The Man Who Has No Heart (Soulless 2)

“I see.”

If Valerie knew about the women he brought home with him, she would probably focus her jealousy on the women that were actually in his bed.

“I’d really like to have Derek back sometime soon. Maybe we could arrange something.”

“Yeah, maybe,” she said noncommittally.

“It’s a long flight for Derek, so maybe next time he could stay for a week or two.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Alright. Let me know.”

“Bye, Deacon.”

“Bye, Valerie.” He hit the button then closed the laptop.

I really hoped I wouldn’t get under her skin, make her uncomfortable around me. The last thing I needed was to be the reason she didn’t want Derek to come here.

Deacon pushed the laptop away and looked at me. “That went well.”

Yeah, he had no clue.

I took the seat across from him. “You need to be careful with Valerie. If you ever talk about me, don’t say anything too nice. Don’t talk about me at all if you don’t have to.”

He stared at me blankly.

“Just trust me on that.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I think she’s a little jealous of me.”

“In what way?”

“The fact that I’m in your residence right now, talking to your son on the screen. She might think there’s something going on between us, and that might piss her off. So, just be careful.”

“It’s none of her business if there is or isn’t.”

“I know. But you don’t want to piss her off at all right now.”

He stared at me for a long time. “We’ve been divorced for five months.”

“I know, but she’s still possessive of you.”

He clearly wasn’t going to understand this.

“Just take my word for it, alright?”

He leaned back in the chair. “She’s a beautiful woman. She can have anyone she wants. Doesn’t make sense to want me.”

Beauty wasn’t everything. If it were, he’d still be married to her. “Well, you’re rich.”

“And she already took half my money.”

“You’re brilliant.”

“Now her son will be brilliant.”

“You’re not just rich and brilliant, Deacon. I’m sure she misses you for more than that.”

He stared at me like he wanted to argue but didn’t know how.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all.

“That woman took five years of my life I’ll never get back. If she wanted me, she could have been good to me. Instead, she screamed at me when I didn’t say what she wanted to hear, slapped me when I came home late from the office, threw my papers out the window when I wasn’t the husband she wanted me to be. I’m finally free of her, and now that I’ve taken a breath of fresh air, I don’t know how I did that for so long—slept with a woman I despise.”

When I imagined him so miserable, being treated like garbage by the person who was supposed to support him the most, it broke my heart. Instead of accepting him for who he was, understanding he’d never be a man like all the others, she tried to break him down, tried to change him…when he should never change.

“I put up with her bullshit for too long. I’m not doing it anymore.”

I looked at the angry expression in his eyes, the way his lips were pressed so tightly together, the bones of his jaw grinding. That relationship was borderline abusive. I could tell by the way he got so worked up about it. It wasn’t just a simple martial spat. The abuse was bone-deep. “Just think of Derek. Continue to play nice for a little while.”

His eyes looked heavy, like he had to climb up the tallest mountain in the world every single morning. The weight was on his shoulders but impossible to see.

“And he’s so cute.” I tried to cheer him up, talk about the one thing that made him smile.

He was quiet for a while before a slow smile moved onto his lips. “He’s always cute.”

I liked this version of him a lot more—the happy version. “Let’s give it some time. Then we’ll try to get him out here again. The cabin will be a lot of fun in the summer.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It will be.”

“And there’re a lot of other places you could take him in Manhattan.”

He nodded. “True.”

“So, let’s just think about that…and not about her.”

He looked out the window, his hands together on the table. The sun didn’t set until almost eight now, so the city was still bright and vibrant. “How are you liking your apartment?” He turned back to me.

I didn’t complain about my life to clients for fear of making them uncomfortable. I pretended my life was just like theirs, simple and easy, a private car pulling up for me the second my foot hit the sidewalk. But I didn’t need to do that with Deacon. “It’s a whole new place now. After a long day running around, it’s nice to step into a clean space, for that apartment to feel like home. It smells different…it feels different. And sleeping on clean sheets is nicer than I realized. Now I understand why clients like to have their sheets changed every week.”