FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

JAMIE

I was buried in contract revisions when the intern appeared in my doorway, his usual grin already in place.

“Jamie, I’m heading out for drinks at O’Malley’s with some of the paralegals. You should come.”

I looked up from my laptop, blinking. “Ethan, you’re twenty-two. Don’t you have, I don’t know, video games to play or something?”

He laughed, running a hand through that artfully messy brown hair. “I’m also a fully functioning adult who knows how to have fun after work. And you look like you need a drink.”

“I look like I need eight,” I admitted, rubbing my temples. “But I can’t tonight. Laundry night.”

“Laundry night.” He said it like I’d just told him I was going to a funeral. “Jamie, you’re a senior associate at one of the most prestigious firms in Manhattan. And you’re telling me you’re skipping happy hour to do laundry?”

“Someone’s got to wash my panties, Ethan. Unless you’re offering.”

His ears went pink, and I felt a small satisfaction at having flustered him. Then he recovered, leaning against the doorframe.

“I’m serious,” he said, his voice dropping slightly. “You’re always working. You never go out. When’s the last time you did something for yourself?”

“Where exactly is this coming from?” I leaned back in my chair, studying him. “You’re not my therapist, and I’m definitely not paying you to worry about my social life, intern.”

“Maybe I’m just looking out for you.”

The way he said it-softer, with something underneath I couldn’t name-made me pause.

“Ethan-”

“Collins.”

The second voice came from the doorway, and I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. I knew that tone anywhere.

Simon stood there, the picture of effortless arrogance in that perfectly tailored navy suit.

“Mr. Hart.” Ethan straightened immediately, every trace of casual ease evaporating. “I was just—”

“Leaving,” Simon finished, and it wasn’t a suggestion. It was a dismissal.

Ethan’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Right. Jamie, think about what I said. A drink. Some other time.” He shot me one last look, something hopeful in his eyes, before slipping out.

The silence he left behind was thick enough to cut with a knife.

1

FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS. MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

Simon didn’t move from the doorway. Just stood there, watching after him with a flat expression.

me, or is the intern hitting on my attorney?”

“Is it me, or were you jealous of a twenty-two-year-old?”

He let out a short laugh, stepping into my office and closing the door behind him. “Jamie. Kids that age are more dangerous than you think. They’ve got stamina, idealism, and absolutely nothing to lose. It’s charming, until you realize they also don’t know when to stop.”

“Impossible,” I said, holding his gaze. “There’s no one more dangerous than you, Simon Hart.”

That earned me a real laugh-low and rough, the kind I’d started noticing more and more. He ran a hand through his hair, and I watched his expression shift from feigned annoyance to something else entirely

“Fair,” he admitted. “I came to see if that acquisition contract for the Italian brand I mentioned last week is ready.”

I blinked. “I already sent that to you. Two hours ago. You replied with a smiley face emoji.”

“Did I?”

“Yes. Very unprofessional of you.”

“Emojis are my specialty.” He moved closer to my desk, and I caught that familiar scent-wood and citrus, the same one Elizabeth had picked up on in the elevator this morning. The same one I’d woken up with on my skin. “I’m heading to that new rooftop bar on 53rd tonight. You should come.”

I shook my head automatically. “Can’t. Laundry night.”

“Laundry night.” He repeated the words like they were in a foreign language. “You’re serious.”

“Believe it or not, I don’t have a staff to handle my basic needs. I actually wash my own clothes. Like a common plebeian.”

He stared at me for a long moment. Then something crossed his face-frustration, maybe. Or something I couldn’t identify.

“Right,” he said, and his voice was drier. “Fine. Good luck with your… laundry.”

He was already at the door, hand on the handle, when he turned back.

“Where do you go, anyway?” His tone was casual, too casual. “To do your laundry. Just curious.”

“Laundry Express on Columbus.”

“And what, they don’t deliver?”

I raised an eyebrow. “They do. But I like doing it myself. It’s relaxing.”

“You have an interesting definition of relaxing.”

“I know.” I gave him a small smile. “Don’t show up, by the way. I mean it.”

T25 Tue Sep 29 )1 MT

FAKN DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

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