THE BILLIONAIRE’S ONE AND ONLY HEIR

As the soft evening light filled their bedroom, two little girls were eagerly getting tucked into bed by their parents. With drowsy smiles, the girls gazed up at their father and asked in unison, “Daddy, can you tell us a bedtime story?” Their Father chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Of course, my little angels! What kind of story would you like to hear tonight?” The two sisters exchanged knowing glances between themselves before replying in unison “We want to hear the story of how Grandpa met Grandma and how you were born, Daddy!” Their father hesitated for a moment, his eyebrows raising in surprise. “Well,” he began, “that story might be a bit too…detailed for your age.” But before he could decline, their mother chimed in from her seat at the corner of the bed, “James, they’re growing up, and they’ll learn about these things eventually. It’s a beautiful story. And I’m eager to hear it too” “I’ve told you about a million times,” James said to his wife. She chuckled and said, “Well I want to hear it again. Go ahead and tell them.” With a shake of his head and a tired Smile James relented. “Like mother like daughters. Fine I’ll tell my little girls their story”. The girls yipped with joy and made way for their father as he joined them in the bed. Meanwhile, their mother leaned against the wall and watched them lovingly. James shifted his position, settling into the girls’ bed as they snuggled against him, their wide eyes filled with anticipation. He started the tale with a soft chuckle, “Alright, girls. Story time. Your grandfather’s name was Leonel Debouchié, and he was the richest man in the world…” Leo checked his diamond watch as he rose from the bed. He always kept it on, even in the shower. His father had passed it down to him the day he got ownership of Leonel Inc. That was ten years ago, and Leonel Inc. had never ceased to flourish after that. He could still remember the proud smile on his father’s lips when he declared him the new CEO of the company, the thought caused Leo to smile as well. The woman that had been sleeping beside him stirred awake. With a groan, she sat up from bed. Her eyes toured the room with interest before they finally rested on Leo. She regarded him for a few minutes before finally muttering the question, “Who are you?” Leo’s eyebrows shot up in mild disbelief. Rarely had he encountered someone who didn’t recognize him. He was Leonel Debouchié; everyone knew him. That lack of recognition did a little damage to his ego. He stared at the sea blue eyes, equally staring at him, thinking she was feigning the lack of recognition thing, but the steel in her eyes told him otherwise. She didn’t seem smitten by his charm like most women who had graced his bed. She looked as if he repulsed, the expression on her face was a bitter one. Suppressing a sigh, he didn’t bother answering her question. Instead, he leaned back on the bed, exuding an air of casualness as he drawled, “Well as you head out, make sure you give my assistant your account details.” “Your assistant. You mean I am in your house” The woman blinked, puzzled, looking around the room, her eyes registering the features of the room and she sighed. She turned to him, a scoff on her lips. “It’s a hotel, dumbass” Leo blinked, a bewildered expression momentarily crossing his face. He rubbed his temples and muttered under his breath. “Blame it on the alcohol, Leo. Blame it on the alcohol.” He then spoke aloud, admitting, “Pardon me. I thought this was my mansion. I’ll have to call Ronny.” The woman sneered at him. Her face contorted in extreme irritation. She tried to say something, but stopped midway, as if deterred by an afterthought. “What?” Leo asked, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice. Nobody dared to give him attitude like this, not even Ronny. Her lips curled into a sardonic smile as she retorted, “Oh, nothing. Just realizing I may have just gotten in bed with the world’s biggest narcissist.” “Narcissist?” Leo exclaimed, incredulous. “How the hell am I a narcissist?” She shrugged, the picture of indifference. “I dunno. Maybe it’s the ‘I thought this was my mansion’ or the fact that you’re so in love with yourself that you can’t even notice how stupid you look in that kinky underwear.” Leo fought the urge to look down at his briefs. For some reason, he suspected the sight wouldn’t be pleasant. Undeterred, she stood up. She ran her fingers through her hair and muttered to herself, “How the hell did I end up with this guy?” Leo scoffed. This time she was the one who poked. “What?” He shook his head before answering “Nothing…Well, this is where too many martinis get you.” She regarded him for another minute. Her gaze sparked something in Leo. And the next minute, he found himself unconsciously registering her features. Her face was a smooth oval, and her eyes were a bright shade of blue, like the color of the sea. He remembered gazing into those eyes, a flash of memory that he couldn’t grab onto. Lush black hair fell down both sides of her face, sweeping past her neck to rest on her lean straight back. The night had undone her blood-red lipstick, smearing it over full symmetrical lips. Standing before him in the two-piece underwear that let his eyes feast on her near-hourglass figure, a strange and sudden feeling overwhelmed him, a feeling he couldn’t put into words. Even though she had been very rude to him just now, he felt like pulling her back to the bed, continuing just where they left off. He realized for her lips to be smeared with lipstick, his too must be. He touched his lips with his tongue, registering an unfamiliar taste, that almost nauseated him. Then he went through the trouble of rubbing her lipstick off his face with his palm, while she watched silently. He grunted as he steered his palm to his eyes, staring at the red stains on his palm. “Yeah, I guess”, she finally replied, lackadaisical about his attempt to wipe his lips off her lipstick. Then with another long look, she added, “I didn’t Cat you last night at the club, did I?” “What?” Leo asked, confused. His mental library failed to register the intended meaning of the word. “Oh it wasn’t a club?” she said. “Was it a bar then?” a puzzled look had come upon her face, as she jerked her head to remember. “No,” he said quickly. “That’s not what I’m asking — and it was a club yes, but the other thing. Cat. What do you mean by cat” “Oh that, um..” she said, waving her hand to demonstrate. “ You know how cats behave when they’re tipsy. They come all over you, snuggle against you and stuff — I’m assuming I wasn’t sober when we met so I’m worried I may have come on to you too hard… that kinda thing”. A small smile played on Leo’s lips as he replied, “Well Miss, for what it’s worth I don’t remember much about last night too so if you did ‘cat me’ — he paused, still unfamiliar with the word — “ I wouldn’t know so it’s fine all the same” he finished. “Oh,” she said, relieved. “Great. Because I know I did drink some martinis and I do tend to get a bit catty when I’ve had one too many…well, I don’t know — it’s not like I do it on purpose or anything, my friends usually give me the gist the next day. You know, after my hangover and stuff. I really should stop talking now” She finished awkwardly and swiftly slid into her underwear and then her dress, seeming prepared to leave.