Free Buying a Mate (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Quick & Furry Book 8) by Celia Kyle, Mina Carter

Chapter One
     
    A single piece of paper destroyed River Browning’s world. And not even a nice one. It wasn’t thick or pretty, didn’t have gold foil or anything.
    Plain old recycled paper stock. And really, she shouldn’t begrudge them for using recycled paper. She cared about the environment just as much as the next person. But the rest of it? Those printed words in twelve-point Arial font?
    They could take a flying leap, suck on a lemon, and fuck off.
    In order to retain a 51 percent share…
    ...married within thirty days.
    God. Dammit.
    Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
    She hated her biological father. Like, really hated him and not only because his will was forcing her to get married. Because he was letting her half-siblings—legitimate Brownings—get River’s stake.
    Why should part of Daddy’s company go to his bastard kid? Didn’t he pay your mom off already? That’d been half-sister Veronica during the reading of the will.
    Right? You were born on the wrong side of the blanket. That’d been Stephanie as she wrinkled her pert, plastic surgery shaped nose. Hand to God, the “legitimate” kids talked like regency romance heroines. Who said “wrong side of the blanket” anymore?
    Listen, bitch, you ain’t getting the cash. And that’d been the last of the official Bitch Brownings—Theresa.
    Now, to be sure she understood everything she’d heard, the lawyer sent a memo.
    As if she’d forget she now had twenty-nine days to get married.
    Married .
    Where was she gonna find…
    Wait. Married was like mated, right? And she’d just gotten some sort of Meet&Mate invite from her college roommate-slash-bestie and…
    Yes .
    Mari—Marilyn M. Rowe. She needed to find Mari’s number. River dug her phone from her purse and prodded at the device. It took no time to bring up the Internet and even less time to locate the phone number to the M&M Mating Agency.
    When she loaded the website, she snorted.
    We deal in mates, not chocolate.
    That was so Mari.
    One click had the phone dialing her friend’s number and the perky voice of the receptionist grated on her last nerve. Hell, she was surprised she even had a last nerve. She was sure the memo destroyed it.
    When the girl was done with her spiel, River spoke. “Mari Rowe, please.”
    “I’m sorry, Ms. Rowe isn’t—”
    Hell no. She was not being pushed off. “This is River Browning of Browning Industrial.” She hated throwing her weight around, but she wasn’t above it. “I want to speak with Mari. Now.”
    “One moment, please.”
    It paid to be an almost millionaire with the Browning name.
    “Rivs!” Mari’s screech filled her ear and River smiled.
    “Mari, how goes it?”
    “Wonderful, dahling . I haven’t heard from you in forever.”
    “I know,” she sighed. “I got one of your flyers in the mail.”
    “Yeah? Isn’t it fabu?”
    It was neon pink with lime green text. So, it was something. “Of course. So, a dating agency, huh?”
    “No, mating agency. Mating . Everyone who comes to us is ready to settle down and is looking for lurve.”
    Perfect. Maybe.
    “And they’re all, you know, like you?”
    Mari snorted. “Baby, there’s no one like me.” She giggled. “But yeah, they’re all shifters as well as humans interested in mating a shifter.”
    “Huh.”
    She nibbled her lower lip and stared at the memo once more. It’d been sitting innocuously on her desk, just waiting for her to arrive for the day. River was good enough to work at Browning Industrial, but not good enough to own part of it.
    Screw it.
    She pushed her chair back and scurried to her office door. One nudge had it swinging shut and a tug on the blinds made it so no one could see in. She was as alone as possible.
    “So, I’m kinda in a bind.”
    “What’s up? You bailed me outta jail a dozen times.” — two dozen — “I totally owe you.”
    “My biodad died and his will says I need to get married within the next twenty-nine days or I lose my stake in the company.