Holding Her Close (Bits and Bytes, Book 0) (Bits & Bytes) (12 page)

An impulse raced through him and he pushed it aside. The last thing he needed to do was kiss her. Instead, he grabbed his drink. Condensation dribbled onto the table. He took a long swallow, ignoring the watered
-down result of the ice all melting.

She ducked her head again, scooting back on the bench and putting a few inches between them.

He tried to ignore the ache it summoned. “I'll make things better with Scott.” It was his fault anyway, for being a stubborn ass. “Are you free tomorrow?”

“
I, umm...”

“
To work through this with us. I mean, we'll pay you a standard consulting fee or something. We'll give you everything you need.” He was rambling. Damn it. He snapped his mouth shut.

Something in her expression shifted.
“I'm not doing it for money.”

Crap. He'd insulted her.
“I didn't mean that, I just...” Was he really willing to beg for this? For something he wasn't even sure he wanted? Except he did. “Please?”

She nodded and stood again.
“I've got time. I was supposed to do something with Scott, but… Things are kind of awkward right now.”

Zach wanted to brush away her sad smile
, but if this was business now he had to keep it business. “Something tells me it'll be okay. I'll pick you up at like...eight? You're still a morning person, right?”

She smiled.
“Yeah. But I can meet you there.”

He shook his head. This was one place he was confident. Making the situation look right.
“We show up together. That way Scott knows we're in it together.”

She looked like she wanted to protest, but instead shouldered her purse. She extended her hand.
“Deal.”

He shook it,
trying not to sink into the pulse that rushed through him at her touch.

Zach couldn’t ignore the scuff of Scott's socks on carpet. The pacing had gotten old hours ago.

Rae stretched her hands over her head, yawn ending in a squeak. Three monitors
— her laptop and the two she had commandeered from Scott and Zach — cast a series of sickly glows across her thin top. She rubbed her eyes, muffling her voice. “Sit down, please?”

“
That won't do you any good.” Zach propped his feet up on the coffee table. It took restraint to keep his eyes on the TV and not on her. But it was all because he was worried about the numbers she was pulling. It had nothing to do with the way her shirt curved over her tits when she stretched, or the arch of her back as she tried to work the kinks out of her neck.

Whatever had been exploding on TV stopped, and he changed the channel. A new flame
-inspired concussion tore from the subwoofer and Scott jumped.

“
Seriously, dude.” Zach tossed a couch cushion at him. “The people below you have to hate you.”

“
Whatever.” Scott shoved his hands in his pockets and stopped pacing. His toe tapped against the carpet.

“
I'm done.” Rae spun in the chair in front of Scott's desk. She rolled her head, stretching out her neck.

“
And?” Scott was next to her in an instant, looking over her shoulder.

“
That's the best I can do for you.” She gestured at the screen. “You two have to decide if you can work with that.”

Zach joined them, standing behind her. A series of spreadsheets with numbers stared back. He recognized the labels, but that didn't mean it made any sense. He leaned in closer, trying to make sense if it all. He was as unsuccessful with that as he was trying to ignore the whisper of strawberry shampoo.
“Point us in a direction.”

She grabbed the
mouse and clicked one cell after another. “Each of these numbers links back to a tab. They tell you how much you can spend on salaries, advertising, office rental, all of it, and how I got those numbers. This will keep you solvent for eighteen months. You'll have to start turning a profit by then, or mortgage a house. There are some suggestions in there about things like pre-orders and online monetization to help you meet the goal.”

As she explained, the figures started to make sense to Zach.
“What if we take a pay cut?”

She rubbed a spot between her neck and shoulder.
“You could, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've given you enough to pay your bills and still have some fun. If you cut yourselves off too completely, you'll be miserable and start to wonder if it's worth it.”

“
Not going to happen. It’s worth it.” Giddiness ran rampant through Scott's words. “So we can really do this?”

“
Yes.” It was the first time she'd given them a direct, positive answer.

Zach rested his hands on her shoulders, thumbs kneading into her neck. Her skin was soft under his fingers, and she relaxed as he worked almost unconsciously on a knot. He realized he was leaning closer, and pulled his head back again.
“You're brilliant. I'm sorry I doubted you. One more question. Okay, more than one, but one to start.”

Scott looked at him, something marring the joy in his eyes.

Rae sighed and leaned back into the massage. She closed her eyes. “Sure.”

Zach nodded at the screen, even though she couldn't see it.
“That number there next to office space.”

She opened one eye long enough to look at the screen again.
“That's based on what you pay now, with a bump in rent for inflation. You probably don't need as big a space to start, so you should be able to make it work.”

“
I'm not worried about that.” Zach knelt next to her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Heat flowed between them.

Scott sniffed and took a step closer.

Rae's entire body went rigid and she sat up, pulling away. “Okay?”

Zach's frown vanished almost as soon as it appeared. He'd pushed too much too fast. Wait, what was he pushing for?
“If we didn't have to pay rent could we get another employee?”

She stood and moved aside, gesturing for someone else to sit in the chair.
“Yeah, depending on what you wanted them for. But I already took into account everyone you told me you needed.”

Zach rested a hand on her arm, spinning her so they were face to face.

The only sound in the room was the whir of computer fans. A large explosion burst from the surround-sound system and everyone jumped.

“
If we set the whole thing up, oh, say, in my basement, could we afford you?” Zach asked.

Scott's eyes grew wide a
s he studied Rae. “Good call.”

She
took a step back from Zach, looking between him and Scott. “I... I mean... Me?”

Scott's posture shifted, shoulders relaxing, hands resting in his pockets.

Good, no one was on edge anymore. Zach slid into the chair, clicking through tabs and numbers too fast to be looking at them. “Of course you. This is your plan. You've got experience. Is eliminating the building rental enough to buy you away from contracting? Because we’d want you full time.”

“
I can't... I mean... I didn't...”

Zach spun in the chair,
and grabbed her hands between his. He told himself it didn't matter how delicate her fingers were or how soft her skin was against his. That wasn’t what this was about.

She pulled away as if she'd been shocked.

He didn't flinch, but something inside ached. “You say we can do it, right?”

She hesitated before answering.
“Right...”

“
You're confident enough in us you'd let Chloe sign on again,” Zach said.

Rae nodded slowly.

“Confident enough you'd let both of us blow an early retirement on it.” Zach told himself it was all about proving her numbers. If she wasn't confident enough in them to take a job, they weren't solid numbers. It had nothing to do with keeping her around longer.

“
Neither of you would have been happy retiring anyway,” she countered. The look on her face didn't give away whether or not she had figured out the line of questions.

“
That's not what he asked.” Scott must have gotten it. “If the numbers are good, and you think we can do it, you don't have anything to lose.”

She pulled her attention away from the
laptops, and stared at Scott. She blinked. “Yes. There's enough there to buy me away.”

Scott grinned.
“We'll have you an offer letter on Monday.”

Her smile was more hesitant.
“Sounds like a blast. Do I get a spiffy title like two of you have?”

“
You want something better than, what was it Vance called you, unemployed?” Scott teased.

“
Chief operations officer.” Zach’s smile was as big as Scott's. He didn't know where it had come from. Even though they'd let Kelly invest back in the day, she'd always been a silent partner. Why was he willing to give this woman so much trust less than twenty-four hours after insisting she was insane? 

It was a bit much to prove a point, but it was too late to take it back now, right?
“We can't pay you industry average right now, but our accountant tells us we'll be able to soon if you're willing to give a small start-up a chance.” Zach looked at Scott. “You're okay with this?”

Scott only paused for a second.
“Sounds perfect.”

Zach was on his feet again. He grabbed Rae's hand.
“So, listen. We have this friend, right?”

Rae stared blankly at him.

“And she just got this fantastic job offer, and we want to take her to celebrate.”

Scott laughed.

Rae's mouth twisted, but she didn't successfully hide her smile.

Zach ignored both.
“That's in the budget, right? Because there's no way we're letting her pay.”

Rae ducked her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her reply was soft,
laced with laughter. “I think it'll be all right. Just this once.”

Zach tugged her toward the door. He looked over his shoulder at Scott.
“That place downtown?”

Scott didn't hesitate.
“The Italian one?”

Zach nodded.
“Kelly always said they had good wine.” He expected something inside to cringe at the reminder, but the lingering hurt was gone.

****

Zach glanced sideways before turning his attention back to the road. As dinner had worn on, Rae had grown more and more quiet, pulling away from the entire conversation. When they'd said good night to Scott and he'd hugged her, she'd looked like it was taking all of her restraint not to bolt from the room.

She had given single word answers to Zach’s questions on the drive home, and spent the rest of her time sliding her watch up and down her wrist. When she spoke, her soft request echoed in the quiet car.
“Tell me something?”

Anything, as long as it got rid of the awkward silence.
“Sure.”

She glanced at him for a moment before turning her gaze toward the window.
“Why the change of heart?”

He hadn't expected her to play that card. She'd gone along with everything so he had assumed she was okay with it. He stalled as he tried to think of a reasonable response.
“About?”

She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and turned her attention back to him.
“About my idea. You were almost violently opposed to it and now you're treating it like it's the most precious thing in the world.”

What was a good answer? Shit. He shouldn't be stalling. Why couldn't he come up with something clever? He ignored the thought insisting it was because he didn't want to lie. Not to her.

She shook her head. “So you really were doing it because of me.”

How did she know that?
“No, of course not.”

“
Really?” She flopped back, skull slamming into the headrest with a thunk. “So if Scott had come up with the idea you would have been just as opposed. Or Jordan?”

No.
“Of course.” He couldn't hide his cringe at the taste of the lie. “Look, I'm sorry. I just... We got burned once before.”

“
By a different awkward little girl?”

Of course she had remembered that.
“I realized I wasn't being fair to you. It's why I swallowed my pride. I'm glad I did.”

He pulled the car up in front of her building and put it in park. How was he going to make this better?

She shifted in her seat, tucking her knees under her and facing him. She leaned forward, hands on the arm rest and face inches from his. The coffee she'd had at dessert hung heavy on her breath, mingling with the strawberry shampoo he couldn't help but associate with her. Her lips were close enough he felt the heat, but she never touched him.

Holy fuck he wanted her. The revelation struck him hard, throbbing in his head and lower down.

Her question was a whisper. “If you think this is how I tick — that it's the best way to get me in bed — you're wrong.”

He kept his expression impassive, eyes searching hers. It wouldn't hurt him to be a little honest.
“They're two separate things.” The soft tone of his voice matched hers, lips hovering millimeters away. “How much I want you has nothing to do with whether or not you've got a good idea.”

She smiled and slid back into her seat. Her door opened, warm air rushing in to mingle with the air conditioning.
“Glad we cleared that up.” She was out of the car in an instant.

No, he wasn't letting the conversation end like that. He shut off the engine and rushed after her.