He would take them from Charles and hold them in trust for his children. They shouldn’t be punished for the sins of their father.
“You’ll do nothing of the kind.” Charles’s face had gone a blotchy red, but his words were ice cold. “I’m done playing nice.”
“Nice? This is your idea of nice? Corporate spying? You cost this company money.”
“Prove it.” Charles spat the words out.
“I’m working on it, but you should understand that even without prosecutable evidence, I’m going to talk about this at the board meeting and I will accuse you,” Rene explained. “We stayed at the cabin the night of the storm, and I found the bid there in the morning. Armie saw it, too, and he can be my witness.”
“Or you’re setting me up to hide your own failure. You learned how to do that from your daddy, didn’t you?” Charles glanced around as though trying to decide if they were alone.
“I think you should leave my father out of this.”
“I wish I could.” Charles moved past him and walked into his office. “You’re not going to say a damn thing to anyone except to tell Aunt Roberta tomorrow night that your marriage is a sham, just like your parents’ was.”
Had Charles lost his damn mind? “My parents’ marriage was a sham? They were married for thirty years. I know how it started, but I also know how it ended.”
“They only stayed married because of you. They didn’t love each other any more than Sylvie loves you. She’s going to leave you.”
“I think I’ll work hard to make sure she doesn’t.”
Charles stared at him for a moment. “You actually care about her, don’t you? I wouldn’t call it love because you have no concept of love.”
“And I suppose you do?”
“Not at all,” Charles agreed. “We’re very similar, Rene. You can’t see it, and I’m not going to try to make you see it. You think you’re so high above everyone else.”
It was the second time in less than five minutes he’d been accused of that particular sin. “I assure you I don’t think I’m higher than anyone else. If you would like to sell my mother the home she’s lived in most of her life, I’ll let you take over the CEO job and you can deal with everyone. You can see how high-and-mighty you feel.”
Charles waved him off. “I’ll have to pass. I’ll have both, and I think perhaps you’ll be the one selling your stock to me, for a reduced price, of course.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
“Because if you don’t, I’m going to ruin Sylvie’s career.”
He stopped, his rage threatening to boil over. “Don’t you even say her name.”
Charles’s mouth turned up in an arrogant smirk. “I have her, Rene. I know some people in DC, and I can prove she had an affair with a married congressman she was working for. There are several people who are willing to talk.”
“She wouldn’t.” He knew his wife. If something happened between her and a married man, then she either hadn’t known he was married or she’d been forced.
“She did.” Charles seemed to calm, as though he knew he had Rene in a corner. “How is that going to play down here in Louisiana? I’ve also been talking to some people about running against her in the next election.”
“You mean you’ve been talking about paying someone to run against her,” Rene surmised.
“It wouldn’t hurt to have the mayor in my pocket. There are still people in this parish who think that job should belong to a man. You know whatever a man does will be waved off, while Sylvie will be judged for breathing the wrong way.” Charles paced, as though warming to his own plans. “Do you think she’ll be happy living here knowing everyone is talking about her behind her back? Knowing if she hadn’t married you, she would still have a career? She would still have respect. Because I fully intend to tell her you’re the one who wouldn’t save her.”
“You’re putting me in a place where I have to choose between my mother or my wife.” He didn’t even consider his own job. In some ways it would be a relief. He might spend the rest of his days with guilt burning through him because he would have let his father down, but he could handle that shame. It was the idea of hurting the women he loved that made the bile roll in his stomach.
He had zero doubt any rumors about Sylvie were false, but rumors didn’t need truth to cause damage. Charles could make it hard for Sylvie to stay here, for him and his mother to remain in the town they’d lived in all of his life.
“Or you can show up at the party tomorrow night and explain that you married Sylvie to trick our aunt into voting for you. I don’t care if you manage to convince Sylvie to stay with you. I’m not asking you to divorce. I’m not even requiring that I be made CEO. Who knows? Our aunt works in mysterious ways. If you get elected at the end of the week, I’ll walk away and I won’t use anything I have on Sylvie. In fact, I’ll hand it all over. All my . . . what would she call it? Oppo research. I’ll give it to you so you’ll know what might come for her.”