Even as Pearl said these words, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was being watched. In the depth of her heart, she knew that the past was slowly catching up and this time, she might not be able to escape.
Chapter 2
Rio narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man standing in front of him. The man was quacking with fear, his eyes averted as he refused to look into the eyes of his leader.
Rio leaned back into his chair and said in a calm yet dangerous voice, “You failed to obey my orders. Because of you, the mission almost failed. Because of you, we lost two bear shifters last night. Because of your incompetence and disobedience, our alliance with the Ura clan is threatened. How do you plead?”
“Leader, please! Forgive me for what I did. Please, do not punish me! I have a pup and a wife waiting for me!” He whimpered, falling on his knees as tears streamed down his cheek. “Please, Leader! Please, Master Rio, show me some mercy and kindness.”
Rio didn’t even look at the man who was groveling at his feet. He gazed at the ceiling, barely paying attention to his surroundings. Even though Rio was kind, he ruled his clan with an iron fist. Any transgression was severely punished, and everyone was dealt with in a just manner.
“I hate cowardice,” Rio said as his face was red with anger.
“You ran away from a fight and abandoned your fellow soldiers to fight alone. Tie him up and take him to the dungeons. Throw him in the pit and maybe we will check up on him in a few days.”
“No!” the man shouted, trembling in pure horror. “Not the pit! Please, have mercy!”
The pit was truly a terror-inducing place that was designed by Rio’s great grandfather. Located in the secluded warehouse that functioned as the dungeons, it was exactly how it sounded. A deep, narrow, and dark pit, that had been dug into the earth. Prisoners were thrown there as a punishment and then boarded up. They stayed there until Rio deemed that they had been punished enough or until they went insane with fear and loneliness.
“Let him out in a few days,” he muttered to his guard, who instantly nodded in affirmation.
Rio got up from his seat and walked over to the large window of his extremely lavish office. As a billionaire and the owner of one of the largest companies in the country, he had made sure his office had the most perfect view of the city.
“Sir, you have your interviews scheduled to start within five minutes. All the candidates are already here and waiting,” his secretary, Jones, said. “The agency asked me to inform you that these are the last group of nannies that they have available.”
“Really?” Rio asked with an amused smile on his face. “I have rejected so many that they have actually run out nannies?”
Jones, who was perfectly attuned to every single habit of Rio’s, did not respond.
Rio sighed. His hunt for a nanny had been going for quite some time and yet he failed to find anyone. Despite the number of highly trained candidates that he had seen, not a single one seemed like the kind of woman who was perfect for bringing up Laura. According to him, they might be experts at changing nappies, but he wanted someone who could raise Laura to be a strong independent girl, rather than some weak-minded, obedient girl.
“Alright,” he said after a pause. “Send them in. Let’s see what we got.”
Rio interviewed nannies for two hours. Time that he could have spent making more money had been wasted on hearing women boast about their skills at rearing babies. If only he could have passed this onto one of his employees, but he wanted to make sure that Laura was in safe hands.
“I am fluent in French, German, and Spanish. I have raised many young girls to be sophisticated young girls who have then gone on to be a part of the high society,” the candidate boasted, and Rio had to suppress an urge to sigh.
“Alright, thank you,” he said. “We will get back to you if you have gotten the job.”
The woman got off the chair, her head held high, before walking out of the room, and Jones entered.
“The next candidate is the last one, sir,” Jones said.
Rio sighed, closing his eyes and leaning against his chair. “Send her in. Let’s get this over with.” Jones nodded and walked out of the room.
Rio heard Jones walking away to call the candidate, and a second later he heard the door open.
“May I come in, sir?” A sweet voice entered his ears.
The very first thing that he noticed was the smell that wafted into his room. There was something about the subtle fruity smell that made his heartbeat increase. He opened his eyes, and he was instantly fascinated by the woman that stood in front of him.
She wore her hair short and in a pixie cut, which went perfectly with her thin face and bright blue eyes. She was thin and looked malnourished. Rio could spot a tattoo under the long-sleeved shirt that she wore, and he suppressed the urge to smile.
The clothes she wore were slightly tattered, a fact that she had tried to hide by clumsily sewing it. Despite it all, Rio was instantly attracted to the girl that stood in front of him.
Until now, every single candidate had been elegant and sophisticated. She was the first one he had seen who was truly unique. Despite how weak she looked, Rio was drawn to her. There was something about her that stirred the bear in his soul and woke it up.
He took one look at her and he knew instantly that he wanted her. And he was going to do everything in his power to get her.
Chapter 3
Pearl had to admit, he was not what she was expecting. The man that sat in front of her emitted a strong aura of power and masculinity. He had pitch-black eyes that stood in sharp contrast against his pale complexion. He had a strong and sharp jawline, and a face that looked like it had been sculpted out of marble. His short hair was set back, which further accentuated his jawline and his sharp cheekbones.
He was dressed in a very expensive-looking suit, that fitted him so well that she could see the muscles bulging through it. She had never found a man more desirable or attractive than right now. For some reason, she felt a strong craving and attraction from him. She cast a gaze around the extremely lavish office to distract herself from the confusing feelings that ran through her body. The room itself was larger than the entire apartment building that she lived in.
“Have a seat,” he said, and his deep, manly voice sent a wave of shivers down her spine.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Pearl James,” she replied, sitting down in the seat across from him. “My name is Pearl James.”
“I am Rio Fernando,” he said, looking into her eyes. “But you probably already know that. Kindly list your past experience and state why I should select you to raise my kind?”
“I-” she stammered, suddenly feeling nervous. She took a deep breath to steady herself as she tried to remember to be calm and confident about herself.
“I have very little experience actually. I am a new recruit at the agency and whatever experience I have is babysitting for my relatives when I was a teenager,” Pearl said.
“The agency must be pretty desperate for them to be sending me newbies,” Rio said as gazed at her with an intensity that shook her. “Carry on.”
“Growing up, I had to rely on myself for food and learning and even shelter. I grew up learning to stand up for myself and not depend on anyone. I arranged my own food, found my own job and place to live, and even put myself through school. It has made me learn to appreciate what the value of every little thing is and taught me to always be strong and resilient. I hope I can raise your child with the same values, to be a strong, independent person.”