It hadn’t been the romantic afternoon he’d hoped for.
Louis moved to the chair in front of his desk, easing himself in with grace. “The problem is you associate the mayor’s office with the last mayor. His version of the job was to lead by napping. And fishing. Sylvie’s a ball of energy, and she’s got big ideas for the parish. She takes this place seriously. Have you thought about the fact that she’s a smart, ambitious woman who likely won’t stay here for long? I know she promised to work out the mayor’s term, but that’s almost up.”
“She’s planning on running again.” They’d talked about her ambitions for the parish. She had things she wanted to do before she made a decision about her future. She wanted to build up the infrastructure for the parish, to make city hall hum so when she left, the processes were in place to take Papillon into the future.
Then she would likely look into running for a state seat. He could make that work. Louisiana wasn’t some massive state. It was a three-hour drive from Papillon to Baton Rouge, and thirty minutes by private plane. She could commute to work. He would put a landing strip in the backyard.
“Is she, now? When did she make that decision?”
“Would it be so bad if she wanted to stay here because her husband’s here?” He had to play all this out because Andre would show up at some point, and he would likely be having this discussion again.
After all, Sylvie’s career and the possibilities of her life were exactly why he’d walked away the first time.
He didn’t want to make the same mistake again. Or rather the same choice. It hadn’t been a mistake to let Sylvie get through college and see a bit of the world before he pounced and locked her in the cage with him.
That was what bothered him. Did he have any right to drag Sylvie into his problem?
“I don’t suppose so.” Louis had taken over for Rene’s father in many ways. Louis was now the one who came in at least once a week to talk about how Rene was doing. “But I worry about what happens if she does choose her career over you.”
“Because you’ve seen it happen?”
A curious brow rose over Louis’s eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents lately. I worry their relationship was more of a friendly one than a passionate marriage. I worry I might be falling into the same thing because it’s what I know.” Though he couldn’t deny the passion he felt for his wife. “It’s not that I worry about it for me. For me, it would be the perfect marriage. I don’t want another wife. I want Sylvie. If I’m honest with myself, I jumped all over this situation because it gave me a way to get her where I want her.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I don’t think Sylvie will be happy with that kind of marriage. Her parents were wildly in love.” Maybe kids were always doomed to replay what they’d watched as they grew up. He knew he often felt like he’d stepped into his father’s life the minute he’d died, like the crown had been shoved on his head and it was heavy.
“Your parents loved each other,” Louis said quietly.
“But were they in love?”
Louis sighed and sat back. “They were older when they married. Your mother was well into her thirties, and at the time that wasn’t a normal thing. Your father was older than she was.”
“Did he marry her for the company’s sake?” That question had been running around Rene’s head for years.
“Are you asking if he was under the same pressure as you?” Louis asked. “Yes, he was. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t love your mother.”
Rene had always had his suspicions. “You spent more time with him than she did. He was married to this company. I’m not sure that’s what I want. I’m also not sure I’m capable of anything else. I think I’m my father’s son. I think there’s something missing inside me.”
He’d thought about the look on Sylvie’s face when he’d told her plenty of marriages started without love. It hadn’t been the answer she’d wanted, but he hadn’t been able to lie to her.
“There is nothing missing in you.” Louis had leaned in, his eyes intent on Rene. “And there was nothing missing in your father. He knew how to love. Maybe he wasn’t demonstrative enough for you, but that had to do with the way he was raised.”
“I’m not judging him.” He loved his father. He’d been a good father, but he hadn’t taught him how to be the kind of man Sylvie seemed to need, and he was at a loss for what to do. He wanted her. He wasn’t sure he could have her, and he was a little scared that losing Sylvie would have far more of an effect on his life than he was willing to admit.
He’d missed her for years, and when she’d returned, she’d seemed uninterested in him. Now he knew she wanted him, but he couldn’t seem to give her what she needed to take the last step that would start their physical relationship.
Then he could show her what he could offer. He could make up for his lack of emotions by being everything she needed in bed. A passionate lover and a good life partner she could count on. He had to hope that would be enough.
“I’m glad to hear it, because your parents went through enough judgment,” Louis said, his eyes going to the portrait of Rene’s parents he kept on the wall. In it they looked every bit the sophisticated, stately Southern couple. Educated. Polite. Respectable. “I was your father’s best man. I know how he felt about your mother. In many ways she saved him.”
“From what?”
Louis seemed almost startled by the question, but he recovered quickly. “The same thing you’re going through now. He was under pressure to marry, too. Your mother’s family was more relaxed, but she felt like it was time to settle down. She wanted a baby. They were happy together. Does love have to be one way? Does it have to be the crazy passion you see on a screen for it to be real?”
It had to be whatever Sylvie could accept. He breathed a sigh because he wasn’t going to fix the problem by talking about it. He wasn’t sure he could fix the problem at all. Louis had never married. As far as Rene could tell, Louis had been a confirmed bachelor all of his life. He’d been married to his job, too. “Of course not. Now let’s talk about what’s happening downstairs. You heard we lost the Gateway account?”
Louis looked like he wanted to argue but he merely sighed and plowed ahead. “We’ve got a leak somewhere. A corporate spy, to use dramatic language. Someone is leaking our bids and allowing our competitors to swoop in and underbid by pennies. The question is, who’s working for Charles?”
Rene thought along the same lines, but he had to be fair. “We don’t know it’s Charles.”