FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 110

CHAPTER 110

AMIE

I woke up to Simon sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless, answering messages that were already coming in about the Honolulu deal.

“What do you think about me posting our photos on Instagram?” he asked.

I blinked, confused.

“You didn’t post anything, did you?”

He turned the screen to show me the empty Instagram page.

“Nothing. Your family first.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I put on a shirt before I talk to my mother-in-law on video?”

“That would be civilized.”

My mom cried. My dad congratulated us for the second time. My sister wanted to see the ring from every angle. When I finally hung up, the unease about the post was still there, but it wasn’t big enough to hide the joy.

We got back to New York Sunday night. The kids almost knocked Simon over in the elevator. Lily came straight for my hand.

“Can I touch it?”

“Carefully.”

Chloe hung back a few steps with a strange look on her face. She was wearing jeans and a simple sweater. Her smile was flawless.

“Congratulations again. The ring is beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Lily held my hand a second longer than necessary. Her eyes examined the stone, then Simon’s face.

“You have really good taste, Uncle Simon.”

“Thank you, princess,” he said, smiling.

Jack started telling us about a fight at school. Sam demanded his present. Lily wanted to see all the photos. In less than a minute, the penthouse was loud again, and Chloe’s strange look disappeared into the chaos.

On Monday, I walked into Hart Enterprises and the security guard in the lobby applauded.

Literally.

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“Congratulations, Miss Collins!”

o receptionists stood up at the same time. One brought flowers. The other asked to see the ring. In the elevator, three employees I barely knew smiled at me like old friends.

“So it was true!”

“The proposal was perfect!”

“You cried so much!”

“Wait. How do you all already know?” I asked, confused.

They exchanged looks.

“Mr. Hart’s Instagram,” one of them answered.

“Instagram?”

The employee showed me her phone. The video had the lights in the sky, Simon on one knee, and the moment I said yes. The post had gone up that morning with a short caption: “She said yes.”

I had agreed we could tell the world after my family. I didn’t expect Simon to interpret “after” so fast.

I walked onto the executive floor with blood rushing to my face. Kelly saw me and pointed at Simon’s office without me asking.

“I tried to stop him.”

“You edited the video?”

“Under moral protest and with insufficient coffee.”

I opened the office door.

Simon was on the phone. When he saw me, he ended the call mid-sentence.

“Good morning, future Mrs. Hart.”

“You posted that video.”

“Our video blew up: three thousand likes in under an hour. And guess what? Barely announced our engagement and I already got an incredible offer. I think you’re my lucky charm, baby.”

“Our personal life is not a Hart campaign.”

“Technically, it also bumped the stock up zero point eight percent.”

“Simon.”

He raised his hands.

“You said we could tell people after your family knew.”

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“You could have warned me first.”

ried not to laugh. Failed for a second.

Simon came around the desk and closed the door behind me.

“Can I kiss my fiancée or do I need to file a request?”

“You need to promise the next post goes through legal.”

“Promise.”

He kissed me. Brief at first, then with his hand firm on my waist and his mouth pulling any intention of keeping a straight face right out of me.

The desk phone rang.

Kelly’s voice came through the speaker:

“Sorry to interrupt the couple of the year. The kids’ school called. There was an incident with Jack, and a guardian needs to pick them up immediately.”

Simon pulled back.

“What happened?”

“He hit another student.”

Simon’s face changed.

“I’m going.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said.

“You have a board meeting in twenty minutes.”

“Simon…”

“I’ll get the kids, find out what happened, and come back for you.”

He kissed my forehead and left.

At the end of the day, I got a message.

“We’re downstairs.”

I grabbed my bag and went down.

Simon’s car was waiting in front of the building.

He was behind the wheel.

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

At the board meeting, nobody asked about the Honolulu clause. They asked about my last name, my future position, and whether I intended to stay “as dedicated” after the wedding.

“My dedication doesn’t depend on my marital status,” I told the third director.

“Of course. We’re just thinking about leadership stability.”

“Then maybe we should discuss this board’s divorce history or just my engagement?”

The silence was delicious.

When I left, two analysts were waiting in the hallway with flowers. One of them said that seeing Simon go public with the relationship had made half the building win a bet.

I rode the elevator down with the applause still echoing in my memory and the strange weight of the meeting. The lobby felt smaller, like everyone already knew something I was still processing.

Simon’s car was waiting at the curb. Black, flawless, engine running.

I walked over. The back window came down first – Lily waving, Jack in headphones, Sam asleep against the window. I smiled, my heart loosening.

Then the front window came down.

Chloe.

Short skirt, legs crossed, smile sweet as honey. Hair pulled back in a perfect braid. She leaned over the console, and the movement made her neckline rise, her skirt shorten, her skin show too much for a Monday night.

“Hi, Miss Jamie! Mr. Hart picked me up with the kids from school. You want a ride?”

Something stirred inside me. Not in my stomach – deeper. A small animal turning over, sniffing.

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CHAPTER 111

MON

Jack had punched a kid because he called Abby dead.

I found out in the principal’s office, with Sam staring at the floor, Lily.clinging to Chloe’s hand, and Jack sitting in a chair way too small for the rage he was trying to hold back.

“He said someone in a coma is basically dead and that my mom was dead,” Jack said. “I told him to stop

“And then you hit him,” the principal finished.

“Then he said it again.”

I wanted to tell him I got it. Wanted to ask if the punch had at least landed good. Instead, I sat down across

from him.

“You were right to tell him to stop. You messed up when you threw the punch.”

“Funny, ’cause the other day you had a busted lip, Uncle Simon. Didn’t you get in a fight too?”

The principal looked at me with fresh interest.

“Is he getting suspended?” I asked, clearing my throat.

“Yes, those are the school’s rules,” the principal explained. “The psychologist already spoke with him, but she’s still evaluating the situation. Once she’s done, she’ll advise me on how we should proceed.”

I nodded. When we walked out, Chloe let me know she’d already put the backpacks in my car. In the chaos of getting three kids settled in the back seat, she ended up in the passenger seat while I was on the phone with Jamie.

Then we went to pick her up.

Jamie was waiting on the curb. The second I pulled over and rolled down the window, I watched her eyes land on Chloe sitting next to me.

Before I could say anything, Chloe leaned toward me, smiling, greeted Jamie, and told her I’d gone to pick her up with the kids at school.

I turned my head toward her slowly.

Pick her up?

No. I’d gone to pick up the kids. Chloe just happened to be with them.

Jamie looked at me over the car, one eyebrow raised.

Great. That had sounded exactly as bad as I figured it would.

I got out of the car immediately.

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“What happened with Jack?”

Texplain on the way.” I opened the door for her, but Chloe was still there. “Chloe, hop in the back. please.”

“Sure.”

Chloe smiled at Jamie and got out. She didn’t seem annoyed. Still, she took her sweet time grabbing her bag from the floor, making Jamie wait on the curb.

Chloe shut the back door way too carefully. Jamie got in up front.

When I started the car, I touched her hand on the console.

“I went to pick up the kids, you know,” I said quietly.

“I didn’t ask.”

“Your eyes asked.”

“My eyes are tired of everyone thinking they know what’s going on.”

“I like them anyway.”

She tried to pull her hand back. I held it just long enough to kiss her fingers, then let go.

From the back seat, Lily made a disgusted sound.

“Are you guys gonna do that all the time now?”

“Yes,” I said.

“No,” Jamie said at the same time.

Sam laughed. Even Jack almost smiled.

Back at the penthouse, Chloe took Lily to change, and we sat at the table with the boys. Jamie listened to Jack tell the whole story without interrupting. Then she asked:

“What did you want that kid to understand when you hit him?”

“That my mom isn’t dead.”

“Did he get it?”

Jack looked down.

“No.”

“So the punch didn’t fix the problem. It just made a new one.”

I leaned back. That one wasn’t just for him.

Jack nodded.

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“I’ll apologize.”

nd you can tell him that talking about your mom like that was cruel,” Jamie added. “Apologizing doesn’t mean pretending the other person didn’t do anything wrong.”

When the boys left, I backed Jamie up against the kitchen counter.

“You’re good at this.”

“Interrogating children?”

“Making them think without making them feel misunderstood.”

She touched my tie.

“Someone’s gotta make up for the man who wanted to rate the quality of the punch.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But I know you. You’re exactly the type of person who doesn’t let things slide, and maybe that’s your wors flaw.”

“Okay. You know me well. Now come here.”

I kissed her slowly. Jamie grabbed my waist and pulled me closer, until a noise behind us broke the

moment.

Chloe was in the doorway with Lily’s backpack.

“Sorry. Just came to grab the coat. I’ll head out, unless you need me.”

Jamie pulled back.

“You can go. We’ve got them.”

“Okay.” Chloe looked at me. “Simon, I left my personal number on the counter, in case you ever want to talk without going through the agency.”

“I already have your work contact.”

“Of course. Just makes things easier.”

“Not necessary.”

She held the smile for a second, then put it back on.

“All right. Good night.”

When the door closed, Jamie crossed her arms.

“Was that my eyes too?”

“No.”

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“And you don’t think that’s weird?”

1. You want me to fire her?”

Jamie’s phone rang before we could keep going. It was the school again.

She answered. Listened for a few seconds and looked at me.

“The psychologist wants a meeting with everyone responsible for the kids.”

“Okay.”

“Including the new nanny.”

“Why?”

Jamie listened for a few more seconds. Her eyes found mine.

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“Because Jack told the psychologist he got sad after hearing that when we get married, the kids might need to find another place to live.”

My whole body went alert.

“Who told him that?”

Jamie asked into the phone. The answer took a while.

“Jack said he heard the nanny talking to Lily.”

Blood rushed hot up the back of my neck. I sat up straight, fists closing over my knees. That woman had said that to a seven-year-old like Lily?

“Simon.” Jamie’s voice cut through the noise in my head. She’d hung up and was looking at me hard. “Breathe.”

“I’m gonna talk to her right now.”

“No.” Jamie touched my arm. “You’re not.”

“Jamie-”

“Listen.” She moved closer, lowering her voice. “You’re angry. I get it. But we don’t know what was said. We don’t know the context. Jack could’ve misunderstood, or he could’ve only heard part of it.”

“She talked to a child about them leaving.”

“And that’s exactly why we need to talk to her first. Calmly. Tomorrow.” Her fingers tightened on my arm. “If you go now, you’re gonna say something you can hated’t take back. And then we lose the chance when to understand what actually happened.”

I she was right.

I let out a slow breath. Forced my shoulders down.

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