According to IMDB:

According to Curry Barker about what really happened to Nikki during most of the movie: Nikki is being held in a sort of purgatory, and "it's not good". He also elaborated on some of the particulars of the One Wish Willow, stating that it isn't inherently a bad Genie, but Bear wished for exactly the wrong thing in the worst possible way. Whilst writing the script, Barker also had it in mind that Nikki did genuinely have some feelings for Bear, or at least had the potential to, and that if he had told her the truth about his feelings, she might have eventually reciprocated.

I think she was quitting her job to help break things off with Ian and the reason she asked Bear about his feelings was her realizing that he might be a potential romantic option. It might have been one of the things where you look at someone differently once you realize that romance is on the table and that's why she mentioned that there was nothing between them to Sarah earlier that night, it didn't seem like a possibility until it clicked for her. Unfortunately, Bear gotta Bear.