“Do you have any idea what the complaint might be about?”
“I haven’t done anything but go to school and do my work since I got here. Except for having some conflict with Christa and that run in with Professor Pain—Professor Singer. Do you think that she…?”
Gabriel seemed to consider this possibility for a moment.
“I don’t think so. She was hauled in front of a Judicial Committee last year when Paul Norris filed a complaint. I’m sure she wouldn’t want to appear in front of them again. She isn’t one of your instructors, so how would she know about your academic work?”
“She wouldn’t.” Julia paused and a look of horror came over her pretty face. “You don’t think Katherine Picton reported me for something?”
“No. She wouldn’t do that without confronting you first. And she’d call me, as a courtesy.”
“What are the penalties for academic infractions?”
“It depends on the severity of the offense. They could reprimand you or give you a zero on an assignment or in a course. In extreme circumstances, they can expel you.”
Julia inhaled shakily. If she were expelled, she wouldn’t be completing her MA. And that would mean that Harvard…
Gabriel fixed his gaze on her. “Would Paul do this?”
“No. He wants to help me, not hurt me.”
“Angelfucker,” Gabriel muttered.
“What about Christa?”
He shifted against the leather of the sofa. “It’s possible.”
Julia’s eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“You already know she’s a troublemaker.”
“What’s going on with Christa, Gabriel? Tell me.”
He stood up and began pacing in front of the fireplace. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Julia grabbed the Dean’s letter and walked to the front hall.
“Wait, what are you doing?” He jogged after her.
“I warned you not to lie to me. I guess I should have been more specific and told you not to be evasive, either.” She retrieved her coat from the hall closet, pulling it on hastily.
“Don’t leave.”
She looked up at him, eyes blazing. “Then tell me about Christa.”
He pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes. “Fine.”
Gabriel helped her take off her coat and escorted her back to the living room. She refused to sit down, choosing rather to stand in front of the fire, arms crossed.
“Is Christa blackmailing you? Is that why you approved her thesis proposal?”
“Not exactly.”
“Spit it out, Gabriel.”
He turned away from her, looking out the window at the Toronto skyline. “Christa Peterson has accused me of sexual harassment.”
Chapter 19
Julia stared at Gabriel, wide-eyed. “What?”
“Christa filed a complaint with the sexual harassment officer, who referred the file to Jeremy. That’s why I have to meet him this week.”
Shakily, Julia lowered herself to sit in the red velvet chair. “When did you find out?”
A muscle jumped in Gabriel’s angular jaw. “He called me a few days ago.”
“A few days ago?” She clenched her teeth. “How long were you going to wait before you told me?”
“I didn’t want to ruin our trip to Belize. I was going to tell you when we got back. I swear.”
Julia glared at him angrily. “I thought we weren’t keeping secrets from each other.”
“It wasn’t a secret—I just wanted you to have a few days to relax before I gave you the bad news.” With a sigh, he turned to face her.
“Why would Christa accuse you of harassment? She’s been harassing you!”
“I don’t know the specifics of the allegations. I should have filed a complaint with the harassment officer, myself, but I didn’t want to draw unwanted attention.”
“What are we going to do?”
Gabriel stared determinedly into the fire. “I’m going to call my lawyer, and we’re going to see that both of these accusations are dealt with. Swiftly.”
Julia stood up and clasped her hands around his waist, burying her face in his sweater.
* * *
“What is it now, Emerson? I’m in bed with a hot young law clerk from a competing firm.” John Green answered his cell phone amidst the sounds of squealing and high-pitched giggles.
“Zip up your pants, John. This is going to take a while.”
The lawyer cursed before covering his cell phone with one hand. “Don’t go anywhere, sugar.” He addressed his female pelvic affiliate before scuttling off in his red bikini briefs to the washroom.
“I’m already on top of your harassment complaint, Emerson. You don’t need to pester me. I was about to have the best sex of my life.”
“I need to speak to you about something else.” Gabriel briefly summarized the contents of the Dean’s letter to Julia.
“I can’t help your girlfriend.”
Gabriel began to sputter and protest, but John ignored him.