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‘To think,’ he answered, shrugging a shoulder as if it was nothing. As if the weight of a multi-billion-dollar company and generations of Chalendar men didn’t rest upon them. Easing into the subject, he pressed on. ‘To get away. The shareholders of Chalendar Enterprises are threatening to enact a by-law regarding the CEO position.’
‘Why?’
The simply delivered, innocent questions were beginning to grate. Partly because he knew where they were going.
‘Because they don’t like the way I conduct my personal life.’
‘But if you’re not hurting anyone...’
‘There is concern about the more salacious headlines being attached to the company name,’ he growled.
‘It’s none of my business,’ Skye said, holding her hands up as if warding off any more details or more anger.
‘It would be nice if the board saw it that way.’
‘How do they see it?’
Benoit clenched his fist around the machete and slashed unnecessarily at the foliage either side of the path.
It wasn’t really a case of ‘they.’ Benoit was one hundred per cent sure the board would have lost the game of chicken he’d been playing with them for the last two years. They knew they were onto a good thing with him as CEO and wouldn’t really depose him and risk losing the obscene amount of money he brought to their bank accounts.
‘The concern is that negative headlines could affect stock prices.’
You’re becoming just like your father.
His great-aunt’s words had been like a sucker punch. He hadn’t seen it coming. It had dropped him to his knees. He felt it even now.
‘Are they right?’
‘What?’
For a moment he feared she was asking him if he was becoming just like his father.
‘No. I don’t think they’re right to be concerned about stock prices. But what I think doesn’t matter. They are going to vote on it at the next meeting.’
A meeting that Anäis had called. The reality of it simply blanked his mind. It stopped all thought. As if Benoit simply couldn’t comprehend how she, of all people, could do that to him—could betray him like that, could threaten to take away the one thing—
‘And what is this by-law?’
‘It requires me to get married or step down as CEO.’
‘That’s crazy,’ she replied.
‘No more crazy than searching for a one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old map of secret passageways and hunting for missing jewels,’ he bit back angrily, mentally at war with the need to defend his great-aunt whilst also cursing her. He was the only one who could do that.
‘No, I mean what’s crazy is the assumption that marriage would suddenly stop you being a philanderer.’
‘Philanderer?’
‘Would you prefer another description? Playboy, womaniser, Lothario, rake, libertine—’
‘You’re having too much fun with that,’ he growled again. ‘You’d think they’d have learned their lesson last time. It’s not as if it worked with my fath—’ He bit off the word, clenching his jaw, shocked that he’d even half said such a thing.
After a pause, he heard Skye ask, ‘So when does this marriage have to happen by?’
‘My thirty-second birthday.’
‘Which is...?’
