Page 47 of The Deadbeat DILF
I parted my lips to speak, but no words came out. Sure, I could’ve argued that technically, last night we weren’t officially dating, but we hadn’t exactly been platonic friends, either.
“I’m not here to judge you, even if I think it’s sick,” Mike continued. “You don’t need me to tell you he’s way too old for you.”
“That sounds a lot like judging to me,” I said.
He ignored that. “I’m here to warn you about him. Last night, I lost my temper, so you might’ve dismissed everything I said. But I was telling the truth, Brooke. He’s not a good person. I promise you, he will ruin your life. He destroys everything he touches.”
My stomach churned. No one ever wanted to hear words like that about someone they cared about.
“‘Destroys everything he touches?’” I echoed. “That sounds a bit melodramatic. What has he done that’s so bad?”
Mike shook his head and started pacing around my office. “Why are you so eager to defend him? He’s already got his claws hooked into you, hasn’t he? What did he offer you? It couldn’t be money because he’s broke. Was it sex?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “We used to date, Mike. I thought you’d have more respect for me. Do you honestly think I would be with someone just for their body? Speak to me like that again, and you can get out of my office.”
He put his hands up. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just that…I know how he is around women.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“He seduces them, then he uses them.” Mike stopped pacing and glared at me. “For fuck’s sake, he cheated on my mom. On hiswife.”
I thought Mike was here to talk nonsense, but suddenly, my heart jolted to a stop. I had to take a second to find my voice.
“Sorry?” I said. Was my head ringing? It felt like it was ringing.
Mike stepped closer to my desk, eyes hard. “He cheated on my mom. That’s why they got divorced. She put up with his shit for so many years, but that was the final straw.” His gaze raked over me, his expression grave. “He didn’t tell you that?”
“No.” My voice was so quiet it sounded distant. “He never explained why he got divorced.” Cold dread seeped through my bones, pooling in my gut. No. Robert didn’t seem like a cheater. He seemed so kind and honest. Did he really cheat on his wife? The mother of his child?
“I bet he didn’t,” Mike said scornfully. “Did he tell you anything? Did he ever explain why he’s jumping from rental to rental, working a dead-end job when he used to have his own company?”
I shook my head. All I knew was that his ex-wife and her new husband owned it now. But how did that happen? How did he lose everything?
“I just assumed it was bad luck…” I said, trailing off, unable to finish the sentence. I didn’t know enough to defend Robert.
“‘Bad luck?’ No, it was all him,” Mike snarled. “He lost everything in the divorce because the divorce was his fault. He was a shitty husband, and he’s a shitty father. Don’t be surprised when he turns out to be a shitty boyfriend too.”
His words were like needles, piercing and puncturing my lungs. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“That just doesn’t sound like him.” My voice was small and childlike as my eyes fell to my desk.
Mike dropped his hands on my desk with a thud, shaking me out of my thoughts. “You’re too smart to be this naive, Brooke. You fell for his woe-is-me trap and got attached to a manipulator.”
His words were like a slap to the face, making me recoil.
No. I refused to believe it. Sure, Robert was vague about his past, but someone who had held me while I was crying couldn’t be some evil villain.
“Please leave,” I said to Mike.
He blinked at me. “What?”
“Leave my office.” I pointed at the door to emphasize my words. “I want you to get out. Now.”
His shocked expression turned icy, his lip curling with disgust. “I’m going,” he said, stepping away from my desk. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The door swung shut behind him with a resounding thud, leaving me alone with too many emotions to process.
After Mike left, I breathed in and out slowly, trying to relax. Honestly, I wanted to get up and run all the way home, but I had the rest of the workday to get through.
