The Bear's Hired Mate: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance Read Free Page B

his cell took him out of his mental worries and reminded him to relieve Jane of the impossible task and give her the job.
     
    Vincent entered the conference room and saw that Jane had about ten tabs pulled up on the iPad. He opened his mouth to tell her to just stop trying; he knew that there was more than one conflicting appointment in his schedule. But he was stopped by one finger topped with a cherry red nail. “Just give me one second.” Jane requested tapping between screens. “There. Done.” Jane looked up at him with a victorious smile on her face.
     
    “You’re current through next week. I could even find you at least twenty minutes free time every day to keep to yourself.” Jane was positively gleeful. At first she’d thought the task impossible but once she realized that when she emailed what she was calling the “bear contacts” other assistants and managers emailed her back and she worked with them to shift and coordinate. They were more than happy to oblige when they could. Apparently, Vincent was well liked.
     
    Vincent stared at the screen, his mouth gaping. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had free time, much less twenty glorious minutes a day. Now he could kiss her for a variety of reasons. None of which were overly appropriate at the moment. Instead, he looked up and simply said, “The job is yours. Come on, I’ll head out front and show you the ropes.”
    *
    The last week had flown by. Vincent threw her into the job and Jane had to hit the ground running. By the end of her first day, Jane had her own iPhone and iPad and she’d completely taken over the bear email account and had a cheat sheet of the names and contact info for the other wranglers, as she thought of them. The women kept a Google chat open to more easily shift schedules, as well as gossip a bit about the men. Jane was so happy to have found such a fiercely funny group of women right off the bat. She thought it was a good sign for her new life here in Las Vegas.
     
    Her bank account was a different story. She was working in the lap of luxury but she couldn’t go another week living at that fleabag hotel. The problem was, Jane couldn’t find an apartment within her budget. Her biggest issue was that she didn’t have a car. Yes, it was ironic that her previous job had been for a car dealership and yet she didn’t have a ride herself. But no wheels meant she had to live fairly close to the strip and everything close to the strip was uber expensive. But with her savings rapidly dwindling, Jane admitted it was time to play the apartment game fast and loose. She was going to have to turn to Craigslist and pray she didn’t decide to room with a serial killer or something. Jane double-checked the bear email and chat group as well as her own email and text messages for new info before really diving into the Craigslist ads.
     
    Vincent walked out to the front of the parlor. It was about twenty minutes till they opened for the day and he wanted to make sure that Jane had everything on point. He started by looking around the rotating gallery and noted that Jane had switched out the art according to the schedule. They used the wall as a way to showcase the shop’s artists’ work that wasn’t inked on skin. Besides its decorative value, they sold the pieces right off the wall. His eyes then skimmed over the deep gold brocade wingback chairs and long leather couches, and he spotted nary a piece of lint. Vincent also noted that all of the artist's portfolios were straightened and ready to be flipped through. Finally allowing his eyes to move to the massive piece of black marble, which was the parlor’s front desk, he was greeted by the sight of Jane bent over the countertop, her ass pushed back, inviting Vincent to grab her by the hips and ease those full hips toward his own; ease the ache that started the moment he was within the same room as her. Jane shifted her weight and her pinstripe pencil skirt swayed in response.