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“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 predator. She should be in jail.
But I was also pissed at Robert for not telling me. For keeping such a huge secret when I had told him over and over again how scared I was of betrayal. How I couldn’t be with someone that kept things from me.
And this was a huge fucking thing to keep from me.
I didn’t like being blindsided.
“So, you came to Southport hoping to what? Rekindle your predatory romance? You say you’re leaving town, so I’m guessing Rob turned you down. Now you’re leaving with your tail between your legs.” I didn’t even want to look at her. I wanted her to leave so I could try and figure things out for myself.
“I’ve come to realize we’re different people now. That we’ve gone in different directions. I saw that clearly when he came over last night.”
Of everything she had said, that hit me the hardest.
“Rob went to your house last night?” I asked, my voice tight.
She smiled smugly. She knew she had me. “Didn’t he tell you? I cooked his favorite—chicken parmigiana. We talked. The attraction was still there. I don’t think it will ever go away between us. But I realized that we couldn’t be together. That we just didn't fit the way we used to.”
She was such a bitch. I had a suspicion that things didn’t go down the way she said, but the fact remained that Rob had lied about something else. He told me he was working late when he had actually been at Tiff’s house. I didn’t think anything happened, but a lie was a lie.
Tiff clasped her hands in front of her. “And even though things didn’t work out between us, I knew I couldn’t stand by and let him fool a sweet young thing like you with his duplicity.”
