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.”

“No one else benefits,” Louis said firmly. “Everyone else wants the company to make money. Charles wants a bad quarter so he can point the finger your way at the board meeting. Someone is feeding him information, and we need to figure out who it is before we put in another set of bids next week.”

Louis was right. “Nothing is more important than this. I’ll clear my afternoon and we can strategize.”