FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 171

CHAPTER 171

– JAMIE

Chloe opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her eyes darted to Simon, then to me, then to the fact that neither of us was wearing anything but a towel.

I wanted to die.

Not figuratively. I mean actually die. Right there in that closet. Preferably before any of the three of us had to say another word.

Simon stood perfectly still in front of her, his body rigid, his expression nothing like it had been a few seconds ago.

“Chloe,” he repeated, more slowly this time. “I’m going to ask you one more time. What are you doing in my closet?”

“I…”

She carefully stepped out from behind his shirts, and as she did, she spotted a folded comforter on one of the side shelves. Her face lit up.

“Oh! There it is. That’s what I was looking for.”

Simon looked at the comforter, then back at her.

“In my closet?”

“I was freezing.”

Her voice came out soft, almost embarrassed.

“I checked the linen closet in the hallway, but there weren’t any comforters. Just thin blankets. And since you always keep extra bedding in here…”

She trailed off.

“How do you know what I keep in here?”

“Oh… Sylvia mentioned it once, when I needed to change the sheets in Lily’s room.”

She hugged the comforter to her chest.

“I only came in because I was practically freezing to death. But then I heard you two coming upstairs, and… well, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

My stomach dropped.

“I thought you were just passing through the bedroom. And I figured if I came out right then, it would be awkward.”

Awkward?

“And then you came into the closet,” she finished.

My face went up in flames.

Suddenly, everything that had happened over the past few hours… God only knew how many… came rushing back.

The wardrobe creaking.

Me moaning.

Simon moaning.

Me saying his name.

Simon saying mine.

The poor wardrobe probably sending out an SOS in Morse code.

Oh. My. God.

Chloe had been hiding behind Simon’s shirts while we were…

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Nope.

Absolutely not finishing that thought.

“Why didn’t you just leave while we were in the bathroom?” Simon asked.

“I tried, but I was afraid one of you might catch me in here and get the wrong idea. Which seems to be exactly what’s happening now.”

She paused, her eyes glistening as she lowered her head, looking thoroughly mortified.

“I’m so sorry, I know this whole thing got out of hand, but…”

Chloe searched for the right word.

Meanwhile, I was ready to throw myself out the nearest window.

“…but I promise I won’t tell anyone what I heard. You don’t have to worry. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear a single thing, Mr. Hart.”

Silence.

Simon dragged a hand down his face.

I stopped breathing.

Chloe seemed to realize a second too late what she’d just said.

“I’m sorry. I only meant that… well, there never seemed to be a good time to open the door.”

She dropped her gaze again, looking painfully embarrassed.

Simon cleared his throat. His expression remained serious when he spoke.

“You can go now, Chloe.”

She took a step toward the door, then stopped and looked back at us, suddenly anxious.

“You’re not going to fire me over this, are you?”

“Of course not,” I said quickly. “Don’t worry about that.”

Chloe visibly relaxed.

“Thank you. And… good night to you both.”

She slipped out before either of us could respond.

The bedroom door clicked shut, leaving behind a silence somehow even more uncomfortable than the entire conversation.

I kept staring at the closed door.

So did Simon.

For several seconds, neither of us said a word. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Chloe had been hiding in that closet the entire time.

The. Entire. Time.

“Simon…”

He turned toward me.

“Oh my God.” I covered my face with both hands. “She heard everything.”

Simon let out a slow breath, rubbing his jaw.

“Jamie…”

“Everything, Simon. She heard every single thing we did in here.”

His expression stayed serious, although I had a feeling he was working pretty damn hard to hide his own embarrassment.

“Sounds like she did.”

“I can’t believe this.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I’m never going to be able to look that woman in the eye again.”

“Baby, look at me.”

I shook my head.

“What if she tells someone? What if she tells Sylvia?”

“She said she wouldn’t.”

Simon went quiet for a moment.

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