“You and Rob were in love?” I kept repeating what she was saying. I felt as if I were hearing her from the end of a long tunnel. Why was she telling me all this? Then I frowned. “But you’re so much older than Rob.” Maybe that was a dick thing to say, but it was the truth. Tiff was easily fifteen years older than Robert.
Tiff lifted her shoulders in a delicate shrug. “The heart wants what the heart wants. Neither Robbie nor I cared about things like age. We only wanted each other.”
My brain started functioning again and things were fitting into place. “And you’re telling me all this because I told you that Rob and I were together. What is this?” I demanded.
Tiff reached out and took my hands. “I’m leaving town, but I needed you to know the truth about the man you’re with. The man I know intimately.”
I didn’t like the way she used the word intimately. As if she knew things about the man I loved that I didn’t.
“What in the hell are you talking about?” I should ask her to leave. This was becoming too strange. I didn’t want her here, in my house, saying things about Robert…
“I met Robbie at a strip club back when he was in law school,” she began.
“You both were at a strip club?” I frowned.
“I paid for a private dance and the dancer was Robbie,” she shared. “But he was going by the name Billy then. Billy the sexy barrister.” She giggled and I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“You expect me to believe Robert Jenkins the lawyer used to strip under the name Billy the sexy barrister? Come on now. I wasn’t born yesterday.” I rolled my eyes.
“I know it must be hard to believe, but trust me, Skylar, he was the best male dancer I had ever seen. That body…” she closed her eyes and licked her lips. I wanted to smack her. What the hell? I didn’t want her imagining my boyfriend with his clothes off.
She opened her eyes again, her expression was hard to read. “That first night I took him home with me. We had an incredible night together—”
I held my hand up. “I don’t need to hear about that. If you’re only here to share your sexual history with my boyfriend, then you can get the fuck out. I’m not interested in your jealous bullshit,” I snapped, losing my patience and about two minutes from physically throwing the way-too-beautiful woman out of my house.
“I’m sorry, I got caught up in the memory,” she apologized. “But that night I offered him a different kind of job. You see, I had made a lot of money sending my employees on dates with very rich women. I knew Robbie would be perfect.”
“So, you what? Became Rob’s pimp?” I was starting to feel sick.
Tiff shook her head. “You make it sound so crass. I ran an upscale escort service. I only catered to the most discriminating clients. And Robbie was very, very popular.”
I felt bile rising in the back of my throat. “Let me get this straight.” I glared at the woman standing in front of me. “You took advantage of a young man, a man who probably needed the money, and you manipulated him with sex, and got him to agree to let you sell him to the highest bidder. And you thought I’d be disgusted by him? You’d think I’d break up with him because of his less than innocent past? You clearly don’t know me or how loyal I am to the people I love. That was a long time ago. I won’t hold his choices when he was a naive young man against him—”
“He still does it, you know,” she interjected, stopping my tirade.
“Excuse me?” She had just taken the wind out of my sails. My righteous anger on Rob’s behalf deflated.
She reached into her pocket and withdrew a small silver flash drive. “I’m telling you about all of this because it’s not just Robbie’s past, it’s Robbie’s present too.” She handed me the flash drive. “He has his own website where people can book half-hour sessions. You log on and he dances for you. He takes his clothes off. And for an extra fee, he’ll do other things too.” Her face was flushed, and I knew that she was one of those people paying to watch Rob strip on the internet. I knew exactly what she was hoping to accomplish by coming to my house and sharing this stuff with me. She wanted Rob. I believed her when she said she loved him. And she wanted to wreck our relationship.
“So, what’s this exactly?” I held up the flash drive.
“I recorded him. I wanted to—”
“What? Blackmail him? You know what this would do to his career, his reputation if it got out. So, you decided to record him when he wasn’t aware you were doing so to use against him later.” I gave her a look of disgust. “You hide your evil pretty well, Tiff. I’d be impressed at your acting skills if I wasn’t so grossed out by you.”
She seemed taken aback. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting this reaction. I was sure she thought I’d be horrified. Upset. That I’d be thankful to her for telling me. Well, the bitch was in for a rude awakening.
“I never intended to blackmail Robbie—”
“Stop calling him that. His name is Robert,” I spat out.
Tiff’s eyes narrowed. “I love Robbie. I know his deepest secrets. I knew him when he had nothing.”
“You knew him when he was a naive kid and you manipulated and coerced him. I got that part.” I crossed my arms over my chest. A wave of anger I had never experienced before was unfurling in my gut. I was pissed at this woman standing in front of me. She was a
