“Told me what, cousin?” Charles held up his paper, a perfectly innocent look on his face. “The boy and I are going to do some fishing this weekend. Had to make sure my license is up to date. You didn’t get my note about reserving the fishing cabin? Family time is important.”
Louis had moved in beside his mother, letting Rene know he had his back.
He went through all the possibilities. His assistant dealt with scheduling the family’s many shared assets. She dealt with all of his appointments, but she hadn’t known about this morning’s wedding until he’d called her an hour before to tell her he wouldn’t be in the office today. It might have given Charles enough time to come up with an excuse to get to city hall. “I hadn’t looked at the schedule. I don’t have time for vacations.”
The longest he’d been able to be out of the office had been the month it had taken him to recover from being nearly killed by Janice Herbert’s SUV.
“Of course not. You’re far too important.” Charles tipped his well-coiffed head Cricket’s way. “Aunt Cricket. It’s good to see you up and about.”
His mother wagged a finger Charles’s way. “Don’t you pretend to be nice. You came up here to ruin Rene’s wedding. He’s already done that by having it here in a dreary courthouse, but you’re not going to make it worse.”
A single brow rose over Charles’s green eyes. It had been said that Charles looked a lot like Rene, though a duller version, like Rene had gotten all the light and Charles had been left in the shadows.
Rene had never once said that, but he knew damn well Charles held it against him.
“Wedding? Now that is interesting,” Charles said. “I wasn’t aware you were even dating, cos.”
“Well, you don’t know everything about me, do you?”
“Oh, I make it my goal to do exactly that. You know what they say about friends and . . . family. Keep your friends close and your family closer.” Charles squared off his shoulders.
Enemies. Was that what he’d become to his family? The enemy who held them all down? “Then you know how private I am about my personal life. I don’t advertise who I’m dating.”
“But you don’t hide it, either. You never have,” Charles replied. “Let’s stop beating around the bush and be honest. Who’d you hire? You can’t think that Aunt Roberta is going to believe for a second that you up and got married and mean to stay that way. Did you hire that model you used to date? Roberta hated her. How much of the family money are you spending on this ridiculous scheme to keep me out?”
“My son did not have to hire a woman to marry him.” His mother sounded outraged. “Rene, I’m going outside to get a switch. Charles’s momma didn’t whoop him enough.”
Louis chuckled. “I think we should probably stay close.”
Charles ignored the outburst, putting all his focus on Rene. “This isn’t going to work. This makes you look pathetic and ridiculous. No one with half a brain is going to believe this marriage is real.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re dealing with our cousins,” Rene shot back. It wasn’t fair of him, but he was angry. He’d been nervous before, but anger started to thrum through his system. “And don’t you dare accuse me of using company money for personal business. You know I don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, the great Rene Darois is independently wealthy because his father was smart enough to marry a Talbot.” He turned to Cricket. “No offense, Aunt Cricket. I think it’s admirable that you managed to be born into such a wealthy family. One would think since Rene’s got his own cash that he would be kinder to the rest of us who are dependent on the company.”
The situation was more complex, but Rene couldn’t make Charles understand. It was futile to try. “It’s not about kindness. It’s about keeping the company solvent for future generations, including your children.”
Charles’s shoulders squared, and he had that look in his eyes he’d always gotten right before he shoved the knife in. “Thank you for making my point so eloquently. This really is about future generations, of which you have no part of. I’m the best person to think of my children. You don’t have any. You live a selfish life.”
“I was joking about the switch before,” his mother said, her tone going serious. “I’m rethinking my position now.”
Maybe Louis would have to protect Charles.
“I’m sorry to have upset you, Aunt Cricket. I know your health is a delicate thing right now,” Charles said in smooth tones. “But Rene needs to understand that Aunt Roberta won’t accept some store-bought wife, no matter how attractive she is.”
“Cricket, honey, you don’t need a switch. I’ll take care of him. I know a couple of spells.”