FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 122

CHAPTER 122

སམ

05 vauchers

MIE

Thankfully, Simon had the Range Rover, so we all fit.

He drove, I rode up front, and the kids squeezed into the back with Chloe.

Manhattan slid past the windows, bathed in the golden light of late afternoon, when my phone buzzed.

ETHAN: I’ve already organized tomorrow’s contracts and left the two urgent ones separated on your desk. And before you ask, yes, I checked everything twice.

I smiled.

Simon glanced over.

“Is that your intern?”

I turned the screen face down.

“Are you monitoring my messages now?”

“No.” He changed lanes with one hand on the wheel. “I just recognized that professional and completely innocent smile.”

“There’s such a thing as a professional smile?”

“Yours exists.”

“And what does it look like?”

“Annoying.”

“Interesting, coming from the man who rearranged the cafeteria just to sit next to me.”

Simon half smiled.

“I rearranged one chair. Gave the guy more legroom.”

From the back seat, I heard Chloe laugh softly.

Simon didn’t look back.

. “Besides, Counselor, I didn’t look at your phone. I would never do that.”

“I know, babe.”

When we got to the penthouse, Chloe helped the kids with backpacks and uniforms while I went straight to the office Simon had turned into my workspace too. Tomorrow’s training started at eight, and I still had two case studies to review.

At seven twenty, I’d been staring at the same page for five minutes when the door opened.

12:48

Tue Sep 29 JIM

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

Simon walked in carrying a tray.

Winner.”

“I’ll eat later.”

He set the tray on the desk.

“That wasn’t a question.”

“Bossy.”

“Attentive fiancé.”

There was salmon, vegetables, bread, and a glass of water.

“The face is great.”

Simon pulled up the chair beside me, loosened his tie, and opened the first file..

“What’s left?”

“You’re going to help me?” I asked, perking up.

“Maybe. What’s left?”

“A few slides.”

Simon looked at the screen.

“I can do that.”

I got excited.

“You’re going to help me?”

“Maybe. I’m on my break.”

I pouted.

He stared at me.

“Don’t make that face.”

“What face?”

“The one that’s going to make me spend the next hour fixing your slides.”

I smiled.

“So it works.”

Simon pulled the laptop toward him.

771

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“Unfortunately.”

started reading.

Five minutes later, I wasìi’t joking around anymore.

Simon found an inconsistency in the first case, cut three redundant questions from the second, and reordered a dynamic I’d spent almost an hour building.

“Put the negotiation before the risk analysis,” he said. “If you hand them the risk first, they’ll look for the right answer. If you make them negotiate without that information, you find out who can think under pressure.”

Simon kept working beside me, focused on the slides, making adjustments like it was the simplest thing in the world.

For a few minutes, I tried to keep up.

Then I just stopped.

I sat there looking at him.

The loosened tie, the rolled-up sleeves, the concentrated expression as his fingers moved across the keyboard.

Damn.

At some point, I’d stopped paying attention to the slides and started paying too much attention to the man

beside me.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he said, without lifting his eyes.

“Like what?”

I laughed and stole the pen out of his hand.

Sometimes it was easy to forget, behind the jokes, the absurdly expensive suits, and the almost offensive ability to walk into a room and command attention, that Simon was really good at what he did.

Not just good.

Brilliant.

He understood people, timing, power, and money with an almost irritating speed. He saw five moves ahead, and by the time everyone else caught on to the game, he was already deciding the next one.

“You’re admiring me, Counselor?”

“I was reconsidering your usefulness.”

“And?”

“Still under review.

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS. MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

He dropped the pen.

ngrateful.”

“Arrogant.”

“My future wife.”

The sentence caught me off guard.

Simon noticed too.

His smile lost some of its teasing edge.

I reached out and smoothed the loose tie against his chest.

“My future husband.”

His blue eyes darkened.

“Say it again.”

“No.”

“Jamie.”

25 vouche

I laughed and tried to go back to the papers, but Simon caught my waist and pulled me close. I ended up sitting sideways on his lap, one leg between his.

“This isn’t helping with training.”

“I disagree. I’m working on your concentration.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Terrible method.”

“Excellent results.”

He kissed my forehead, then my cheek.

I rested my head on his shoulder.

For a few seconds, we just stayed like that.

No meeting.

No Hart Enterprises.

Just us.

Simon played with my ring.

“Speaking of complications, have you started thinking about wedding plans?”

40

θεμ ε

JIM

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“I’ve started thinking about thinking about them.”

Progress.”

“I don’t want something huge.”

“Define huge.”

“I don’t want a thousand people.”

“Great. Nine hundred.”

I smacked his chest.

“Simon.”

He laughed and held me tighter.

“I want whatever you want. I just have two requirements.”

“What are they?”

“You show up.”

“Funny.”

“And you marry me.”

My chest tightened in a good way.

“I think I can manage both.”

“Excellent. I’ll notify the press.”

“You’re not notifying anyone.”

The door opened.

Lily walked in holding Chloe’s hand.

“Uncle Simon, Ms. Chloe’s leaving now.”

I moved to get up, but Simon kept his hand on my waist for a moment before letting me go.

It was quick.

Still, I felt his body go rigid.

Chloe stopped when she saw us.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t interrupt,” I said, standing.

55 vouchers

1

15:48 Tue, Sep 291 MT.

FARN DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS