FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 100

CHAPTER 100

MIE

Simon wasn’t in the office when I got there.

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He wasn’t in the conference room either, or on the terrace, or in any of the usual spots where he liked to hide when he wanted the world to believe a billionaire could just vanish inside his own building.

“Kelly, where is he?”

She looked up from her computer.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Sorry. Good morning. Where’s Simon?”

“I don’t know.”

“Kelly.”

“Jamie.”

I crossed my arms.

“He canceled the nine o’clock and he’s not answering my texts either.”

“So it sounds like you know more about where he is than I do.”

The private elevator doors slid open behind us.

Simon stepped out with his jacket slung over one shoulder and his knuckles red. There was a fresh cut at the corner of his mouth.

My stomach dropped.

“You.”

He stopped.

“Me.”

“My office. Now.”

.Kelly bit her lip to keep from smiling.

Simon tilted his head.

“I like it when you talk like you’re my boss.”

“Move it, Hart.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

15:41 Tue, Sep 29 1 MT.

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

I walked in behind him and shut the door. Simon draped his jacket over the back of the chair and grabbed

cold pack from the mini fridge.

“Where were you?”

“Taking care of something.”

“With your face?”

“The face wasn’t essential. It just got involved.”

“You went after Oliver, didn’t you? God, how did you even find out?”

He pressed the cold pack to his lip.

“You should’ve told me. But don’t worry, I just went to talk.”

“Talk? Simon, look at your hands.”

“I’m looking. They’re still pretty.”

I snatched the cold pack out of his fingers.

“This isn’t funny.”

“I know.”

“Did you go to the hospital?”

“I did.”

“My God, Simon. This is getting worse and worse.”

“He didn’t go into the OR. Ian confirmed someone else was scheduled to take the procedure.”

“Oh great. So it was a responsible assault.”

His smile disappeared.

“He put his hands on you.”

“And that gave you the right to decide what to do?”

“It did.”

“No, it didn’t!”

He stepped closer.

“If someone hurts you, I don’t sit around waiting for it to happen again.”

“I’m not one of your companies, Simon. You can’t buy, threaten, or destroy every problem that shows up in front of me.”

15:41 Tue, Sep 29 ) MT.

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“I know you’re not my company.”

When stop acting like I’m your property.”

The words hit him. I saw it in the way his jaw locked.

“I don’t think of you like that.”

“Sure seems like it.”

“I think of you as the woman I—”

He stopped.

“As the woman you what?”

“Nothing.”

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I opened the bathroom cabinet. Simon kept a small first aid kit in there, probably for office emergencies. grabbed the antiseptic and a packet of gauze, walked back to him, and held his chin.

“Stay still.”

“You just spent five minutes yelling at me and now you’re gonna doctor my mouth?”

“I’m trying to keep it from getting infected. Don’t confuse this with affection.”

I ran the gauze over the cut. Simon winced.

“That was on purpose.”

“It was.”

“Sadist.”

“Criminal.”

“Hot lawyer.”

“Shut up.”

“If you keep cleaning it like that, I might.”

I pressed the gauze harder.

“Ow, fuck.”

“Serves you right.”

He closed his fingers around my wrist. Not hard. Just keeping me close.

“Why didn’t you report him?”

My whole body went rigid.

15:41 Tue, Sep 29 MT.

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“Don’t start.”

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We waited outside your building, grabbed you, and shoved your face into metal. Why didn’t you call the cops?”

“Because I didn’t want to.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting.”

“Jamie.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“And if he comes back?”

“He won’t.”

“How do you know?”

Simon let go of my wrist.

“I want to understand.”

“There’s nothing to understand.”

“Yes, there is. You protected Oliver after he hurt you. You were even blaming yourself for your cousin’s pregnancy situation. You protect everyone except yourself.”

“I didn’t protect anyone!”

My voice came out cracked. The silence that followed felt huge.

“I didn’t want a police station, an exam, a statement, a lawyer, my family calling me, Vanessa blaming me, Oliver making up some other version. I didn’t want to spend another week falling asleep and waking up thinking about those people.”

Simon went still.

“I just don’t want to deal with anything Oliver-related anymore. I just want to be left alone. Is that really so hard to understand?”

My eyes burned. I turned my face away, furious at myself.

Simon let out a slow breath.

“For me, it is.”

I laughed without humor.

“At least you’re honest.”

“It’s hard because everything in me wants to break every finger he used to touch you.”

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T:41 Tue, Sep 29 JIM T

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“That doesn’t give me peace.”

know.”

“Do you really?”

“I’m trying.”

He opened his arms.

“Come here.”

“No.”

“Jamie.”

“I’m still mad.”

“You can be mad over here.”

Before I could answer, he pulled me against his chest. I shoved him once, no real force behind it. Then again. By the third time, my fingers were curled into his shirt.

“You could’ve ruined everything.”

“But I didn’t.”

He kissed the top of my head.

“I won’t go after Oliver again.”

I looked up.

“Is that a promise?”

“I’m saying I won’t go after him.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“It’s the most I can offer while I still want to kill him.”

I almost smiled. Almost.

Simon touched my face gently, careful around the bruise.

“Move in with me.”

“What?”

“The penthouse. Today.”

“No.”

“Oliver knows where you live.”

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“No.”

You’ll have security, a driver, the kids-”