Billionaire Bear’s Human Mate by Alicia Banks

Chapter 6

Vivica

Vivica found herself at the breakfast table with Shane, being waited on by Maria. She saw a couple of people go in and out of the house, seemingly working, but none of them really said anything to her. Vivica wondered how many women just popped up in the middle of the night at the mansion. With the way that Shane acted, and the fact that he had extra women’s clothes lying around that fit her, Vivica had to believe that it was a lot.

“Are you not going to eat?”

Shane disagreed. “I've already eaten. I usually eat after I get back from a run.”

“You've already been for a run?”

“I've already had half of my day.”

Vivica felt a little embarrassed. She usually slept when she could, and it didn’t necessarily mean at night. It was a little after noon and she had slept really well. The bed was so soft, and she was relaxed for once. Her brain wasn’t working all the way, but she was enjoying herself for the moment. It wouldn’t be long until this sort of thing was in the past for her. Vivica knew that nothing that good lasted for long.

“Now, I usually don't sleep in like that. I blame that bed in there. It was just too comfortable, and I didn’t want to get up.”

“You are more than welcome to stay here until you find the proper place. I don't like the idea of you staying in a sleazy motel.”

Vivica was about to state again that it wasn't sleazy but didn’t see a point. It probably was sleazy, especially from his point of view, because it damn near was from hers.

Vivica was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Stuff like this, opportunities like the one Shane described, didn't just fall in her lap like that. Ever. Vivica had a string of luck and none of it was good. There had to be something more to this. Shane had to want something more from her than her just being an assistant. He’d said that he had several. Vivica worried about the truth to it all. She worried about what Shane was going to want in return for all of his help and generosity. Nothing in life was free.

It didn’t help either, that Vivica was attracted to Shane. She had been attracted to him about five seconds after he helped her. He was tall, muscular, confident, and always had a heartbreak smile on his face. There was also some depth to his eyes, like she could really see into his soul, and it almost unnerved her how strong their connection felt. She didn't even know the guy, but meeting his gaze felt too intimate. All she could think about was him taking advantage of her, most likely because she wanted it more than anything.

So, Vivica knew when it came down to that, which it always did, she might not be too offended by it. Vivica just wished that he would be more open and honest and stop pretending like he was doing this as a charity. She wasn’t a charity case, and Shane was no saint.

After breakfast, the two of them went to the office together, but this time Shane wasn't behind the wheel. He had someone else there to do it for him, Ernest, who seemed quite surprised to see Vivica there, like it wasn't as common as she thought it would be.

Her nerves were on edge, but she handled it as well as she could. Shane was right, she was used to crazy situations, and this was just another one of them, even though this particular one she didn’t have an idea of the ending. That was what bothered her, the unknown.

Before they got there, as they were pulling up to the behemoth building in front of her with probably twenty floors and a lot of people bustling in and around it, she asked him what she was supposed to tell people.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you're just going to bring me in and nobody's going to ask? Do you usually hire people off the streets? I mean, don’t you have an HR department?”

“Of course, several for each company.”

“So, no one is going to think anything if I go in there and say you hired me?”

He agreed that was what was going to happen, but Vivica wasn't sure what to think. She must have looked skeptical, because he tried to reassure her that it was no big deal.

“Why wouldn’t they ask any questions?”

“Because I don't welcome them. Everybody knows that. Nobody is going to have anything to say. They know that I hired you and that's all they need to know. You're getting all of your assignments from me or Devin, my personal assistant. He is who you're going to see today. As you can imagine, I stay pretty busy, so I might not see you the rest of the day. Good luck to you, Vivica. It’s going to be fine and if anyone bothers you, just let me know and I will take care of it.”

“That's it?”

He looked more offended than confused. Vivica pressed her lips together, reminding herself that this guy was doing more than enough for her. He still had yet to ask for anything, but she was trying hard to understand it all. What did he mean that he was leaving now? Vivica was still waiting for him to push her against a wall somewhere and take advantage of her. When was that going to happen? Why was she so bothered that it hadn’t happened yet?

“I mean, this is it, you really just want me to work for you?”

“Of course, what did you think?”

Vivica thought a lot of things and some of them made her feel funny. She certainly wasn't going to say any of that out loud to him. Vivica wasn’t going to give herself away like that. She was trying hard to stop the red flush that was creeping up her neck and over her face. He really didn’t need to know what she thought…

“I don't know, I don't know what to think, Shane. This is just weird, and I guess I just have never been in a situation where there wasn’t an angle being played. What is your angle?”

“See it for what it is, Vivica. It’s just an opportunity, and I think you will do well here.”

Vivica agreed, thanking him again for the job, even though she had no idea what the hell the job was or what she was supposed to do. All Vivica knew for certain was Shane was walking away from the car and she was on her own. Again.

In that moment, she could have taken off. She had told herself over and over again that she was just going to stay long enough until she could find a chance to leave. Now was the time, but Vivica didn't find herself leaving. She found herself going in through the front doors and giving her name to the receptionist. She didn't know what to expect, but opportunities didn't come very often, and they certainly didn't come in the form of a man like Shane.

What did she have to lose? It wasn’t like she had more pressing matters to attend to.