Holding Her Close (Bits and Bytes, Book 0) (Bits & Bytes) Read Online Free PDF Page A

define her, and she wasn’t going to let a couple of winks and soft touches erase that lesson.
    He nodded toward his office, speaking before she could figure out what to say. “You have time now?”
    “ Sure.” She let out a tiny breath — at least she had kept her voice steady — and followed him.
    He shut the door behind her. “For privacy. I hope that’s okay.”
    She nodded and took the chair across from his desk. For as brilliant as his programmers were, they could be some of the most immature gossips and children when they found an excuse. Whatever this was about, she didn’t need it to be their excuse. What was this about?
    “ I like your office.” She studied the decor. It was actually as boring as the front lobby: straight out of a catalog, from the black leather chairs to the primary colored modern art decorating the walls. The only hint of personality was a single photo frame on the back part of his desk. Even in the half angle view she recognized Scott and him with copies of their very first game.
    “ It does the job.” Instead of sitting he leaned back against the desk, legs extended and crossed at the ankles, keeping him less than a foot away.
    She forced her gaze away from his sturdy build and to his face. There was no reason to study the way his crossed arms accentuated a slender but firm chest. “So…”
    He sighed. “This has to stop.”
    She frowned. Was he telling her she wasn’t allowed in the office anymore? That was a bit harsh. And didn’t hurt at all. Was he talking about something else? “You’ll have to elaborate.”
    “ I’m sorry about pushing your buttons Saturday. It was a cruel stunt, and you didn’t deserve it.” He drummed the fingers of his right hand on his left arm. “I don’t know about you, but sometimes the avoiding each other thing drains me.”
    She could argue. Tell him it wasn’t about avoiding him, because she didn’t care enough about him to notice whether or not they ran into each other again. But a whisper of something less defiant nudged her in a different direction. He’d apologized twice now, and she’d been over him for years, so why were they still keeping up the façade? “You might have a point.”
    The corner of his mouth tugged up. “Did you just tell me I was right about something?”
    Her apprehension mingled with light amusement. “Rumor is you’re right about a lot of things. So we let what happened in high school go?”
    “ If you’re admitting it was your fault.”
    Her eyes narrowed. That didn’t sound like an apology. “You’re serious?”
    And just like that his smile vanished. “You think otherwise?” Irritation crept into his voice. “It wasn’t just a casual ‘oh hey, this isn’t working out’, but a full-blown, accusation-filled break down over an imagined slight.”
    The truth of the statement hurt and defensiveness spilled in to shield her. “Imagined? Because unlike half the female population of the school, I wasn’t good enough for you to sleep with, even though we’d been dating for six months?”
    “ Because I—” His jaw worked up and down a few times before he finally snapped it shut. His steel eyes raked over her, jaw clenched. “So apparently neither one of us is as over it as we claim.”
    The only bit of it she wasn’t over was the bit that helped her remember why she stayed single. “I’m fine.”
    He puffed his cheeks out and they deflated as he exhaled. “And we really can’t avoid each other forever.”
    They’d done okay so far. Then again , “That should make Scott happy.” She really didn’t want to be the thorn that came between the two friends. She’d always promised Scott she wouldn’t ask him to choose sides. Being on speaking terms with Zach would make it easier.
    “ See? Reasonable suggestion.” He reached for the pack of smokes in his shirt pocket, dropping his hand last minute.
    “ Fine.” She might push the issue but debate wasn’t her strong suit. Even if she