by Osar Adeyemi
Convincing his brother to support him had been even more of a challenge than the actual bid itself. Adil had pointed out that they already had enough financially rewarding investments and didn't need to go into such unexplored terrains—and definitely not one as capital intensive as telecoms. But Akeem had kept on talking with him until he had reluctantly gone ahead with the idea. However, he had made Akeem very aware that he was the one leading KH into telecommunications. Akeem understood what Adil meant. He was telling him that any problems or losses would be laid solidly at his feet, but he was not bothered. The only word in his mind was "success." The conviction was so strong that he could almost taste it.
Akeem looked ahead at the road. Some traffic management enforcement officers had arrived, and the traffic was beginning to move now. It was still a bit slow until he got to the next roundabout and took the first exit.
About twenty minutes later, he parked his car outside the club and walked inside. He scanned the tables. Fadel had not yet arrived.
Akeem saw the maître d' coming towards him and was not surprised when he congratulated him on obtaining the license. The club had an exclusive membership; the management knew each member and what they did, but they were very discreet, which was one of the reasons Akeem had maintained his membership with them over the years.
"The usual?" the maître d' asked Akeem after he took a seat.
"Not this time, Max. I'm driving myself."
"Can I serve you something new, then? It's actually a cocktail of drinks, but no alcohol. I can assure you that you will like it."
Akeem agreed to try the drink and had to admit that Max was right about him liking it. He was just about to call Fadel when he saw him strolling in.
"The man of the moment!" Fadel slapped hands with him before sitting down. "Well done, man! I'm so proud of you!"
"Thanks a lot," Akeem replied, unable to keep the smile off his face. It was really true that people smiled effortlessly when they were happy. "And thanks for the support."
"Your old man would have been so proud of you. I can just imagine him saying, 'Well done, my boy,'" Fadel said, mimicking Akeem's father's voice.
Akeem laughed. Fadel got the expression and voice perfectly. "Yeah, I've been thinking about him too. We discussed this quite a bit while he was alive, but the government was dithering then on whether to go on with the privatisation or not."
Fadel made a face. "The former president was slow on so many things. This current president knows what he is doing, and many of his policies are very favourable towards businessmen."
"I agree, and that is why I supported his bid for presidency." He took a sip of his drink. "I'm definitely supporting his bid for a second tenure."
They continued talking about the government and its policies and how it affected them. Akeem didn't like politics, but having a cordial relationship with politicians was healthy for his business.
"Are you still going to use Sonakson as the vendor for Ka-Tell?" Fadel asked after a while.
"Yep." Akeem nodded "Ericsson and Huawei came up, but we think Sonakson is the best for what we have in mind. They have not done any major work over here, but BT used them, and their track record is impressive. We are still working on some of the details involved, but everything is coming along fine."
"I'm happy for you, man. I know it's going to be a huge task, but if anyone can handle it, I know that person is you."
"Thanks." He leaned back in his seat. "When's Sara coming back from the States?"
"In a week's time," Fadel replied. "She said she's having such a ball that she's not missing me. I had a good mind to tell her she could stay back for another two weeks."
"Don't kid yourself; she just might extend it to a month."
Fadel grimaced. "She could do that too, even if it's just to prove a point to me."
Akeem laughed. "Good for you." Yemi didn't like going on holidays without him. Maybe he needed to encourage her some more. But on second thoughts, maybe not. He preferred her attachment to him. It was sweet the way she wove her life around his. He didn't want them living separate lives.
A few minutes later, he looked up and saw a man smiling as he approached their table. His face was familiar, but it took Akeem a minute to recall his name. He had done some contracts for Zenith Oil a few years earlier but had worked more closely with Fadel. In fact, Fadel had been the one to introduce them. The man was with a pretty woman, probably his wife.
"Hey, nice seeing you guys here!" The man smiled broadly upon getting to their table. He slapped hands with Fadel and then turned to Akeem. "It's been such a long time, Akeem! Congrats on the license!"
Akeem smiled back. "Thanks, Emeka. How have you been?"
"Good, good!"
"You definitely look like it," Fadel teased. "Doesn't he, Akeem?"
Akeem nodded. "He does. He needs to share his business strategies with us."
"I'm just a poor sod trying to keep his head above water!" Emeka laughed. "You guys are the ones making things happen!"
"Don't believe him, Akeem. He is only trying to deceive us!" Fadel quipped.
They all laughed, and Emeka turned to the lady beside him. "Meet my cousin, Coral."
Akeem and Fadel exchanged pleasantries with the woman. Akeem hid a smile when he saw Fadel checking Coral out. No pretty lady passed his cousin by. He was not surprised that Sara was constantly trying to let him know that she could live an independent life without him. She had built up an invincible defense mechanism around herself to protect her feelings just in case Fadel ever strayed, and Akeem knew he had done so a few times.
But Coral wasn't looking at Fadel. She had her gaze fixed on Akeem. He could see her looking him over appreciatively. He caught Fadel's eye, and Fadel shrugged slightly, with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Hey, Akeem, hope you don't mind me talking to Fadel privately for a few minutes," Emeka said apologetically. "I'm not sure when I will get that chance again."
"No worries," Akeem said, sitting back down while Fadel and Emeka walked away. "So how are you doing, Coral?" Akeem asked. He guessed that she was about his age or maybe a little younger.
"I'm good. I'm on a short working holiday here. I'll be going back to Port Harcourt in a week." She smiled, revealing beautiful, even, white teeth. "Fancy meeting you here. I've heard a lot about you."
Akeem smiled. "Good things, I hope?"
Her eyes were playful. "All good, or have you been doing anything else?"
"Nope, I'm always good."
She stared him in the eye. "I'm sure there are people out there who would not mind you being naughty occasionally." She smiled slowly. "I know I wouldn't."
Akeem knew she was flirting with him. It was there in the way she had openly checked him out when her cousin had introduced them. It was there in her eyes now as she looked at him, suggestion in her eyes. Sorry, Coral, I'm already taken and completely satisfied.
"So what do you do?" he asked her.
Her expression showed that she knew that he had deliberately changed the topic, but she was smooth and rose to the occasion. "I have a spa in Port Harcourt, and I'm looking to open another in Abuja very soon."
"Interesting. My mum operates a couple of spas here in Lagos."
"Yes, I know. That's why I am keeping my distance from Lagos for now. I can't compete with a Kadiri." She laughed, flashing her pearly whites again. "But I plan to visit one of them before I leave Lagos. Maybe I can get a few ideas that I can use for mine."
She started talking about her spa business. She was obviously passionate about it, and he liked that in anyone. Passion was necessary in sustaining any business. Akeem listened politely but found himself tuning out after a while. He already knew a lot about spas anyway. His mother owned two of the best ones around, and she was constantly offering him specials. He had accepted some of them in the past but had stopped when Leila came back into town. He didn't trust his mother. She just might appoint Leila as his special masseuse, and he wouldn't know it unt
il he got there.
"Maybe you can drop by my spa sometime when you are in Port Harcourt," Coral was saying. "I'll make sure we give you the VIP treatment."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Of course he had no intention of doing so. He was not interested in Leila, this pretty lady batting her eyes at him, or any other lady, for that matter.
"You're just being polite, aren't you?"
Akeem chuckled. "I didn't know that mind-reading was part of your many virtues."
"Cute, but I'm quite serious about the invite. Do drop by anytime you are in town, and please be very assured that I don't bite."
"I wouldn't think a lady like you capable of such."
She just kept looking at him. "I'm not surprised women find you attractive," she said after a moment.
Akeem quirked an eyebrow. She obviously didn't believe in beating about the bush. In the past, before he got married, he might have taken her up on her offer, but he was absolutely not interested now. He looked up and was relieved to see Fadel and Emeka approaching the table.
"My invitation still stands," Coral said, just before they got to the table.
"Noted." Akeem nodded.
"So sorry for taking Fadel away," Emeka said as he and Fadel sat down. "I didn't know our discussion would take that long."
"No worries," Akeem assured him. "Coral and I had an interesting time together while you were gone."
They all chatted for a while longer before Emeka and Coral left. Coral managed to get Akeem's phone number, but he hardly took calls from the number he gave her anyway. The phone was permanently with his personal assistant on weekdays.
"Phew!" Fadel whistled softly when they were out of earshot. "That lady likes you, and she is not even bothering to hide it."
Akeem grimaced. "Yeah…I'm lucky to still be in one piece."
"She's pretty hot, though."
"Have you seen my wife?"
Fadel laughed. "Mine's pretty too, but eyeballing is free, no harm done."
Chapter 10
Yemi smiled after she disconnected the call with Abby. She and Abby always ended up talking for much longer than she planned and of course, at the end of each call came the inevitable invitation to one programme or another at Abby's church, a popular Pentecostal church in Victoria Island. Yemi always made sure she had a ready answer. She drew the line at Pentecostal churches. She had made the mistake of attending one or two in the past, and they had badgered her with phone calls afterwards. Those kind of churches were certainly not for her. She liked her privacy.
She curled up on the sofa in the bedroom, switched on the TV, and clicked to the fashion show she had recorded earlier in the week. It was the Paris fashion week, and the designers and their models were lighting up the runway.
Gisele Bündchen swayed down the runway. The girl rocked! Next was Cerys Briggs, and Yemi looked on in admiration. She was walking for Versace, and she smoldered in the floor-length burgundy silk dress she had on. Yemi was always excited to see Cerys. She was a Nigerian who had made it big in the fashion industry after winning a talent show, the MNET face of Africa, as a teenager. Now she walked for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry worldwide.
Yemi was sorry when the show ended. She lay against the sofa, as she thought about some of the designs she had just seen. That was something she would like to do: dress women up in silk, satins, taffeta, and other pretty fabrics that would bring out their inner beauty and make them glow.
She clicked to another recorded fashion show. It had just started when the door opened and Akeem came in from his workout at the gym downstairs. She allowed her eyes to run appreciatively over his muscular frame. His sleeveless tank top stretched across his broad chest, and the outline of his muscled midsection was clearly visible beneath the thin fabric.
She blew a low wolf whistle and sat up a little. What a beautiful man; not a spare bit of flesh in sight.
"What're you looking at, woman?" he growled. "Aren't you supposed to be watching the TV?"
She winked at him as she hit the pause button on the remote control. "Um, I just saw something better to look at, and my thoughts are running wild." She let her eyes run over his long, bare, muscular legs and pretended to swoon.
"Bad girl." He came over to her and sat beside her on the sofa. "I wonder what happened to the innocent girl I married?"
Yemi shrugged. "Dunno, I moved in with some guy and became totally corrupted." She ran her fingers over his upper arm, enjoying the feel of his tightly coiled muscles beneath her fingertips. "Now my mum won't believe what I've become."
"Let's not tell her then," Akeem said softly, trailing his finger along her cheek and putting his other arm around her. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
"Very true," she said, moving closer to him. "Nice…" she said, breathing in his cologne. "Tell me, what would it take to give me a son who looks exactly like you? A lot of work?"
He smiled slowly, his eyes locked on hers. "Some…but I think I can handle it." His voice was low and husky as he moved closer to her. "Beats all those meetings at the office, anyway."
"I knew you'd be up to it." She touched her lips to his before drawing back, her eyes teasing him. "Now let me get back to my fashion show."
"Not on your life," Akeem growled, taking the remote control from her hands and switching off the TV. He pulled her back towards him, but just then, the doorbell buzzed and Akeem groaned. Yemi giggled at the expression on his face as he reluctantly released her. She gave him a quick kiss and went to the door.
Kufre stood there with a crying Aleena in her arms. "Sorry to disturb you, Ma, but Aleena has been crying for her father."
"No worries." Yemi scooped the child into her arms and went back into the room. As soon as Aleena saw her dad, she held out her arms towards him.
"Your girl wants you," Yemi said to Akeem, handing her over to him.
"What's up, princess?" he said as he took Aleena from Yemi. He cuddled her close to him. "Hush, sweetie, it's okay."
Aleena put her little arms around his neck, and her sniffling gradually stopped.
Akeem's eyes met Yemi's over Aleena's head. "Later," he mouthed to her, and Yemi laughed again at the expression on his face before he turned his attention back to Aleena.
∞∞∞
"Should I get you something to eat?" Nanzip, Mrs. Kadiri's housekeeper, asked Yemi.
"Thanks, but the drinks are okay," Yemi said with a smile.
Yemi handed a fruit shoot to Aleena, who was sitting beside her on the sofa. Aleena sucked on the straw, but her eyes remained firmly fixed on the TV. She put the drink down a couple of minutes later, and Yemi smiled at the animated look on her daughter's face as she began to babble happily to the tunes coming from the cartoon showing on the TV.
Yemi glanced at her wristwatch. The maid had gone in to inform Mrs. Kadiri of her presence some twenty minutes earlier, but Mrs. Kadiri was yet to appear. Yemi shrugged. Maybe that was part of the sacrifice she had to endure. She had taken her mother's advice to try to get close to Akeem's mum. She would just have to grin and bear whatever treatment was meted out to her for now until Mrs. Kadiri's cold attitude towards her thawed.
Aleena got up from her seat and moved closer to the television screen, but Yemi put her back on the seat.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Kadiri came into the sitting room.
"Good afternoon, Ma," Yemi said, standing up. She had wanted to say, "Mum," but the word always seemed to stick to her throat no matter how hard she tried.
"Good afternoon," her mother-in-law replied before turning to Aleena. "Hello, Aleena," she said, with a slight smile at the little girl.
"Aleena, say hello to Grandma," Yemi urged Aleena, who suddenly appeared shy and moved closer to Yemi. Yemi could not help comparing Aleena's response to Akeem's mother with how she acted towards her maternal grandmother; Aleena would have immediately run to Yemi's mother the moment she saw her.
"Thanks for the fruits you sent through the driver,"
Mrs. Kadiri said, turning back to Yemi. "And thanks also for the kaftan."
"You are welcome, Ma." She had made the outfit based on her estimation of Mrs. Kadiri's size, as the latter had not supplied her with any measurements despite several requests. "I hope the fit was okay?"
"It looked so. I have not tried it on yet."
"I can make you some more if you like it," Yemi offered eagerly.
"Thank you."
Mrs. Kadiri sat down and crossed her legs. Yemi did not know what to say next, so the silence dragged on for a few minutes, only occasionally punctuated by Aleena's giggles.
"I learnt that Nicole is getting married soon," Yemi finally said. Nicole was Mrs. Kadiri's niece; Akeem had told her about the wedding.
"Yes, she is. The wedding is in a month."
"That's great. I'll be more than happy to help out in any way that I can."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Another bout of silence. Yemi was getting almost desperate to keep the conversation flowing. "Aunt Kande must be so happy," she said, referring to Nicole's mother, "since it's the first wedding in her family."
Mrs. Kadiri smiled drily. "Every mother is supposed to be happy when their child gets married. Except for those mothers who have been told that their opinion does not matter."
Yemi knew that she was referring to her marriage to Akeem. She felt that this might be the opportunity to smoothen things out. To make peace with the mother of the man who meant the world to her. "I know Akeem may have married me against your wishes…" She began quietly.
"Oh, so you know?" Mrs. Kadiri asked, cutting in.
"And I am sorry if he hurt you in the process."
Mrs. Kadiri smiled a little sarcastically. "Are you really sorry, Yemi?"
"I'm sorry for any hurt caused. That wasn't our intention."
Mrs. Kadiri studied Yemi for a moment before smiling derisively. "So since you brought this up, what do you intend to do about it?"
"Do about it?" Yemi was confused.
"Yes, do about it," Mrs. Kadiri repeated a little impatiently. "How do you intend to right the wrong done to me?"