“I take back what I said about him.” Sylvie proved she had a soft heart. She looked at Rene with tears in her eyes. “You should keep him on.”

“He’s not going to have the choice.” Charles shook his head and turned back to his audience. “Listen, none of you like the way Rene is running the company.”

Cheryl frowned. “I think Rene is running it fine. Why would we put this in your hands? You don’t have a business degree. I know a little about business, and what you’re offering is reckless. Rene has a firm hand. It’s not showy, but it’s kept the company moving forward.”

Marietta sighed and sat back. “Well, I for one wish we could have a CEO who took more chances, but if what Gabriel said is true, we can’t trust Charles. I have to switch my vote. I really did want that yacht.”

“There isn’t a shred of evidence beyond one young man’s word,” Charles said evenly. “And I think Rene put him up to this. It’s his last-ditch effort to keep a job he doesn’t deserve. You can vote for me, Aunt Marietta. I’ll get you that boat. It’s time the company worked for the family and not the other way around.”

“That sounds like an excellent way to not have a company in a few years,” Cheryl replied primly.

“Easy for you to say. You have almost as much money as Rene,” Marietta shot back. “And you didn’t earn it, either.”

Ashley groaned. “None of us did. Not a one of us truly earned a dime. We all came from money, and it sucks when we don’t take care of it and it goes away. Rene might look like a douchebag in a suit, but he’s a good man. He’s kind and he helps where he can. Gabriel and I are voting our mom’s shares, and we will vote for Rene.”

“No one wants to hear from you,” Charles said. “What would you know about working?”

“She knows what we all do, Charles,” Roberta said with a long-suffering sigh. “Maybe more since she actually tried to follow her dream. She wasn’t very good at it, so now she needs a new dream.”

“Why are you so rude?” Ashley asked, her disgust apparent.

Roberta shrugged her off. “Because I’m old and I can be. You’ll find something very freeing about not having to worry if some man thinks you’re pretty, honey.”

Ashley frowned. “The truth is I don’t actually like men and I’m sick of pretending to.”

“Then you have half the secret of life,” Roberta announced. “Rene, come here.”

Rene chuckled. “Oh, I’ve learned the other half, Roberta, and that’s that I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to.”