“I think there’s got to be some other way besides getting married.” Sylvie had thought about the problem all afternoon. “He needs to make it clear that he’s better than Charles. Charles has far less experience. I think they have these meetings once a year, so even if everything goes wrong, he’ll have another chance.”

“But what about the house? I mean, it would be awful to have to move his mom out of her home.” Hallie took a sip of her sangria. “Cricket’s been in that house for almost forty years.”

Sylvie hadn’t heard anything about the house. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, Darois House actually belongs to the company. It’s tradition for the CEO to live there, according to my brother.” Sera’s brother, Remy, was a friend of Rene’s.

She’d known that somewhere in the back of her head, but it hadn’t hit her what Rene could lose. His job. His home. His mother was still fragile.

What had it taken for him to walk in and ask for her help?

“Who is he marrying?” Sylvie forced herself to ask the question. Had she made a mistake? Rene hadn’t even mentioned all the things her family owed him for. He hadn’t asked for payback from the time her mother’s salon flooded and the insurance wasn’t enough. He hadn’t mentioned that she probably owed his family for at least part of her college education since the Darois Scholarship Fund hadn’t existed until she’d needed an extra ten grand a year to go to Tulane. She’d been ready to refuse her acceptance and go to a state school when that scholarship had saved her.

He hadn’t pointed out that he’d saved the people of this town time and time again.

Who was going to step up when Rene needed help? She hadn’t even asked him how much time he had left or what he’d already tried. She’d told him no and then arrogantly asked if he’d tried everything he could.

She hadn’t even offered him a seat. She’d been so eager to get him out that she hadn’t thought about what he was going through. She’d only thought about her pride.

“I have no idea,” Hallie admitted. “I only know that there’s a rumor he has to get married and he’s got someone in mind. He used to date that woman who was the runner-up to Miss Louisiana, and now she’s a weather girl. I’m supposed to say meteorologist, but she’s mostly big boobs and a pretty smile. She’s not very good at her job. She would probably say yes.”