FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 50

CHAPTER 50

MIE

My mother’s dining table was buried under more food than five people could eat in a week, and Simon sat in the center of the room like he’d been born there, fielding my father’s questions about the stock market with the same ease my mom used to tell stories about the neighbors. –

“You really know your stuff, huh?” my dad said, looking at Simon like he’d just hung the moon.

“I had good teachers, Mr. Collins.” Simon reached for another piece of bread. “My father always said money isn’t made, it’s managed. I spent years learning that the hard way.”

My mother was practically melting with every word. She was already on her second glass of wine, staring at Simon like he was some kind of prize she’d won in a lottery.

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“Jamie, why didn’t you tell us he was such a gentleman?” she said, elbowing my shoulder. “When I saw him at your grandmother’s party, I thought he seemed nice, but now-”

“He’s just a regular guy, Mom.”

“Regular? Regular?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Sweetheart, you’re engaged to a billionaire who made a point of having dinner with your parents on a Thursday night. That’s not regular, that’s a dream.”

“So, Simon,” my mother continued, turning to him with that smile that meant she already had a plan mapped out, “has Jamie met your parents?”

Simon’s fork paused halfway to his plate.

“My mother… isn’t with us anymore, Mrs. Collins. She passed a few years ago.” He cleared his throat, lying through it. “My father, on the other hand, is very much alive. He lives in New York as well.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry about your mother. But your father… has he met Jamie?”

Simon looked at me, and I felt my stomach knot up.

“Yes, I’ve had the pleasure,” I said quickly, before Simon could answer. “He’s a lovely man. Makes a mean lasagna.”

“How wonderful!” My mother clapped her hands. “Well, since your father lives here, why don’t we invite him over for lunch on Saturday? We could do a barbecue, get to know the family properly-”

“Oh, Mom, I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“Why not?”

“Simon and I already have plans,” I said, my voice coming out a little sharper than I meant it to. “We’re going to a birthday party for one of Simon’s friends. On Saturday.”

My mother’s eyes went wide, and a huge smile spread across her face.

“You’re going to his friends’ kids’ birthday party?” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Jamie, that’s so sweet. You’re really becoming part of his life.”

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15:29 Tue Sep 29 ) MT.

FAKN DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“Of course she is,” Simon said, covering my hand with his. “If my future wife isn’t welcome, neither am I Either we’re both invited, or neither of us goes. Right, sweetheart?”

I looked at him, then at his hand over mine. The easy smile on his lips made it clear he expected me to play along.

I smiled back.

“Absolutely right, sweetheart.”

After dinner, we escaped to my old bedroom. The walls were still that soft lilac I’d picked out at fourteen. my high school trophies still gathering dust on the shelves, old books lined up like soldiers on the nightstand.

I ran my fingers over their spines, suddenly feeling fourteen again.

“Wow,” Simon said from behind me. “You were a nerd.”

I turned to find him holding my old yearbook, flipping through it with that insufferable smirk.

“You know, you look exactly like your high school self. You still make that face.”

“What face?”

“That one. The one where you’re deciding whether to murder me for closing a deal without letting you review the contract first.”

I smiled.

He held up another book. “Also, ‘How to Pass Any Test? You had a whole system.”

“Everyone had a system.”

He laughed, genuinely, and set the book aside. Crossed the room to stand next to me at the window. “You had a good childhood, didn’t you?”

“Not always. But mostly.” I looked out at the street below. “My parents fought sometimes, but I guess that’s normal. I always felt… safe. I knew my mother would burn the world down for me, and my father would rebuild it.”

He didn’t answer. When I looked at him, his jaw was tight, his expression carefully blank.

“Sorry,” I said quietly. “I shouldn’t have-”

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