FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 116

CHAPTER 116

AMIE

My father-in-law managed to turn a surprise visit of just over an hour into a whole event.

By the time William finally announced he had to go, Sam had already gotten a toy store trip out of him, Lily had secured a promise of ice cream, and Jack was seriously debating Susan about which was the best museum in New York.

“I’ll be back before you have time to miss me,” William promised.

“Is that tomorrow?” Lily asked.

“Lily,” Simon said, holding back a laugh.

William pointed at her.

“That girl negotiates better than you.”

“Everyone in this house negotiates better than me, apparently.”

Simon turned his face to me like he was throwing shade.

Susan pushed William’s chair toward the elevator. Before getting in, she looked at Simon, then at me.

“I stand by what I said.”

“About the allergic priest?” Simon asked.

“About the nanny.”

“Susan,” William complained.

“I’m going.”

The doors closed with William still saying something about her urgently needing a hobby.

I laughed and turned to Simon.

His phone buzzed.

Simon looked at the screen and his amused expression shifted just enough for me to notice.

“Chloe?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

He opened the message.

“Something personal came up. She can’t come back today.”

Lily, still near the elevator, heard.

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“Chloe’s not coming?”

ot today, kiddo.”

“But who’s taking us to school?”

Simon put his phone away.

“Me.”

Three faces turned to him.

Then, inexplicably, all three turned to me.

“Don’t look at me like that.” I warned.

Sam broke into a grin.

“You coming too, Ms. Jamie?”

I looked at the clock. I had a meeting at ten. Simon had two before lunch. The school was completely out

of the way.

It was a terrible idea.

“I’m coming.”

Simon smiled like he already knew.

“Knew I chose well.”

“You haven’t even married me yet.”

The morning turned into a small domestic disaster in less than ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes later, we were in the car with three kids in the back, backpacks, lunchboxes, and Mr. Ears properly buckled in.

On the way, Sam wanted music. Jack complained. Lily asked for something else. Simon declared he wanted to drive in silence.

Five minutes later, he was at the wheel singing Baby Shark with all three of them.

I laughed so hard I almost forgot we had work.

At the school gate, Lily hugged me first.

“Are you picking us up?”

“The driver will be here at the usual time,” Simon said. “But we’ll both be home for dinner.”

We both.

Two simple words. Still, something warm settled in my chest.

12:45 Tue Sep 29 1 MT

FAKN DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

The rest of the day should have gone back to normal.

didn’t.

We worked later than planned, had lunch together at the office because neither of us had time to go out. and by six, we were heading home in the same car. We had dinner with the kids. Simon helped Sam with math and got a simple problem wrong because he was answering an email at the same time. Jack corrected him with satisfaction. Lily fell asleep on the couch with her head in my lap.

When Simon came back after putting her to bed, he stopped in front of me.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“You’re staring at me.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

He leaned in, rested one hand on the back of the couch, and kissed my forehead.

“Because I liked today.”

I smiled.

“Even the part where you lost to a nine-year-old in long division?”

“Especially that part.”

It was strange how a completely ordinary day could feel so important.

No hotel. No absurd dinner. No helicopter. Just school, work, food, homework, and a kid asleep on my laps

And I was happy.

Ridiculously happy.

The next morning, I was finishing my coffee when the elevator opened.

Chloe walked in with the same sweet expression as always and a paper bag in her hand.

“Good morning. Sorry about yesterday. It was a family thing, but it’s all sorted now.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“It is. Thanks for asking.”

Lily ran up to her. Chloe crouched down to hug her and listened, with absolute attention, to a detailed report about Simon having tied her hair crooked the morning before.

“It looked great,” Simon protested from the kitchen.

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