Page 14 of Fling

‘Oh, you wouldn’t like it. Definitely NSFW,’ Mark said, trying not to laugh.

Tara felt hurt. They were making the joke at work so they clearly didn’t care about it being not safe for work. What they really meant was Not Safe For Women. She decided to change the subject.

‘Were any of you listening to The Line this morning?’ she asked.

‘God, it was hilarious. That Mary woman was a real piece of work,’ Rob laughed.

‘Richard Mulligan is an absolute legend,’ Tommy said. ‘You know we have a pitch meeting with him tomorrow?’

‘What?’ Tara said, shocked. ‘I have nothing prepared!’

‘Oh don’t worry, this one is a slam dunk for us. Not really your territory,’ Mark said.

‘What do you mean by that?’ Tara asked, squinting her eyes at him. ‘Women can cheat as well, you know? Last time I checked, it takes two to tango.’

‘Of course but . . . you’re not exactly the best person to pitch an ad campaign for it,’ Tommy said carefully.

‘Can you imagine?’ Rob laughed, unintentionally snorting like a pig.

‘And why not? Is the product not “pink” enough?’ she said, making air quotes with her fingers.

‘No . . . it’s because you’re . . .’ Tommy said, struggling to find the best words.

‘Oh spit it out!’ Tara demanded.

‘You’re a bit of a Mary,’ he finally said.

Tara was fit to be tied. Everyone had the completely wrong perception of her. The insinuation that she was some old prude who couldn’t even handle an office joke was insulting. How could her self-perception be so dramatically different from the way others saw her? Did people just write you off after a certain age?

She used to be a free-spirited bohemian who was wild at heart. She used to be the kind of girl who would get on the back of a stranger’s motorbike. When did she lose her spark? When had she become a pearl-clutching, puritanical, finger-wagging MARY? She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but that was something a Mary would do. She refused to prove them right.

In fact, she would prove them all wrong.

‘What time is Richard Mulligan coming in?’ Tara asked calmly.

‘11 a.m. But honestly, Tara, we’ve got this. You’re just not the target market. You wouldn’t download Fling in a million years,’ Tommy said.

‘Yeah, and if you don’t know how to play the game, maybe you shouldn’t be on the pitch,’ Mark said.

‘We’ll see about that,’ Tara said, turning adamantly to leave.

Tara stormed back to her office and pointed at Emily. It was clear she was on a warpath.

‘My office. Now!’ she said sternly.

Emily followed her through the door immediately, sensing something serious.

‘Tara, is everything OK? You know I was just messing earlier about the whole Mary thing,’ she said, worried her joke had gone too far.

‘No, Emily, you were right. I am a feckin’ Mary. The Lads just said the exact same thing. But I’m going to prove everyone wrong,’ Tara said, handing her phone to Emily. ‘Download Fling.’

‘Wow, are you sure?’ Emily said, taking the phone.

‘Oh, I’m sure. Richard Mulligan is coming in tomorrow to hear a marketing pitch from the Lads. They seem to think I’m too much of a prude to contribute anything to the conversation, but they’re going to discover otherwise,’ Tara said, eager to wipe the smug grins off their faces.

Emily was immediately on board with the idea and searched for Fling on the app store.

‘Found it,’ she said instantly. ‘It’s number one on the apps chart. Looks like you’re not the only cat that’s in heat.’

---