Leonardo
She was searching my eyes. She looked confused but so gorgeous. The most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I had been with tons of women but they were only about fake nails, fake lashes, designer bags, and shoes. She was different. She was natural. It felt good to see her look gorgeous and charming.
I expected her to dress up and she never disappointed. It was good moving from frizzy hair to a well-combed and healthy hair era.it's safe to say she understood exactly what I needed her to do with the dresses I ordered.
I had to ask for my designer's help to pick out the clothes that would fit her skin tones and body shape. Miss Almira is a Pro when it comes to Fashion. She is so good at her job. Without seeing Rylee, She got the measurements and colors right. All she needed was her description.
She had initially asked questions about who I was styling. As noisy as that looked, She needed to know if it was a girl she had styled before. All my ex-girlfriends were her favorite clients. Is it Joey? The redhead.Your college sweetheart? April?. She went on and on. She had always been a fan of April Lachynth.One of the highest-paid models in the world. We had gone to the same college and fell in love before graduation. April traveled to Europe the next year and I never heard from her for years. She reappeared as a model and we had a great weekend while I took a trip to Capri the previous year. That was all we had. A quiet and romantic weekend. She hoped we would reconnect but I was emotionally unavailable at that time. We stayed good friends and she occasionally got her dresses from Almira.
I had been dating models and she knew I had no woman under 5'9. Rylee wasn't close to that. She had quite the body but she looked too different to be a model. In any case, she would pass as a face model, not a runway model. She had a beautiful nose and eyes that could drag the action of a million people. Miss April figured the clothes might be for a sister and I waved it off. I'm sure the news will be all over the place that I had a little sister in the mansion but I could survive that. It was better than having surrogate news all over social media.
Rylee was fascinating and I couldn't take my eyes off her. She walked elegantly down the stairs as though she had been in an etiquette school. Hell, I had no idea how she changed her mannerisms overnight. That was the same individual that almost killed me with her eyes the first day I met her but she was acting like a princess in a ballroom. Her gown, her pose, I could smell her right from where I was. She was locking her eyes with mine and I was unsure of what she was thinking.
Good thing I had a glass in my hand. I took more sips than I would at a party. She moved swiftly as my brother stretched his hands to reach out to her. He was impressed by her. Hell, Manolo is impressed by any girl he sees.
His weaknesses were good scents, nice dress sense, innocent looks, Doe eyes, and impressive communication skills. Rylee had all of that. I believed she did. She chose not to loosen up around me. It was clear she hated being around me. The vocal girl who receives client's praises at her job wasn't the same girl I took home to my mansion. Douglas promised she was all of that and I believed him. She was slowly showing it.
Manolo had flirtiness in his blood. He had a high percentage of it. I had no idea how he did it but all the girls he wanted, he had them all. He's flirty as well as he's attractive. He had healthy brown skin, height, and the right body proportions so any girl would fall for him.
"I'm dripping in chocolate"
That was his favorite quote. He's always impressive and damn, that dude knew how to put in it. I had girls beg to pay for his contact after he dipped and ghosted them. Douglas would always say he traveled and was never coming back to the US. He traveled.Yes.But He called those that were relevant to him. Manolo could be detached and rude when he was no longer interested. He's the ladies' man but some wish they never met him.
My father, Mr KING got married to a brown queen from Texas after my mum died. Mrs Adeline was beautiful She was the epitome of beauty with melanin skin. She could pass for Miss World. I wasn't the only one into models after all. Manolo had the genes. The brown genes.The perfect shaped body. His second home was the gym and that explained the abs and toned legs.
The warm reception meant nothing to me as that was the way he flirted with girls when he met them for
The first time. He is extroverted and gets all the attention when doing it. Rylee was surprised and confused. I bet she didn't know who he was or felt I played a prank on her.
"Rylee, meet Manolo"
"My brother" I finally said a word
She was shocked but flattered. Manolo had been disappearing from the TV, media, and the company setting. No one knew him. My father never wanted the media involved after my mother's death. Manolo was always traveling in and out of the country. Working and having fun all at once. The weight of the company was never on him and he knew better than to bother himself with it. My father had made me the CEO of the company and I was in total control of it. I had asked Manolo to Work for the company but he never budged. She had no idea that I had a brother as I chose to respect my father's wish by being private about that aspect of our family life.
"It's a pleasure to meet you"
"Nice to meet you pretty" He planted a kiss on my hand.
"Thank you," Rylee said politely
"You look gorgeous "
"Where did you get the dress from"
"I had them custom-made" I cut in
"You did that?"
"Almira did it again"
"This is beautiful "He playfully twirled her
"But why would you have Almira make a dress for this pretty lady"
Truth be told, Manolo could kiss any pretty girl without knowing her name, and where she comes from. I never told him about the surrogacy and what the rules were. I planned to do it at the breakfast and maybe introduce them. Manolo hadn't been in town in a long while and he was staying over for a while. Unusually, he visits the mansion but he did and I had to put him on.
"Mr. Leonardo King why are you out here buying clothes for pretty ladies" He inquired sounding like a father interrogating his teenage Son.
"What's your name beautiful "
He turned to Rylee ignoring the fact that I tried to murmur a reply.
"Rylee" She smiled brightly at him
"Can we eat, first?"
"Rylee is my guest and she'll be here for a while"
"Business partner, influencer"
"What's the deal"
"I have to get to Work, Man" I playfully avoided his question patting his shoulders.
"Let's talk about it when I get back"
The words were difficult. I didn't know how to say it. It was going to look like I couldn't get myself a wife. Of course, I never going to tell my brother I settled for Rylee because I never found a girl suitable enough to carry my heir. He was going to rub it in. I was never a failure. I had rich girls crawling at my feet but I never had a connection with any. I never loved anyone enough to marry them. I just didn't have the energy to try to impress anyone. Dating high-taste girls who had the body but nothing else to offer became boring. The educated ones I met were all draining. It was a lot. I had eventful relationships but in the end, it boils down to sex, lifestyle, and popularity schemes. I needed a real one to carry my child and Rylee was there to do that.
I was an icon. A man people look up to. A man people wish to learn from. How do I tell him I couldn't get someone to fill the most vital position in my life? It made me look weak and it was never going to show him that. Breakfast went on quietly as I munched the bread and sipped on my tea. Manolo was making eyes at Rylee and she was blushing hard. He knew his games and Rylee seemed to be fond of him. The bread turned to grain when I saw his laughing cheeks in my tea.
"Rylee is mine" I blurted out