Summer Shifter Nights Read online

  Ryan dragged his eyes away from the woman standing only ten feet away from him, who had captured his soul, and his bear, and instead, fixed them on the receptionist. “Mr. Sinclair, can I ask you to sign in?”

  “Sign in,” he repeated.

  “Yes. Here’s a pen.” The receptionist, he read her name as Mrs. Boulter, tipped the pen toward him. He picked it up, casting one last lingering look toward his mate, who had taken a step back from him and was sipping her coffee, while watching his every move.

  She was attracted to him, always a good sign. At least when this was over, and he had taken Silver Springs Recycling under the wing of Sinclair Holdings so they could sell off the land for building, she wouldn’t have to look for a new job, she would be too busy being a stay-at-home mom, and breeding his cubs.

  He coughed, trying to get over himself. Ryan had never been the kind of guy who treated a woman as a lesser species. This whole mating bond thing was trying to get the better of him. Just as he expected Michael Halliwell to try to get the better of him. He did not miss this side of the job, a side he had not been part of for two years or more.

  This role in the company now belonged to Bernard Rossiter, a strong but fair man. However, Bernard’s wife had chosen to run off with another man, leaving Bernard with two kids and no idea what to do. Jared, Ryan’s older brother, had insisted Bernard take paid leave to focus on his family; after all, that was what his brother was about since he’d met his mate, Kelly. Family.

  That left only one alternative: Ryan would resume this role until things worked out. And so here he was.

  Ryan mentally recapped the issue. Silver Springs Recycling had fallen behind on their loan repayments. When they had been contacted in an effort to get them back on schedule, it had become apparent that was never going to happen. The company had sprung a leak.

  Silver Springs. Sprung a leak, get it? his bear had joked. But neither of them were joking now.

  There was nothing else for Sinclair Holdings to do, other than to take ownership of the company, and see what could be sold off to cover the substantial debt. Looking at the woman who was purposefully keeping her distance, that was not going to sit well. Not when this was the main employer in town. And who was going to be the one to blame?

  The messenger, it always was.

  Most defaulters never owned up, or took responsibility, for their debt; it was always someone else’s fault. The economy, the weather, the phase of the moon. Ryan had heard them all.

  “Pen.” Mrs. Boulter held out her hand and raised her eyebrows at him, and then followed his gaze over to the woman who had turned her back to him and was looking out of the window. “Josie, Mr. Sinclair might want that coffee now.”

  Josie turned around, and with a sigh, walked across the reception, her skirt clinging to her curves, her suit jacket just tight enough across her breasts to make him stare. Was that the point, was she trying to knock him off his game?

  “Mr. Sinclair? Are you all right? If you need a moment to rest after your journey,” Josie asked with genuine compassion, placing a hand on his upper arm, which sent shockwaves through his body.

  He was lost. He should call Jared right now, and tell him to get his ass down here and take over.

  Ryan straightened up, gathering his wits. Nope, this was his mess to deal with. One way or another he would have Josie in his life, and in his bed. Maybe she was simply a small-town girl who longed to escape?

  “I’m feeling fine,” Ryan purred, which earned him a half-hidden scowl. Fuck, what even was that? A purr? He was a bear, not a big soft pussy-cat.

  Sorry, his bear said. Could not help myself.

  Get a grip, or you are going to blow this, Ryan snapped.

  Josie let her arm drop and adjusted her suit jacket. Very distracting. However, Ryan averted his eyes and looked to the door she was pointing to. “Why don’t you go in and sit down? I’ll get the coffee.”

  “White, no sugar.” He took a moment to admire the curve of her breasts and the way her hips moved as she walked. What a woman.

  She turned quickly and caught him looking, and he felt a rush of color to his cheeks. What was he, thirteen? He was allowed to look at his mate’s body, he argued in return. But, of course, she didn’t know she was his mate. Yet.

  Minor detail, he told himself.

  “If you have seen enough, you can go in. My brother will be there shortly.”

  And that is when Ryan’s world shifted on its axis. Brother. Which made Josie the sister. Which made her a joint shareholder, which made him the beast to her beauty.

  Fuck.

  Time to reassess his options. The company owed money, a lot of money. From what he could tell there had been some mishandling of funds by the last company accountant, who had left suddenly. The company had been trading well up until that point. Maybe a little overexposed since the management had agreed to the heavy loan from Sinclair Holdings to purchase new modern equipment, but still they were forecast to be a success.

  With the money gone, they were more than overexposed, they were naked in the middle of the mountains, with a blizzard bearing down on them.

  There was no way they could dig themselves out of this.

  Unless they got a long extension on the loan, or found a private lender. A private lender such as Ryan Sinclair.

  No, no, no. Do not get involved in this, he told himself. How many times has Jared told you not to mix business with pleasure?

  And oh, the pleasure he wanted to have with Josie…

  But we are involved, his bear said, licking his lips and tasting the scent of their mate as she walked into the boardroom and leaned over the table to place his coffee on the table in front of him.

  “Thank you.” He watched her move to the other side of the table and sit down, pulling a document toward her.

  “Did you have a good journey?” she asked, making polite small talk.

  “Yes, thank you.” Do you want to go to bed? His mouth wanted to ask. We could make bear cubs all night long.

  “Are you staying in town?” she asked. “I can recommend the Silver Springs Tavern if you are. It’s a bit quaint, but the food is good and the beds are comfortable.”

  She looked away as she said the word beds, and he wanted to know if she had the same idea he had. Let’s leave business and just go make love.

  “I’ll check it out,” Ryan said, and he would, because it was in town, and close to his mate. Even though he had already made reservations at the Yodel Hotel, which was situated in the next town over. It was a five-star luxury hotel with a gym and a Jacuzzi.

  “Do you live in town?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes… Here’s Michael.” She looked up as her brother walked in, relief clouding her face. Was he that scary? Or was she aware of the sexual tension in the air?

  “Hello, Ryan,” Michael said, holding out his hand. “Thanks for coming.”

  Ryan shook Michael’s hand. It was a good strong handshake. His smile seemed genuine too, and Ryan found himself smiling back at the man he had come here to ruin. No, he reminded himself. This is not your fault.

  However, as he glanced at the sad expression of his mate, he saw the tears waiting to be shed as she watched her brother sit down and shuffle papers nervously. Ryan knew this might not be his fault, but it had just become his problem.

  One he had to resolve. And win the girl.

  3

  Josie

  Michael smiled at Ryan, trying to set the man who had come to ruin the community at ease. That was Michael, always trying to be somebody’s friend, trying to find out what they wanted, what they needed, and help them get there.

  “Mr. Halliwell,” Ryan said, getting straight down to business, his voice firm, his eyes flickering from Michael to Josie, lingering too long on the latter, making Josie incredibly aware of his presence.

  “Michael, please call me Michael.”

  Ryan sighed, audibly. “This is not social visit, Mr. Halliwell. I suggest we keep everything on formal
terms.”

  “As you wish.” Michael looked subdued. Ryan’s voice had managed to inflect the gravity of the situation. Something Josie had so far not managed to do, although she had tried on several occasions. Michael had chosen to believe something would come up. In Michael’s world, something always came up. It was how their parents had raised them, but Donny had crushed that part of Josie’s faith, robbed her of her ability to feel optimistic for the future. She would get over it, she knew that, but she doubted the scars left from Donny’s deceit would ever truly fade.

  Josie took a sip of her coffee, and the next time Ryan’s soft brown eyes caressed her face, she didn’t let herself be affected. She’d made a fool of herself at one’s man’s expense; she was not going to do so again. She was done reading too much into those lingering glances. Ryan Sinclair was not her knight in shining armor. Donny had taught her they didn’t exist.

  “The loans provided by Sinclair Holdings are in arrears. Is there any way you can bring them up to date?” Ryan asked. He removed a folder from his briefcase and opened it, turning to a page filled with figures and graphs.

  “No. At least, not at present. Given six months, we could resume payments, but we would need an extension on the loan. If we could renegotiate…”

  “Mr. Halliwell. I’ve gone over the new figures you propose. They are incredibly optimistic, verging on make-believe, and I do not live in a world of fantasy. I deal with cold, hard facts. And the fact is, this company is on the verge of bankruptcy.”

  Josie’s heart ached for Michael, who closed his eyes and looked down at the boardroom table, his hands stroking the wood. He loved this room: it was where he invited employees, to praise them for a good job done, where he offered rewards for employees who came to him with their ideas and innovations. It was his happy place.

  This wasn’t right. Not when Michael had done nothing wrong, other than trust a man who swore he was in love with his sister.

  Donny, who swore he was Josie’s bonded mate.

  “Mr. Sinclair,” Josie said, her voice strong, but with a quiver she could not disguise. “These figures might be make-believe to you. But my brother and I have gone through them, and we have talked them over with our employees.” That last statement earned her raised eyebrows from Ryan Sinclair. “And we can make this work. The new equipment we purchased has already increased our productivity. We simply need time to recoup the money that was … lost.”

  “Lost?” Ryan Sinclair took out another piece of paper and set it down on the desk. Josie knew exactly what was on it, the big black hole in their finances. The thousands set aside for repayment of the loan, all gone.

  “You see, this is where I struggle with your optimistic figures, Josie.”

  “Miss Sinclair,” Josie corrected. “We are keeping this on formal terms, after all.”

  Michael shot her a warning look, which she chose to ignore, while Ryan looked as if she had physically slapped him across the face. She wasn’t going to explain herself, and when Ryan cocked his head to one side and studied her, a faint smile crossing his lips, she knew she didn’t have to. He’d gotten the message. He just hadn’t interpreted it in the way she’d hoped.

  “Miss Sinclair. A detailed explanation of what happened to the money would go some way to helping me understand your optimism.”

  “I made a mistake, and placed trust where it wasn’t deserved,” Michael said, his voice stilted as he chose his words carefully.

  “With one of your employees?” Ryan asked, lifting out another piece of paper and placing it on top of the others.

  “Yes,” Michael said.

  “The same employees with whom you have discussed your new business plan?” Ryan asked.

  “Not the same employees, obviously. The employee who stole the money is long gone.”

  “And this was reported to the police?” Ryan asked.

  “Yes. But he has vanished without any trace,” Michael said. “I hired a private investigator to try to track him, but there has been no news. I suspect our money is long gone.”

  “And in the police report, it states that Donald Cresswell had only been working for you for four months?” Ryan asked.

  “Correct,” Michael said, giving Josie a weak smile. They both knew what the next question would be. One they had decided to keep the answer to private.

  After all, how did you explain that you trusted a man you hardly knew with access to the company funds, because he was a shifter? A shifter who had claimed your sister was his true mate? Michael knew what that meant, love, honor, loyalty; her brother was, after all, married to a shifter himself.

  And Donny had played his part meticulously, right up until the moment he drained the bank account and left town with Sloane Kimble.

  “Miss Halliwell, are you all right?”

  Ryan’s voice pierced her memories and jolted her back to the boardroom. “Yes.”

  Ryan’s eyes narrowed, he was studying her, assessing her.

  “I take full responsibility,” Michael said.

  “And there is my problem,” Ryan said. “You want Sinclair Holdings to put their faith in a man who has already allowed an employee to run off with thousands? A man who has shown a gross error in judgment.”

  “Mr. Sinclair,” Josie said, standing up. “You are being unfair. Michael has invigorated this company, he provides jobs for a large proportion of people in Silver Springs, people who have come to us, and volunteered to work extra shifts for half pay, simply to keep their jobs. They appreciate what Michael is trying to do.”

  “And do they appreciate that he got them into this mess?” Ryan asked.

  “He didn’t,” Josie said. “It wasn’t his fault. It was…”

  “Sit down, Josie,” Michael said quickly, trying to spare her any further pain. “Mr. Sinclair is right, it is my fault.” Michael walked around the table and came to stand next to her, his hand on her shoulder. “Mr. Sinclair, I understand your reservations, but let me ask you to spend some time here, meet the people who work here, people who need their jobs to keep a roof over their families’ heads, and food on their table. If you can see how hard they work, and what this means to them, I’m begging you to give us some time to prove ourselves, even if that means Sinclair Holdings appointing a manager to oversee the company.”

  “That isn’t how Sinclair Holdings operates,” Ryan said. He began to put his papers away.

  “Then make an exception,” Josie said.

  “I’m not here to make exceptions,” Ryan said. But something in his expression told her he might. Or was she living in a land of make-believe? Again.

  She had to try.

  “Give us a chance. Give the people of Silver Springs a chance,” Josie said. “What do you have to lose?”

  “I’m a busy man, Miss Sinclair.”

  “If we can show you that we can pull together and get the repayments back on track, it will be saving you time in the long run,” Josie said. “You will go home with a successful outcome, and the people of Silver Springs will be forever in your debt.”

  “Which might not mean a lot to a successful man like you, Mr. Sinclair, but it should. We should all go through life trying to do the best we can to help our fellow man.” Michael’s voice became forceful, commanding, this was what he believed in.

  “Please don’t start preaching at me, Mr. Halliwell,” Ryan said.

  “I’m not, at least not in the way you think,” Michael answered. “But surely there has been a point in your life when the chips were down and someone did something for you? Someone who gave you a break, helped you out when they didn’t have to?”

  Ryan looked down at the desk. As he lifted his eyes, he lingered on Josie’s face, which flushed pink. She really had to get a grip on her emotions. “OK, I have a couple of days I can spare. In that time, I want to meet your workforce and also discuss a detailed program of safeguards needed to prevent this ever happening again.”

  “You won’t regret it,” Michael said, patting her on t
he back, hard, making her wince, and then coming around the table, his face full of excitement and expectation, to shake Ryan Sinclair’s hand.

  “I hope not,” Ryan said. He stood, and shook Michael’s outstretched hand as if they were sealing a deal.

  Josie smiled. Michael looked like an overeager puppy, and a wave of love swept over her. He was one of the best men she knew, good, loyal, and kind. If anyone could make this work out for everyone involved, he could.

  Josie swore to try to be her brother’s equal, and do whatever was needed so that Ryan Sinclair would help them save the company, and the town.

  4

  Ryan

  “The job is going to take longer than I thought,” Ryan told his brother, Jared. Ryan was in his car, still in the parking lot of Silver Springs Recycling. He was finding it difficult to drive away from the woman who was his mate. Very difficult. He wanted to rush back in there and put her over his shoulder, and carry her off to a cave in the mountains. Or his five-star hotel room. That Jacuzzi and its bubbles would add to the experience, not that making love to his mate wouldn’t be perfect wherever they were.

  “Is there a problem?” Jared asked, sensing his brother’s lack of focus.

  “Not exactly,” Ryan answered cryptically

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Jared asked.

  “There’s not much to talk about,” Ryan said. “Not yet, at least.”

  “Are you purposely being cryptic?” Jared asked, his interest piqued.

  “No.” Ryan wasn’t sure if he was ready to admit he had found his mate. Especially since he wasn’t sure how he was ever going to make Josie his, not with the fate of Silver Springs Recycling hanging in the balance. Yes, he might be able to bail them out of their current financial problems, but that did not mean he should.

  Not with Michael, or Josie for that matter, at the helm. Something had gone seriously wrong for such a large amount of money to have been siphoned off. Why had they allowed someone to have that kind of access to so much money? He could understand if it was a family member, or even an employee who had been with the company for years, but a background search had told Ryan that Donald had only been employed by Silver Springs Recycling for four months, about the same time as he had lived in town. Which made him a stranger.