Possession by Jennifer Lyon Read Free Book Online Page A

you.”
    Worry got her full attention. She eyed Ana. “Something wrong?” Please don’t be turning in your notice. Eventually Ana would leave—she was working on her marketing degree and would move on. But Ana was easily Kat’s favorite employee.
    “Nothing like that.” Ana picked up the baked heart outlines, carefully fitting them onto the bottom cookies once Kat spread the preserves. “But I have something I’d like to pitch.”
    “Hmm.” Ana’s ambition was one of the things Kat liked about her. “A new recipe?”
    The girl laughed. “’Fraid not. I don’t have your amazing talent.”
    “Why do I feel like I’m being buttered up here?” After setting her knife in the bowl of water, she went to work arranging the cookies on the display tray. “Let’s hear it.”
    “I want to make you and Sugar Dancer a project for one of my classes. The assignment is a video promotional campaign with a marketing plan. Please, Kat. I know I’ll do a great job. And if you like it, then we can submit the finished product to some of the TV shows that feature bakers.”
    Sinking onto the stool, Kat rubbed her leg. Ana’s eyes glowed behind her trendy glasses, her face flushed with excitement. Disappointing her was like kicking a kitten. But she had to be realistic. “You want me in the video.”
    “You’re the face of Sugar Dancer. I have it all planned. We’ll do two videos. One will be a commercial-grade trailer. We’ll compile that from the longer bio-piece.”
    “Bio about me?” Kat couldn’t get her head around it.
    Ana nodded. “You are Sugar Dancer, Kat. And the thing is, your story is interesting and inspiring.”
    Her lips twitched. She loved Ana, she truly did, but the girl was laying it on a bit thick. “Hardly.”
    Ana touched her arm. “It really is. You’ll see if you trust me. You’ll have to do hours of taping, but some of it will be during your regular work when you can just ignore the camera crew. But I also need to get demo pieces of you prepping, baking, decorating and maybe a good one of you setting up a wedding cake at a venue. It’s a lot to ask of you. But I’m asking.”
    The idea of it terrified her. Excited her.
    “Kat, we’d have good footage to send to the shows.” She slid off her stool, went to the desk and picked up her iPad. After returning to the stool, she set the computer on the table by Kat. “I have three picked out. It’s part of my marketing plan.”
    Her head spun, and Kat gripped the edges of the table. “Ana, I can probably do the taping in my bakery. But I can’t go on a cooking show.” She hated her weakness. But this part of Ana’s pitch wasn’t new. The girl had been hounding her about going on a show that featured bakers.
    “Cross that bridge when you come to it. You can always say no if—no when—a call comes to have you on a show.” Resting an elbow on the table, she added, “What’s your ultimate goal for Sugar Dancer?”
    Kat smiled. “Open bakeries all over the U.S. and make Sugar Dancer a brand right down to premixed packages for baking at home.” Ana had pulled that dream out of her more than once. “But I need additional capital to open more bakeries.” Plus all the issues of scouting locations, finding the right employees and training them, it was a huge time and financial investment.
    “You need exposure. Give me this shot. And trust me. If you don’t like the final project, I’ll only turn it in for my grade. We’ll write up a contract that the work can only be used for my grade unless you give approval.”
    “When do you need an answer?”
    Ana looked sheepish. “I need to start taping tomorrow or Saturday at the latest.” She touched her computer screen. “I’ve got a proposal for you here to look at. But I do need an answer by tonight.”
    “Ana! Why did you wait so long to ask?”
    “For one thing, I’ve been working on it and I didn’t want you to see it until it was right. And I didn’t want you to think too