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table.
    “Right.” Shelton grabbed on to both sides of the doorframe. “She would make an excellent addition to the firm's roster.”
    The logic behind Shelton's need to acquire Liv was still a mystery. And why Shelton picked Jake for the job was an even bigger mystery, when Jake's focus was on books.
    “Sir, I don't want to overstep, but why all the cloak and dagger? Why do you want this account so badly?”
    Shelton fisted his hand in his hair then rammed it in the pocket of his pants. “She's rejected me before. I need to try a new tactic.”
    Someone actually rejected an offer from Robert Shelton. For some reason that made Liv even more admirable. It took a strong person to stand their ground against Shelton. But he now understood. It was an ego thing. He'd do him this favor. It's the least he could do.
    “Just make sure you're discreet.” Shelton took a step out the door but stopped. “If you want that promotion, you'll do whatever it takes.”
    Whatever it takes? At first, he had no problem chasing after a woman. Jake would do anything for his boss, the man who'd taught him everything he knew about public relations. But now, he had to wonder if the man he admired wouldn't think twice at casting him aside if he didn't deliver. That he might be expendable. It made him want to complete this mission even more, to prove that Jake had learned from the best.
    “I'll see you in the boardroom.”
    Jake nodded as Shelton made his way out.
    After one encounter with Liv, Jake knew keeping her at a professional distance was not going to be an easy task. She'd upped the stakes the moment he laid eyes on her, and keeping his libido in check was going to be tough. It would be a long, hard road to get her to trust him. He just hoped that his long, hard length didn't betray him.
    What was it about Liv that made him hard as a steel rod just at the mere thought of her? He was getting hard now just thinking about her black eyes teasing him, enticing him.
    Packing up his things, Jake grabbed his coffee and headed to the boardroom. It was time to prove to Shelton why Jake was the man for the job. Mission completed, or not.

Chapter Five
    The pungent smell of fresh paint filled the tiny bakery front. Liv put down the roller and stepped back, admiring the smooth, pink paint she tested on the far wall behind the counter. The contrast between the happy pink and the puke yellow that made up the rest of the room was an indication of how much work this place still needed. In a couple of weeks, she would open the doors of Cupcake! and her life would forever be changed.
    Austin poked his head out from behind the cloth partition. “Do we have any more of these scrubby things?”
    “There's a bag on the desk in the office.”
    He nodded and slipped back into the kitchen.
    Liv was thankful for her friends. While she cleaned up the front of the store, Austin and Patti were hard at work in the kitchen, scrubbing and scraping the sinks and counters.
    She removed her rubber gloves and took in the space. Her space. All her own. She had saved and practiced and plotted for years to make this dream come true. And she was so thankful that it had finally come to fruition. Only one other thing had made her feel this good—being with Jake.
    She stepped through the entryway to the kitchen. Patti was on her hands and knees scrubbing the stainless steel bottom of the island in the middle of the room. Austin was hunched over the double sink, working away at the rust. The back wall housed four brand new industrial ovens. The walk-in fridge sat to the left beside the tiny closet she called an office. Counter space lined the rest of the walls, with the sink positioned in the middle.
    Warmth filled her heart at the sight of her friends. “I love you guys, you know that, right?”
    “We know,” Patti called out from the floor as she looked up through the legs of the island. “With icing on top.”
    Liv smiled. Her mother had coined that phrase when she hadn't