“My aunties and uncles never ask for anything more than a free haircut from time to time. Or my momma’s potato salad recipe.” She sighed and relaxed again. “That’s a lot for you to deal with.”
“But I have practice. I promise I’ll make things easy on you.”
She considered him for a moment. “I’m trying to figure out why I’m really here.”
“I’ve told you.”
“You needed a marriage to convince your aunt to vote the way you want so you can keep doing something you don’t love.”
How did he make her understand? “When my father was dying, he made me promise to keep the company together for the family, to not let it fall apart.”
“That wasn’t fair,” Sylvie said softly, sympathy plain in her voice. “He couldn’t know what was going to happen.”
“Family was important to my father.”
“Family can mean more than blood, Rene. It’s more than a name. You know that, right?” she asked. “If your name was gone tomorrow and you were Rene Smith without a dime to your name, you would have value.”
He wasn’t explaining this right. “It’s not like that. My parents weren’t snobs.”
“I’m not saying they were. I’m asking when do you get to be you and not the head of the family? When do you get to think about what you need and not what everyone else wants?”
Never. Not once in his life. He’d often thought that if he’d had siblings, they could have shared this burden, but it had only ever been him, and from the moment he’d been born, expectations had been placed on him. He’d had a path and he’d followed it. “It’s not a life I hate. I’m not complaining. I’m only trying to explain what I have to do. I have to keep this house for my mother and I have to keep the company for future generations. It’s not just about my family and our name. It’s about your friend Hallie’s father. He’s been the head of our shipping department for twenty years. If Charles gains control, I have no idea how he’ll run the company. I suspect he’ll set us up for a buyout. That would give everyone the most cash quickly, but we’re not a massive firm. Anyone buying us out will strip us for parts or absorb the pieces they do want, and our six thousand employees will likely be out of work.”
She sat up, her head shaking. “Of course. I wasn’t even thinking about it like that. It could be devastating. Most of the people in the parish work for either Darois or Beaumont Oil. It being sold off would . . . I don’t know what we would do.”
There was the mayor of the town. “It’s not going to happen. That’s precisely why I’ve done everything I have. To save the company and my mother’s home.”
Her chin came up, the same resolute look she used to have before she took a dare when they were kids. “Yes. We will do that. I should get to bed.”
She was leaving? “It’s early. I was hoping we could talk.”
She set her empty glass down on the bar. “I have an early morning meeting with the heads of the departments. It’s a busy week for me because we’ve got annual audits coming soon. And I’ll be late tomorrow night. I’m meeting with some film producers who are thinking about shooting a movie here. Don’t get excited. It’s why I don’t announce these things. It’s not the first time we’ve had Hollywood take a look around. They usually run once they see Otis. Or Herve in a Speedo. That really happened once.”
He needed to get her schedule from Gertie. It might give him a clue where he could slide in and help her out. If she saw how helpful he could be as a husband, perhaps she might weigh that against all the bad things that came with the family name. “Where are you taking them?”
She shrugged. “I’m catering in some food in the largest of the conference rooms. Guidry’s is too loud for a meeting like this, and the only other place that’s close is the Fillin’ Station, and I can’t take them to a place where they can get both chicken-fried steak and unleaded petroleum.”
He might be able to salvage the evening. “Bring them here. I’ll have Chef cook whatever you like, and my wine cellar is completely open.”
Sylvie frowned. “I can’t put that on you.”
“It’s your home, too, Madam Mayor. You should use it. For the last couple of years it’s been me and Mom. Once a year we have a big party, but that’s it. It would be good to start using this house for what it was meant to be used for.”
“And what’s that?”
He gestured around the room. “To impress and intimidate all who enter. I’m not half bad at persuasion myself, you know. If I expect you to deal with my relatives, shouldn’t you get to use me as arm candy? I’ll wear my best suit.”
“I thought you didn’t want me dealing with your relatives.”
He stood and moved toward her. “I didn’t think throwing you to the wolves would help make my case.”
She wasn’t backing away. “Your case?”
He moved in closer and put his hands on her arms. “You think I only brought you in because my aunt respects your mother?”
Her chin tilted up. “That seems to be what your cousins think.”
“Because they don’t think I have any other needs. They don’t think I have a heart. They view me as an emotionless robot in a good suit. They don’t understand that my plan involves more than getting through the next vote. I don’t want to use that prenup.”
Her lips firmed before she replied, a sure sign she was going to be stubborn again. “Because you’ve decided it’s time to start your life and I’m an easy fit?”
“You’re not easy, darling, but I do think you’re going to fit into my life. I think you’re going to make it so much better. You asked when I get to be something other than my name. I hope that’s when I’m alone with you.”
“Damn it, Rene,” she said softly. “I want to be wary of you and then you say something like that. I think you know exactly how to play me.”
He let his forehead drop to hers. “I’m not playing with you. I know you heard a lot about me tonight, but I’ll show you how serious I am. Yes, I want you to help save my company and my home, but I want to share both with you.”
“Rene, are you saying you’re in love with me?”
He couldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know. I know I feel more for you than I’ve ever felt for a woman. I know I want you more than anything.”
“Anything but your company and your house.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. That’s not fair, and I appreciate you not telling me you love me. You’re being honest, and that makes me more comfortable with you.”