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would've told you at the end if...”
    “If I hadn't freaked out,” I finished it for him. It was the truth. I over-reacted. The end.
    He gave me a half-smile that said he agreed with my description, but hadn't wanted to say it. “It's partially my fault,” he said. “I should've realized how it would've looked from your perspective.”
    I had to give him points for admitting it instead of just acting like I was crazy.
    “So, what do you say?” he asked.
    “Say about what?”
    “My job offer. Full time security tech. You'd be responsible for writing security code, checking code, making sure our servers were safe.” He stood. “And no more tricks. I promise.”
    I shook my head. Even if the interview had been done differently, I wouldn't have accepted the position. “No thank you. I prefer running my own company.”
    “Are you sure?” he asked. “Starting salary is sixty thousand, plus an expense account for travel. Full benefits after sixty days. Vision. Dental.”
    “I'm sorry,” I said. “I'm sorry you wasted your time with me, but I'm not interested.”
    “Not even if I throw in a company car?” His eyes gleamed and I wondered if he was teasing me.
    I gave him a half-smile. “I like my independence too much.”
    “That's too bad,” he said. “I think we could've been good together.”
    Something in his voice told me he wasn't only talking about work. There was a heat to his gaze that hadn't been there before and I knew we'd made a shift from professional now that he knew I wasn't wouldn't take his job offer.
    “Was there anything else?” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. Now that we weren't talking business, I was suddenly more aware of just how good-looking he was.
    “Let me take you out for coffee,” he offered. “A true apology.”
    “That's okay,” I said. My eyes flicked up to his and they held. They really were a perfect combination of blue and violet, a deep, rich color that I could get lost in if I let myself. I needed him to go.
    “All right,” he said even as I torn my gaze away. “Then you should take me out for coffee.”
    I looked back up at him.
    He was grinning. “Think of it as an apology for the black eye.”
    Dammit. How could I argue with that? I had hit him and he was going to have to explain to his employees why he had a shiner. He hadn't even asked for an apology for it either.
    And, if I was going to be completely honest, I kind of wanted to go out with him. Now that the whole misunderstanding had been cleared up, I could admit what I'd known yesterday from the moment I'd seen him. He was fucking hot. And it wasn't just a physical attraction either. He was probably one of the few people I knew who was as smart as I was. Okay, probably the only person.
    Still, I tried to make my tone as reluctant as possible. “Well, if you think so.”
    He smiled, showing a dimple in his left cheek.
    “But not now,” I quickly said. I didn't want him to stick around while I showered and dressed, and I couldn't ask him to wait outside without an explanation. “You have to go to work, right? Find yourself another tech.”
    “Tomorrow,” he said. “Morning or afternoon?”
    “Afternoon,” I answered promptly. If he let me set the guidelines, this would go quite well. “You know Marco's Diner over on Fourth?”
    “I do,” he answered.
    “Meet me there at one.”

Chapter 5
    I didn't let myself get nervous before I walked over to the diner. What would the point be? Besides, this wasn't a date. It was coffee as a thank you and an apology. There might be some flirting and I was definitely planning on admiring the view, but it wasn't anything more than that. Guys like him didn't date girls like me, even if I'd been thinking of it that way. I'd been a little surprised when he'd agreed to meet me in public, though I supposed he assumed no one would recognize him in a little diner on that side of town.
    Still, I dressed up. I couldn't exactly say I'd dressed nicely