Page 57 of Rival Hearts

My brothers all looked confused, but at least they shut their mouths and listened.

“They have a point, actually,” I continued. “Do you know how much shit the yachts pump into the air when they’re out at sea? It’s more than all the traffic in the city combined. And the air quality itself on deck is worse than a densely populated city.”

I’d been doing a bit of research, trying to look at it from the other side, and I’d been shocked by what I’d learned. “It doesn’t help if we keep telling them they’re wrong but we don’t take a good look at what we’re doing. If we want to tell them we’re not screwing up, then we better be sure we’re not.”

Dad had been quiet, listening to it all while my brothers bantered.

“What do you propose?” he asked, finally speaking up. It was hard to know what he was thinking. He had a hell of a poker face.

“I think we need to look at our production in the long run, but it’s not just the production that’s the problem. We’re doing the whole sustainability thing but we have to make sure our yachts are green, too.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “The yachts are great. You know Chris has the best designs, and the world is going crazy about it. And when we release the new yacht in Monaco soon—”

“I think we should start working on a new line,” I suggested, cutting him off.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Ben asked, frustrated. He was upset that I wanted to change things, but quite frankly, I was pretty sure he was just set on being against me no matter what. Ben and I didn’t have the best relationship. Did he think it was a personal attack? He had to know that this was much bigger than any of us.

“I think we should focus on using electric propulsion rather than diesel engines.”

“Do you know how much power you’re sacrificing to do that?” Ben asked. “We’re not going to turn our yachts into something slower than a pedal boat.”

I rolled my eyes when Chris and Daniel agreed, chuckling at Ben’s words.

“I’m pretty sure we can find top-of-the-line engines that work with electricity. We can look at wind or solar power, too. There are a bunch of options. Just because we change direction doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Right, Chris?”

Chris swallowed. “We could look into that, yeah. I mean, I don’t design the engines, but I’m sure if we talk to Paul, he’ll have some ideas.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I said.

“I think it’s a stupid idea,” Ben clapped back.

“Come on, man, you’re just shooting it down for the sake of it. I’m trying to make it work here.”

“I’m shooting it down because we already have something that works. Never change a winning plan, isn’t that how the saying goes?”

Dad cleared his throat. “Is it a winning plan, though?”

Ben opened his mouth, surprised that my dad was taking my side, and closed it again when he couldn’t find a direct argument.

“All I’m saying is that we should start looking at different ideas, we should look for new ways to do what we’ve been doing all this time. We need to adapt and change if we want to stay ahead of the game and if we can do something that changes the way the world sees us…”

“It should make a difference to our marketing strategy, too.” Chris spoke up.

Ben snorted. “You’re taking his side because Dad is.”

“Hey, I can think for myself,” Chris snapped back. “And I’m just being realistic.”

“And I’m not?” Ben asked.

“You’re being a pain,” I offered.

Ben scowled at me.

“I’m just saying”—Chris tried again—“if we focus on going green we could use it in a campaign that will draw attention, and a lot of people who might only have thought about doing business with us might be convinced to follow through. It will give them a good name, too.” He looked at me. “I like it.”

“Thanks,” I said, and I really meant it. “If we start with one line and it’s a success, then we can do more and eventually turn it all around. If it doesn’t go our way, we can go back to the old ways, no harm, no foul.”

Ben snorted. “Just millions down the drain that we spend on something that might not take off.”