After the storm (45 page)

"Hey,"
he said, bending and brushing his lips against hers. "Sorry to keep
you waiting."

"Mmmm…you smell good," she said, closing her eyes briefly as
she inhaled his cologne. "How was your session at the
gym?"

"Invigorating. You should have joined me. I feel so
energised." He poured himself a glass of wine and then refilled
hers. "What's for dinner?"

She
opened some of the dishes. Fresh prawns. An assortment of grilled
fish, roasted vegetables, and spicy coconut rice.

"Looks
good," he said. She dished some food onto his plate.

"Bassey
can sure cook up a storm," she agreed. "He said there's some new
type of dessert he's made for us to have afterwards
too."

"I've
got a huge appetite right now, so I'm all for it," Akeem replied,
digging into his food. Bassey knew how he liked his food.
Everything was done to perfection.

"I was
expecting to see Aleena and Kufre," Lois remarked as she cut up
some grilled fish on her plate.

"They
are at Yemi's place. It's children's day at her church this
weekend, and she asked if Aleena could attend."

"Oh."
She looked slightly taken aback. "I was thinking we could all go
out tomorrow and have some sort of family-do to celebrate your
birthday."

"Sorry,
honey." His birthday had been two days earlier, and she had taken
him out for dinner then. "I didn't know you had more plans, but we
can reschedule it for next week, can't we?"

"Of
course. It's not a big deal," she replied a little coolly, her eyes
on her plate.

"Nice
hairdo," he said after a while. He was feeling sorry that he had
forgotten to tell her that Aleena wouldn't be around. "New, isn't
it? Really suits your face."

She
smiled, looking pleased at the compliment. "Got it done yesterday.
There's this new salon I just discovered. The hairdresser is really
brilliant."

She
began to describe the place to him, and Akeem tried to listen to
her attentively. Salons and hairdressers were not his favourite
topics, but what could a man do? He had his little Aleena to think
of too. She was already talking high heels and bags. According to
her, her best friend, Chloe, already wore some form of heels. She
had tried to cajole him into getting her a pair, but Yemi was very
firm on her wearing just flat shoes for now. Maybe one day, Aleena
might need his input on the best places to get the nicest hair
extensions. He almost laughed out loud at the thought.

"Whoa, I
love this mousse, and the cake is absolutely super!" Lois said
later as she sampled a piece of the cake that Bassey served them.
"My dad's hosting some people soon. Maybe we can add this to the
menu." She turned to Bassey. "Please write the recipe out for me to
give to Kevin," she said referring to the cook at her dad's
house.

Bassey
glanced at Akeem. "I made the mousse but…"

Akeem
saw Bassey's hesitation and completed the sentence. "Yemi sent the
cake to my office, along with Aleena's birthday present for
me."

Lois
glanced at him but said nothing more. Bassey cleared some of the
plates they had used and left the dining room.

They
moved over to the sitting room after their dinner. Lois nestled her
head against his shoulder while he flicked through the channels. An
advert caught his attention, and he watched it briefly. The
gubernatorial elections were getting closer, and there was a media
war going on between the candidates as each tried to outdo the
other. Chloe's father seemed to be the new man to watch.

"Things
are really heating up. Dad's supporting Michael Ola-Daniels. He's
donated a lot towards his campaign," Lois said. "What do you think
of him?"

Akeem
shrugged. "He seems okay. He's got a couple of strong contenders,
though."

"Yeah,
Dad said something about them trying to make him step down, and
they've been offering him all sorts of juicy incentives, but the
guy is not budging."

Akeem
wrinkled his nose distastefully. "Politics is not my thing, but
Ola-Daniels should stick to what he believes in spite of any
pressure."

"You
don't sound too keen on him," Lois said, looking at his
face.

"I
support the Liberty Party. Their policies favour me more as a
businessman, but that's not to say that I've got anything against
Ola-Daniels. His daughter, Chloe, is Aleena's best friend, after
all."

"Of
course." Lois laughed. "So we have that connection and can still
get some favours even if you are not a staunch supporter of his
ambition."

Akeem
laughed. "You're talking like a politician now, aren't you? Maybe
we should sponsor you to run for a position in the next elections,"
he teased.

She
giggled. "Yeah. Just imagine me fighting for women's rights,
campaigning around the villages, etc."

"In your
six-inch heels, too…that would be great."

"C'mon,
give me some credit. I'll swap the heels when appropriate. Wear
flats when I need to, and wear the heels when I need to
dazzle."

Akeem
smiled. "You should join my mum in those political meetings she
goes to. And with you in politics, I'll be guaranteed of at least
one more reliable contact in government."

"Yeah,
and I'll give you the fullest advantage," she replied. Her eyes
grew serious as she traced her finger along his jaw. "I never
imagined that I could ever like someone so much," she said
softly.

He
smiled, maintaining eye contact with her. "I'm one lucky
guy."

"But I'm
really wasting my time, aren't I?" she asked in a matter-of-fact
way.

He was a
little startled and shot her a quick look. Her lips were still
smiling, but her eyes were serious. "What're you talking
about?"

"Me.
You. Yemi. You still like her, don't you?"

"We're
separated."

She
laughed softly but mirthlessly. "Separated, but she's still got
your heart firmly in her hold."

"Lois…"

"Don't
try to deny it." Her tone was not accusatory, just a little sad. "I
may be playful, but I'm not blind or stupid. It's been well over a
year since we started dating, Akeem, and you're no closer to
drawing closure on your marriage than when we first began." She
looked away from him. "I saw your reaction to her at the
restaurant. You could barely keep your eyes off her. Neither could
you hide your jealousy that she was with someone else."

Akeem
shook his head almost in frustration. He did not like the hurt he
saw in her eyes. He didn't want to hurt her. Not for Yemi. So what
if she had gone to see his mum in hospital? He had learnt from Sara
that she was now "born again." So that was her just trying to be a
good little Christian. It did not mean that her feelings towards
him had changed.

"Yemi is
about to divorce me. She's already filed the papers."

She
raised her brows slightly. "And yet you still keep a life-size
painting of her in your study?"

He
stared at her. She had never given any indication that it bothered
her. "The painting used to be in the sitting room downstairs. I had
it removed after we split." The explanation sounded lame even to
his own ears. Why had he not had that painting moved into storage
instead of his study? "Believe me, Yemi has no feelings for me, and
I don't have…"

She
placed a finger on his lips, cutting off the rest of his words.
"Don't lie to yourself, Akeem." She swung her legs over the edge of
the sofa. "I don't know about her, but I know you're not over her.
Far from it." She smiled sadly as she touched his face one more
time before leaving the room.

∞∞∞

"Did
Senator Dankaro tell you when I can see him?" Akeem asked, trying
to keep his tone calm. He wasn't exactly pleased at the cancelled
appointment, but he wasn't about to show his true feelings to the
personal assistant. He had shelved many important things to be in
Abuja for the meeting with the minister, only to have him cancel at
the last minute.

"He
didn't, but I will give you a call as soon as I'm sure what his
itinerary will be."

Akeem
thanked him and disconnected the call. He called Hasan. They were
both in Abuja on separate business missions but planned to fly back
to Lagos together that afternoon.

"These
politicians can be so unreliable!" Hasan sounded exasperated on the
phone when Akeem told him about it. "How could he let you fly all
the way to Abuja only to cancel the appointment?"

Akeem
smiled wryly. "They've got the power. Anyway, I'm on my way to your
hotel. We may as well do some catching up, and I want to hear all
about your new project."

He
thought about the cancelled appointment on the way to NiconNoga
Hotel where Hasan was staying. He had come a long way in dealing
with people in the corridors of power. He would contact the
personal assistant again when he got back to Lagos. He knew the
minister would see him eventually; He was aware that Akeem had too
many connections to be ignored or messed with.

Akeem
was looking forward to catching up with Hasan. An arm of Hasan's
company had just won a major government contract to construct some
national roads, and he was excited about it. Julius Berger and some
other heavies had also bid for the contract, but Hasan had managed
to push his through.

But
besides that, it would be good to just spend some time with Hasan.
He didn't know why he needed company these days. It must be some
sort of hangover from his split with Lois. He still toyed with the
idea of going after her. He knew he could get her back if he really
wanted to. She loved him, and all she needed was reassurance that
he was truly over Yemi.

He
smiled cynically. Yemi, his soon-to-be ex-wife. They only had three
months left on their agreement, and he had made up his mind that he
would let it go through. She was still acting "funny" these days,
though. She had actually tried to prolong their conversation on the
phone a few days earlier, which was very strange. She normally just
dispensed information about Aleena and ended the conversation
abruptly after she was done. It had to be all that born again stuff
Sara had told him about. But who knew what would happen when the
fad wore off?

"A. K.!"
Hasan hailed him as they bumped shoulders when he arrived at his
suite. He looked admiringly at Akeem's suit. "Nice cut. Alexander
Amosu?"

He
nodded. "Yeah…the guy is good. I'd recommend him any day." He
looked around the room as he sat down. "What have you been up
to?"

"Nothing
much. Been on the phone with my office. A few things crept up that
needed sorting out. Should I order something for you to
eat?"

"No,
thanks. I've had lunch already." Akeem stretched out his legs. He
needed a good workout at the gym to release all the tension he
felt. "Can't wait to get back to Lagos. Got a lot to do, but wish I
had been able to wrap up everything I came for," he said, thinking
of the cancelled appointment.

"I know,
but they are like that sometimes. Did he fix another
appointment?"

"His
secretary said he would call and make another appointment with
me."

They
talked about business. It was a good season for both companies.
Hasan's phone rang. "It's Fayona," he said before taking the
call.

Akeem
picked up one of the newspapers on the centre table. It was filled
with news of the upcoming elections. Chloe's dad, Senator
Ola-Daniels, was gaining ground, much to the chagrin of those who
had been before him. Akeem liked Ola-Daniels, but he still
preferred the policies of the other party. However, he felt that he
might need to extend a hand of friendship to him. He would make
sure to send a personal donation to his campaign team when he got
back to Lagos.

"Okay,
baby, let the pastor know that I'll see him by the weekend," Hasan
was saying to Fayona. "No, we will stop by his house on our way
back from Shona's on Saturday. We're still going there, right?" He
winked when he saw Akeem looking at him. "Guess who's here?" He
laughed at something she said and then held the phone away from
him. "She said to invite you for lunch on Sunday, is that
okay?"

Akeem
ran his itinerary for that day through his mind. Nothing much.
Aleena was going to be with Yemi. He nodded, and Hasan continued
with his call.

"So
you're still in on all that church stuff?" Akeem asked Hasan later
when he was done.

"Yeah…and really enjoying it, too. You should try it." He
laughed as he saw Akeem shaking his head even before he could
complete his statement. "Honestly, it's been amazing! I never knew
I could have so much peace even in the midst of my crazy
schedule!"

"I've
got all the peace I need," Akeem replied. "I have to talk to
Fayona. She's turned my friend soft."

Hasan
laughed. "By the way, she said she's making your favourite on
Sunday and for you to turn up on empty or else…"

Akeem
smiled. "Will do. Fayona's food is too good to waste."