Men at Work [Quick Read] by Mike Gayle Read Free Book Online Page A

a box. At any other time this photo would have made Ian pull a face in disgust. Today it made him smile, and feel sad, and miss Emma more than he thought he could.
    He pulled out his phone and typed out a text. “Babe just want to say how much I love you. Things will be OK I promise.” He pressed send. Then he put his phone away, took a deep breath, opened up a brand new spreadsheet and started typing.
    ********
    Just before five, Ian was about to close down his computer, collect his things and head home when Amar appeared at his desk.
    “Do you want to go for a drink?” he asked. “Just a quick one before you go home? Today must have really done your head in mate.”
    “I can’t,” said Ian. “I said to Emma I’d go straight home.”
    “Of course,” said Amar. “You should be there for her. Are you going right now? I’m pretty much done for the day. Just give me a second and I’ll walk up to the bus stop with you.”
    The pavement outside the office was busy with hundreds of workers making their way home. Ian and Amar stood on the steps in front of the lobby doors watching everyone walk by.
    “Do you think any of these people like their jobs as much as we do?” asked Ian.
    “I doubt it,” said Amar. “Most people I know who work in offices say what they do is just a way to earn money. Nothing more and nothing less.”
    “But it’s not like that at our place, is it?” said Ian. “We don’t just do this for the money. If we did, I would have left a long time ago.”
    “You’re right,” said Amar. “It’s about the people. It’s about the fact that we can have a laugh. That somehow we seem to have found ourselves in a job where you look forward to coming in every day.”
    Ian’s eyes were fixed on the ground. “It was me who sent the email from Emma’s computer.”
    “I guessed it might have been,” said Amar, staring straight ahead of him, “but I was sort of hoping I was wrong.”
    “Because I overstepped the mark?”
    Amar put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You don’t need me to tell you what you’ve done and you don’t need me to tell you what you’re going to do about it.”
    “I know,” said Ian. “But she’ll leave me if I do.”
    “That’s true, she might,” said Amar. “But have you got any choice? If you’re thinking the guilt is going to melt away, you’re wrong. With things like this, stuff always gets a lot worse before it gets better. This way at least you know that you did the right thing.”
    “The right thing would be not to have done it at all.”
    “True again,” said Amar. “But since your name isn’t Dr Who and you haven’t got a TARDIS to take you back in time, I’m guessing that you’ll have to settle for telling the truth instead.’

Chapter 15
    Standing at his front door, Ian reached into his trouser pocket, pulled out his house keys and was about to open the lock when he froze. His eyes flicked back and forth from the lock to his keys a few times until at last he closed his eyes and lowered his hand. The second he opened the door, life as he knew it would be over. Nothing would ever be the same again. Everything he cared about would be destroyed.
    Ian wanted to run away or hide until he was feeling stronger. Would it make things worse if he turned round and went to the pub and told Emma everything when less sober? Wouldn’t the result be the same? After all, she was going to leave him. He’d thought it through. He’d looked at things a million ways and in every one of them there was only one thing Emma could do.
    Even if he didn’t go to the pub, maybe he could just not bother going home? He could call Amar and ask to sleep on his sofa tonight and then speak to Emma on the phone. Telling her what he had done wouldn’t be half as bad if he couldn’t see her face. He didn’t want to see her tears. He didn’t want to see the hurt in her eyes. He didn’t want to see anything to remind him that he had let down a girl who, only a few