Page 33 of A Billionaire Between the Sheets

Walking over to the desk, he opened the top drawer and pulled out the contract. He picked up a pen and had started to sign when Grayson noticed the design drawings in the drawer.

“Holy shit. What are those?”

Deacon looked at the drawing of a man in a leather corset and shook his head. “Olivia’s idea to save the company.”

Grayson walked over and pulled out the stack of designs. “You’ve got to be kidding. These are ridiculous.”

“That’s what I told her, but she obviously refused to listen. You should’ve seen the first set.”

Nash sat in the chair across from the desk. “She really thinks men’s lingerie is going to sell?”

“I think she’s willing to try anything to save the company.” Deacon sat down and released his breath. “But after looking at the financial statements, it will take nothing short of a miracle to save French Kiss.”

“That’s too bad,” Grayson said as he flipped through the sketches. “I like Olivia.” He stopped flipping. “Now this is more like it. This is what lingerie should look like.”

Nash crossed his booted feet on the desk. “Which only supports my theory that you’ve become a little sissy girl since I’ve been gone.”

“Shut up, Nash.” He turned the sketch. “Tell me that you don’t think this is hot.”

The sketch was of a woman. A woman in a wispy bluish-purple nightgown that left little to the imagination. The drawing wasn’t as good as Babette’s, but the design was twice as hot.

Deacon sat up. “Where did you get that?”

“It was at the back of the other sketches.” He flipped to another page. “And there appears to be more.”

Deacon took the sketches from his brother, tossed Babette’s crazy creations on the floor, and spread the rest across the desk. Or at least what would fit. There had to be around thirty.

“Damn,” Nash said, “how can French Kiss be going under if they sell stuff like this?” He picked up a sketch of a woman in a black studded bra, satin garter belt, and silky thigh-high stockings. “I’d pay a fortune to see a woman in this.”

“You’ve always liked your women dark and edgy, Nash,” Grayson said. “I like my ladies in something a little softer.” He pointed to the sketch of the sheer pink bra and panties, then tipped his head as he studied it. “But the models need a few more curves to really show off the excellent design of the lingerie.”

Deacon stared at a drawing of a purple-and-silver corset. “Whose are these?”

Grayson pointed to the scribble in the corner of the sketch. “I’m not positive, but that looks like an O.H. to me.”

Olivia had drawn these designs? If so, then why hadn’t she chosen these for the new collections? The answer came quickly. Because she didn’t think they were good enough. Just as she didn’t think she deserved to be the boss of French Kiss—or the daughter of Michael Beaumont.

Deacon sat down in the chair. “She’s going to hide these in a desk drawer and walk into the boardroom tomorrow with Babette’s pile of crap that will make her the laughingstock of the company.”

“And isn’t that what you wanted, Deke?” Grayson asked. “I thought you wanted to get back at Olivia for getting you kicked out of Michael’s.”

It had been what he wanted. Once. Now just the thought of Olivia embarrassing herself in front of a bunch of snobs made him want to hit something. He glanced at the sexy corset. Or come up with a new plan.

He swiveled toward Grayson. “How long would it take you to copy these designs and put them on a curvier model?”

Grayson shrugged. “Five or six hours, probably.”

Deacon opened the desk drawers and searched until he found a sketchpad and colored pencils. “Then have at it.”

With a grin Grayson took the pad and pencils, grabbed one of Olivia’s sketches, and headed for the couch. Deacon turned to Nash, expecting to catch some grief. Instead his brother was putting the sketches into groups.

“These should be put together according to male preference, don’t you think?” Nash said.

Deacon started choosing the designs he liked best. “So you aren’t going to give me shit about my hero complex?”

Nash glanced up. “This board meeting is pretty crucial tomorrow?”

“It could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. If Olivia doesn’t show the board something amazing, most are going to sell their shares for pennies on the dollar to some company that plans on selling substandard lingerie to discount stores. And I have to wonder if that wasn’t someone’s plan all along.”

“The person who’s skimming the money?”

“Probably.”

A long silence followed before Nash spoke. “As far as I’m concerned, family is family. Now let’s help our cousin so we can sign that contract and go home.”

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