Page 34 of Fake Dating My Billionaire Boss

She walks over to the pile of boxes in the corner, and before I even think to protest—because why would I think to tell her not to undo my hard work? —she’s peeled back the tape on a box at the top of the stack.

“What are you doing?” I stop petting Bo and head her way.

She’s got her nose stuck down in the box, along with both arms. I hear rustling as she sifts through the contents. “Hm. Nothing in here but a bunch of old recipe books, by the looks of it.”

“That’s the canning display. I told you.”

“But I want to see for myself.” Without bothering to close the top flaps on the box, she steps aside, and tears open another.

“Bella, I just packed those. I don’t want to have to—”

She flaps her arm my way. “Don’t worry! I will totally tape them up again. I am a lot better with that tape than you, because I’ve moved probably a thousand times.”

She starts rummaging through the box.

Bo, distracted by movement by the window, runs that way. His ears poke straight up as he gazes down at the sidewalk. Then he starts to bark, and it’s so loud that the sound ricochets off the tile ceiling and brick walls and then bounces around the inside of my skull.

And to think, I was starting to like him.

Bella doesn’t even seem to register the cacophony.

She’s too intent on yanking the tape off a third box.

“Are you planning on pulling over whenever you see my car parked, stalking me, and torturing me at every turn?” I ask.

That gets a laugh out of her. But I wasn’t joking.

She peers up at me. “I’m not stalking you and I’m not torturing you. You can be so melodramatic, you know that? Just chill out and believe me, I will have these back in order in no time.”

For the first time, she seems to notice that her dog is creating a noise so loud, I feel it vibrating through my bones. “Hey, what’s got Bo so excited? Bo, honey, you see something out there?”

Then she turns to me. “He probably sees another dog or something. A skateboard, or a bike. He gets riled up about wheels every now and then. Hey, why don’t you take him out? My car’s right behind yours and there’s a leash in the back seat. You could take him for a walk down to that little park at the end of the block.”

Why should I take her loud and disruptive dog for a walk?

“There you go again,” she says, flashing another one of her adorable grins. “Looking at me like I’m a space alien. I’m not speaking nonsense, Damian. It’s a good idea for you to be seen out with Bo since we’re Silver Springs' newest couple.”

Well, she has a point there.

Bo, somehow, has picked up on the plan she’s hatched. He stops barking, trots straight to my side, and sits obediently. I look down at him.

Bella goes on. “If you want people to believe we’re dating—like, ya know, your mom and that ‘Doc’ of yours—you should do boyfriend-y things for me. You should be happy. This is an easy boyfriend-y thing to do.”

What’s a more challenging item on her list? Visions of roses, chocolates, and dinner reservations for two floats through my mind.

She’s right. Walking this dog is low-hanging fruit.

“Go,” Bella says, flicking her hand toward the door. “You two have fun. I’ll be here.”

Pulling apart all the boxes I carefully packed,I think, as I cross the room.

Bo sticks to my heels, as I’ve seen him do with Bella.

When we reach the staircase and I know we’re out of earshot, I find myself muttering to him. “Is she always this nuts?”

He wags his tail.

I may be new to this dog-communication thing, but I feel certain that his wag means ‘yes’.

---