concerned. I told you it wouldn’t take long.”
“So when do I get to see this game?”
Shocked by the question, she nearly gasped aloud. Her work was top secret. Anyone’s was, unless a programmer wanted it stolen. Either Adam was totally innocent about business security or he considered
her
to be totally naïve about it! Still, a sophisticated woman probably wouldn’t even be surprised that he’d ask such a question. Most likely she would have been prepared for it.
Forcing a smile onto her lips, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Adam. I make it a policy not toshow my games to anyone before they’re released to the public.”
He smiled. To her disgust, it was a smile that told her nothing. How was she supposed to figure him out if he didn’t give anything away?
“I understand,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. “It’s probably a sensible security measure. Not quite as exotic as barking dogs and screaming computers, though.”
His voice was so bland, Diana couldn’t help giggling. She was sure he’d never forget her burglar alarm.
“I’ll tell you what I can do,” she said as she pushed around the last of her salad with her fork. “Once I get the pictures done, I’ll put them on a disk for you. What DOS are you using?”
His face went completely blank. “DOS?”
“The disk operating system on your computer. What disk operation system are you using?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what my DOS is. Actually, I didn’t even know I had a DOS.”
Astonished, she stared at him. Surely he knew what DOS was. Everybody involved with computers did. As the language a disk drive used to talk to a computer, DOS was nearly as basic as BASIC. And with a brother in the business, how could he not know? She decided Adam Roberts must be one heck of a spy, when he was unaware of an important part of the hardware.
“If you’ve got a computer, you’ve got a DOS,” she finally said. “What’s your computer?”
“BMI, but I forget which model we use,” he said, shrugging.
She groaned and shook her head. “Different BMIs use different operating systems. Well, whenyou know what your DOS is, just give me a call and I’ll take care of it.”
He laughed. “That sounds nice and kinky.”
She felt the heat rising to her cheeks. “What I meant was—”
He put up a hand to stop her words. “Don’t. You’ll spoil the image.”
Realizing that any explanation would only make things worse, Diana stuffed a piece of grilled salmon in her mouth and chewed. She had to admit, though, that Adam had scored a point on the side of innocence. She just couldn’t imagine a person not knowing about the tools of his business, no matter how devious his business might be.
Sophistication certainly had its pitfalls, she decided. She’d been positive she had figured out the jigsaw puzzle that was Adam Roberts. But now she was getting pieces that just didn’t fit.
“It’s a beautiful night. Let’s sit out on the deck,” Adam suggested after dinner.
A vague alarm bell rang inside Diana, but she dismissed it. What could be wrong with sitting outside on a beautiful night? And in the relaxed atmosphere she might be able to get Adam to talk even more. Maybe he’d slip up, or maybe he’d finally make the damned offer.
Or maybe she had simply gone bonkers. She had to stop using an internal scoreboard on Adam, Diana thought. Either he was guilty of acting for Starlight Software or he wasn’t. The sooner she found out the answer to the puzzle, though, the better she’d feel. A little conversation out on thedeck really was an excellent idea—for more than one reason.
It wasn’t until after they were seated together on the old wicker settee that Diana realized her mistake. Adam was much too close. She swallowed hard, feeling her control slipping as he casually draped his arm behind her. He hadn’t even touched her, yet all of her senses were spinning crazily. His jeans outlined his hard thighs, and his
“So when do I get to see this game?”
Shocked by the question, she nearly gasped aloud. Her work was top secret. Anyone’s was, unless a programmer wanted it stolen. Either Adam was totally innocent about business security or he considered
her
to be totally naïve about it! Still, a sophisticated woman probably wouldn’t even be surprised that he’d ask such a question. Most likely she would have been prepared for it.
Forcing a smile onto her lips, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Adam. I make it a policy not toshow my games to anyone before they’re released to the public.”
He smiled. To her disgust, it was a smile that told her nothing. How was she supposed to figure him out if he didn’t give anything away?
“I understand,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. “It’s probably a sensible security measure. Not quite as exotic as barking dogs and screaming computers, though.”
His voice was so bland, Diana couldn’t help giggling. She was sure he’d never forget her burglar alarm.
“I’ll tell you what I can do,” she said as she pushed around the last of her salad with her fork. “Once I get the pictures done, I’ll put them on a disk for you. What DOS are you using?”
His face went completely blank. “DOS?”
“The disk operating system on your computer. What disk operation system are you using?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what my DOS is. Actually, I didn’t even know I had a DOS.”
Astonished, she stared at him. Surely he knew what DOS was. Everybody involved with computers did. As the language a disk drive used to talk to a computer, DOS was nearly as basic as BASIC. And with a brother in the business, how could he not know? She decided Adam Roberts must be one heck of a spy, when he was unaware of an important part of the hardware.
“If you’ve got a computer, you’ve got a DOS,” she finally said. “What’s your computer?”
“BMI, but I forget which model we use,” he said, shrugging.
She groaned and shook her head. “Different BMIs use different operating systems. Well, whenyou know what your DOS is, just give me a call and I’ll take care of it.”
He laughed. “That sounds nice and kinky.”
She felt the heat rising to her cheeks. “What I meant was—”
He put up a hand to stop her words. “Don’t. You’ll spoil the image.”
Realizing that any explanation would only make things worse, Diana stuffed a piece of grilled salmon in her mouth and chewed. She had to admit, though, that Adam had scored a point on the side of innocence. She just couldn’t imagine a person not knowing about the tools of his business, no matter how devious his business might be.
Sophistication certainly had its pitfalls, she decided. She’d been positive she had figured out the jigsaw puzzle that was Adam Roberts. But now she was getting pieces that just didn’t fit.
“It’s a beautiful night. Let’s sit out on the deck,” Adam suggested after dinner.
A vague alarm bell rang inside Diana, but she dismissed it. What could be wrong with sitting outside on a beautiful night? And in the relaxed atmosphere she might be able to get Adam to talk even more. Maybe he’d slip up, or maybe he’d finally make the damned offer.
Or maybe she had simply gone bonkers. She had to stop using an internal scoreboard on Adam, Diana thought. Either he was guilty of acting for Starlight Software or he wasn’t. The sooner she found out the answer to the puzzle, though, the better she’d feel. A little conversation out on thedeck really was an excellent idea—for more than one reason.
It wasn’t until after they were seated together on the old wicker settee that Diana realized her mistake. Adam was much too close. She swallowed hard, feeling her control slipping as he casually draped his arm behind her. He hadn’t even touched her, yet all of her senses were spinning crazily. His jeans outlined his hard thighs, and his
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