Chapter 9- Friends?

Immediately the door of Dominic Rourke’s office closed behind Genevieve; Benedict, his assistant, stepped in.

“That woman is dangerous,” Benedict said carefully.

Dominic did not raise up his head from the papers in front of him. His hands moved across the table to pick a file.

“Dangerous how?” Dominic asked.

Benedict hesitated. “Not in the obvious way. She’s a tool, and you are aware of this.”

Dominic finally raised up his head, one eyebrow raised slightly. “You’re worried.”

Benedict had been Dominic's assistant since he took over Rourke's Technologies. Their relationship had grown from boss and assistant to friends. He always looked out for him, almost as if he was possessive of him and didn't want anything that screamed danger in the slightest way around him.

“I’m cautious,” Benedict corrected. “Mrs. Holloway is not just another grieving widow. She is a tool, and she may be more dangerous than her husband.”

Dominic stood up from his chair and moved to the other end of the office. He approached a shelf and picked up a thin black folder, which was unmarked. He already knew what was inside. He had read it once. It contained information about Genevieve Holloway.

“I know that she may be more dangerous than Charles Holloway; that is why we have to keep her close,” Dominic said calmly. "That is the only way we will see through her plans and the plans of the others."

Benedict exhaled. “Getting involved with her personally or otherwise comes with a risk.” He knew that trying to convince Dominic to let go of Genevieve Holloway was futile, but he still wanted to try. The last time Dominic tried to keep an enemy too close, it almost cost him a lot.

Dominic remained silent. He headed towards his table and opened the file.

Genevieve Holloway.

Age: 33.

Education: Private boarding school, followed by a degree in art history she never used.

Marital status: Married at 27 to Charles Holloway.

Dominic’s eyes skimmed downward.

She had met Charles at a charity auction. He had outbid three men for a painting, and he approached her after and gifted it to her. They spoke over champagne and got married less than a year later.

“Too fast,” Benedict murmured, reading over Dominic’s shoulder. “Six months from first meeting to engagement. I mean, it is understandable; Genevieve Holloway is a very beautiful woman, and she fits Charles's type perfectly.”

Dominic didn’t respond. Benedict was right; Genevieve did not look 33 years old. Her beauty looked like it was something straight out of a fantasy novel, but right now that beauty was screaming danger.

The file detailed a marriage that, on paper, looked clean. No scandals. No financial irregularities tied directly to her. She had stepped away from society after Charles’s death.

“You are sure that the club has contacted her?” Dominic asked.

“Yes, and she has definitely accepted their request,” Benedict replied. “That is the only explanation for why she is almost constantly around you.”

Dominic closed the folder slowly. “I see,” he said quietly, almost as if he was deep in thought.

There was a short pause between them.

Benedict was the first to speak. "She may try to use Olandria to get to you." 

“I know what I’m doing,” Dominic responded.

Benedict studied him. “I know you do. But we know what almost happened last time”

Dominic slid the file back into the drawer in his table and locked it. “Keep watching her. Quietly. If she’s not their tool, we will know. If she is…” His jaw tightened. “Then we play the game that they are playing.”

-----

Genevieve arrived home. She found Delilah in the sitting room, her tablet in her hand, her posture composed as always.

“How did it go?” Delilah asked without looking up.

“It went well,” Genevieve said. “He was… cold as always, but I believe that he will gradually start letting go soon.”

Delilah’s fingers paused. “Did he mention Olandria?”

“Yes.”

Delilah finally looked up. Her gaze was sharp. “And?”

“He didn’t accuse me.” Genevieve exhaled. “I told him I only gave her my card and offered to be her friend. I think he’s watching me more closely now.”

“That was inevitable.” 

Genevieve frowned. “You sound pleased.”

“I’m realistic,” Delilah replied. “You’re no longer invisible to him. That’s progress.”

“Or danger.”

“In this world,” Delilah said calmly, “they are the same thing.”

Genevieve hesitated before speaking again. “Delilah… how much time do I really have to get through Dominic?”

Delilah leaned back into the chair. “Less than you think.  The club is patient when it’s entertained, but it can also grow impatient at any time,” Delilah continued. “Celeste doesn’t like stagnation. If you don’t accelerate your access to Dominic’s inner world, she may decide that you’re inefficient.”

Genevieve swallowed. “And what does acceleration look like to her?”

Delilah didn’t answer immediately. “Leverage. Something that she is sure can be held onto.”

Genevieve felt something twist in her stomach. "What do you mean?”

“I mean whatever opens the door,” Delilah said evenly. “And right now, that child is the closest thing Dominic Rourke has as a weakness.”

“I already said it before; I won’t use her,” Genevieve said sharply.

Delilah’s eyes met hers. “Very soon, you may not have a choice.”

---

Genevieve had decided to leave the mansion and visit a café near the river. She wanted to breathe an air that was different from the one at the Holloway Mansion, and she didn't want to hear anything relating to the club for at least 2 hours, but that changed when Harper appeared and slid into the chair opposite her, uninvited.

“You’re moving faster than expected,” Harper said, stirring sugar into her tea. “That’s good.”

Genevieve smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I didn't say you could sit.”

“You didn't have to.” Harper leaned forward. “The club can become restless. And when that happens, they become cruel.”

Genevieve's eyes met hers. “Cruel?”

Harper nodded. “Yes. Cruel. You know, one of the earliest women sent to Dominic disappeared recently.”

Genevieve's pulse quickened. “What happened to her?”

“No one cares about the answer to that question, and if I were you, I would do the same,” Harper replied softly. “Listen to me, Genevieve. If you let them push you into crossing a line you can’t live with, they won’t hesitate to finish the job for you. One last thing: everything you do on the phone that the club gave to you, they see, and they know, including your location.”

Genevieve’s hands curled around her cup; she had suspected that the club was watching her every move, but she did not know that they had full access to the phone that she was given. “Why are you telling me all these?”

Harper’s gaze softened. “Like I said before, I am only advising you like a friend.”

"A friend?" Genevieve whispered to herself. There were no real friends in the Widow's Club, and even though she felt like there was some truth in what Harper was saying, she still could not trust her. She was only in the club to get answers, and if Dominic held the answers she needed, she was going to get them from him.

---

When Genevieve returned to the mansion that evening, all her domestic staff had resumed and the mansion felt lively than it had been in the last few weeks. 

Her staff looked at her with less pity than they did when they left after Charles died as they murmured greetings to her while she headed to her room. 

Her phone buzzed with a message immediately after she stepped into her room. It was from Charles's lawyer.

Charles’s Lawyer: Reminder: Will reading tomorrow, 10 a.m., Holloway Estate in Woodvale.

Genevieve recalled that the lawyer told her when he called that the will reading will be in 2 months. 1 week was left before 2 months would be complete; maybe there was a change in the will reading date, and she had missed it. She opened her email to check if Charles's lawyer had sent her an email concerning a change of date for the will reading when she received another message.  

It was from Harper.

Harper: Remember what I told you. The club has 2 games running, the one they tell you and the one they don't.