Chapter 13- The Board Meeting

Sunday arrived faster than expected. Genevieve spent the morning seated in Charles's private study. Sunlight poured into the room through the windows, falling across polished shelves lined with books on finance, art, and history. She sat behind the desk, stacks of documents spread before her, her tablet glowing with spreadsheets and financial records from the Holloway Group. The Holloway Group official board meeting was the next day, and she wanted to be familiar with the company's financial record.

The Holloway Group was a company that dealt with shopping complexes and kitchen wares. They owned chains of shopping complexes across the country. They had four big shopping complex and they were building the fifth one before Charles died. They also owned a manufacturing company that made the kitchen wares.

She had expected a drop in the company's financial performance after Charles’s death but not this. Profits had declined more than expected over the past three months. Two major investors had cancelled their contract with the company, and the remaining investors weren't confident in the company's performance. Several projects had been put on hold. Charles had been the spine of the company. Without him, the structure of the company was weakening.

Genevieve leaned back slowly into her chair, fingers pressing against her temple. This was incompetence from the board. She wondered what they were doing to address the company's financial situation.

She drifted briefly to the Widow's Club meeting from the previous day.

'If you need to sleep with him, do it.'

Celeste’s voice echoed in her ears.

Genevieve shut her eyes briefly. The thought unsettled her not because she was naïve about the world she’d entered, but because Dominic Rourke was not just a target anymore. He was a man with a child whom she was beginning to love.  She couldn't bring herself to use Olandria for this game she was playing. And Dominic was a man whose presence unsettled her in ways she had not prepared for.

She pushed the thought away and refocused on the documents in front of her.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Lunch, ma’am,” her chef announced as she brought in a tray.

Her staff had resumed, and that made her mornings a little bit noisy. She liked the noise that came from the staff doing their jobs. And they no longer looked at her like the fragile widow who might break anytime soon. 

By evening, she had finished studying the financial records of the company.

Monday morning arrived, and Genevieve was ready for the board meeting. She stood in front of her vanity mirror, fastening the final button of her brown suit. She paired the outfit with a white blouse, a blue coach handbag and minimal jewelry; her hair was pulled back into a sleek low bun. Her heels clicked softly against the marble floor as she walked out of the Holloway Mansion.

Genevieve arrived at the Holloway Group in 30 minutes. The company building was tall; it had five floors. The company logo shone above the entrance. As her car pulled into the parking lot of the building, she felt her confidence increase. She straightened her back immediately after she stepped out of the car and walked towards the entrance with her head held high.

Immediately, she stepped into the reception area; the workers there turned their gaze towards her. They immediately recognized her and greeted her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Holloway."

"You are welcome, Mrs. Holloway."

Genevieve acknowledged the greetings by nodding gently at them. The workers stared at her and whispered among themselves after they greeted her, but she ignored them all.

A woman stepped forward from the reception desk, her posture perfect and her expression calm.

“Good morning, Mrs. Holloway,” she greeted. Genevieve nodded briefly. “I’m Helena Maxwell,” the woman said, introducing herself. “Your personal assistant and secretary."

"What about Marla Stanford?" Genevieve asked. She had expected that she was going to meet Marla, the woman who was her husband's secretary and also one of the many women he had slept with while he was still alive.

“She is currently on leave. I’ve been assigned to you until her return,” Helena continued. “Welcome, Mrs. Holloway.”

“Okay,” Genevieve replied, studying her carefully. Helena was in her early thirties, dressed in a navy-blue dress, hair styled neatly, possibly dangerous. Everyone here is, Genevieve thought.

As they walked through the building, employees greeted her—some with polite smiles, others with curiosity that they tried to hide. She heard whispers behind her.

“Is she really serious about accepting the role as CEO?”

“Do you think she knows what she’s doing?”

“She looks really different.”

They reached the executive floor, and Helena directed her towards a glass-walled office at the end of the corridor. “This is your office, Mrs. Holloway.”

Genevieve stepped inside. The office was large, with large windows and a great view of the city from the windows. A wide desk sat in the center of the office. There was a sofa and a coffee table at one end of the office. This was where Charles had ruled the company from. And now she was the one ruling from there.  

Helena set the tablet in her hands down on the table. “The board meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Before that, would you like coffee?”

“Yes, please.” Genevieve responded.

As Helena prepared it, Genevieve moved towards the table and sat on the chair. She picked up and examined Charles's photograph on the table. He was wearing a black suit, and his smile was very wide in the picture. She dropped the picture as she wondered how much Charles was hiding behind that smile.

Helena returned with the coffee and briefed Genevieve about her schedule for the week.

“Your schedule for the week includes meetings with the senior department heads of the shopping complexes, a press conference on Wednesday, and a private investors dinner on Friday evening. Your driver has been assigned, and your security protocol has also been updated.”

Genevieve listened carefully, studying Helena’s movements. Can I trust her? she wondered. Not yet. She would have to test her first to be sure.

The clock ticked 10 a.m., but Genevieve remained seated. Helena did not know if she should remind her that it was time, but she was sure that she was probably aware that it was time, so she decided not to say anything. 

At exactly 10:20 a.m., Genevieve stood up.

“Shall we?” she asked calmly.

Helena’s brow rose with surprise briefly, but she said nothing. She nodded, picked up her tablet from the table, and escorted Genevieve to the boardroom. When they got to the boardroom, Genevieve could hear the members of the board arguing from inside the room. The boardroom fell silent immediately as she entered.

The board members, comprising both men and women in suits, turned their attention to her immediately. Most of them looked displeased, others curious. Viola Holloway sat among the board members; she looked very displeased.

“You’re late,” Viola snapped at her.

Genevieve didn’t even acknowledge her. She walked towards the empty seat at the head of the table. “My apologies,” she said evenly as she sat. “Shall we begin?”

Murmurs echoed through the room.

"Is that your way to apologize for keeping us waiting for over 20 minutes?" One of the board members asked, obviously displeased.

"Do you want us to spend half of the minute talking about me apologizing?" Genevieve asked, her gaze sharp.

Another round of murmurs echoed through the room.

Another board members cleared his throat. “Mrs. Holloway, with all due respect, this company requires experienced leadership. Many of us are concerned about your competence.”

“My competence?” Genevieve asked calmly. She didn't expect that the board members were going to make it easy for her. She was sure that Viola had met up with most of them, if not all of them, to try to win them over to her side.

“Yes,” another added. “This is not a ceremonial position.” Viola’s lips curved in satisfaction.

Genevieve placed her hands on the table. “You’re absolutely right. My competence,” Genevieve continued, “can only be judged once I start working.”

The room stilled.

“And if you all are very competent, how come you haven't done anything about the company's financial dip in the market in the last 2 months? I’m also aware that some of you have been encouraged to question my position as CEO,” she said, her gaze sweeping across the table. “Manipulated, even.”

Several board members shifted uncomfortably.

“I may not have been publicly involved in the Holloway Group,” she went on, “but during my marriage to Charles, I advised him on deals that secured this company major expansions.” She paused. “Deals you all benefited from.”

Silence followed.

Viola scoffed. “You expect us to believe....”

“I expect you,” Genevieve cut in, finally meeting Viola’s gaze, “to respect the decision of the man who built this company.” Her voice was steady. “If Charles trusted me with this role,” she continued, “he definitely knew what he was doing.”

The board members exchanged glances.

“I will prove myself,” Genevieve concluded. “But I will not beg for you all to accept me.”

The tension in the room increased. They knew that this was not the quiet woman they remembered.

Genevieve leaned back into her chair, unshaken, she knew one thing with certainty: She had stepped fully into her role. And everyone in the room knew it.