FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 111

CHAPTER 111

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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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“Fine,” I said finally. “Tomorrow.”

eheaded to the bedrooms.

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Jamie led Lily by the hand. The girl dragged her feet, sleepy, her hair in a crooked bun Chloe had done earlier. Jamie lifted her up on the last step, and Lily rested her head on her shoulder without complaining.

I stayed with the boys.

Jack and Sam’s room was smaller, but they’d decided to share anyway, by choice, because Jack didn’t want to sleep alone and Sam, even though he grumbled, didn’t either. Both of them in the same bed, feet under the covers, the yellow lamp light between them.

I stayed with them until my eyes got heavy. Jack fell asleep first, his hand still outside the covers. Sam took a little longer, turning on his side, facing his brother. I turned off the lamp and slipped out slowly, leaving

the door cracked.

In the hallway, Jamie was closing Lily’s door.

We met in the middle, between the two rooms, under the low light coming from the stairs.

I didn’t think. I just pulled her in.

That day I’d learned something about Jamie: she was my calm in the middle of the chaos. When everything around me seemed to be falling apart, when the anger rose and words came before thought, it was her presence that anchored me. Not because she told me what to do. But because being near her made the world slow down, go quieter, feel more at peace.

I buried my face in the curve of her neck. She held me tight, arms pressing into my back, and we stayed like that for a while I didn’t measure. I breathed. Her scent-soap, clean hair, roses-filled my lungs. I let it. I let it take over every corner where anger had been.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly.

“I am now.”

She sank her fingers into my neck, up into my hair.

“Tomorrow I’m gonna grab my stuff and move in here for good.”

I lifted my head.

! “Seriously?”