Her Big Bad Polar Bear by KD Jones Page A

there’s nothing on file. Legally we have every right to be there and to do whatever we want. We have the permits and the mayor’s support. These local nobodies need to step back and let us do our job.”
    Andy didn’t blame the locals for being wary. Companies like the one she worked for were known to go in and strip an area of its precious history and leave its people with nothing. Andy didn’t want to be part of that, but, at the same time, this opportunity might not present itself again. Maybe she could help smooth things out with the locals.
    “I’ll go, sir.”
    “Good. I’m counting on you to let me know what the situation is.”
    “What’s the name of the town I’m going to?”
    “Miracle, Canada.”
    Andy walked out with mixed feelings. She was excited to finally do what had been her dream since she was a little girl. At the same time, she had to deal with two of her least favorite people in the world. She sighed. Life was definitely not perfect.

 
     
    Chapter 2
     
     
    Cosmo stood at his full seven feet, towering over the little reporter who had stormed into his office five minutes ago. “Mr. Jay, I can assure you that no one with my company has done anything suspicious to your friend, Mr. Long.”
    The little man’s breathing was heavy with his anger. “How can you know that? You haven’t even asked anyone questions yet!”
    “I know that because Mr. Long came in yesterday morning demanding a flight out of here. I took him myself since I have a pilot’s license.”
    Mr. Jay looked at him suspiciously. “How do I know that you’re telling the truth? Why would Jeremy not tell me that he was leaving?”
    Cosmo sighed with frustration. He hated dealing with the humans. All he wanted was to live in his own private remote den away from all the hustle and bustle and free of human interference.
    He couldn’t do that, though. As Alpha of the local Polar Bear Shifter Clan, he had a responsibility to make sure that the humans never found out about his people. He inherited the responsibility along with the local scout and tour guide business from his father and grandfather.
    They had started Vedar Scout and Tour over thirty years ago when humans first stumbled upon the remote ice village. At that time, there had only been polar bear shifters living there. It soon changed when there had been a report of an abominable snowman being sighted. The humans wanted to come and see it for themselves.
    Of course, there was no such thing as an abominable snowman. What had happened was a human saw a polar bear shift into human form and when he told the story, it got exaggerated into a fairytale. Humans were still fascinated with the story and started coming to his small village looking for the truth. It had been his grandfather and father’s job to re-direct the humans and keep them from exposing the clan. When Cosmo became alpha of the clan, that job became his.
    “Does your friend not have a phone?” Cosmo asked, frustrated.
    “Yes, but…”
    “Did you try to call or text him?”
    “I couldn’t find his number.” The short, balding man blushed red.
    Cosmo sat down at his desk and searched his client database. “I don’t usually do this, but you seem concerned for your friend.” He typed in the phone number and waited for it to be answered.
    When Mr. Long’s voice came over the line, he handed the phone to Mr. Jay. “You have five minutes, then I need my office back. I don’t want to see you in here again unless there is a real emergency.” Cosmo stormed out of the office, slamming the door and making a couple of picture frames fall off the wall.
    “Easy, Cosmo. Your temper brings out the change in your eyes. You don’t want to give the humans something else to talk about, do you?” A silky female voice called out from across the room.
    Cosmo looked over at Dahlia. She gave him a wink and it made him relax a little. Dahlia was always calm and serene, never letting anything ruffle her fur. She