After the storm (37 page)

He got
out a bottle of flavoured water from the fridge and took a sip
before opening the big brown envelope that Linda had placed on his
desk.

The
address of the legal firm caught his attention first. He stared at
it before scanning through the rest of the letter.

Dear Mr. Kadiri,

My client has instructed us to file for divorce on the
grounds of irreconcilable differences…

Akeem
felt a cold pressure run through his chest as he read through the
letter.

"You've
finally done it," he muttered through clenched teeth as he pushed
the letter away from him. He balled his fist and stared into space.
So this was it. The legal end of his marriage.

He
placed a call to his personal assistant. "Linda, I'm going to be
busy for the next couple of hours. Please take all calls, and I
don't want to see anyone unless it's an emergency."

He
stared at the letter again. His mind took him to the night when he
had seen Yemi and the guy she had been with. Was that the reason
she wanted a divorce? Freedom to marry again?

He knew
he probably shouldn't have done what he did, but seeing her that
night at Justin's restaurant with that man had rattled him more
than he cared to admit. The cool look she had given him to indicate
that his presence there did not bother her had made it worse. There
he was, barely able to stop his eyes from straying to her every
other minute, and she had appeared totally unfazed, smiling and
flirting with her companion.

"I Knew
I Loved You" playing shortly afterwards had unwittingly presented
him with the weapon to put her coolness to the test. He had seen
her reaction to the song when she had looked almost involuntarily
towards him and knew that she remembered. Not that cool then, he
had thought to himself as he saw her face.

When
Justin had come over and asked him if there was anything he wanted,
he had asked if the other songs they had both liked could be
played.

Lois had
looked at him curiously when he made the request.

"I
didn't know you were such a romantic," she remarked after Justin
had left.

He had
smiled without saying anything. She had still not known that Yemi
was in the restaurant, but when his eyes kept straying in Yemi's
direction, Lois had caught on that something was amiss. Her eyes
followed his, and that was when she had seen Yemi sitting a few
tables away. He had felt sorry as he saw the hurt expression that
crossed Lois's face. She was a sweet girl, and he didn't want to
hurt her, but obviously Yemi still had a way of getting to him and
making him act uncharacteristically.

He took
another sip of the flavoured water and then walked across the
office to the window overlooking the busy Lagos street
below.

The
contents of the letter flashed through his mind again. He smiled
bitterly to himself. "You aren't calling the shots on this one,
Yemi," he muttered to himself. "The divorce will only happen when
and if I want it to happen."

Chapter
20

"Hello
Yemi," Akeem said as he was shown into her office a few days later.
His eyes swept over her. She looked good in her peach top, black
pants, and black high heels. "Sorry to come to your office without
calling first," he apologised as he sat down on the chair she
offered. "I see you've done some work here. Very nice."

"Thank
you," Her expression was shuttered as she looked at him. "How can I
help you?"

He
allowed his eyes to roam over her face. She still wore her hair the
way he liked it, the shoulder-length hair framing her oval face.
Classy without being fussy. He forced himself to concentrate on the
reason why he was there. "I got the letter from your lawyers," he
said, maintaining eye contact with her.

"I'd
have thought that you would want to communicate with me through
them as well?"

He knew
he had been right to not let her know he was coming. She would
definitely have declined seeing him. "I believe we can still have a
conversation without needing lawyers."

"What do
you want to discuss?"

He kept
his eyes on her face. "I agree that we both need to move on, but
the timing is not very convenient for me right now."

"Convenient?" Her tone was icy.

"Well,
as a matter of speaking, my company does not need the negative
publicity it could generate. We're doing a lot of media drive at
the moment for Ka-Tell, and frankly, we want the focus to be on
that and not on the personal life of the CEO."

Yemi
looked unimpressed. "I don't see the media getting that interested
in our divorce proceedings. We've been separated for quite some
time. It's pretty much old news."

"I'm not
sure I'm ready to take that chance. At least, not at the moment,
anyway. Some pressmen may think it funny to run the story alongside
the media drive Ka-Tell is doing. Those tabloids thrive on matters
like this."

"I can't
say that I agree with you, but what are you suggesting?"

"That
you kindly hold off with the divorce suit for the moment. Or better
still, that you withdraw it until a little later. I'm sure your
lawyer will know what to do."

She
looked at him coldly. "Why should I put my life on hold because of
Ka-Tell?" Her lips curled sarcastically. "Like your precious
company has not done enough to me already?"

"I'm
only asking for a little time. Surely you can give me
that."

"I'm not
sure about that. I want this over as soon as possible so I can face
other matters."

Matters
like getting married to Deji? At least that's what his research had
showed that the guy was called. He forced his face to remain
expressionless. "I understand the delay this may cause to your
personal plans, but kindly consider what I have said."

"Like I
said, I will discuss it with my lawyer, and he will get back to you
about your request. I've got to think about my life
too."

He
looked at the stubborn expression on her face and decided that it
was time to lay his cards on the table. "I can't stop you if you
insist on going ahead with the divorce, but I would have to deal
with it the way we handle anything that may affect the company
negatively. Simply put, I'll hand it over to our public relations
team at KH." He looked her straight in the eye. "And from my
experience, I can almost tell you what the sequence will be. There
will likely be a press conference as soon as possible. That way we
hit the newsstands before the tabloids do. But I'm afraid the
emphasis would be on protecting my image and that of the company,"
He paused as he allowed the impact of his words to sink in. "I
don't know how prepared you or your lawyer are to handle the media
attention or any negative backlash it may have on you."

"And on
your daughter," she said sarcastically. "Or are you forgetting
that?"

"Aleena
will be protected as much as possible, but during this process I
also intend to seek legal counsel on what custody arrangements
would best suit her, especially now that you're thinking of moving
on."

Her eyes
flashed angrily at him, and he knew that he had gotten to her. "I
don't see what our getting divorced has to do with Aleena's
custody. The arrangement we have presently has worked well for the
past two years."

He
looked back at her calmly. "The circumstances have changed.
Moreover, I would think that I have significantly more to offer my
child than you do, but of course that would be a matter for the
courts to decide."

Her
anger at his words was almost palpable. He smiled inwardly. She
might be successful in her business, but this beautiful wife of his
still had some things she needed to learn. Rule number one in
warfare: Never let an enemy, real or perceived, see how much effect
he has on you. He will simply use it against you.

"There's
more to caring for a child than simply lavishing money on her!" she
lashed at him angrily. "But then again, what would you know about
that?"

He
smiled. "What indeed? But believe me, I love my daughter very much,
and whatever I do would be in her best interest."

"Best
interest indeed!" she said scornfully. He could see that she was
struggling to keep calm. "How long do you have in mind?" she
asked.

"At
least a year."

She bit
her lower lip. He felt sorry for her. He knew Aleena was the only
reason she would back down. Was she in that much of a hurry to
marry Deji?

"And
what would have changed by then? The media could still make a
fuss."

"Ka-Tell
would be more stable by then. The distraction, if any, would be
easier to handle."

Her eyes
were stormy as she looked at him. "I'll speak to my lawyer and get
back to you."

"Thanks,
I shall expect to hear from you," he said and stood up. "Thanks
once again for seeing me."

She did
not respond.

As his
driver drove him back to the office, he stared broodingly ahead. He
thought over their conversation and felt sure that Yemi would agree
to what he had asked, primarily because she was scared he would
fight her over Aleena's custody. He had no such intention, but it
helped his cause if she thought he would. Aleena was better off
with Yemi. She knew how to keep his daughter in line and had no
qualms about putting her foot down when needed.

He
leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He wondered why he was
doing what he was doing. He had tried to avoid Yemi as much as
possible over the past two years, only seeing her when it was
absolutely necessary for Aleena's sake, but the thought of her
getting married to Deji, or any other man, left a bitter taste in
his mouth.

His
mobile phone vibrated, and he looked at the caller ID. It was Fola.
Just what he needed, work. He picked up the call, glad at the
opportunity to escape the disturbing thoughts going through his
mind.

∞∞∞

"That's
normally one of the preferred ways that PR people deal with
negative publicity," Yemi's lawyer said, looking at her through his
dark-rimmed spectacles. Yemi wanted to explore her options and had
gone to see him concerning what Akeem had told her. "They believe
they stand a better chance of controlling what the public gets to
know if they go to the press first."

Yemi
looked at him gloomily. "I had hoped that this whole thing would be
resolved as quietly as possible. What's the big deal about two
adults consenting to a divorce?"

The
lawyer drummed on the desk with his pen. "Your husband is a
high-profile person, which makes the news interesting fodder for
the press if he really does go ahead with the press release. The
media would be after you in the guise of hearing your side of the
story, and that would generate some headlines for them to sell
their papers for the next few weeks."

Yemi
just stared moodily at him.

Her
lawyer looked at her. "But I can guarantee you that we will win the
case for Aleena's custody if he brings it up. She is young, and her
place is with her mother unless there is something unsavoury he can
dig up to use against you and label you an unfit
mother."

"So you
are suggesting that I just do as he says?"

"I'm
advising you on what the scenario could likely be. It's your right
to seek a divorce anytime you like, and my firm will ensure that
you get it, but it's obviously going to generate a lot more
publicity than we had expected."

Yemi was
not happy but knew that the wise thing to do was to go along with
Akeem for now. There was no way she was going to let him get a
chance to test if the courts would grant him custody of Aleena or
not.

He was
all sweetness and charm when she called to inform him of her
decision.

"Thanks
so much, Yemi. I appreciate the sacrifice you're
making."

She
could just imagine the smirk on his face. "Akeem, about Aleena, I
don't ever want her custody to be a matter for the courts to
decide." She struggled to say the next words: "I believe we can
settle that amicably between the two of us."

"I
believe so too," he said smoothly. "But not to worry, we have
plenty of time to discuss our daughter's welfare."

She
resisted the urge to bang the phone on him. She had really looked
forward to shutting the door of her marriage to him permanently.
And now the thought of remaining his wife, even if it was just on
paper, for another year was far from appealing.

∞∞∞

She was
still moody by the weekend when she took Aleena to Amanda's
birthday party. Even the sight of all the gaily dressed kids
playing around with the party mascots that Teju had hired did
nothing to cheer her up.

She sat
back and watched the dancing competition later in the afternoon.
With the way Eniola was wriggling her little body energetically,
she was certainly going to win. It must be the influence of her
mother, because Ayo had two left feet and could not dance to save
his life. Yemi glanced at Aleena, who was dancing away as well. She
was getting so tall, with long legs like her dad.