FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 138

CHAPTER 138

MIE

I lay in my old bedroom, staring at the ceiling with my phone resting on my chest. Maya had already checked it for me: no spyware, no suspicious apps. Someone must have gotten hold of my phone. But who?

I started going through the people at work when a sharp knock on the window made me sit bolt upright./ The clock read eleven. I grabbed the old baseball bat from my closet, the one I’d kept from my high school days, and pulled back the curtain.

My heart lurched.

Simon.

What the hell was he doing out there?

He was perched on the side fire escape, one hand wrapped around the iron railing, his body angled toward my window. His black T-shirt stretched across his shoulders, and a charcoal hoodie was tied around his waist. His dark hair was still damp, like he’d just stepped out of the shower. Moonlight sharpened the line of his jaw and caught the vivid blue of his eyes.

“You gonna hit me with that, or are you gonna open the window?” he called through the glass.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The bat hit the floor with a dull thud as I unlocked the window and pushed it up.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered, still too stunned to sound anything but incredulous.

Simon didn’t wait for an invitation. With one smooth move, he swung a leg over the sill and climbed into the room, landing on the rug as lightly as a cat. Then he straightened, his presence somehow filling every inch of my old bedroom.

“I needed to talk to you.”

“You could’ve used the front door.” I crossed my arms, trying to look annoyed, though my racing heart was giving me away.

“At this hour?” He raised an eyebrow. “Showing up at your parents’ house at eleven at night didn’t seem like the most polite option.”

“And yet, here you are.”

He shrugged, like it was all perfectly simple. “The window was more discreet.”

I glanced at the bedroom door, which stood partly open, then back at him. Shaking my head, I crossed the room and eased it shut, turning the lock with a soft click. When I turned around, Simon hadn’t moved. His eyes stayed fixed on me.

“You could’ve called,” I whispered, coming closer.

“Aren’t you without your phone?”

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“No.” I picked it up from the bed and showed him the screen. “Maya checked it for me. I got it back after Awork, at her place.”

Simon folded his arms, his expression turning serious. “And?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head, frustration settling over me again. “Nothing out of the ordinary. No spyware, no one tracking me. Whoever did this must’ve gotten their hands on my phone.”

Simon exhaled through his nose, a heavy, almost impatient sound. He dragged a hand through his dark hair, fingers catching in the waves.

“Any idea who could’ve done it?” he asked, his voice low and controlled.

“I already told you, I don’t know.” I sat on the edge of the bed and let out a breath, my shoulders suddenly heavy. “This has never happened to me before. I don’t even have enemies. I mean… Oliver and Vanessa might have a reason, but that doesn’t make sense. I haven’t seen either of them in days. They couldn’t have gotten into my phone.”

“Think about it with me.” His voice had gone calm, but there was a fire in his blue eyes that made me catch my breath. “Whoever did this wants us fighting. Who has a reason to want that right now?”

“I don’t know. Oliver?” I said, barely above a whisper.

“Oliver’s a pathetic idiot, and I already put him in his place. He won’t come near you again.”

“Then who?”

Simon held my gaze for a long moment. Then he said, very quietly, “Ethan.”

“No.”

“You didn’t even think about it.”

“I don’t have to. Ethan wouldn’t do this.”

“You sure?”

“I am.”

“Because you trust him?”

“Because I know Ethan.”

Simon gave a short, humorless laugh. “You think knowing someone means you know everything they’re capable of?”

“And you think suspecting everyone makes you smart?”

His jaw tightened. “I’m not suspecting everyone. I’m trying to figure out who invaded your privacy and why they’re using it to turn us against each other.”

“Then try without making Ethan the easiest person to blame.”

“He was part of those messages.”

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“He’s my assistant.”

And I’m your future husband. If someone’s using your phone to make it look like there’s something between you two, I can’t pretend it doesn’t bother me.”

“I didn’t ask you to pretend. I asked you not to decide he’s guilty without a shred of proof.”

“I haven’t decided anything.”

“You just said his name like you’d solved it.”

Simon crossed his arms. “Because he’s a possibility.”

“A possibility isn’t an accusation?”

“Not when I’m still asking questions.”

“You don’t sound like you’re asking.”

“And you sound like you’ve already picked his side.”

“I haven’t picked anyone’s side.”

“Didn’t sound that way.”

I felt irritation climb through my chest. I didn’t want to have this conversation in my childhood bedroom, with my parents asleep on the other side of the house. Especially not after spending the entire day trying to figure out who was using my life to provoke a fight.

“Simon…” I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice even. “Did you come here to listen to me, or to interrogate me?”

“To make sure you’re okay.”

“You could’ve started by asking.”

He fell silent.

“Are you okay?” he asked at last.

His voice was softer now, but his expression stayed serious.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“And you don’t look like you’re willing to believe me.”

“I believe you.”

“Then trust me when I say Ethan didn’t do this.”

Simon looked away for a moment. When his gaze returned to mine, something in it had hardened, as if he were choosing his words carefully to keep from saying the wrong thing.

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“I believe that you don’t know who did.”

What’s not what said.”

“Jamie…”

“You have no idea how frustrating it is to hear you talk to me like I’m naive. I know something’s wrong. I just don’t know who’s behind it.”

“I never said you were naive.”

“You don’t have to. It’s in the way you’ve been trying to steer every conversation we’ve had lately. You didn’t treat me like this when I was just your lawyer.”

He took a step toward me. “That’s because now you’re not just my lawyer. You’re the most important person in my life. I’m trying to fix a problem.”

“Your way.”

“What would your way be?”

“Not treating me like I need someone else to think for me.”

“You think I came here to control you?”

“I think you showed up without warning, climbed through my window, and started pressing me with questions. That’s what I think.”

“I came because I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. Because I’m addicted to you.”

The admission caught me off guard.

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