Page 95 of Fling

‘Then it’s probably saved in the cloud,’ Emily said calmly.

‘What cloud? We have a cloud?’

‘You and technology,’ Emily laughed. ‘Wait here, I’ll grab my tablet.’ She walked to her desk and returned holding her tablet. ‘So let’s see, your email is [email protected] and I’m guessing your password is AbbaGold and . . . oh look at that, I’m in.’

‘Is my presentation there?’ Tara asked frantically.

‘Yep. Fling Pitch Deck. Last updated this morning. Here, take my tablet for the presentation,’ Emily said, handing it to her.

‘Oh Emily, you’re a saint!’ Tara said, beyond relieved.

‘Take that back,’ Emily joked.

‘Seriously, you’re literally my silver lining in the cloud! Will you please let me take you for drinks after I finish?’ Tara said.

‘OK, but I’m waiting in the car until the pitch is over,’ Emily insisted.

‘Deal. God, I feel so relieved,’ Tara said, catching her breath once again. ‘I just really need everything to go perfectly today.’

‘Tara, don’t worry. I read the Gemini horoscope for you today and it said something big was going to happen,’ Emily said, smiling.

When Colin opened the door of his office, he found Rory sprawled across his couch. It was Monday so, naturally, he was hungover once again.

‘Tara’s having an affair,’ Colin said, bursting in.

‘JESUS!’ Rory said, sitting up immediately. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Well . . . no. But I can’t think of any other explanation.’

‘Start from the beginning,’ Rory said, eager to get up to speed.

‘OK, so first of all, Tara found out about me going to the hotel room to meet Claire. Then she confronted me about it and disappeared for the entire weekend. Then this morning when I woke up, she was back and dressed to the nines in a short dress that she’s never worn before in her life. Then after she left, I found a notification on her tablet for a dick appointment. Tell me I’m crazy, Rory! Tell me there’s another way to interpret that!’ Colin said, out of breath from talking so fast.

Rory paused momentarily as he digested the information. ‘Colin, I know everything there is to know about women. And there is no other way to interpret this information. Tara is having an affair,’ he said without any doubt whatsoever.

‘Oh my God,’ Colin said, collapsing on his office couch. ‘What the hell am I going to do?’

‘Are you joking? You have to fight for her! What did the notification say?’ Rory asked.

‘It said “dick appointment”. Today at twelve p.m. at Al Fresco, Dublin.’

‘Al Fresco, I know the place. It’s a little outdoor restaurant in Dalkey. We have to be there at noon to catch her in the act.’

‘You’re right! We need to see who she’s meeting. I have to know! She must think I’m some fool. She’s only having an affair because she thinks I had an affair! She’s only doing this to get back at me!’ Colin ranted.

‘She’s trying to make a cuckold out of you. She thinks she can get away with it because she thinks you’re harmless!’ Rory said, riling him up.

‘Well, I have news for her. I’m not the kind of man who turns a blind eye to his wife having a dick appointment!’

‘I’m coming with you. If the guy she’s with tries to start something, I’ll be your back-up,’ Rory said, puffing out his chest.

‘I’m gonna show this guy that he picked the wrong man’s wife to sleep with,’ Colin said, ready for battle.

Chapter 33

Colin and Rory pulled up across the street from Al Fresco around 11.50 a.m. They had a clear line of sight from Rory’s car but there was no sign of Tara in the restaurant.

‘Are you sure we’re in the right place?’ Colin asked, squinting towards the restaurant.

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