Chapter 14- Senator Francis

The boardroom door closed loudly behind Genevieve.

She did not look back. Her heels clicked against the marble floor as she walked down the corridor, her back straight and her expression unreadable. The board members had not acted below her expectations, and she also knew that she had agitated Viola further, but she didn’t care. She was going to prove to them that she was there to stay.

Inside the boardroom, the silence stretched after Genevieve left. The faces of the board members were uneasy; tension from all that had happened during the meeting was still present. 

Viola was the first to speak. Her well-manicured fingers pressed flat against the table as she leaned forward, eyes sharp and filled with anger. 

“Well,” she said coldly, “that was… disappointing.”

One of the older board members scoffed. “Disappointing? Viola, that was a complete failure.”

Another leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. “You said you had everything under control. You said she’d fold. That she wouldn’t last ten minutes.”

Viola’s jaw tightened. “She was supposed to be easily rattled,” she snapped. “Unprepared and emotional.”

“But instead,” a woman across the table cut in, “she handled us like we were interns of this company.”

The words stung each of them because they were true.

Viola straightened, eyes flashing with annoyance. “Do not forget why we’re here. We had an understanding. An agreement. She was never meant to be comfortable in that seat.”

One of the quieter board members finally spoke. “And yet, when the moment came for you to make her uncomfortable, you couldn’t stand your ground.”

Viola turned to him sharply. “Excuse me?”

“You backed down easily,” he continued calmly. “You questioned her competence, yes—but when she pushed back, you retreated. You let her control the room. You couldn’t say a word.”

A murmur of agreement followed.

Another board member sighed. “And frankly speaking, Genevieve wasn’t wrong.”

That earned him several looks from the board members.

“Since Charles died,” he went on, “this company has been bleeding. Declining in revenue. Major investors have canceled their contracts with us. Poor investor confidence. Delayed decisions on pending projects. We can’t pretend like these things haven’t been happening.”

Viola’s fingers curled into her palm. “So your solution is to hand the company to a widow with no formal executive background? A widow who isn’t a Holloway by blood?”

“No,” the woman beside him responded. “Our solution is to give her a chance to prove herself. We give her two or maybe three months. If the company’s performance doesn’t improve, if profits do not stabilize, then we remove her.”

Viola stared at them; she couldn’t believe that they were thinking about giving Genevieve a chance. “You’re giving her time?” She asked.

“We’re protecting the company and also protecting our pockets,” another replied. “Publicly tearing her down now would hurt us more than it would hurt her.”

Viola pushed back her chair abruptly. “You all are making a mistake.”

She gathered her things and left the boardroom. She should have realized from the onset that the board members only cared about their own pockets. She headed towards the elevator. As the doors closed, Viola’s face hardened. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

The person answered on the second ring.

“She’s not going to back down,” Viola said quietly.

There was a pause.

“Yes. We need to accelerate things.” She responded.

She ended the call before the voice on the other end could respond.

---

Genevieve was already back in her office when Helena returned to the office. Sunlight filtered into the office through the tall windows. Genevieve stood by the window and watched the city below her, her hands folded behind her back.

Helena entered the office and closed the door softly behind her. She held a pen and a small journal in her hand.

“Mrs. Holloway—”

Genevieve turned. “Sit,” she said calmly. Helena obeyed.

Genevieve moved to the table and sat down, resting her palms on the surface.

“I want a full background check on every board member,” she said. “Personal, professional, financial, and every other thing you’ll be able to find.”

Helena’s pen paused for only a second. “Understood.”

“I want to know who they meet, where they go, and who they speak to for the next few weeks.”

Helena nodded.

“I do not need any mistakes or exceptions; keep me properly informed.” Genevieve continued, voice steady, “I need to know what they are up to.”

Helena wrote quickly. “I’ll update you daily.”

“Send my schedule for the week to my email,” Genevieve added. 

Helena stood. “Okay, do you need anything else, Mrs. Holloway?”

Genevieve shook her head. Helena left the office, and she immediately exhaled. She had so many files to review, especially financial records, before the meeting with the departmental heads of the stores. She rolled up her sleeves and buried herself in work.

Files covered her desk by mid-afternoon—financial statements from the department stores, manufacturing reports, and investors' contracts. 

There were a lot of inconsistencies. Money was being moved and being redirected, and whoever was moving the money did a very good job at covering their tracks. She was deep into the figures when the telephone on her table rang.

“Mrs. Holloway,” Helena’s voice came through, “Senator Matthew called saying he would like to schedule a meeting with you.”

Genevieve’s hand stilled. She remembered him clearly from Charles' funeral. He had mentioned something about Charles being irreplaceable when he came to greet her.

“What does he want?” Genevieve asked.

“He didn’t mention it; he only said it’s urgent.”

Genevieve considered for a few minutes.

“Fix the meeting for tomorrow since he said it’s urgent,” she instructed. She wondered what was so urgent that it would make a senator, a member of the government, to want to see her.

---

The next day, Genevieve arrived at the Holloway Group. The whispers were lower in comparison to the previous day. The workers were definitively getting used to seeing her in the office. She arrived at the executive floor; Helena greeted her and informed her that the meeting with Senator Matthew was by 1pm. 

The morning went by quickly with Helena serving Genevieve coffee and sending out documents from Genevieve’s office to the department heads in the Holloway Group. 

By 1pm, Senator Matthew arrived. He wore a black suit; he carried confidence that nobody could ignore. Anyone could recognize that he was a man who was wealthy and had power had his disposal. He smiled as Genevieve welcomed him into her office.

“My condolences again, Mrs. Holloway,” he said smoothly. “Charles was irreplaceable, and congratulations on your new position as CEO of Holloway Group.”

“Thank you, Senator Matthew,” Genevieve replied.

They sat opposite each other at the large table in the office.

“My assistant mentioned that you wanted to see me for something urgent.” Genevieve said, going straight to the point.

“Yes, I’ll be direct,” Senator Matthew said. “Charles and I had a business deal before he died. It was mutually beneficial.”

Genevieve tilted her head. “Really? I wasn’t aware.”

“That’s exactly why I’m here. I’d like for us to continue the deal.”

“I see. But I can’t agree to just continue the deal with you when I don’t know the kind of business deal you both had,” Genevieve replied calmly.

Senator Matthew smiled. “I understand. That’s why I’m here. It will be profitable for both of us.”

Genevieve leaned back into her seat. “Senator Matthew, I know that the business deal was beneficial; that’s the only reason that Charles would have agreed to it, but I don’t continue business deals I don’t understand. I need documents on this business deal. Full information.”

His smile tightened. “Once you see the benefits—”

“Not just the benefits, every single thing about the business, Senator Matthew,” she interrupted with a smile.

A flicker of something dark crossed his eyes. “Very well,” he said. “I’ll get back to you.”

When he left, Genevieve remained seated. She thought about what kind of business deal Senator Matthew had with her late husband. Charles never mentioned that he had any business dealings with this man. She wasn’t surprised though; apparently there were a lot of things that Charles never mentioned to her. She suspected that something was wrong, and she hoped that it wasn't something illegal that Charles did with this man. She would just have to wait until Senator Francis returned with the details of the business deal. 

2 hours later, Helena knocked on the door and entered.

“I looked into Mrs. Viola Holloway,” she said quietly. “She met with Senator Francis yesterday, but I couldn’t get the details of the meeting.”

Genevieve met her gaze, hiding the surprise that the report had brought her. “I see,” she said.

“Nothing fishy has been discovered about the other members of the board; I’ll tell the private investigator to keep checking.” 

“Okay, good work,” Genevieve said.

Helena left after she briefed Genevieve on her schedule for the next day. Immediately after she left, Genevieve’s thoughts were already racing.

What was the connection between Charles’ mother and Senator Francis? She thought. 

Everything seemed to be more complicated than she had expected. She sighed and massaged her temples.

Was she really ready for this life she was in currently? But did it matter if she was ready or not? She thought. She was already part of the Widow’s Club and she was already CEO of the Holloway Group; there was nothing she could do but continue to play the game and find out what other players were hiding.