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

look even better than the pajama’s he’d been wearing the other day.
    “ It’s all good,” Chloe supplied for her. “Not a big deal at all.”
    Rae shot her a look before pasting a smile in place. “Absolutely. Pull up a chair.”
    “ So, commercials.” Chloe leaned in the moment they were both seated, pushing her plate aside. “TV, right? Since we need artwork?”
    “ Webisodes.” Jordan’s grin was just as big. Where Chloe headed the writing staff, he was the art director. “Five minutes long. Epic, right?”
    Zach looked at Rae, the apology in his steel eyes muffling something she couldn’t interpret. “You sure you don’t mind?” he asked.
    “ She’s fine,” Chloe answered first, attention always on Jordan.
    “ It’s all good,” Rae assured him. It was an interruption, and it was annoying, but she could put on a happy face. The last thing she wanted was for Zach to know she was intensely aware of close he was sitting.
    Even if he hadn’t been there, she loved listening to Chloe — or Scott or really anyone from their office — talk about what they were working on. There was something about their work that was so creative compared to the contracts she had. If she could, she’d set herself up in a game company long-term. Too bad that had never been an option.
    She pushed the rambling thought aside and focused on the conversation, which was mostly Chloe and Jordan tossing story ideas back and forth, trying to make content work with visuals. Occasionally Zach would nudge them in a direction. All three of their lunches went untouched.
    “ You can’t do that,” Zach interrupted as Chloe and Jordan reached an animated consensus on something. “It’s too easy. She needs to work harder to solve the problem.”
    Chloe stopped, eyebrows reaching toward the top of her head. “Say what?”
    Rae leaned in, resting her arms on the table. “Of course they can do that. The idea is perfect for your target market. Layla has to lean on the hero at least a little.” Layla was the main character for Cord’s top-selling title.
    Zach shook his head. “Part of the point of this is to draw in new audiences. We have to step away from the sexist assumptions. Like that Layla can’t defend herself.”
    Rae bit back her first response. It probably wasn’t the right time t o tell him he needed to start closer to the core of their company image — like their playboy executives — if he wanted to get rid of their sexist image. “She’s already wearing skin-tight leather. It’s not about toning her down or hiding her weaknesses, it’s about making sure she comes across as confident. Self-reliant is not the same as bossy or standoffish.”
    “ Besides.” Jordan glanced at Chloe before turning back to Zach. “Self-confident is sexy.”
    Zach tugged on his ponytail, exhaling loudly. “I’m not arguing that, but she’s the one who has to save the day, right? Isn’t that the point?”
    Normally Rae would wonder if he was just spewing rhetoric, but one of the things she’d adored about him when they’d dated was his ability to concede she was better at things like math. And he’d been incredible at things debate, history, and knowing exactly where and how to use his mouth. The memories seared her skin and made her pulse race, and she squashed them before they could do more.
    Rae considered her words before responding. “It’s true, but she doesn’t have to do it alone. Even Superman needs help sometimes, and you want her to appear human.”
    Chloe tapped her knife on the edge of her plate. “You’re ruining my character. Layla is full-on control, even off-screen.”
    Jordan smirked. “That’s hot too.”
    Zach pinched the bridge of his nose.
    “See?” Chloe looked smug. “He’s our target market, he knows.”
    Zach leveled his gaze at her. “So are most of our developers.”
    The programmers, right . A walking collective of dick and fart jokes wrapped in some hardcore testosterone. Rae shook her