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you.”
    â€œBut he’s so easy to argue with,” Tessa intoned. At Livi’s impatient look, she gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I wasn’t arguing with him. Really. An issue blew up at the magazine this afternoon that has me a little edgy is all.”
    Not all a lie, Tessa mentally defended, since she hadn’t actually argued with Gabriel. A covert threat to whack him with the pool cue didn’t an argument make. And she
had
ended her workday with drama.
    Usually,
Flirtatious
was a source of pleasure for Tessa. The magazine she’d founded with Jared Welch and Maeve Bannion was a huge success not only for her ego, but for her bank account.
    But like sexy men, even a great career had its irritating moments.
    â€œWhat did Jared do?” Livi asked, correctly honing in on one of the sources of Tessa’s troubles. “You need to watch out, Tessa. I know you think you’ve got a handle on him, but he’s a snake.”
    â€œPlease.” Tessa laughed. She wasn’t worried about Jared. Between her and Maeve, they kept him in line. Mostly. “When has a man ever got the better of me?”
    She deliberately kept her gaze locked on Livi instead of searching the room for Romeo. Talk about ruining her reputation. She didn’t want anyone thinking she was nervous over a guy, even a guy like him.
    â€œJared would like nothing more than to ride on the tails of your success until he found a way to shove you out of the equation,” Livi said slowly, her eyes locked on Tessa’s face. “You’ve been getting more and more attention, syndication of your articles is picking up and you’ve had some amazing interviews.”
    All true. Tessa was one hell of a writer. Oh, she knew Jared liked to tout her as a journalist, but she had no illusions. She wrote very fun, sassy and sexy pieces that all centered around the games between women and men. Flirtations, as the magazine’s name suggested. One Hundred and One Ways to Flirt Your Way to Success, Top Five Pick-up Lines for Savvy Women and The ABCs of Mastering the Sexual Playground were just a few of her recent submissions. Hardly Pulitzer-worthy topics, but they suited her talents and personality, they were extremely popular and they were fun to write. All key reasons why she loved her job.
    Jared wouldn’t mess that up. Would he?
    Tessa rubbed a finger against the throbbing in her temple, wondering when men had shifted from being a delightful pastime to being a pain in her butt.
    â€œI’m filming a yoga segment tomorrow,” Livi said. “Why don’t you join in? A little balance, a little positive energy, it’d be good for you. I could use a toned body in belly-baring workout gear to bump the ratings.”
    Tessa considered it for a moment. A nationally renowned fitness celebrity with a string of successful videos, Livi had just secured a contract with a fitness cable channel to air her new live workout program that she’d titled
Stages
, for women at every stage of life.
    If there was a frustrated, irritated and inappropriately horny stage, Tessa was the girl to represent it. She was also the woman who knew better than to give in to that particular cocktail of emotions since it only led to trouble.
    â€œYou’re focusing on pregnancy workouts right now, aren’t you?” Tessa remarked with a laugh. “I’m not sure breathing positive energy to my uterus is going to relax me a whole lot.”
    â€œI’m the only pregnant woman in the crew,” Livi countered with a wave of her hand. “There’s a new mom, a retired nurse, a teen and an older man, too. That’s the point of these workouts. They work for everyone. But if you don’t want to work out, why don’t we do a spa day? Massage, facial, mani-pedi. The works.”
    â€œIt sounds great, but I should probably go into the office. I’ll chat with Maeve, see if she’s got any idea