big cat on the man said a lot about Chase’s prior lack of closeness with his bear, something that he claimed had changed upon moving to Appalachia.

Still, one thing that Chase and I could agree on was the fact that our mates needed and
deserved
every ounce of our attention. And that was something that we were both more than happy to give them.

“I agree,” I said, finally, staring into my mate’s eyes. “And besides, I could get used to this.” I motioned back to the wilderness outside the window. The bear inside me rumbled his agreement.

“It’s settled then,” Andrea spoke up. “Make yourselves at home and stay as long as you’d like!”

With that, Andrea grabbed her mate and sped off to the other side of the cabin in order to, apparently, give Megan and I some time to get comfortable.

“You know,” Megan started, leaning against my frame, her soft curves melding perfectly with my hard muscles. “I could see us raising a family here.”

I glanced down at her, a bit startled at that. Then, I caught the twinkle in her eye and, for the first time, noticed the glow on her skin. I couldn’t help but grin at her, the joy building up quickly inside me.

“A cub of my own,” I whispered, letting the thought take hold of me. “And to think, I get to share the experience with
you.”

Megan beamed at me, “And I, with you.”

Then I leaned in and kissed her as deeply and passionately as I could for a long moment, before sweeping her off her feet and carrying her to the nearest bedroom, kicking the door shut behind me as we entered.

The End

Bear & Bold

When the world outside is crumbling, sometimes you have to be bold and make a stand.

Bear shifter Anthony Drake never wanted to be a billionaire. He never wanted the responsibility or public presence involved in running one of the nation's most promising and powerful startups. And yet, somehow, he'd ended up as President and CEO at the behest of his friend and the company's founder, with virtually zero business experience under his belt. When things start looking rocky and he feels like he can't hold the company together anymore, Anthony decides to bring in some expert help. With one look at the curvaceous business savant, though, Anthony knows he's met his mate.
Smart, educated, and spunky, Julie Flanders has been teaching Fortune 500 heirs and heiresses how to run their inherited businesses for the better part of a decade. She has a no-nonsense attitude and a take-no-prisoners approach to creating some of the most well-ran companies in the world. So when she's hired by the notoriously inept Anthony Drake to help turn his bumbling business around, Julie knows she has her work cut out for her. Worse than that, she can't help but find the soft-spoken gentle giant of a man dangerously attractive, something that all but violates her personal code of ethics.
With a sharp deadline looming and secrets about Anthony's violent shifter past coming to light as a public relations nightmare, it's up to these two sharply contrasting individuals to right the ship before everything they've worked so hard to achieve collapses in front of their very eyes. It will take bold moves on both of their parts to stave off the impending disaster. Can Anthony keep his bear in check long enough to save the business and earn the respect and love of his mate? And will Julie be able to accept him despite his checkered past?

1

ANTHONY DRAKE PACED the floor of his high rise corner office, his mind reeling.

How did I get here?
He asked himself.
How did it come to this
?

But he knew. Despite his reservations, Anthony’s friend and former employer, Kalvin Dare, had left the company in his hands, turning over controlling stake of the company to him upon leaving the city with his mate. That had been over eighteen months now. And, somehow, it still seemed exactly as bad a decision as it had back then.

Anthony didn’t know a single thing about running a business. He had no corporate experience, no logistical knowledge. The last thing he needed to be doing was running a Fortune 1000 company. And yet, here he was, running Dare International. Or, rather, running Dare International into the ground.

Stocks were down and people were panicking. If things didn’t change soon, the company would have to start slashing spending across the board. That meant layoffs. That meant lives being affected, employees going hungry, or worse. And there was virtually nothing that Anthony could do about it. Not on his own anyways. Thus the pacing.

A loud buzzing filled the room, followed by the voice of a woman. “Sir, Mr. Days has arrived.”

A wave of relief washed over Anthony. If anyone could help him out of the situation, it would be Grayson. Unlike Anthony, Grayson had actually built his business up from the ground. He knew how to run a company, and he knew how to do it well. “Send him in,” Anthony said, keying up the intercom.

Less than a minute passed before the door to the office opened inward and in stepped a beast of a man. Like Anthony, Grayson was a bear shifter. And like all bear shifters, Grayson was tall and broad shouldered. He wore a charcoal colored button-down that hung untucked over a pair of tan slacks.

“Grayson,” Anthony said, walking over to the other man and stretching out his hand. “Thank you for coming.”

“Not a problem,” Grayson said, taking Anthony’s hand and shaking it. He then gestured toward the chair that sat parallel to Anthony’s desk. “Should we sit?”

Anthony nodded quickly then took a seat at his desk as the other man made himself comfortable in the other chair.

“So,” Grayson started. “Trouble in paradise, Tony?”

Anthony let out an exaggerated gasp, while inwardly smiling at the use of his nickname. Very few people in the world referred to him by that name anymore, and it immediately made him feel more comfortable having heard it. While Anthony had met Grayson on a few occasions, mostly while working security for Kalvin in the past, he still wasn’t completely familiar with the man.

“Something like that,” Anthony grumbled. He took a breath. “Look, we both know that I’m not cut out for this. I’m not at all business minded. I don’t know how to run a company. I don’t know how to steer this ship.”

Grayson waved that comment off. “Nonsense. You’re just as capable as I am. All it takes is a lot of hard work and some guidance.”

“Which is why I asked you to come here,” Anthony said flatly. “I’m willing to put in the work, but the guidance has been lacking. Ever since Kalvin left for Africa, I haven’t been able to get much advice out of him.”

Grayson grunted, nodding. “His mate certainly has him wrapped, eh?”

Anthony chuckled. “The way I hear it, you’re not much different.”

“What can I say?” Grayson said with a shrug. “You’d be surprised how refreshing a woman’s touch can be.”

“Maybe,” Anthony said. “But at this point, I’m more worried about keeping people employed than I am about finding a mate.”

Grayson nodded. “Noble enough.” He raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the ceiling, as if an idea had begun to form in his mind. “However, a woman’s touch might actually be what you need.”

Anthony leaned back and crossed his arms, skeptical. “Come again?”

“Not to mate,” Grayson said, dismissing the notion. “But for advice. I have a contact, a woman by the name of Julie Flanders, who is, essentially, a business savant. She can fix basically any problem and teach essentially any old fool.”

Anthony cocked an eyebrow at that.

“No offense,” Grayson offered. “But I mean it. She’s a miracle worker.”

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” Anthony protested. “After the takeover attempt a couple years ago, I don’t know if I can trust outside help. That’s why I called you. We’re at least of the same kind.”

Grayson smiled. “Well, Tony, this is the best advice I can offer you. Get Julie in here, let her fix your mess, and she’ll leave you 1000 times better than how she found you. Might even make a proper businessman out of you.”

Anthony gave it some thought. On one hand, he could ignore Grayson’s advice and risk the company sinking. On the other, he could follow the advice and risk the company sinking. Either way, the risks were there. It just so happened that the chances of the company sinking were marginally higher if he remained on the course he was already on, and Anthony knew it.

“Fine,” Anthony said reluctantly.

Grayson clapped his hands and stood. “Wonderful. I’ll give her a call, and she’ll be in touch.” With that, he turned to head to the office’s exit.

“Wait,” Anthony called, standing up after him. “You’re leaving already?”

“Of course,” Grayson said, smiling over his shoulder. “I’ve got a business of my own to run and a phone call to make.”

By the time Anthony could offer any further protest, Grayson had already left the office. Anthony sank back down in his chair, his huge form encompassing the fullness of the seat. He just sat there for a long moment, his head in his hands, and hoped that he hadn’t made a terrible decision.

***

JULIE FLANDERS KEYED in her destination and waited for the elevator doors to close. She stood there, as the elevator started upward, and went through her breathing exercises. As with all clients, she needed to stay level headed. She needed to maintain composure. She needed to show strength, to be in charge. In this particular case, those things would be even more important.

It had been two days since Grayson had called and asked for a favor. At first, she’d been excited. But then he’d told her who needed help.

Julie wasn’t an idiot. She didn’t get as far as she had in her business by being uninformed. So when she heard the name “Anthony Drake”, she nearly passed on the job. If she hadn’t owed Grayson a favor, she would have. Anthony Drake, for all intents and purposes, was an idiot. It was widely known that he was running Dare International into the ground. She never understood how Kalvin Dare had just up and abandoned his company, while turning its reigns over to his former bodyguard. Ever since then, under Anthony’s control, the company might as well have been the Titanic. And now, it was her job to turn the massive ship around before it slammed into the iceberg.

By the time the elevator bell chimed, alerting Julie that she’d reached her designated floor, she’d managed to clear her thoughts and gather herself. She had a job to do, and she wasn’t going to let some incompetent fool ruin her reputation. As long as she was around, Dare International would thrive. She’d handled worse, after all. And she’d definitely taught less inclined individuals how to run their company. In fact, the majority of her clients were idiotic playboys who had somehow inherited multi-million dollar companies with no idea of how to run them. Julie couldn’t imagine that this would be any worse.

When the elevator door opened, Julie stepped out and headed straight down the hallway, following the signs that led her to the CEO’s office. Upon approaching, she was greeted by a perky redhead behind a desk. Unlike Julie, the redhead was thin and lithe, with what Julie imagined was the body of a swimsuit model. Julie herself was more on the curvy side, with wide hips and more softness to her features than the would-be secretary.

“How may I help you?” the secretary questioned, a smile on her face.

“I’m here to see Mr. Drake,” Julie stated. “My name is Julie Flanders. I think he’s expecting me?”

A light went off behind the secretary’s eyes, as if some new life had just sprung into her body. “Of course! I’ll let him know you’re here.”

The secretary didn’t waste a moment as she buzzed over the intercom, informing Anthony Drake of her presence. After a quick confirmation from the CEO, the secretary stood up and walked over to the office door, opening it. “He’s ready for you now, Ms. Flanders.”