After the storm (21 page)

"Wait a
minute, Coral…" he said a few minutes later as sanity tried to
resurface. What was he doing?

She
laughed softly. "Relax," she said as she leaned over and reached
into her bag. She brought out a pack of condoms and showed him.
"See, I came prepared. It's all okay."

Akeem
stared at her. Her arms came round him once more, and he did not
want to think anymore as she gently tugged his head towards her
again.

∞∞∞

Akeem
entered the shopping floor of Estelle and Company. His personal
assistant had made an appointment for him at the jewellery shop, so
they were expecting him. He introduced himself to the receptionist
and a few minutes later, the manager joined him in the reception
lounge.

"Very
pleased to see you again, Mr. Kadiri," the manager said as he shook
Akeem's hand. They exchanged pleasantries. "I have arranged a
private viewing room for you, as usual," the manager said. "Please
come with me."

"I'd
like to see some of your best pieces," Akeem said, following the
manager out of the room. "I want to give my wife a pleasant
surprise."

The
manager's smile didn't seem like it could get any wider. "We got
some new pieces just yesterday, and you would be the first customer
to view them. I'm sure Mrs. Kadiri would love them."

About an
hour later, Akeem left the shop with a beautiful diamond necklace
and matching earrings. He had paid a tidy sum of money for them,
but he did not mind. He only wished he could also pay to wipe the
guilt from his conscience. The jewellery was beautiful, but Yemi
would have still appreciated the gifts even if they were imitation
stones set on plain metal. That was what made it so hard on his
conscience. Only a jerk would cheat on a woman like that, but maybe
that was what he was: a certified jerk.

He had
carried on with Coral over the past two days. After their first
night together, the next one had been easier. He knew he had
already crossed the line, so he fell headlong into the affair. He
kept telling himself that he needed the distraction; he was still
smarting over Sonakson and needed to escape the pressure that their
withdrawal was already mounting on him. Ka-Tell was his brainchild.
He didn't just want to build upon or expand what had been handed
over to him. He wanted to go into other areas, break new grounds,
and take KH to greater heights. 

He did
not have any feelings for Coral. They had both used each other and
that was it. He had no intention of continuing the relationship,
and now that he had done what he thought he would never do—cheat on
his lovely wife—he knew the guilt was not worth it.

The
guilt heightened when Yemi hugged him later that evening, when he
arrived back in Lagos. He held her close and breathed in her sweet
smell. He insisted on bathing Aleena himself and putting her to
bed, which delighted the little girl. He hoped his daughter would
never know what he had done.

After
dinner, he gave Yemi the necklace and earrings.

"They
are so beautiful!" she whispered in an awed voice as she looked at
the cluster of diamonds set in white gold. She leaned forward and
brushed her lips across his. "You must have spent a fortune on
these. Thank you so much, honey."

"I love
you," he said, holding her close to him. He placed the necklace
around her neck and did up the clasp.

She put
on the drop earrings and turned to him, her eyes shining with
excitement. It was just as he had thought. It sat well on her
graceful neck. He could imagine how she would look if she was all
dressed up.

A
worried frown furrowed her brows. "But honey, I'd feel so unsafe
wearing this. I'm sure I'll keep looking over my
shoulders."

He
smiled. They had made some progress through the years. He
remembered her protests over every single expensive gift he bought
her when they had just started dating. "Don't worry, baby, it's all
insured."

She
looked relieved and flashed him a smile as she touched the
necklace. "I'm going to check this out in the mirror."

He
watched her as she admired the necklace in the mirror of her
dressing table. The thought of telling her what he had done came to
his mind, but he pushed it back. No, he couldn't do that, could not
risk the consequences. Yemi was so innocent. Such things did not
exist in her world.

Chapter
12

Yemi
looked on as Laide tried on different shoes at Marabelle, a shop in
Victoria Island. She and Dotun had finally fixed a wedding
date, and everyone was excited at the thought of another wedding in
the family.

But in
the midst of all the excitement and preparation, Yemi could not
help comparing her family's reception of Laide to hers with the
Kadiris. There was actually no basis for comparison. Her in-laws
were showing no signs of accepting her anytime soon, and she now
always made sure that Akeem was with her whenever she went to the
Kadiris for a visit.

"What do
you think of this pair?" Laide asked, interrupting her
thoughts.

"Cool. I
like the shape in front, and it's not so crazy high. I'm sure you
can wear this for the party after the wedding ceremony."

"But
don't you think the other one I just tried on was
better?"

"This
pair is fine, but let's see the other one again."

She and
Laide spent some more time in the store before Laide could make up
her mind. They were just about to enter the next store when Yemi
saw Sharon Braithwaite coming out. She exchanged pleasantries with
Yemi, and Yemi introduced her to Laide.

"So what
are you doing now?" Sharon asked Yemi. "Are you working
yet?"

Yemi
shook her head. "No, not yet." Unless being mummy to an energetic
little "miss" and attending high-profile events with her CEO hubby,
plus trying to get pregnant counted, she added silently.

Sharon
arched her eyebrows slightly but said nothing. She talked some more
with them about Laide's wedding preparations and, in the process,
found out that Yemi was making the wedding dress.

"Oh, is
she? I'm sure she is going to come up with something very lovely.
I've seen her designs, and I know what she's capable
of."

Yemi
tried not to gape at the compliment. She felt Sharon was just being
polite. Not that it bothered her. She still made many of her own
clothes, and she even had more "friends by association" as she
referred to people who had seen her designs on their friends asking
her to make clothes for them too. So far, the criticisms she had
received were very few and far between.

"Why
don't you give me a call anytime you are free tomorrow, and let's
talk," Sharon said to Yemi before she moved off. "I just might have
something you'd be interested in."

Yemi
watched Sharon walk away. She was dressed simply in a pair of jeans
and a fitted silk top, but she still managed to make the outfit
look elegant.

Laide
was excited. "I'm sure that lady has designed clothes for any
celebrity worth her salt! Her prices must be way out,
though!"

"They
are, but she still has to turn away so many people," Yemi said, her
gaze still fixed in the direction in which Sharon had
disappeared.

"That's
what you should do. Open a fashion shop. At least Sharon
Braithwaite thinks you're good."

Yemi
smiled ruefully. "When you are at the top of your game like Sharon,
you can afford to be a little generous with your
compliments."

Nevertheless, she called Sharon the next day and could hardly
believe her ears when Sharon told her that she wanted Yemi to help
her out with some designs for her next collection. She had to
muster all the "cool" within her not to squeal excitedly over the
phone; Sharon would never do that for anyone, so why should she?
The lady was as cool as cucumber, even when she was attending to
the wives of governors and such like.

But she
did a little dance as soon as she put down the phone. She
immediately called Akeem with the news.

"I'm
happy for you, baby. So she really did like your designs after
all."

"She
said she did! But she didn't say anything when she looked at
them!"

He
tutted. "You've got to believe in yourself some more," he
teased.

She met
with Sharon later that week. Yemi was still amazed when she saw the
experienced tailors that she had in her employ and wondered why
Sharon had asked for her help. She got her answer later as Sharon
spoke to her.

"Some
people can design but can't sew, and others can sew excellently but
are not creative," Sharon said. "But not very many people can
combine both the way that you do." Her eyes narrowed a little as
she surveyed Yemi, as though trying to fathom her out. "I believe
it's mainly just a gift, because you certainly don't put in as much
work as some of the more experienced people I've dealt with.
Neither do you plan to do anything with it." She wrinkled her nose
slightly, as if she was not impressed, and Yemi was reminded of her
mother-in-law's face. "Nevertheless, I have to admit that your work
is good, and you're very talented."

Yemi's
face remained bland. So she was being told she was neither
hardworking nor driven. Well, this was a hobby that she enjoyed.
Accounting was work, and designing and sewing were fun.

"I need
some really good designs for this collection," Sharon continued.
"I'm planning a big fashion show, much bigger than anything I've
done in the past. Dan has had to take some time off because of his
wife not being very well at the moment," she said, referring to her
trusted head tailor. "But nevertheless, I'm still not going to use
just anybody because I'm hard pressed. I'd rather postpone the
event than do that."

Sharon
wanted Yemi to work with Danila, a type of cotton fabric, and to
combine it with any other fabric to create a smart casual line.
Yemi remembered that she had done some similar designs on the
sketchpad that Sharon had looked at.

She smiled when Sharon brought up the topic of payment. It
was funny to her that she was being offered payment for something
she enjoyed doing.
Nah, this was training
for her
. She declined. Sharon didn't try
to make her change her mind; rather, she offered Yemi free courses
that she personally supervised.

Yemi set
out to work on the designs. They had to go over them several times
over the next few weeks. Yemi created, and Sharon criticized or
complimented. She was a stickler for perfection, but Yemi valued
her criticism, and they finally arrived at designs that she was
happy with.

Yemi
attended the fashion event with Laide and Derin. She felt warm all
over when she heard the applause as the models wearing her designs
came out. Yes, they might be applauding House of Tetra, but this
was her work! Maybe having her own fashion house someday was not
such a bad idea after all, she thought to herself
happily.

 ∞∞∞

Dotun's
voice was clear but a little emotional, his eyes lovingly fixed on
Laide's as they exchanged their wedding vows two months later.
Yemi's eyes dampened slightly. The ceremony was beautiful, and the
couple looked so happy. She felt a nudge on her elbow and turned to
see Akeem looking at her in amusement.

"They
look good together, don't they?" he whispered. 

"Absolutely!"

A
teasing smile curved his lips. "But I wonder why some people cry at
weddings, though. It's supposed to be a joyful event."

"These
are tears of joy," Yemi said, smiling and dabbing at her eyes with
her handkerchief.

"Hmmm…interesting." He looked over to where the bridal party
was sitting. "My daughter is definitely the loveliest little flower
girl I've ever seen."

"She
does look very pretty," Yemi agreed and then added cheekily, "just
like her mum."

"Um, but
I think my girl is just that little bit prettier,"

She
smiled and tossed her hair. "What else would you say?"

After
the wedding, they went over to the venue for the reception. By this
time, Aleena had had enough of sitting with other members of the
bridal party and insisted on sitting with her father at his table.
Yemi left them and went to help with attending to other
guests. 

She
heard Sesan's voice behind her. "Hey!"

"Shez!"
she exclaimed excitedly, looking around to find him standing there.
She hugged him. "Dotun told me you flew in yesterday. That's so
nice of you."

"No
other way to go about it. Dotun is like a brother to
me."

Yemi put
on a mock frown. "That's so very partial. I can remember a certain
person didn't even bother waiting to attend my wedding."

"That
was a long time ago." Sesan laughed. "You're looking good, by the
way. I saw you from afar during the church service. How have you
been?"

"Fine,
thanks, and you?"

"I'm
good. How's your little girl? Is she here?"

"That's
her over there with Akeem," Yemi said, pointing towards Akeem and
Aleena.