Bear Essentials

Bear Essentials

Mary
Wine

Granger never lets his mother down, and when she wants a
highly coveted toy, Granger knows he’ll move heaven and earth to get it.

Roslyn is used to men thinking they can jump the line to get
a Wish Bear, her special creation. She’s never granted the request before, but
then again, she’s never dealt with Granger before.

As Granger and Roslyn face off, neither can deny the
attraction that thrums between them. Wild need draws them closer. A stuffed
bear could be the ticket to their happy ending, if only they can find common
ground.

A
Romantica®
contemporary erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

Bear Essentials

Mary Wine

Chapter One

It couldn’t be that hard.

Granger glared at the laughter sparkling in his sister’s
eyes and snorted at her amusement.

“Fine. You just go and show me how it’s done.” Corey
fluttered her eyelashes at him before propping one hand onto her hip. “Get the
bear, big brother, and I’ll be suitably impressed with your resourcefulness.”

She laughed again as she picked up her purse and headed for
the door. She stopped and turned her head to aim a hard look at him.

“But I’m telling you that there is a waiting list for Wish
Bear and that company doesn’t budge an inch. Not for anyone.”

Granger watched his sister leave his office as he snapped up
the brochure left behind on his desktop.

Flipping through it, he stopped on the page that was titled
“Wish Bear”. A fluffy creation of fake fur, set with glass eyes and a nose,
stared back at him. It was a stuffed animal made by one Roslyn Gregory.

Designer and production manager.

Somehow, she managed to sell stuffed animals at ten times
the amount any toy store in town could. He had to admit to admiring her
business finesse, but that was as far as his good humor went. Wish Bear was the
company’s latest release in their line of custom, hand-assembled bears. It was
also the only thing his mother wanted for Valentine’s Day. Valerie Webb had smiled
sadly and told her children that it would have to wait because Wish Bear had a
waiting list and she really had everything she needed, after all. No, really,
time with her children was gift enough.

Well, Granger wasn’t going to see his mother empty-handed on
Valentine’s Day. It was also her birthday, and since his father had passed
away, he and his sister had taken to ensuring their mother always had a
Valentine’s Day to remember. There had to be a way to get the toy. Sure, he
understood waiting lists, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a way to the front
of the line.

He would just have to take a personal interest in it.

* * * * *

Roslyn stuck her tongue out at her assistant. Terry laughed
before slapping a stack of paperwork on the bench in front of her.

“Have fun, Boss.”

Terry verbally rolled the word “Boss” as she turned and her
heels clicked on the hallway floor. Roslyn rubbed at her forehead as she picked
up the first sheet of paper. She wanted to make animals. Instead she was
working through mountains of paperwork. She could hear the machines running and
a little music drifting into her office as the morning began. Her workers were
settling into another day of production while she was stuck making sure the
local chapter of equality for workers was satisfied with the diversity of her
work force.

Blah.

She hired people who could make bears. Race wasn’t part of
the interview process, threading an industrial sewing machine was. She needed
cutters who understood the value of precision and didn’t much care what ethnic
group they hailed from so long as they knew that a quarter-inch too much fabric
would cause the bear to be disproportioned. There just wasn’t much of a demand
for Quasimodo bears.

Turning away from her workbench, she began to type up an
email that would keep her little plant open. Sure, the world needed its rules.
But she needed to keep to her production timeline too.

Her mood soured as the morning ticked past and all she got
to place her fingers on was a keyboard. She loved working alongside her workers;
molding little bears that would brighten someone’s life. She’d happily spend
the entire day in the warehouse. It still stunned her to look around at what
her little home business had become. Selling her creations at craft fairs and
on eBay had launched her into a market that craved each new addition with a
hunger she had to scurry to feed.

Sitting in her warehouse at night, she still looked around
in wonder at what her imagination had allowed her to build. Her people were
busy today, filling orders for Wish Bear. The prototype was sitting across her
office, winking at her as she hurried to finish. Hazel-brown fur with one
eyelid closed, he was her newest baby.

Like any mother, she only wanted to spend time with her
child.

* * * * *

“I’m very sorry, but Wish Bear has a waiting list.”

Granger resisted the urge to narrow his eyes at the woman.
The tiny reception area lacked polish and style. The woman’s desk looked like a
garage-sale bargain table, while she stood wearing a blouse that belonged in a
donation bin. But it was the ten feet of carpet, laid out on the concrete, that
really amused him. There wasn’t a wall between the reception area and the
plant. Noise filled the air, as fifteen feet behind the shabby desk was the
production line in full swing. Boxes with the coveted animal were piled up a
mere thirty feet away, taunting him with the possibility of success.

“Clearly you can assist me with this purchase.” Pulling out
his checkbook, he clicked his pen. “I’d be happy to pay whatever you like for
the bear.”

“We don’t jump anyone to the front of the line. Integrity is
an essential component to us here. When our customers are told they are next in
line, they are.”

Granger turned to face his newest adversary. He viewed her
in that light because all five-feet three-inches of her was standing between
him and his mother’s gift. Strawberry ponytails flipped back over her shoulders
as she glared at him.

“It’s company policy. No line cutting.”

Whoever he was, Roslyn decided that fate had already been
way too kind to him. The man was drool-worthy. As pathetic as it was, she
wanted to pant over his towering height and well-sculpted shoulders. His lips
moved into a smile meant to disarm her of any reasonable sense and it made her
mad. Sure, he was magnificent, but she did have a spine. It was grossly unfair
that fate had made him so distracting to the feminine population. He probably
wanted the bear for some exotic, size-two blonde who would add it to her trophy
collection of expensive and hard-to-get gifts. Men like him always had
centerfold-type girlfriends; another strike against fate.

“I’m sure an additional zero added to the total will change
your mind.” He glanced around Terry’s desk with disdain. “This place could sure
use it.” He placed his pen to the surface of his check and began filling it
out.

Her temper was a curse, but it flared up and she honestly
wasn’t interested in fighting it. Not on behalf of this presumptuous clod.

Roslyn felt her blood simmer. Maybe she didn’t rate a hunk
like this for her own looks, but there was no way she was going to be bought
off because he thought her business was lacking shine. The doors were open and
it had taken every ounce of strength she possessed to do that in the past year.
Maybe it was an ugly duckling, but she was going to watch it grow into a swan
with a little time and patience.

“Everything in this plant functions quite well.” Her voice
dripped venom and she flatly didn’t care. “I don’t want your money. Leave.”

It was not the brightest move she’d ever made, for certain.
They could use the money. She should have taken the check and given him a bear,
but her pride just wouldn’t let her.

Six feet of solid packed muscle, neatly packaged in a
smartly tailored suit, glared at her as her words sank in.

“You’re kidding.” Surprise flickered across his eyes before
his lips twitched up, making her temper rise once more. Now she was amusing
him. She upgraded him from clod to ass.

“I assure you, I’m not.”

He rolled his shoulders and her attention moved to the fine
wool covering his frame. All the little details were there to tell her that the
business attire wasn’t off the rack. Nope, the jacket fit his ultra-wide
shoulders to perfection and tapered delightfully over his abs to his lean waist
and flowed over his hips.

His hazel eyes caught her looking over his length, one dark
eyebrow rose in response. The presumption renewed her opinion of him.

Well, she wasn’t going to let him pay his way to the top of
her list. She’d take penny-pinching over lying down like his doormat. Her pride
was costing her a lot today, but everything in the plant had been bought with
her sweat. No fancy tailored suit was going to spit on her accomplishments. She
knew the shortcomings of the place, but manufacturing equipment came before
reception area furnishings.

“Sorry, no deal. You’ll have to wait your turn.”

He growled. Roslyn had to think about the sound that came
through his clenched teeth for a moment before she truly concluded it was in
fact a male growl. She almost giggled. Didn’t a man have to have a helmet on in
order to growl? Football, combat or maybe a motorcycle one, but it just seemed
like headgear went with the primitive sound, not a personally tailored business
suit. A little shiver crossed her skin as she looked at him again. The wool coat
just might be the most effective camouflage she’d ever seen. If he’d shown up
in worn jeans and a leather jacket, she just might have taken more care.

Her lips twitched.
No
, she wouldn’t have. He’d
insulted her plant and no one looked down their nose on her creation.

He could keep his money. She was going to earn hers, her
way.

“With business sense like that, you’ll never survive very
long, honey.”

She tossed her strawberry pigtails and turned on a heel
before moving back across her workshop. Employees were continuing their work as
they watched their boss through amused eyes. It looked as if explosions of
temper from Ms. Roslyn Gregory weren’t uncommon. Granger frowned at her
departing back. Too damn bad. He didn’t even know how to spell the word defeat.
He strode after her without a care for the edge of the carpet he crossed over.
She turned around as her employees’ shocked expressions gave away the fact that
he wasn’t taking her dismissal.

“Apparently, you need your hearing checked, Mr. Webb. We
have a waiting list for the Wish Bear. You are welcome to add your name to the
order file or to choose one of our other bears in stock.”

“I need the stupid toy, not a number in line.”

The workshop went silent. Every pair of hands dropped their
work as the employees turned disapproving looks at him. Roslyn Gregory froze
too. Her face appeared chiseled from ice as even her blue eyes appeared to
freeze over.

“Wish Bear is the symbol of happiness for thousands of
suffering children. I suggest you take some time to research this company
before you do any labeling of our product. Bringing joy to people is not
stupid, ever. Good day!”

Approval radiated from her employees. Granger couldn’t help
but admire the crossed arms and stiff nods of heads from the women who sat up
to their noses in fake teddy bear fur. Huge rolls of the stuff were being
pulled across a cutting table as teams worked to produce the one-of-a-kind Wish
Bear.

Every sewing machine was silent as the seamstresses glared
at him and even the row of women stuffing wads of white fluff into little furry
limbs were frowning over their workstations at him.

Granger suddenly smiled. They all really cared. What an
amazing, who-might-have-guessed attitude. He never would have believed it if
his own eyes weren’t seeing it. An entire plant of workers who appeared to give
a damn about the product they labored to produce.

Absolutely amazing.

Catching her blue eyes with his, Granger lifted one hand to
his head and sent her a salute. “I’ll do that research and I will be back.”

Oh Lord help her!

Roslyn felt her knees turn to liquid as the door shut behind
him. He would be back? No, she didn’t need that. Nope, not today, not ever.

A round of giggles made her snap her attention back to her
factory. Wish Bear was her baby. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined
her little creation might gain the national popularity it was currently
enjoying. Their waiting list was six weeks long. Two major toy companies had
offered to buy her little stuffed creation, but Wish Bear was special because
he was handmade. Mass production would destroy the animal’s meaning. You could
walk into any toy store and buy a teddy bear, but Wish Bear was a piece of art;
each one was made to order, not to double profit thanks to saturating the
market with cheap clones.

But the most important thing about buying a Wish Bear was
that for each one that went to a customer, another one went to a child in need.
When a customer got their Wish Bear, they had also made a wish for a child come
true somewhere.

“Ah, Ms. Webb, you shouldn’t look so worried. I think he was
muy guapo
.”

“I think he was a big pain.” Roslyn stared at Marta as her
shop manager smiled and wiggled her finger at her.

“He is a man. They are always trouble for a woman. But that
one is so handsome, you cannot help but put up with him!”

The seamstresses all laughed in response and charged into a
jumble of Spanish. “
Guapo
” bounced across the shop until her head rang
with the praise for Mr. Granger Webb.

Her face flooded with color as she went back to her pile of
work. So what if the man was handsome? He still wasn’t jumping the line. Her
word was her bond and money wasn’t everything. Besides, he’d insulted her and
that wasn’t something she was going to forget.

He might be worth forgiving…

She scoffed at her inner female, refusing to let her sex
drive change her opinion of the man. He was a…an…ignoramus. Grinning at her own
creativeness, she returned to finishing bear paws. She didn’t need to sell out.
All she had to do was continue to grow her business and keep her standards
high. There were plenty of cheap alternatives on the market, she was the
quality option.