Chapter 3

Rosalie gave her last goodbye to Duncan and got carried away by her son Bastien and daughter Angelika.

At the exit of the cemetery Rosalie saw Louie’s car parked.

She ignored and returned to the manor, where she took care of the house and children.

Rosalie ignored Louie’s calls, who insisted on talking to her.

On the fifth day she answered.

He wasn’t your ex-brother-in-law.

It was a call from the Empire Group office.

She was surprised, she would only have a meeting with the directors in a few days, she needed to decide with whom the position of CEO would be that belonged to Duncan.

Duncan’s former secretary warned her that her former brother-in-law was in secret meetings with some members of the board.

"The widow has no competence to manage the actions of my brother"

Rosalie was pretty sure that’s what Louie said at the meetings.

She ended the connection and with the commitment to have lunch with the secretary the next day.

How dare Louie hold secret meetings to question her competence?

Rosalie spent the rest of the day thinking about Louie’s tricks.

" He’s holding meetings in his office with some shareholders, Mrs. Valois."

Rosalie looked at Leonor as she said those things.

He could not wait until the next day and arranged for a dinner the night of the same day.

" How do you know I was the content of the meeting, Leonor?"

The secretary sighed, then drank some water before answering.

" He asked me to do a poll on Mrs."

Rosalie stared at her.

" Poll?"

Leonor took some photos of the bag, and delivered three revealed photos that made her tremble with hatred.

In the photos there was a poll with several photos of her in domestic services, and even information about her abilities.

Apparently according to Louie, she only had home skills.

Rosalie chipped her teeth, had worked hard her whole life, taking into account the beginning of her life.

Her housewife life began with her marriage to Duncan, and she would never regret it.

She thanked the honesty of Leonor, who was embarrassed to have participated in that and took the photos.

He took his car and threw the photos of the seat next to him.

While driving did not contain the tears.

Especially when you looked at the ring on your finger.

" What will I do without you now, Duncan, how can I face it? " He ranted as if he could hear it.

When she finally parked, she got out of the car and knocked on the door.

She took a quick look at her children and went to her room.

When he entered did not turn on all the lights, just the lamp and began to take off his blouse getting only bra.

When she turned to bed, she was surprised when she realized that there was a figure sitting in the gloom.

Before he could react, he was thrown against the wall by the male figure.

Rosalie stared at the stormy blue eyes of Louie Valois.

He held her tightly, pressing her into the wall more and more.

" I’m very tired, Rosalie, from this little game of not answering my calls. " Pronounced the man too close.

She tried to push him, unsuccessfully.

The bastard was strong.

He thought of shouting, but did not want to frighten Bastien and Angelika, they were suffering with grief.

I’d have to face that myself.

" Breaking and entering, I can share you at the police station! " Threatened.

I had to show that he didn’t frighten her, Rosalie thought.

Louie took a deep breath and said:

" I came to offer you a deal."

As if he wanted to ratify what he was saying, in a friendly tone, he released her.

But he kept a short distance between them.

" The deal is to marry you? Better stab me."

He laughed, but there was a dark glow in his eyes.

" Is it a suggestion?"

She raised her hand to slap him again, but Louie was already waiting and held her wrist.

" Next time, I will fight back. " Warned the man. " And it will not be the way you are thinking."

She felt chills as she saw all the insinuation in her eyes.

With an unnecessary squeeze he loosened his wrist.

Her heart beat wildly, and she swallowed.

Hoping he didn’t notice how the perception of being in an enclosed space with him frightened her.

" Pass Duncan’s shares to me, help me get the power he had in the Empire Group.

His blue gaze was intense and gloomy."

" What if I refuse?"

The man approached, and again she found herself trapped between him and the wall.

Louie leaned over and whispered in his ear:

" I will make her suffer, and she will wish she had married me and given up her shares.

She pushed him and spit in his face."

" I will deliver nothing to you. You will never have anything that was Duncan’s, and that includes me.

The man wiped his face, and she waited for an explosion from him, but she didn’t come."

Louie Valois smiled and softly replied:

" We’ll see, Mrs. Valois."

She saw him go to the balcony and disappear there.

Rosalie clenched her fists, feeling all the blood from her body boiling.

The hatred for those who longed for what was Duncan made her bite her lips, until she felt the metallic taste of her own blood.

The next morning, Rosalie called Eleonor and asked for a favor.

When the afternoon came, the secretary warned that Louie Valois was at the beginning of another of his meetings to defame her.

Rosalie got ready and went straight to the Empire Group office.

Secretary Eleonor gave him the briefcase with the information he had asked for the night before, and indicated where the meeting was taking place.

She went to the eleventh floor and when she reached the doors of the room, opened them without ceremony.

What you saw was several shareholders, directors of sectors, and Louie in the center, where he presented several slides of her.

She smiled at everyone and walked up to stand next to her daring ex-brother-in-law.

" Good afternoon, gentlemen."

" You’re breaking into an executive meeting, Mrs. Valois, your grief is affecting you mentally." Louie announced.

Rosalie looked at him.

Then he turned his gaze to the photos, where he skillfully put on the agenda his mental abilities for a company, with the magnitude of the Empire Group.

Scoundrel.

" I am afraid that I am the only person who could not miss this meeting, considering that it is all dedicated to me. " He replied.

Rosalie looked into the eyes of all those men, and recognized some faces who attended dinners at her home with Duncan.

She opened the folder and was throwing pictures to all those men.

The profile of the man to whom they were hearing about you printed in the photos.

Louie in nightclubs drinking to pick fights, surrounded by luxury escorts...

And the main one, your college grades.

Which, by the way, were way below hers.

" This man knows nothing about the qualities of a CEO, and how his image is tied to the company he represents!"

She kept adding more photos of all the courses he gave up on, and everyone she passed.

" I was not born in a cradle of gold, and I never gave myself the luxury of abandoning anything imposed on me! " She looked at Louie. " I’m not afraid of you, you’re not competent to frighten me.

Rosalie turned to the men who looked at her intently.

" I am fully aware of the position Duncan held here, and of its importance. I only say, do not listen to venous words, but see with your own eyes."

Rosalie looked at the shareholders, then continued:

" I would not call meetings like that, child gossip! I would make meetings to increase our profit, to value our shares in the market!"

Now she had all the attention of men.

" Even in my grief, I thought about the company, and how Duncan’s death affects it, I did not give statements in the media about the suspicious explosion, because it would bring unwanted questions! You may look at me with disbelief for having spent much of my life as a housewife, however, I am more like Duncan than your own brother. " He finished the widow Valois.

With this statement, Rosalie Valois left them.

She received no further calls from Eleonor in the days that followed.

When the day of the directors' meeting finally came, she received some calls from some of them.

They declared their support for her.

Rosalie crossed the lobby of the Empire Group office, ignoring the looks of the employees.

She entered the huge meeting room, and was disappointed to realize that many directors did not bother to attend.

Of course, CTO Louie Valois was present.

She wanted to erase the smile on her face with a slap.

However, she breathed and greeted them.

As he sat in the chair that was Duncan’s, he noticed the looks of disgust from the directors.

But he also noticed the looks of two directors, who confirmed their support for her in connection.

Both have frequented their home in the past, and Duncan esteemed them.

She stood up and announced:

" You may be wondering what I’m going to do with Duncan Valois' actions, whether I’m going to sell, or pass on his control to others " she looked significantly at Louie, who looked at her intently. - None of the options are correct, directors!

She saw the men looking at each other, confused, and one of them asked:

" What will the widow Valois do then?"

He was the marketing director, she recognized him.

Rosalie looked into the eyes of each of those men.

" I will take over the management of my husband’s shares, and become CEO of the Empire group!"