Unfaithful (29 page)

She swallowed a few times in an effort to steady her voice and her nerves before saying, “when would you like to meet?”

“I'm in Dublin next week on hotel business anyway, so I'm sure we can set up a meeting then, if that suits you, of course?” Mr. Middleton-Sinclair suggested.

“Absolutely,” Rebecca replied enthusiastically.

“Excellent,” Mr. Middleton-Sinclair sounded very pleased with himself. “I'll have my secretary contact you in the coming days to discuss an exact time and location.”

“Perfect, I look forward to meeting you,” Rebecca managed to get the words out in between smiling ecstatically down the phone.

Rebecca was just beginning to digest the conversation she'd had with Mr. Middleton-Sinclair when the phone rang again. She rushed to pick it up.

“Rebecca McNamara speaking,” she answered in her sunniest tones.

“Hi Rebecca.” It was Mark.

Rebecca's heart instantly plummeted. “Yes?” she said coldly.

“Rebecca, can we meet for dinner this week please?”

“Why?” she asked, shortly.

“I need to talk to you about something,” he said.

“Well, can't you tell me over the phone?”

“No, I'd rather we talk in person.”

“Fine,” she relented.

“Really?” Mark sounded pleasantly surprised. “I didn't think you'd agree to meet me.”

“Oh, why not?” Rebecca replied, “I could do with a decent dinner.”

“Ok, great,” Mark said, sounding thrilled, “I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven.”

“Fine,” Rebecca hung up abruptly. “What can he possibly want?” she thought, but she quickly dismissed her husband from her mind. She didn't want thoughts of Mark to ruin the exciting phone call from earlier that morning.

Rebecca made herself some tea and sat in the conservatory, enjoying the brilliant winter sunshine. Her mind was racing. She knew this potential deal with Mr. Middleton-Sinclair could be very lucrative for M&R Photography. She wracked her brain for some way that she could exclude Mark from the business.

He doesn't deserve any of this, she thought, not after everything he's put me through. She decided to call Laura for some legal advice and was very happy indeed at her friend's very clever and quite sneaky idea.

She and Laura had formulated a brilliant plan during their conversation and they had just enough time to fine-tune the details before Rebecca's dinner with Mark the following night. She would need help from Penelope and Shona to implement her plan, but she was sure they would be more than happy to help her again.

She could think of two no better accomplices to have on her side for her grand finale with her unfaithful husband.

Chapter 36

“Girls, thanks ever so much for all your help today,” Rebecca said, as she sat heavily on an overturned box, wincing as she massaged her aching lower back.

“You're more than welcome,” Penelope smiled at her, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. “It's the least we could do,” Shona said apologetically as she passed glasses of iced tea to the other two women.

“Well, I'm very grateful. I'd never have gotten everything packed in such record time if it wasn't for both your help. I can't wait for this little one to arrive. I'm exhausted from carrying around this extra weight. I haven't seen my ankles in weeks.”

"It won't be long now," Shona sympathised, "and then you'll have a wonderful bundle of fun." Rebecca laughed at Shona's description.

"A bundle of fun and a bundle of trouble, but I'm really looking forward to meeting the munchkin."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Shona asked.

"I don't know. I wanted it to be a surprise."

“Speaking of surprises," Penelope said, "are you really going to follow through with your surprise for Mark this evening?”

Penelope paused in packing the last of the boxes to re-tie her hair in her red bandana. Even with no makeup and her hair scraped back from her face, Penelope still looked arrestingly beautiful.

It had taken Rebecca a while to warm to Penelope. Apart from being slightly intimidated by her beauty, she found that Penelope had quite an abrupt manner at times. She had a tendency to say exactly what she meant, bluntly and directly to the point and soon as a thought popped into her head she spoke it aloud without any monitoring. She had found it a little off-putting at first, she'd thought she was borderline rude, but now she respected the other woman's honesty, even if it was a bit brutal in its delivery at times.

She found Penelope's honesty a refreshingly welcome change from all the dishonesty she had had to contend with recently.

“Mark's not going to know what hit him,” Shona said, as she knocked back the iced tea in a few gulps.

“Does he really not have a clue?”

“Not an iota,” Rebecca smirked. “He probably thinks that I'm meeting him for dinner tonight in an attempt at some sort of reconciliation.”

“As if!” Penelope laughed, “after all he's done, that you now know about, does he honestly think there's even a chance of you two making it work again?”

“Oh, Mark never gives up,” Rebecca said. “When he's determined about something he is extremely persistent, obsessive I would describe him actually. He'll keep trying until he gets his own way.

He always has gotten what he wants before, so I suppose what would stop him trying now? He probably thinks he'll wear me down to his way of thinking in the end.”

“Well, I think he'll get this message loud and clear,” Shona said mockingly.

“Let's hope so,” Rebecca said with a faraway expression in her eyes.

Rebecca dressed carefully for dinner. She wanted Mark to remember her at her best. After all, this would be the last time that she would ever see him. She didn't know why she cared about how she looked, but for some reason it mattered to her.

She'd taken a nap in the afternoon so she looked refreshed and well-rested. She wanted to keep her wits about her. This could be the most important night of her life. If she played it correctly then she would be a very wealthy woman indeed and her financial future would be set for life.

She put the final touches to her appearance. Her hair was thick and shiny and her skin was glowing, one of the positives of her raging pregnancy hormones. She'd tonged her hair into short waves and smoothed cocoa butter into her dry skin so it was now silky soft.

The long soak she'd had in the bath had helped to ease her aching back. She draped herself in her low-cut, floaty, black knee-length dress and chose her red pashmina to add a splash of colour to her ensemble.

Her legs were still in good shape and she decided to wear a pair of high heels to accentuate them. She figured she wouldn't be doing much standing, between sitting in the taxi and the restaurant, and a bit of pain would be worth it.

Her previously ample cleavage was even more enhanced since her pregnancy. She pulled her top down a little further to emphasise it even more and tied her diamond pendant necklace around her neck.

She added her diamond earrings, one last brush of bronzer across her decolletage and she was ready to go.

Across town, Penelope and Shona were getting ready too. Rebecca had asked them to be at the restaurant but to sit in a discreet corner as she and Mark would be sitting by the window. She said that she'd signal them when she needed their assistance.

Jacob's on the Mall Restaurant was large enough and busy enough that Penelope and Shona could remain unseen, whilst still being able to observe.

“I'm nervous about tonight,” Shona said, lighting up a cigarette.

She took a long drag before letting out a little cloud of smoke.

“We've got to stop smoking,” Penelope said, helping herself to one of Shona's cigarettes. “It's so bad for us. I dread to think what our lungs must look like after the past months of smoking.”

“Smoking, shmoking,” Shona said nonchalantly. “I don't necessarily believe all the bad press that smoking gets. Did you ever stop to think for a moment that maybe, just maybe, smoking might be good for us?” She paused to blow smoke in expert circles in front of her face.

“What planet are you on?” Penelope laughed. “Everyone knows that smoking kills. It's even emblazoned in big bold letters across every cigarette box and there are adverts on the television saying that one in every two smokers will die of a smoking related illness. Besides, I really don't like the smell afterwards. It gets in your hair and in your clothes and lingers for ages. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother showering if I'm going to ruin it by smoking afterwards.”

“Well, I've been giving it some thought actually,” Shona continued. “Maybe the health companies are insisting that smoking is so unhealthy because they'll make a fortune on the products that help smokers to quit.”

“I don't think so,” Penelope said hesitantly.

“There are some positives to smoking,” Shona insisted. “I've lost more than a stone in weight since I started smoking.”

“Isn't your weight loss more to do with breaking up with Mark than your Marlboros?” Penelope looked at her friend pointedly.

“Yes, the breakup contributed to my weight loss,” Shona admitted, “but I'm not nearly as hungry as I used to be and a lot less obsessed about food. Before I started smoking I had to have three meals a day and snacks in between meals, now, half the time I couldn't be bothered eating and I just have a cigarette instead. I think smoking is as big help to weight loss, and let's face it, obesity is a killer too, but I haven't seen any warnings across high-fat food that eating too many carbohydrates or fatty foods kills.”

“It's an interesting point,” Penelope conceded slowly.

“French women smoke like chimneys and they're world-renowned for their amazing figures. I read an article on the internet the other day where several French women admitted that they use cigarettes as an appetite suppressant. One woman said she had one cigarette a day, usually after dinner. She stops eating once she's eaten half her food and lights up a cigarette and voila, suddenly she no longer has the desire to eat any more.”

“Well, there are healthier ways to lose weight and maintain weight loss, and I don't believe that smoking is one of them,” Penelope said.

“Anyway, enough of the cigarettes, we have to get going shortly or else we'll be late, and tonight is one night that I don't want to miss for a second.” Penelope stubbed out the last of her cigarette and jumped to her feet.

“How do I look?” Penelope asked, finally emerging in a cloud of steam and perfume from the bathroom where she'd been hidden away for the last half an hour.

“Amazing, as always,” Shona turned from her perch at the window to admire her friend.

She smiled indulgently at her. Penelope looked sensational. Her long black hair was twisted into an elaborate chignon with glittering pins interwoven. She wore a scarlet red full-length Japanese-style kimono dress with intricate designs patterned throughout. Her dark fringe framed her heavily mascaraed aquamarine eyes and she wore bright red lipstick on her full lips.

“Thank you,” Penelope graciously accepted Shona's compliment as she twirled around the living room.

“You look quite lovely yourself,” she smiled at Shona, who hadn't felt like making much of an effort until Penelope had practically forced her. She wore a black, corset-style top which enhanced her cleavage and defined her already slim waist and a short black mini-skirt with a pair of stiletto black heels. Her blonde curls were in their full bouncy glory and cascaded around her face, which was lightly made-up.

“Don't you feel nervous at all?” Shona asked, amazed at her friend's self-composure.

“No, I feel excited. I cannot wait to see Mark's face when Rebecca annihilates him,” Penelope smiled broadly.

“I feel sick, I'm so nervous,” Shona said.

“Don't worry, I'll be right beside you,” Penelope said encouragingly. “Anyway, it's not like we actually have to do anything. Rebecca's going to be doing all the work. We just have to sit back and enjoy the show.”

“I suppose,” Shona mumbled.

“Time to go, I can hear our taxi beeping outside,” Penelope said, grabbing her bag and shawl. “Let's go get him, kid,” she linked Shona's arm and the two women set off into the dark night.

Chapter 37

Rebecca was in the rest room, having one last careful read through her precious documents. She folded the papers and placed them carefully in her handbag. Then she reapplied her lipstick, washed her hands, took a deep breath and walked towards the bar.

Mark was already there before her, a drink in front of him. He jumped to his feet when he saw her and pulled out a chair for her on which she sat rather awkwardly. He fussed around her, trying to make sure that she was comfortable, even asking the bar man for a cushion.

He seemed nervous and jumpy. It was almost like they were on a first date.

“It's so good to see you,” he said, bending to kiss her cheek. Rebecca flinched inwardly at his touch.