Holding Her Close (Bits and Bytes, Book 0) (Bits & Bytes) (19 page)

Zach slid into the back of the auditorium next to his friends. He didn't want to be there. He wanted to be as far away as possible. The thought made his feet twitch and he tapped his toes on the ground to keep from indulging the compulsion. He would have settled for drinking in the hotel bar, but Chloe had insisted they needed to go. She said it would give them closure.

The same sick feeling churned in his gut that had been there two years ago. Except then it had been because he was planning
to propose to Kelly to launch their new game. This time it was because someone else was launching their game and their names wouldn't be anywhere on it.

“
Hold still,” Scott hissed.

Zach knew he was in trouble if that was coming from Scott. Zach clamped his jaw shut and folded his arms. He leaned against the back wall, hiding in the shadows and trying to calm down. It didn't help.

Chloe stood a few feet from both of them, feet shuffling back and forth. “It'll be fine.”

“
How can you promise that?” Scott asked.

“
Because I'm not the one with bad memories attached to that stage.” She nodded toward the front of the room.

That wasn't helpful.

Jordan stepped on the stage, and the audience erupted in cheers.

“
DM let him do this?” Scott was surprised.

“
He's their rebel poster-boy,” Zach replied, voice low. Something about this felt wrong. It was just his imagination, right? Bad memories were making him paranoid. “Of course they did.”

“
Good evening, Los Angeles.” Jordan's voice carried through the crowd. “I hear you're here to see something epic.”

More applause rolled through the room, punctuated with a few yells
and whistles.

Zach's gut sank further. The whole thing was too familiar. Even the working of the crowd was almost identical to two years ago.

Chloe moved further away. “Try not to throw up before this is all over.”

That wasn't helpful either.

“You're going to have to wait just a little longer,” Jordan continued.

“
What the hell?” Scott straightened up, echoing Zach's thoughts.

A hush fell over the audience.

“There's a special young lady in the audience this evening.” Jordan stepped away from the podium.

The speech wasn't just similar to two years ago; it was identical to Zach's.
             

“
What the fuck is he doing?” Scott looked at Zach.

Zach frowned.
“No clue.”

Chloe was gone, vanished out a side door without another comment.

“Chloe, sweetheart, are you out there?” Jordan called into the dark auditorium.

Scott coughed.

“What?” Zach asked. They couldn’t be.

Except a familiar
head of black hair had emerged from the audience and was walking toward the stage.

Jordan
kept talking. “You have to understand, this woman is amazing. She's the reason I can wake up in the morning, and the reason I can do what I'm doing today.”

Zach was going to be ill. He knew it. This wasn't funny. He could tell from Scott's expression he was in agreement. Murmurs spread across the crowds as other
s started to draw the same connection to what was happening.

Chloe
stepped onto the stage and Jordan walked to meet her. He took her hand and led her into the spotlight. Coming to a stop, he kissed her on the cheek. He dropped to one knee and the quiet roar in the audience increased several decibels. He kept going. “Chloe, you've been a constant source of light in my life since I met you. You've shown me opportunities I never imagined existed.”

Zach wanted to turn away, but his gaze was fixed on the stage. Morbid fascination threatened to make him lose his lunch.

“I know this is sudden, but I was wondering, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“
Fuck me,” Scott muttered. “I'm going to kill him with my own hands. I don't care if the entire internet sees it.”

Zach placed a restraining hand on his arm, not trusting himself to speak.

Chloe shook her head and pulled away. “I don't think so. I mean, really. Who wants to be married to a game programmer?”

And Zach's gut sank further. The déjà vu was painful. The success of the last forty
-eight hours was evaporating.

But where Kelly's no had stopped there,
Chloe’s didn't. “I mean one that works for Digital Media, anyway. Eww. Is it true they pay you monkeys in bananas?”

Scott's eyes grew wide.
“Did she just...really?”

Zach snorted. This was going to cause them so much trouble. There was no way anyone would believe they hadn’t set the whole thing up. And it was so funny to watch he didn’t know if he cared.

Jordan sniffled into the microphone, expression flat. “Peanuts actually.”

Chloe
pulled him to his feet and stepped closer, draping her arms around his neck. “I can make you a better offer.”

Something caught Zach's attention, and he realized the media reps for DM were standing off stage, fighting desperately to get
Jordan's attention. Cameras turned toward the new commotion.

Jordan
smirked and leaned into her. “Really? Better than peanuts?”

She leaned forward, whispering right next to his mike.
“Ditch the losers and I’m all yours.”

Jordan
stepped away, grinning.

The media reps had given up trying to catch his attention and were converging on the center stage.

Zach felt relief wash over him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Scott was laughing.
“Oh my hell. He's going to get in so much trouble. I can't believe he put her up to this.”

Someone grabbed
Jordan’s arm at the same time as another person took hold of Chloe. Vance stepped up to the mike, laughing nervously. The lights exaggerated the sweat dripping down his red face. “Very clever. Thank you, Jordan. Who wants to see our new game?”

The crowd wasn't listening. Attention was focused on the scuffle off
-stage. Jordan's microphone was gone so no sound filtered through the room, but he was gesturing wildly to the cronies accosting him. He yanked away from the one holding his arm and grabbed Chloe's hand. He said something else and tugged her toward the back exit.

Scott nudged Zach with his shoulder.
“We should probably make ourselves scarce, no?”

Be furious or laugh? Zach wasn’t sure which he wanted to do first.
“We should take care of our people. You find them and keep them off the radar for a few hours. Take the two of them and lock them in your room if you have to.”

He stopped short of reaching for his smokes. That would have to wait.
“I’m going to get a hold of marketing, see if we need to do damage control and how much, and put legal on standby. Don’t let them make it worse.”

“
Got it.” Scott was gone, head ducked and phone out, tapping on the screen as he walked.

Zach took off in a different direction, looking for a quiet corner to start making phone calls. His
phone vibrated in his pocket. Vance. Great. That voice mail could wait. This was insane. How were they going to convince the press, or even better, any irritated lawyers, they hadn’t known about this? He needed to get his people ready for damage control, depending on how the entire thing spun.

“
I know you’re busy.” A familiar female voice from somewhere to his right muted most of his other thoughts. “But do you have ten minutes for a friend?”

His already racing pulse kicked up another gear. Rae?

He spun to find her lounging in the doorway of a dark conference room, hesitant smile dancing on her lips. She looked incredible. She was wearing one of their shirts, and it hugged every inch of her torso like it had been made for her. He couldn’t find any words.

In a few short strides he crossed the distance between them, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her completely into the room, out of sight of foot traffic. He dipped his head and kissed her hard, hands sliding under her top and up her bare back, holding her as close as he could. Every inch of her rubbed against him. Her hands rested on his chest, a tiny whimper rising from her throat.

He finally broke the kiss with a gasp, but didn’t let her go. “Did you know about any of this?”

She smirked.
“Of course not. What my sister does in her spare time is completely up to her. It’s called plausible deniability.”

“
You’re so much trouble when I leave you alone.”

She laughed and rested her forehead against his chest, muffling her reply.
“You know you love it.”

“
I hate leaving. I love you.” He kissed the top of her head. “The surprise in the DM presentation? I’m not sure I’m fond of.”

She stepped back, putting enough space between them
so she could look him in the eye, but not breaking his grip. She pulled something from her pocket and held it up between her thumb and forefinger. “Hopefully this will help.”

He reluctantly let go of her to take the USB drive.
“Naughty pictures?”

She shook her head, smile never leaving her face.
“Three things, and that’s not any of them.”

Curiosity tried to worm its way into his already heavy onslaught of emotions. It wasn’t easy given the nagging voice reminding him people were probably really pissed about the stunt
Chloe and Jordan had pulled in the DM panel.

Even though he
didn’t want to admit it out loud, that single stunt had mocked his failed marriage proposal, reminding him things were a lot better now, and made DM look as bad now as he had back then. It would speak to fans and the media — anyone who remembered the original viral video. If he hadn’t been worried about the consequences he’d have a hard time complaining about the entire thing.

And he definitely wasn’t complaining
every time Rae’s hip rubbed against him. His cock wanted him to forget everything but finishing what the kiss had started.

“
Do tell.” He forced the question out. He could do normal conversation for at least a couple more minutes. Damn it she was going to make it hard to focus on damage control.

“
First.” She leaned back against the wall, hooked her fingers in his front pockets, and tugged him closer. “An investor agreement that keeps you both in complete control. Grant Lent, who I believe you met earlier, is very interested in the details.”

Investors. The thought made his stomach lurch. They needed the money, but at the same time
, the idea of outside voices didn’t sit well with him. “Okay?”

She brushed her lips over his.
“Just give it a look. Second is solid, hardcore evidence that DM knew what Kelly was up to with the whole insider trading thing, and they helped her figure out the details. Use it as leverage or however you see fit.”

Oh, that was big. He’d always suspected
— it was difficult not to — but to be able to prove it. There was a lot of potential there.

She kissed him again, more deeply this time, nipping at his bottom lip before pulling away.
“So forgive me maybe?”

She knew exactly how to distract him, but he’d been paying attention.
“Maybe. Depends on what item number three is.”

She traced a line down his chest,
her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “Chloe and Jordan are with Scott. A press release is going out now about how the two of you knew nothing about this, and while it was funny as hell, you don’t condone the action.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, forcing his expressing to stay serious.
“Letting Scott send out press releases doesn’t earn you bonus points. And that means it’s not the third item on the drive.”

Her flush was visible, even in the poor lighting, and she ducked her head. Her reply was soft.
“It’s an employment agreement for your new COO. If you decide to talk to Grant and the people he knows, you can afford it. Along with other things.”

She meant her. His heart leapt. His,
“Presumptuous much?” didn’t have any force behind it.

“
Hopeful.” She shuffled from one foot to the other. “Very, very hopeful.”

“
You should have told me what you were up to.” Why was he still fighting this?

“
I couldn’t,” she said. “You have to be able to honestly say you didn’t know what we were doing.”

Damn, she was good. And severely pushing the limits of his self
-control. “So you’re back for good?”

She shifted her weight against him, pulling him closer.
“Most likely. It’s not all up to me. You’d have to talk to the guys making the decisions.”