[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
of her arms, pushing them against her body in a vice grip.
Ronnie, I want you. You re a beautiful woman. You re always
in my thoughts. That calendar spoke to me. I have to have you.
He pressed her backside against the pool table as he attempted to
shove her down.
Dr. Michaelson, let go of me right now. Let go, and we ll
pretend this never happened.
He kissed her hard, releasing her arms but taking her face
firmly between his hands and wedging her between him and the
pool table. She tried to pry his arms away from her face, but as
she did, his hands pressed harder against her cheeks until she
thought he might break the bones in her face. She had to find a
weapon, something to get him off her. His torso ground against
her, and she could feel his rock-hard erection. He lifted her up
over the edge of the pool table. If she didn t do anything, she
182
All content of this eBook is copyrighted.
would be on her back with Michaelson on top of her.
She wiggled her legs, the only free part of her body, and felt
one of the heels scrape her calf. Those damn shoes. Those damn
wonderful shoes. She slammed her right heel into his soft loafer,
the spike landing squarely on his arch. He yelped and fell to the
floor.
They glared at each other, and Ronnie had the presence of
mind to grab a cue stick, just in case. Noise floated down the
stairs. People were coming.
I wondered where you d gone, Diane said, smiling. Dr.
Cable and Dr. Marks, two other sociology professors, followed
her, but their smiles faded when they saw Michaelson on the
floor, Ronnie holding the pool cue over him, like a guard watch-
ing a crazed prisoner.
What s going on, Ronnie? Diane asked.
That bastard tried to rape me.
Michaelson laughed. Ronnie, you exaggerate so. He hob-
bled over to a chair. I gave her a kiss, he told the jury of three,
and she reacted violently. He turned to Ronnie. I m very sur-
prised at you, young lady. After what you said in Dr. Cole s
office, I thought kissing was the least of what you wanted from
me.
Her eyes widened. What?
Ronnie, stop the charade. You came on to me first. He
nodded at the others. She did. She told me that if she were ever
going to be with a man, it would be an older, mature man,
preferably an accomplished academic. My God, Diane, she prac-
tically threw herself at me right in your office! He was begin-
ning to believe the lie himself, and so were the two male
professors.
They looked to Ronnie for a response, but she was speech-
less. Michaelson had lied so effortlessly that she wondered if he d
prepared it in advance, in case he got caught. She looked at
Diane, who alternated her gaze between the floor and
183
All content of this eBook is copyrighted.
Michaelson.
Do you want to say anything, Ronnie? Dr. Marks asked
accusingly.
Only what I said before. That bastard tried to rape me. He
pushed me against the pool table, forced himself on me, and if I
hadn t stepped on his foot, you all would have seen me spread-
eagled on the table when you came down here.
Dr. Marks said to Diane, What do you make of all this? She s
your research assistant. Does she have a tendency to lie?
I m not lying, Ronnie shot back.
Limping slightly, Dr. Michaelson approached her, a look of
forgiveness on his face. Well, Ronnie, you can call it what you
want, but you re certainly not telling these people the truth.
I suggest you stay away from me, Professor, or I ll shove this
stick up your ass.
He stopped moving. Ronnie, I m willing to forget this whole
incident if you ll just tell these three what really happened. You
had a moment of craziness and attacked me. Granted, I shouldn t
have tried to kiss you. For that, I m sorry. It was unprofessional,
but after all of the phone calls and love letters, I thought it was
what you wanted. I just couldn t help myself. He turned to
Marks and Cable. I don t expect Dr. Cole to understand, but
surely you gentlemen can see why my emotions got the best of
me.
Ronnie watched all six beady eyes explore her body.
This girl is a temptress. How many other faculty members
have you been involved with, young lady?
The weight of Michaelson s questions sucker-punched her,
and suddenly protecting Diane was more important than the
truth. She couldn t look at her lover, and she had no idea what
Diane s reaction was to Michaelson s question, but she had to be
worried to death that the male professors would figure out their
relationship.
Ronnie flew up the stairs not looking back. She whipped by
184
All content of this eBook is copyrighted.
Stacy on her way out the door and didn t start to cry until she
was seated in Diane s car. She was sobbing uncontrollably by the
time Diane got into the driver s seat and pulled her close.
It s okay, honey, she whispered. It s okay.
I want to kill that bastard! Ronnie screamed into Diane s
shoulder.
Diane pulled her tighter and kissed her forehead. Her fingers
smoothed Ronnie s hair and eventually the sobs ceased. Do you
want to go to the police?
Ronnie shook her head. I don t know. I don t know what to
do. Nothing like this has ever happened to me.
Then let s go talk to someone who does know.
It was almost one o clock in the morning by the time Ronnie
had relayed the event of the evening to Judy and Camille. As a
rape counselor, Judy was trained to evaluate situations and pres-
ent victims with options. She took meticulous notes, often asking
Ronnie to back up and answer the most trivial of questions.
Camille only interjected twice, and Diane was silent, stoically
sitting on a stool and sipping her coffee.
Finally Judy set her pencil down and locked eyes with
Ronnie. Here s what I think. I believe every word you ve told
me. I don t think you ve exaggerated a single detail, and I m
absolutely sure the bastard has done this exact same thing to
other women. She took a deep breath and gave Ronnie a sym-
pathetic smile. However, it s not that easy. If you file criminal
charges against him, it will undoubtedly go to court, and it
sounds as though it will be your word against his.
But Diane and the other professors came down the stairs
and I was holding a pool cue over him, Ronnie argued.
Yes, but he already explained that. He tried to kiss you and
you overreacted, and he even apologized for that. The fact is,
Ronnie, you have no marks of a struggle on you because he was
185
All content of this eBook is copyrighted.
very smart about the way he touched you, and he created a some-
what plausible story right on the spot. You also need to remem-
ber that the most disgusting part of rape cases is that the victim
is truly the victim. Michaelson will fight this charge because he
has to; his freedom and professional life are on the line. He ll
hire a great attorney, and most likely your sexual past will
become an issue. Not only will they start asking you about the
number of lovers you ve had, but it s also likely that your rela-
tionship with Diane will surface and be questioned.
Do you really think they ll find out about Ronnie and
Diane? Camille asked. I mean, I haven t heard any talk.
It will come out because Ronnie will be asked if she has ever
been intimate with a faculty member, and her choice will be to
tell the truth or commit perjury.
Ronnie stood up. Then we re not doing anything. I m not
risking Diane s career over this.
Judy touched her arm and she sat down again. Ronnie, you
need to listen to me. I know the picture I ve painted is rather
dim, but I m a rape counselor for a reason. The only way we stop
rape is to prosecute the people who do it. My advice to you is to
prosecute that bastard as far as you can, because if you don t,
he ll do it to someone else.
And what s to say he hasn t already? Camille added. Your
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]