Billionaire Bear

Chapter 1Shirley McKey parked her car in her regular space in front of her apartment building and shut off the engine. She groaned silently at the very thought of having to make the journey from her car to her apartment on the second floor. She was exhausted. She had slacked off on her studying for half the semester and now her finals were just over a week away. It was all coming down over her head like a heavy weight that threatened to crush her skull. She knew that it was her fault and she accepted that, but she didn’t have to like it. Shirley had always been a classic procrastinator, but she was always able to pull through with a tight deadline approaching her. She thrived on the pressure sometimes and just had a problem with getting motivated when the pressure was not there. If she felt she had time to get something done, then she would put it off until she was out of time and then cram it all in somehow. She had done that all through school, but now with her last semester of her senior year of college, she found that her luck had run out and she had dug herself into a seemingly impossible hole that she was not going to be able to get out of. But she was determined to pull through it. This time it was not really her fault. It was all because of Chatham Rogers. She had met the mysterious and sexy billionaire when she was bartending at Club Bara where she used to work. This had been at the end of last summer. She vaguely knew who Chatham was, but when her best friend and roommate, Robin Smith, filled her in on just who he was, Shirley had turned about six shades of pink and almost passed out. But luckily Chatham was gone from the club by then so he couldn’t see what a spaz she really was. And he had her number. Shirley wasn’t in the habit of giving her number out to strange men who hit on her at a bar, especially while she was working, but since she knew that Chatham was a bit of a public figure, she decided to give it to him. She doubted that she would ever hear from him. And she didn’t for two months. Then one day out of the blue she received a text from “Chatham.” At first she had no idea who the hell that was. He seemed a little annoyed at having to explain himself, and she began to learn a bit about the mysterious billionaire. They had gone out a few times and it had been amazing. Chatham took her to the most outrageously expensive restaurants that she had ever been to and it was like being rich and famous by default. Everywhere they went he was treated as royalty and people were treating her that way just because she was lucky enough to be by his side. It was a mind trip to suddenly be thrust into a world she had only read about and seen on television. But just as she was getting comfortable, Chatham dropped the bombshell on her. Chatham apparently didn’t do relationships. He was a very passionate man and he was very passionate about a great many things, but his main obsession was business and money. He loved the pursuit of money and the game of business. That was how he always described it: the “game of business.” His second passion was s*x, which he had shown her on the second evening they had spent together. Shirley had never been to bed with a man so quickly after knowing him, but there was something about Chatham that was irresistible. He was the perfect culmination of every woman’s fantasy list of qualities that they looked for in every guy, but could only ever find together in the world of romance fiction. Chatham had it all—and he was not fictional. But he was unobtainable. And that made him all the more irresistible. He refused to let himself be had by any woman. He loved women and he loved s*x, but he did not want to fall in love. That was what he had told her that second date right before they agreed to make love, which was the single greatest, most satisfying s****l experience that Shirley had ever had at that point. So she and Chatham had an odd “relationship” ever since then. It was magical and sweet and it was brutal and often made her want to rip her hair out because she found herself completely falling for the man in every possible way, but he refused to return those feelings. Either he really had ice in his veins, or he was just so good at hiding his feelings. Shirley never asked him why he refused to commit to a relationship and she knew that if she did begin to ask those questions that what they did have would be terminated by Chatham in a heartbeat. And for some reason this made her want him and love him even more. She had often wondered what was wrong with her and why she responded so instantly to Chatham with every fiber of her being when he showed her no real affection and clearly only wanted her as a playmate and nothing more. Shirley had pondered long and hard about this night after night recently; in fact, it was about all she thought about. When they were together and when they were apart she found herself wondering why she felt so much for a man who didn’t feel anything real for her. But did he? She was definitely questioning his motives and his feelings nowadays. Chatham had told her in the beginning in that firm, yet sexy manner of his that he did not want any emotional connection between the two of them other than friendship, s****l attraction, and freedom. But lately he had been sending her lavish gifts and taking her out to wonderful dinners before they embarked on his wild s****l exploration, which continued to push her limits and her experience, but she didn’t dare say no. She wanted to see how far his depravity went and she wanted to match it. There was a mutual respect for what the other was willing to do and to take and she wasn’t about to mess with that. She would go beyond where he would; she was damn sure of it. But he was winning the war of emotions. The amazing gifts that he had been sending her were expensive and unique. They were the most beautiful things she had ever seen and she was afraid to even wear the things he gave her, except when she was with him, because of what other people might think. She had been pretty low key about the fact that she was actively seeing Chatham Rogers on a consistent basis. First of all, she didn’t think anyone would have really believed it and she didn’t want anyone to think of her or treat her differently because of it. There would be a lot of jealous girls that would be spreading rumors and attacking Shirley’s good name, as well as other girls who thought she was now untouchable and out of their league to even be friends with. She did not need that hassle. The only person who did know was her best friend and roommate Robin Smith. Robin and Shirley had been roommates since the first semester of their freshman year and they had become instant best friends. That was half the battle of college—getting a good roommate. If you could do that then the rest was smooth as silk. After their freshman year, the two girls moved into an off campus apartment together to get away from the madness of the dorms, like most students. The dorms were for freshman—it was a mandatory rule that freshman had to live on campus or be close enough to drive and live with their parents—and they were for upper classmen who lived off campus to have a good place to party and corrupt freshman who didn’t know any better. Ah, Shirley was going to miss the college life. She closed the door to her rusty old Grand Am that was almost twenty years old (but in no way would she ever have considered the Red Nightmare as an antique) and began the arduous journey through the parking lot of her apartment building. The air was a little chilly as winter’s grip held on several weeks longer than it should have. It was the first week of May and it felt like the end of March. Shirley wished to hell she could move away from New York City and go down south for a while. She loved her hometown city, but she was so sick of winter she just wanted to go to some place that didn’t know what cold really was. Shirley pulled the hood up over her head to shield herself from the evening wind as she watched the beautiful sunset in the distance trying to warm itself behind a few darkening fluffy clouds. She took a few deep breaths feeling the air invading her lungs and bringing with the air the first scent of spring on the horizon. It was going to be here soon, but it was just a little delayed and tied up at the moment. Climbing the steps to the second floor felt like she was climbing them while wearing a heavy bag of sand on her back. Shirley had always been slim and toned, but she knew that she had not been exercising as much as she should have recently. It was just tough to find the time and the winter weather just made her feel like staying inside and being cozy sometimes. Although, she had been getting some wicked great workouts with Chatham in the bedroom. After some of the gymnastics and positions that he asked her to try, she usually felt sore in her legs for the next couple of days. It was an even trade-off for the amount of pleasure he had introduced her to. As Shirley came to her door, she saw the package. One of her neighbors must have signed for it and dropped it off in front of her apartment. She gritted her teeth in anger. That pissed her off. She had a feeling it was that nosy Mrs. Peel; she was always signing for packages that were meant for other people and then just laying them down in front of the door. She felt like she was helping out, but it made Shirley and most of the other tenants feel like she was snooping and tampering with their mail. She was supposed to just direct the mailman to place the package if it was small enough inside the mailboxes inside or if it was too big he was to leave it with the building manager at her office downstairs. Shirley hated when people broke the damn rules. It just made her feel uncomfortable that someone else was touching her things. She didn’t even know what was in the package yet, but she was feeling like it was something very private. The package was small and it was delivered with a ribbon around it like it always was. The ribbon was a sweet touch that instantly made Chatham’s packages stand out from anything else she ever received. Just seeing that bright red ribbon wrapped around the package automatically brightened her day. But today she was not as happy. She knew why. It was going to be an expensive and amazing piece of jewelry that would have made her faint if she knew the price. But it was another mixed signal from Chatham. It was another item that said he valued her and was thinking about her. He wanted her and needed her. He cared for her. But if she even acted like she wanted to talk about them or about their “relationship,” Chatham would instantly change the subject and pretend he had not heard her. He was so good at dismissing things that way; he did it in a way that was actually somewhat dominant and charming. She didn’t even mind that he had something else to say because it sounded important, but it was probably no more important than what she had to say. But for some reason she did not say anything and quickly went quiet when he wanted to speak. Shirley carried the box into her empty apartment and closed the door behind her. Robin had a late class and would not be home until almost ten. Shirley loved it when this happened; usually because it meant that she could eat whatever she wanted (Robin did not eat carbs at all) and she would not be scrutinized or judged because of it. She was sick to death of hearing someone complain about it all. Shirley sat down on the couch and opened up the package. The item staring back at her was the most pristine thing she had ever witnessed with her own eyes. Staring back at her, dazzling in the dim light of the apartment, was a diamond necklace. She let the necklace slide through her fingers, paying special attention to the way it glided over her skin, occasionally hitting a rough patch or two and catching itself on the skin for the briefest of momentary contacts and then it was floating off the wrist to be sampled by the other hand. She continued this back and forth riding glide with the sparkling object in her hands. She loved the way it felt, the coolness of it, the magic it held within it. Shirley had never been a particularly spiritual person, but when she laid her eyes upon a beautiful piece like this, she had to believe that someone higher than human or just the Earth itself created it. Shirley wrapped the necklace around her neck and fastened it as she walked into her bedroom. She sat down in front of her dresser and peered at her new necklace in the mirror. It was amazing. It just made her look like a much better person automatically by wearing it. She hated to think that way, because it was the opposite of how she felt about things. Wearing expensive things had nothing to do with who she was as a person, but she couldn’t deny that it made her look glamorous and important. Shirley pulled her T-shirt off over her head and sat there looking at her reflection in the mirror, the diamonds of the necklace shining sweetly in the light from her bedroom lamp in the corner. Shirley loved the way the necklace hung with the larger medallion-like piece in the center right above her breasts. She removed her bra and let it fall to the floor, admiring her chest in the mirror now being accentuated with this amazing, expensive, and rare new gift that Chatham had just given her. He was going to love seeing her in it, especially this way. He had probably fantasized about it when he bought the necklace. Chatham had a bit of an obsession with her breasts, and she couldn’t really blame him. She had been blessed with DD-sized breasts with huge n*****s that men loved to suck on. Every lover she’d ever had was infatuated with her chest area. They were a gift, but occasionally a curse.As far as Chatham Rogers was concerned, he practically worshiped her body. Shirley had never really thought she was anything special, but around her early teenage years when her chest had really begun to develop, she noticed guys were checking her out and flirting with her constantly. Shirley realized that she was attractive, but she did not feel that she was beautiful, though many men—including Chatham—had repeatedly told her she was (all of them while staring at or touching her large chest). There was something so sexy about the way the necklace hung down just between the top of her breasts, right in the middle. It was very erotic and even as she raised her arms and moved from side to side the necklace was still moving with her, dangling gallantly in between her large, fleshy mounds. “Wow, Chatham is going to love this,” Shirley whispered. She was already thinking about the fun they were going to have soon. The man was becoming like an addiction that was both physical and emotional in nature. She just wished he could become as emotionally addicted to her as he was physically. There were so many things about the man that she just didn’t know. She vaguely knew that he was a real estate tycoon who had also made a lot of money in the oil and gas business. But beyond that, she was not sure what else Chatham did or even what made him tick besides money and s*x. Surely there was more to him than that. She liked to think so anyway. And one day if she prayed hard enough, she knew that he was going to tell her all about himself. That was the plan anyway. She just had to hang in there. The door to her apartment opened up right then. Shirley was instantly alarmed until she heard Robin’s voice bellowing, “You home, Shirley?” Shirley smiled and put her T-shirt back on, tucking the necklace underneath it. Even when she couldn’t see most of it, the necklace felt great around her neck. It was kind of heavy and it just felt like she was wearing something important and special. Not just because of who gave it to her, but because she really felt her status being elevated by having something like that on her person in contrast to the thrift store jeans and T-shirt she was wearing. Shirley had never been one to waste her limited money on clothes. “Yeah,” Shirley answered as she left her bedroom and made her way down the short hallway to the kitchen. Their apartment was small, but cozy, and Shirley had always loved that about it. The place always felt really homey. “Sweet. I need to vent,” Robin said with a laugh. Shirley rolled her eyes as she grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch. When Robin said she needed to vent, that meant they were in for an evening of drinking beer and eating chips. Shirley had hoped she would have a quiet evening to herself so she could get some studying done but, as always, things did not go as planned and she could already see herself getting farther and farther behind in her work and losing more and more sleep in the near future. She sighed trying to process it all. She had to focus; right now her friend needed her. “I wondered what you were doing home,” Shirley said. “Don’t you have class tonight?” “Yeah, I had to skip it. I am so not in the mood to listen to a lecture right now about socialism,” Robin said. Shirley laughed. For a political science major, it was funny how much Robin hated learning about different political and government systems. “What’s wrong?” Shirley asked. Robin grabbed several beers from the fridge and sat down on the couch with her own bag of chips. The girl ate an insane amount of ranch flavored chips while Shirley had to have her sour cream and onion. “Where do I start?” Robin said shaking her head. “Well, the start is always a good place to, uh… you know… start,” Shirley said being a smart-ass with a smile. “Ha ha,” Robin replied. “You want to hear about the drama that is my life or do you want to go back to your all-night cram session?” “I’m sorry; I’ll be good.” “Trent just broke up with me,” Robin said. “What? I thought things were going great with you guys.” “They were, but he said he thought we should see other people.” “Did he say why?” Shirley asked. “Not really. When I asked him, he said he felt like we were just drifting apart.” “That is such a cliché answer of bullshit. Why don’t men ever just come right out and say what they mean?” “I know, right? He just sent me a stupid text when I was on my way to class,” Robin replied. “Hold on. He broke up with you over a text?” Shirley asked. She could feel her eyes about to bulge out of her skull with the disbelief. She was no doubt showing her horribly shocked face. It had been a while since she’d used it, but it was nice to know it was still in the arsenal. “Yeah! Do you believe that?” Robin asked. “I don’t. I really don’t. That is like the worst thing you can do to someone,” Shirley replied. “I think it is. I think that jerk is seeing someone else,” Robin said. “What makes you think that?” “There is just something about the way he just casually broke up with me and said he wanted to see other people. You don’t say that unless you have someone else already picked out or you are already seeing them.” “I suppose you might be right, but you shouldn’t jump to conclusions on that. You will just wind up hurting yourself and giving yourself unnecessary stress.” “Yeah, I know. But it’s like there are a dozen little voices inside my head who are all gossiping and talking at the same time telling me what kind of a dog Trent really is,” Robin said. Shirley couldn’t hold back the laugh. Her friend Robin was full of outlandish scenarios that kept her life entertaining. Robin was upset and down, but she would be over it all in a few days. “Don’t laugh at me. I’m in a lot of pain here,” Robin said with a smile that was threatening to erupt into full blown laughter. “Yeah, right. I can see that,” Shirley said. Robin laughed and Shirley followed suit, before taking a few swigs of her beer. “So, what are you going to do since you’re so broken up inside?” Shirley asked. “Well, I’m gonna have to get my drink on, but I mean with real drinks. And men have to buy them for me. Ain’t no damn way I’m going to pay for my own damn drinks tonight after everything that happened.” “Okay, that sounds like a plan. Let’s go get ripped,” Shirley said.