Emily gasped as she caught sight of the newspaper headline screaming red at her from the front page of one of the dailies.
HEIR TO ADENIRAN HOLDINGS IN GHASTLY MOTOR ACCIDENT!!! In critical condition at undisclosed hospital.
She was jolted back to herself by the blare of horns around her as traffic moved on and she did not. She quickly engaged her gears and drove the rest of the way to the office, her mind in turmoil of questions.
As soon as she got into the building, she headed straight to her dad’s office, forgetting her manners and opening the door without knocking.
“Dad! Have you seen the headlines?!” she asked. Her father looked up from a newspaper that was spread out in front of him.
Emily hurried to his desk and snatched the papers up. She scanned the news story and almost groaned in frustration at how scanty the details were.
“What could have happened? Have you been able to reach his mum?” She asked worriedly.
Her father eyed her wryly. “You say that like you really think she’d speak to me even if I had her number to call.”
Emily huffed in irritation. She could not understand the lingering nastiness between her father and Banjo’s mum after so many years. One would think that after all that time and the fact that the Adenirans did reconcile before Uncle Keji passed on, the bad blood between them would have abated.
She pulled out her cell phone to call Patricia and saw that another call was coming in. Kenneth’s.
“Hello.” She answered before the first ring was out.
“Hey! That means you’ve seen the dailies.” Kenneth said his voice laced with concern.
“We are looking at it right now.” Emily choked on a sob that caught her by surprise.
“Emily, I am sure he’ll be alright.” Kenneth soothed.
“How?!” Emily wailed, surprised at how strongly she was reacting to this news.
“Em, do you need me to come over?” Kenneth asked. Emily sighed.
“You must be busy and…”
“Not so busy that I can’t come round to see you now. I can move things around you know. I’m the boss.” He joked mildly. Emily felt a smile touch her lips and marveled that in the midst of her turbulent emotions, this man could wring out a smile from her like by magic.
“Okay. If it won’t be too much of a bother, I’d like to find out what’s going on.” She said.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. An hour tops.” He said.
“Alright.” Emily answered suddenly less apprehensive than she had been when she had pulled out her cell phone.
“Stay calm darling, alright? I’ll be there soon.” He said and the phone clicked off.
A small smile still played around Emily’s lips as she scrolled through her contacts for Patricia’s number.
“Darling?” her father asked in mild tones. Emily jerked in surprise as she realized that her phone had been on speaker. She looked up at her father and quickly bent her head back to her cell phone.
She shrugged her shoulders delicately.
“Is there something that you need to tell me?” Her father persisted.
“Dad! I’m a grown woman. I think I can choose who to date or not.” She answered matching her father’s tone.
“I have not said you’re not grown. I just asked if there was something you ought to have told me about.”
Emily sighed. “Dad, Kenneth and I are seeing each other. No, I didn’t tell you but it wasn’t a conscious decision not to. It just didn’t come up.” She finished and pierced her father with a steady look which he returned for a few long moments, searching her eyes for something. Abruptly, he nodded his head and turned to the papers on his desk. After shuffling a few he dropped them and folded his fingers into a steeple.
“I hope that you know that I would never stand in the way of your happiness. Never.” He said feelingly as he pierced her with an earnest look.
Emily looked at him, surprised at his earnestness as well as his words.
“I know that Dad.” She answered quietly, trying to communicate her trust and belief without saying the words. He smiled at her and nodded.
“Keep me posted on Banjo’s condition. Perhaps, I’ll try to get a hold of Abike. She must be distraught.” He said soberly.
Emily nodded as she gathered up her things and made her way to the front lobby. She knew that she was in no frame of mind to work so she did not bother with her office. Her secretary, whom she shared with another lawyer in the chambers, on sighting her made her way over to enquire if everything was alright. Emily nodded listlessly and instructed her to reschedule her appointments for the day and where not possible see if there was one of the junior lawyers that could hold brief in her absence. Her secretary nodded and went away to see what she could do leaving Emily alone with her thoughts as she waited for Kenneth to show up.
She smiled again at the memory of the concern in his voice when he had called earlier. Her smile quickly cleared up though when another lawyer walked in with a newspaper in his hand and the headline peeping through with the name ‘Adeniran’ emboldened on it. They exchanged polite greetings and the man went on to his office.
Emily began to fidget on her seat as she thought of what must be happening at the Adeniran’s household. She pulled out her cell phone again and scrolled to Patricia number. She pressed the call button and listened as the phone rang and rang out. There was no response after several more attempts. She was beginning to think that she might have to take a cab over when she saw one of Kenneth’s cars pull up right in front of the glass entrance door and he jumped out of the vehicle. She quickly got up and walked briskly towards him, relief flooding her system at the sight of him.
Yeah! She was in love with this man. And if she was not mistaken, he was, if not in love with her, then well on his way too. The knowledge of this brought a radiant smile to her lips.
“Thank goodness you’re here!” she beamed at him as they met each other at the door. Kenneth pulled her into a hug that enveloped every part of her body and every fiber of her being.
“How are you holding up?” he asked as he deposited a small kiss on her forehead uncaring of who was watching them. It was a small kiss but it made Emily melt all over.
“Much better now that you’re here.” She responded truthfully.
“Come on let’s head out. I was able to learn the location of the hospital.” He said quietly as he pulled her with him towards the car where Victor stood waiting to hand her in. She smiled a greeting at him as he went round to the driver’s side seeing as how his boss was fussing over her like she was a delicate flower.
Soon they were on their way, the car cutting through the busy traffic with befuddling ease.
“You know…”
“Emily…”
They both began at the same time. Kenneth motioned for her to speak first.
Emily smiled and shook her head in her amusement. “I was just thinking that it is ludicrous, you, rushing over to help me out with my ex’s accident. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to do once we get there.”
Kenneth caressed the hand he had not let go of since he met her at the entrance to her office building, in soothing circles.
“I guess it’s what men in love do.” He said in his usual bald way but with a wry undertone to his comment.
Emily turned sharply to look at his face searchingly. She smiled at the truth she saw there.
“You do know I love you like crazy.” She said her eyes and voice soft.
Kenneth responded with a wide smile, that handsome one that she liked so much and kissed her firmly on her lips. He then gathered her close as the car sped on to the hospital.
Alero sat despondently at her desk, staring unseeingly ahead of her. There was a knock on her door and Mrs. Ajala walked in quietly.
“Just a heads up. Mr. Wanigo is on his way in!” she whispered urgently. “John just stopped him to review something in the hall way. He should be in soon!”
Alero sta
red at her with a blank expression on her face. She had heard her clearly but her brain had refused to coordinate the rest of her body into the necessary action required.
Banjo? In an accident? In critical condition?
“Have you gotten Patricia?” she asked Mrs. Ajala in a cracked up voice. Mrs. Ajala nodded her head with eyes full of sympathy. Alero was too befuddled to wonder at the look in her eyes.
“What did she say?” Alero turned in her seat urgently.
“She says he’s stable now. She seemed a bit harried so she said she’ll call me back when things are calmer.”
Alero deflated again and turned to stare at her screen saver blankly.
Mrs. Ajala quietly left the office. Several minutes later, another knock interrupted Alero’s scattered thoughts and Mr. Wanigo walked into the office. Alero took a hold of her mouse and moved it around to awaken her screen. Her eyes were glassy and she could not for the life of her make out what drawing was on her screen.
Mr. Wanigo quietly took a seat in front of her desk and watched her silently for a few minutes.
“I thought you said he was just an acquaintance.” He said quietly.
Alero sniffled as she tried to blink away the moisture from her glassy eyes.
“Alero?”
She turned her face tiredly towards him not responding otherwise to his comment.
“Go home. Or wherever it is you need to go now to get yourself together. Once you feel able, return to work. In the interim, I’m pulling you from the Adeniran Holdings project.” He plowed on in spite of her sharp intake of air. “I will not tolerate a conflict of interest in one of our biggest contracts ever!” he reprimanded.
Alero drew in her lower lips to hold in the sob that would otherwise have escaped.
“Alero, what is your relationship with this boy?” Mr. Wanigo gentled his voice from his officious tone.
Alero sniffled nosily and shook her head.
“Apparently he is a lot more than a mere acquaintance. Tell me…was this before the contract or after?”
Alero shook her head wildly. “No Sir! He was just someone I knew before. It…later on, we…we were sor..we were dating.”
“Were?” Mr. Wanigo cocked his head to the side.
“We had a row…last night.” Alero broke down in tears. Mr. Wanigo sat stiff with discomfort as he allowed her cry and blubber into a hastily grabbed handkerchief.
“Tell you what Alero, it’s Friday. Go on. Leave early today. Work all of this out and then come back on Monday fit to work.” He said not unkindly. “If you find that you need a little more time, let me know.” He finished and got up to leave the office. He nodded at her gently and shut the door on his way out leaving Alero in the same near catatonic state she had been in when he had first entered.