He hoped it wasn't a party that his grandmother was inviting him to because he didn't feel at all social. He went into the house and saw that it was empty he sighed and went around to the poolside. When he walked out onto the patio, people started clapping. He looked around, puzzled. His grandmother came out of the small crowd, her face creased in a smile.
"It's not my birthday, Grammy," Aaron whispered urgently. "What's this?"
"Your engagement party, dear," his grandmother said to him in a scolding tone of voice. "Somebody had to help you with this new presidential selection. It's in four weeks and you are slumping around the place like an unhinged screw."
She dragged his ear down to her lips. "I invited all the board members. Your parents look a little shocked and your mother isn't buying it, but go with the flow, hmm dear?"
"So who am I marrying?" Aaron asked her. She had a twinkle in her eye. He suddenly felt nervous. His Grammy was lethal whenever she had that mischievous twinkle.
She indicated with her head to the left of him and he looked up to see Dawn in a resplendent rose pink dress. She looked gorgeous and sophisticated, with a wide smile on her face. She headed toward him, smiling.
"Darling," she said aloud, giving him a greatly exaggerated hug.
"Why did you agree to this?" Aaron whispered. Her perfume was a soft, lovely scent that wafted into his nostrils.
"You need the good press." Dawn smiled at him and then leaned in to kiss him. A flash bulb went off at the same time and Aaron looked up, startled.
"That was for the Montego Bay Chronicle," Dawn whispered in his ear.
Aaron felt like he was having an out of body experience and his grandmother, the imp, had the temerity to wink at him.
"You'll thank me later." She patted his hand and walked toward her smiling guests.
Chapter Seventeen
"Madam Singh," Abhijit called to Alka from the living room. "The car is here to take you to the doctor."
Alka looked in the mirror and made a face. She was four months pregnant and she hadn't really began to show yet, except when she stood sideways and looked in the mirror. She had to outline her body through her sari; she had now begun to wear traditional dresses, by Rajiv's insistence. She placed her hand lovingly over her tummy.
"Today we are going to be happy," she whispered. She had been saying that mantra for weeks now, ever since she became a prisoner in Rajiv's gilded cage. It hadn't worked much for her but she was trying.
She prayed every night for God to rescue her. She didn't know when God would deliver but she was sure that he would. In the meantime, her jailor monitored her phone calls, her visitors were carefully selected, and any of them that Rajiv deemed too radical or free spirited was banned. Her Christian friends were turned away on some trumped up reason or the other.
She didn't have one friend or family member she could trust to help her to escape her husband. Her family would not listen to her even if she tried to tell them. Rajiv sent a sizeable stipend to her parents every month. Her sisters and other extended family members also benefited from his generosity.
Her cousin, Jilpa, who was a potential ally and who lived in the same complex as her was recently given a part in one of Rajiv's blockbuster Bollywood films. Jilpa was too grateful to Rajiv to listen to even the breath of a bad word about him—she was on the way to becoming a big star.
Alka gritted her teeth. Her last hope of contacting Aaron for help would be through the doctor. She had planned it for weeks; she had been looking forward to this particular doctor's visit. She had insisted to Rajiv that she had to see an obstetrician; a regular general practitioner, like his friend Ajmal wouldn't do. Surprisingly, he had agreed.
Ironically, he was bending over backwards for her with this pregnancy. If she even hinted at a craving he would send Abhijit to get what she wanted.
She looked up as Abhijit came to the door, his head bowed in subservience. "Madam, the car."
"Coming." Alka walked toward the door and out to the entrance of the townhouse. Two security men were standing at the door. She didn't even know their names. She just knew that they followed her wherever she went and she could see what was unmistakably the form of a gun under their shirts.
She sighed. Rajiv had told her that if she ran she would die. Every time she saw these men she knew he was serious.
She got into the waiting town car.
"I am going to Lila Franks on Hill Road," she told the driver abruptly. She didn't trust him or the other men Rajiv had guarding her like she was some sort of fugitive wife who needed to be restrained.
"Yes, madam," the driver said as they headed toward Hill Road. It was just a twelve-minute drive from Peti Hill but it seemed so much longer. As soon as they hit the shopping district vendors blocked the pathway, shoving their wares toward the car. Alka ignored them. She was plotting in her mind what she would say to Lila. Lila had been a friend and supervisor when she was at Bombay General. She was also a Christian and Alka needed someone who was non-Hindu to hear her story and help her.
The outer office that Lila shared with several other doctors was crowded with women patients. Alka felt nostalgic at the sight of them. She would have eventually come and worked here in the future if Rajiv had not blocked her from working. She pushed through the crowd and went to the front desk.
"Dr. Singh!" the receptionist said on seeing her. Alka recognized her as a former receptionist at Bombay General.
"Hello," Alka smiled. "I am here to see Dr. Franks."
"Aw," the lady looked on her schedule. "You can go right in." She pointed to the door and Alka walked toward it.
"No, not you!" she heard the receptionist squeal. When she looked back she saw her security guards heading for her.
They stopped and shrugged. "We'll just guard the door then."
Alka breathed a sigh of relief and entered the office.
*****
"Lila, you have to help me," Alka said before Lila could even say hello.
"What's wrong?" Lila asked, alarmed. "Your husband told over the phone that you were coming for a routine check up. He called me personally."
"My husband," Alka whispered, pointing to the door, "is having me watched."
"No," Lila whispered back. "I thought it odd that he was the one who called. Why is he having you watched?"
"It is a long story," Alka said fiercely. "He is not my baby's father. I need to contact my baby's father. Can you help me?"
Lila opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. "Well, how can I help?"
"You can do the scan." Alka sat on the table. "Do you have access to a laptop that I can use to send a message or a phone with international calling enabled?"
Lila tapped her forehead. "Let me think. I have a laptop. The Internet speed is terrible in here…no phone with international dialing enabled."
"The laptop will have to do then," Alka said. "I don't know Aaron's email but I am sure they have an address on his company's website."
Lila went into a small locker she had and opened it up, taking out her laptop. She turned it on and they both waited for it to start.
"Are you in danger, Alka?" Lila asked urgently. "Should we contact your parents or..."
"My parents? That's funny; they wouldn't raise a finger to help me." Alka shook her head. "I am not in danger as long as I cooperate. You must have heard about my husband, Rajiv Singh. He is one of the most powerful men in Bollywood today."
Lila nodded. "Yes, who hasn't heard of him. You both were in the papers recently."
"Well, he's impotent," Alka said. "We have never consummated our marriage. I went on vacation the other day and made love to my first love. Rajiv is not mad at me for that," Alka said with a hint of despair in her voice. "He is happy about it. He is actually happy that I am pregnant."
Alka swallowed. "This allows him to save face. This pregnancy shows to the world that he is virile and able to have children."
She bent over the computer and clicked the Internet icon, and searched for Aaron Lee Palm
Tree Hotel in the search engine.
The first thing that popped up on the screen was a news clip. Aaron Lee of Palm Tree Hotel and his fiancé Dawn Terry, basking in the warmth of their love...
Alka stopped reading and slammed down the lid of the laptop.
"No," she groaned.
"No." She clutched her belly. "Nooooo."
"Okay, calm down." Lila walked her to a chair. "What's wrong? Are you feeling pain?"
Alka shook her head. "He is engaged to be married," she said hoarsely. "I...I ...can't think...give me a minute to process this."
She covered her face with her hands. Her body felt weighted down and heavy.
"What are you going to do?" Lila asked, concerned. She could see that Alka was trembling.
"Nothing." Alka lowered her arms slowly. "Nothing. Let's just do the scan."
*****
The car phone rang as soon as Alka stepped into the car. It was Rajiv.
"Why did you take so long with that doctor?" he asked harshly. "You were in her office for twenty-five whole minutes. Surely a scan is not supposed to take that long. Were you conspiring with her or something?"
"No," Alka said. She felt as if all the stuffing was wrenched out of her. She was an empty shell.
"So, what sex is it?" Rajiv asked impatiently.
"A boy," Alka said flatly.
"A son." Rajiv laughed heartily. "I am going to throw a party tomorrow evening."
Alka listened without emotion. She was well and truly trapped. A small part of her had died after seeing that announcement of Aaron's engagement on the Internet.
Aaron had been her last hope of escape. Without Aaron, there was no need to leave Rajiv. Without Aaron there would be no love in her life. She would just have to heap all the love and attention that she had on her son.
Her hopes were dead. She didn't even realize that Rajiv had hung up the phone until she heard the persistent beeping sound in her ear. She put it down slowly.
So this was how it felt when all your dreams and hopes were crushed to smithereens.
Chapter Eighteen
Corvette looked in on Aaron. "Are you ready? The board meeting is in two minutes."
Aaron got up. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"You got this," Corvette said, giving him a thumbs up.
"You are biased," Aaron grinned, "and you intensely dislike my competitor."
"And so does half of the board," Corvette said gleefully. "I hope he doesn't pull anything out of his cap for this one. So what's the procedure again?"
"Well, first we both say something about the company and our dedication to it, highlight our achievements, et cetera, and then the twelve members do a secret ballot. If there is a tie then the chairman gives the final nod."
"Well good. Your grandfather will give you the final nod. After all, you are engaged. Boris doesn't have anybody and he doesn't know the meaning of morality."
"That was a fake engagement thrown by my Grammy without my knowledge or consent," Aaron said, "I broke it off with Dawn the next day but not before the stupid stunt found itself in the national papers. If it's one thing I have to say about Dawn it’s that she really knows how to publicize something."
Corvette chuckled. "And that was an event she really wished to be true. Go knock them dead, tiger."
Aaron laughed and headed toward the boardroom. He hadn't even prepared a speech. He had no idea what he was going to say. Curiously he didn't feel nervous, unlike when he had to do the same thing for the vice presidency, though this was more involved than that.
He entered the spacious wood paneled boardroom and looked around. Some of the men were in clusters, talking. The four female board members were in a clique of their own. One of them, his aunt, Ruthy, nodded at him, giving him a thumbs up. He nodded.
His uncle, Graham, walked up to him and gave him a pat on the back. He was shocked to see Pastor Greenwald. His booming voice was the first that he had heard from across the room. His grandfather must have invited him to do the prayers for the opening segment.
"Well, son, may the best man win," his father came up to him and said. He had a grin on his face a mile wide.
"Can I tell you how proud I am of you both? When you and Boris were born, the same year, I might add, I thought I was the richest man alive, not because of any material wealth but because I had two human beings to carry on my legacy. There is nothing like having children of your own, knowing that you can retire and leave your company in good hands. All the best, my boy."
Aaron nodded. "Thanks, Dad."
*****
"Okay, let's start the proceedings," his grandfather said at the top of the room. "There are certain protocols to acknowledge before we get started."
Boris waltzed in just after the prayer, an unapologetic smirk on his face and a sheaf of papers in his hands.
Everyone was seated around the table. His seat was conspicuously empty but he bypassed his chair and walked to stand beside his grandfather. They engaged in a whispering war that took a few minutes.
"Boris here is eager to do his presentation," Boris P. said, "so we will allow him to go first."
"Thank you, grandfather dear," Boris said, straightening his tie and staring at the board members. "As you all know, there is a morality clause, which I think is rubbish, by the way. However, I must point out that my dear competitor and little brother Aaron should not be considered for this position based on a recent indiscretion of his."
"What are you talking about?" Aunt Ruthy asked impatiently. "Aaron is engaged."
"That was a stunt that he pulled in collaboration with our misguided grandmother," Boris said waspishly. "It pains my heart to see my Grammy choosing sides."
"Get on with it," Graham mumbled.
"Well," Boris said, "I have some pictures here of our dear Aaron snogging a delectable beauty named Alka Singh, four months and two weeks ago, when he was on a business trip in Turks and Caicos."
He handed the stack to his father, who was to his right, and said, "Don't be afraid to pass it down. These photos show our squeaky-clean wannabe president doing romantic things to another man's wife." There was collective silence in the room when he said that.
All eyes turned on Aaron, who had been listening to his brother with a mounting sense of dread. He knew Boris was a tattler, a douche bag, and a narcissist but somehow he didn't expect him to do this. He had underestimated his enemy.
"Additionally," Boris said to regain everyone's attention, "not only was this little thing that he had with Mrs. Singh a flash in the pan, a dirty little vacation of adultery, but she is having her husband's baby and they are looking quite happy."
He handed the pictures down the line to the end of the long boardroom table. Through the ruffle of the papers no one heard when Aaron gasped.
He grabbed a paper from his uncle Graham and looked at the article. His head felt as if it was swelling to twice its normal size.
He read the headline: Bollywood Royalty Expecting. The article was two months old. He took in Rajiv's big cheesy grin and Alka's serene smile.
He instantly felt a wave of anger so deep that his hand was trembling with it. Was this why she had come to Jamaica, to find someone to be a sperm donor because her impotent husband couldn't give her children?
She had indeed been a virgin, so the part about her husband been impotent was true. Was anything else about what she said true?
Aaron crushed the paper in his hand, a lightheaded feeling enveloping him.
"Aaron, are any of these allegations true?" He looked at his grandfather's lips moving but it was only after he stopped speaking that he really heard what he said, like his speech was an echo.
Aaron stood up drunkenly. "Alka is not having her husband's baby. That's my baby she is carrying, and I am going to get to the bottom of this."
He headed to toward the boardroom door. "I am sorry that I was not able to live up to the moral clause but shockingly, he has." He looked at Boris. "All the best with running the Royal Grou
p of companies. Suddenly, I am coming to realize that there is more to life than business."
*****
He reached his office door in record time.
Corvette walked behind him and murmured, "This is not good. You are the only one out."
Aaron laughed harshly. "Corv, I have a problem. My brother just revealed to the board that Alka is pregnant."
"So?" Corvette asked.
"The baby is mine," Aaron said. "The timing is spot on. Her husband is impotent so it can't be his."
Corvette gasped. "You don't say!"
"Yes." Aaron nodded. "I am going to be a father. This is amazing. I don't know what to do." He paced the office. "Why hasn't she contacted me?"
"Maybe because she doesn't want to?" Corvette said skeptically. "You just walked out of a board meeting that was called to decide your fate as president of the company! Have you forgotten?"
"What is important right now," Aaron said, his mind racing with options, "is to find out exactly what is going on with her. Book me a flight to India, Corv."
Corvette crossed her arms and glared at him. "Hell no! Where in India are you speaking of and why on earth would you go half a way across the world to find out why a woman hasn't contacted you about having your baby? Pick up the phone and call her, or shoot her an email."
"I don't have her number," Aaron said. "I don't have her email address. Hell, I only know vaguely where she lives. I had wanted a clean break, no delayed pain like the last time, so I didn't want to have any contact numbers."
He hit his head with his palm. "You know what? Jayce is supposed to go to India this month for some technical security convention. I'll ask him to find her for me. After that I'll fly out."
"Aaron." He looked up at the door just when he was reaching for the phone. It was his father and grandfather.
"Excuse me," Corvette said, closing the door in her wake.
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