“Jesus, what the fuck are they going to have her wear next, Mercury, Falco, and Rome want to know,” Slade said to him through the earpiece after he snapped more pictures and sent them. He couldn’t believe his brothers were looking at Rose’s pictures and getting all intense like he was and they weren’t even here. He wondered why Mercury and Falco hadn’t hit on Rose when they met her at the gala event but instead silently purchased one of her paintings. He knew the answer. None of them dated or got involved with women for anything more than necessity.
They lived hard lives. Survived heavy shit before even making it into this crude, dangerous business they were in. Having a woman, especially one they could care for, would be dangerous and stupid. Especially now in the midst of someone trying to sabotage them.
As he exhaled he saw the other models emerge in lingerie. All very short sexy things that barely covered much. His throat felt instantly dry as he wondered what Rose would be wearing.
“Oh God,” he whispered and snapped pictures, way more than necessary, sending them to his brother.
He heard Slade exhale. “Holy fuck, she looks like an angel.”
The crowd responded verbally with oohs and ahhs as Rose emerged in a flowing white silk negligée that hugged her body snugly and went to her feet. The spaghetti straps and bodice were adorned with diamonds and red sapphires, the overlay had the diamonds and red sapphires scattered like droplets here and there with delicacy and precision. Rose’s eyes stood out but her lips were glossed naturally, adding to the appeal of the presentation of the jewels.
“Mine. I call it before he gets a chance to,” some businessman said, rubbing his hands and smiling wide.
“That’s not right. We didn’t even get a chance to see,” the Egyptian yelled out.
“There are other items on display in the side room. You have made many beautiful purchases today already,” Mulgoff said and then smiled at Rose.
“She is gorgeous and presents my jewelry line well. Shall we go into the back, Howard, and complete your purchase?”
Rose looked stunned but Mulgoff took her hand and the Egyptian and Arab complained about not getting close to the model again. As he carried on he waved over another man, whispered to him, and said something about finding out about Rose. Rylan didn’t like it and his gut instinct put him on guard even further. He would personally make sure that Rose didn’t have company waiting for her at the end of this party.
* * * *
“You were all fantastic. Thank you so much. We’ll be calling in about a week in regards to the next event,” Mulgoff said and each of the girls received an envelope with their pay.
Rose was grabbing her purse when Monique came in.
“Rose, could you stay a moment? Mulgoff wants to talk to you,” she said.
Rose didn’t know why and she felt so nervous. Maybe she didn’t do such a professional job but it was the first time she ever did anything like this. As she did it she kept thinking about painting and how badly she would love to be painting full time and making money from that. It just wasn’t the case.
“Rose, come have a seat,” he said to her and motioned with his hand for her to sit beside him on the couch. He looked at her and smiled.
“You did amazing. I mean, beyond expectations. I had a feeling you would be sensational. You’re a natural where the others have been doing this and it has become routine. And as beautiful as they are, they’re missing something. I never could put my finger on it, but today it came to me. It’s in your eyes, your personality. You’re a hard worker, and give a hundred percent.”
“Thank you. I was very nervous.”
“It didn’t show.”
“I thought it did.”
“Did you not like it?”
“It was a little weird having men staring at jewelry I was wearing.”
“They were also looking at your beauty, your perfection. Years ago I came up with this idea about showcasing my collections on models instead of on velvet. I mean the jewels of the finest quality money can buy, but with price tags well into the millions, my customers deserve better than velvet and display cases.”
“The jewelry was all gorgeous and the dresses—My God, I’ve never even seen anything like them.”