My Brother's Widow

the welcome party

Everyone knows Rose Clifford; she is the only daughter of the Greys and the CEO of one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in Seattle, the magazine was founded by her husband’s family the Clifford. When Rose got married into the family, they gave her the responsibility of managing the magazine since she studied fashion design and also a little of business management which meant that she could handle the family magazine.. That is what that family does, they can lift you and put you in a position of power but they can also strip you off that position... Although they are her in-laws Rose had to make sure that she kept them happy at all costs, they are ruthless and don't honour ties unless they benefit...

Regardless of knowing what they are capable of she took the job because this was a huge milestone and a chance for her to build her career and it made her think highly of herself and who would blame her, she was only 27 years old but she has already been named the CEO of a prestigious magazine, non of her college classmates have made it this far.So it was something to brag and be proud about, she had achieved half of the things she had wanted before even reaching the prime of her age.

The Hamilton, Clifford and the Simons run in the same social circle along with other rich and famous families.

Rose Clifford along with her husband Andrew Clifford are known as one of the power couples, the other runs a successful magazine while the other runs a very successful mental practise. The two fell in love in college and they eventually got married after getting their degrees, Rose was a cheerleader whereas in Andrew was a jock, so it was a perfect love story. Andrew is a well-known and respected psychiatrist whose research and findings are deemed to be very trustworthy and accurate. he is one of the doctors that truly understand both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems. He built his good reputation with the help of his family and his wife, when a Clifford takes a career, they need to excel in it and make a good name for their family which is why Andrew had to work extra hard to have a good reputation and to be respected.

Rose has been Tiana’s best friend ever since they were in high school, they went to the best schools’ money could buy and attended with other kids from reputed families like the Simon, Clifford, Gray and the Scott. Rose had blonde hair, pale milky skin, Plump lips, and big blue eyes, she was the definition of real beauty and she knew that, so she flaunted and enhanced her beauty every chance she got. But Tiana was different she was beautiful in an innocent and mature way, her golden-brown skin was her most beautiful feature, her long black hair that always seemed to be well groomed and she had the most beautiful light brown eyes, but if you did not pay much attention to her you would think that she was just average.

Rose loved the spotlight, but Tiana was the opposite, although they were extremely different, they got along very well because you know the saying that opposites attract. Rose has always been fashionable, popular, wild, and a little reckless, she was a lot like Tiana’s sister Tatiana which is why the two never got along. The truth is Rose loved being friends with Tiana because it meant that she did not have to share the spotlight since Tiana hated publicity and fame, she lived a very reserved and private life and kept the public at arm’s length. Also being friends with the daughter of one of the richest families made her even more popular, everyone knew that Tiana was hard to please and being able to be her friend was a huge achievement for her.

On hearing that Tiana is back home her best friend wanted to throw her a party, but she had to ask permission first from Blake since he was now Tiana’s legal guardian.

So here she was, Rose headed to the main offices of Simon Inc, she did not have an appointment with Blake but she hoped that he would let her through so she can talk to him. She knew Blake ever since they were young, and she knows that he does not tolerate disorder. When she got to the reception, she said her name and the young receptionist called Blake’s office. From where she was standing, she could hear the person on the other end, “tell her that Sir said that he is busy and doesn’t have time to chit chat and also that next time she should set an appointment before attempting to talk to him” said a male voice that belonged to Blake’s PA.

Rose knew that there was no way Blake was going to change his mind so she turned around and headed for the exit when an idea came to her, Blake has always had a soft spot for Tiana so she could use her to go upstairs. She turned around and ask the receptionist to call again, knowing very well that she cannot ignore Rose’s request since she is also a somebody she called again. “tell him I need to talk about Tiana” said Rose, the moment she said Tiana’s name a deep resonant voice spoke “let her through”, everyone could tell it was Blake from the power of his voice.

Rose could not help but feel slightly jealous that the only reason, she could see Blake was because she mentioned Tiana’s name, so her name still influenced Blake that he would ignore his own rules of setting an appointment before you get a chance to meet him? Everyone knew that Blake had a thing for Tiana except Tiana and Adrian, back then Blake was just this shy nerd who followed hr everywhere she went. Tiana was always ignorant to people’s feelings, so she did not see or notice Blake’s feelings and why he was always around her.

She got into the company’s private elevator, the elevator was elegant and clean with mirrors on the wall and black shiny tiles that surrounded the mirrors. As the elevator went from floor to floor, she got nervous and her heart started beating fast, she has not spoken to him since his brother’s funeral and even then, his attitude towards her was cold and distant. She can never seem to get through the walls he has built around himself and his heart.

She got off on the last floor which only had Blake’s office, it was so quite that you could hear a needle drop, there were no people moving around, it was only Blake’s PA behind a desk and if you looked closely you could tell that he was so careful as to avoid making noise. When he heard her heels clicking on the floor he looked up and nodded to tell her that Blake is waiting for her, the PA was also surprised Blake never sees anyone without an appointment, but the moment Tiana’s name was mentioned he snatched the phone and let Rose through, the moment her name was mentioned he saw some emotions on his boss’s face and Blake was good at hiding his feelings but at that moment he did not.

So, Tiana was important to the boss but isn’t she his sister-in-law?? Why does he care about her so much?? He never ignores his rules even for his mother or siblings, but he would do that for his sister-in law, something was going on between the two, but would he have an affair with her just after his brother’s death??

Rose knocked twice and then the same distant voice told her to come in, there he was sitting on his chair, his dark black hair shining like polished leather, his high cheek bones accentuate his feature and his sharp jawline made him look more devilishly handsome. He looked like those Greek gods one would read about in novels, he was always handsome but now he was also powerful. His looks would explain why girls flaunt all over him and why he changes girls every day, everyone knows about his messed-up love life.

Rose always had a crush on Blake and seeing him now just reminds her of why she did, he was everything you would want in a man, he was financially stable, handsome, and good in bed. She sat down on the chair opposite his and that is when Blake looked up, he looked bored but also curious, he nodded at her so she could start speaking. “I want to throw a welcome party for Tiana, so I came here to ask for your permission since you are her legal guardian”, she said playing with her hands, she was nervous and who would blame her, Blake was looking at her so attentively for the first time. “I can’t make that decision for her but let me call up Maria and hear what she has to say”, as he said those words, he picked up the phone and called Maria who answered after one ring, “hello sir” said maria’s gentle voice. “can you give Tiana the phone please”, “of course sir she is in her room redecorating I will go give it to her now”, they heard maria’s footsteps and heard some murmuring between Maria and Tiana. Blake was happy that Rose came in, so he used her as an excuse to talk to Tiana which is something he has been wanting to do ever since he got in the office, but he did not want to inconvenience her.

“hello Blake” said Tiana’s graceful voice, the moment he heard her voice Rose saw his face lit up, so he still had feelings for her, this was a huge problem. “Rose would like to throw you a welcome party, so I wanted to know what your thoughts on the idea are” Blake said in a gentle tone as if he was talking to a baby, “ sounds good to me and please say hello to Rose for me, now I will hang up still got a lot to do, and ohhh I am sorry for the paint I got on your hair’’ she said with a chuckle sounding not apologetic. That chuckle made Blake’s day better and he was in a good mood for the rest of it.

Rose did not pay much attention to it but now after looking carefully at his hair she could see the paint; it was black like his hair, so it was hard to spot. So, they were painting together, she could not help but feel jealous Tiana was now a widow which meant that sooner she would be allowed to find another life partner and what if she falls for Blake? Society will not see a problem if Blake and Tiana get married because most families follow that custom where if the older sister dies then her younger sister can take her place which in this case its vice versa. Rose could see that Blake still has feelings for Tiana and if the two continue to live together then Tiana might also fall for him. But she is still stuck in this horrible façade of a relationship with Andrew, two years into their marriage but they cannot even stand each other anymore and divorce is not an option because she needs his name for her to remain CEO. Back in college they were in love but after marriage their relationship started being boring and it soon became a burden to all of them, so Andrew went to look for fun in other women and this caused a bigger drift between them. At first, she did not mind since she was busy building her career, but she later realised the distance between them, but it was already late and they could not fix it although they tried, they went to couple therapy, vacations and even tried having a baby but nothing worked. There is no hope for their relationship, all they can do now is pretend to be happy which is something that most married couples in their society do.

Rose’s parents have been together for 35 years, but they cannot stand each other anymore, their relationship went south when she was still a teenager and ever since then she has seen them fake happiness in charity events, masquerades, and balls. She told herself that she would marry for love and for a while she did but then she tasted power and she would choose power over happiness any day.

She then looked at the boy she once had a crush on but now he is a very powerful man, she looked at him and realised that she does not have a mere crush on him, but it might have developed to something more. Could it be that she is in love with him??? Only time will tell

She said her goodbyes to Blake and left his office with a heavy heart.