Gabriel's Rapture (Gabriel's Inferno 2)

Gabriel waved aside John’s attempt at accompanying him and walked slowly strode toward his old friend, his shoulders sagging.

“What the f**k have you done?” Jeremy hissed, turning his back on the hearing officers.

Gabriel mirrored his position. “They were going to suspend the meeting and launch an extended investigation. Julianne would have lost her spot at Harvard, not to mention the fact that she was in danger of being punished for academic fraud and perjury.”

“What the hell do you think is going to happen now? The Dean could dismiss you!”

“Before I made my statement, my lawyer asked for leniency. The Dean agreed, provided I wasn’t involved in any criminal activity.”

Jeremy scrubbed at his face with his hands. “So you went ahead and admitted everything? Are you crazy? You should have kept your mouth shut.”

“And ruin Julianne’s life? Never!”

Jeremy gave his colleague a long, cold look. “They could revoke your tenure. If you’re dismissed, no university will touch you. Your career will be over.”

Gabriel’s expression hardened. “I don’t care.”

“Well, I do!” Jeremy fumed. “I’m not about to lose one of my best professors over some grad student. With all the funding cuts being made in our division, I might not be able to replace you. It’s bad enough we have only one Dante specialist. How am I supposed to run a decent department without one?”

“That isn’t my problem.”

“The hell it isn’t.” Jeremy glared. “You and Julianne and—and that Christa are crippling my department in one fell swoop. Even if I could get permission to replace you, who is going to want to work for me when news of Christa’s lawsuit gets out? Not to mention your affair with Julianne!”

“It wasn’t an affair,” Gabriel whispered, stubbornly. “The Dean promised complete confidentiality. That’s why I agreed to speak on the record.”

Jeremy shook his head in disbelief. “You just don’t get it, do you? I’m your friend. And you made me look like an imbecile in front of my boss. It’s quite possible they’re going to investigate me in order to discover what I knew and when. I’ll have to appear before God knows how many committees and possibly in court!”

“I’m sorry,” said Gabriel stiffly.

“You should be. I look like an idiot who allowed a predatory professor to wreak havoc on two female grad students. You’re lucky Tara is on the committee and not the Chair of Women’s Studies. She would have strung you up by your balls in the middle of campus.”

Gabriel straightened his shoulders. “I’ll tell them you knew nothing and take the consequences.”

Jeremy took a step closer, staring his younger colleague straight in the eye. “Don’t give me that martyrdom bullshit. You’re hurting a lot of people in your quest to protect your conquest. Now my ass is on the line. What do you think is going to happen to her if they fire you?”

“If they try to fire me, I’ll sue them.”

Jeremy put his hands on his waist. “It will be too late. As soon as you’re dismissed, the people at Harvard will hear about it and Julianne’s MA will be tainted. You’ll ruin her and my reputation and the reputation of all the other professors and students in my department. We’ll all be tarred with your brush.” Jeremy shook his head. “How could you do this to us?”

Gabriel was silent, slowly clenching and unclenching his fists.

Jeremy swore loudly and was about to turn away when Gabriel caught his arm. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s too late for apologies.”

“I didn’t realize this would have implications for you and everyone else. I wasn’t thinking.” Gabriel paused, a tortured look on his face. “Help us. Please.”

Jeremy stared in disbelief. Professor Emerson looked panicked and desperate, which was an expression he’d never seen before. “You’ve done a tremendous amount of damage trying to protect her. You should have denied everything.”

“Then the Dean would have punished her or dragged the investigation out.”

“She could have re-applied next year.”

“And been turned down outright. The longer the investigation continued, the more likely that details would be leaked. It’s a small academic community and you know it.”

“Of course I know it.” Jeremy shook his head. “And you knew better than to f**k a student.”

Gabriel’s face reddened and he took a menacing step forward. “I didn’t f**k her.”

“The hell you didn’t. Now we’re all f**ked,” Jeremy snapped.

Gabriel’s nostrils flared as he held back an angry retort.

Jeremy gave his friend a long, searching look. “My first priority is to my department. But I don’t want to see you or Julianne ruined. Enough young women have suffered at the hands of their professors, don’t you agree?”

Gabriel was silent, his lips pressed together.

“I’ll help you, but we’re doing this my way. Do you understand? I’m not risking everything so you can turn around and f**k it up again.”

Gabriel paused. Then he nodded his agreement.

“Now all I have to do is convince the Dean to be satisfied with an ounce of your flesh rather than a pound.”

With barely an acknowledgement, Jeremy walked to the front of the room and joined the hearing officers in their deliberations.

Gabriel hung his head, breathing a restrained sigh of relief.

Chapter 25

By the time Meagan ushered the ladies back into the room, Julia’s fingernails had been chewed to the quick and Soraya’s adrenaline was at an all-time high.

Julia’s eyes were drawn immediately to Gabriel, and what she saw upset her. His shoulders were hunched, and he was leaning forward in his chair, hands clasped between his knees tensely, head lowered.

She stared at him, willing him to look at her.

But he wouldn’t.

Professor Martin sat next to Gabriel, arms crossed against his chest. He didn’t appear happy.

“Miss Mitchell, allow me to come straight to the point. In light of Professor Emerson’s testimony, you are excused. We will be informing the Registrar’s Office that the grade assigned to you in Professor Emerson’s seminar should be allowed to stand.”

Julia’s mouth opened in shock at the Dean’s pronouncement.

“We will do our utmost to ensure that you are not victimized further.” The Dean glared in Gabriel’s direction. “If Professor Emerson troubles you in any way, or if you have concerns about the repercussions of your former involvement with him, please inform Professor Martin immediately.

“You are free to pursue a harassment complaint against Professor Emerson, but you must do so within sixty days of the submission of your final academic work in your program.”

The Dean nodded at Soraya. “I’m sure your lawyer will explain the particulars of the harassment policy to you. I know you’ve filed a complaint against Miss Peterson, but we’re hopeful that you and she can drop your complaints against each other, given the outcome of this hearing. You’re free to go.”

He began shuffling his paperwork.

“Thank you, Dr. Aras.” Soraya smiled widely and exchanged a nod and a meaningful look with Tara.

“I’m not a victim,” said Julia, stubbornly.

“Pardon?” said the Dean, peering over the rims of his glasses.

“I said, I’m not a victim. Our relationship is consensual.” She turned to look at Gabriel. “What’s going on?”

Gabriel kept his eyes fixed on the floor.

“Miss Mitchell, the committee has ensured that Professor Emerson was given due consideration.” Professor Mwangi spoke to her gently. “But in light of his confession, we are holding him accountable for his actions. And that includes seeing to your welfare.”

“My welfare is tied to him. If he’s going to be punished, then punish me too.” She took a step closer to the table behind which the committee sat.

Gabriel’s head shot up, and he gave Julia a furious look.

“Miss Mitchell, the university has a duty to protect students from being preyed upon by their supervisors. Please, let us do our job.” Professor Chakravartty’s tone was not unsympathetic.

“We did this together. If he’s guilty, so am I.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Then tell me what he said! Give me a chance to respond.” Julia looked desperately at the faces of the hearing officers, one after the other, hoping that someone, anyone would relent.

“Professor Emerson has admitted to engaging in an inappropriate relationship with you while you were his student. Professor Picton has confirmed that she marked your work in his seminar and supervised your thesis. So we are inclined to be lenient with him. Unless you insist otherwise.”

“Of course I insist otherwise! I want you to let him go.”

The hearing officers shook their heads.

“Why do you believe him instead of me? I’m the student. You should weigh my testimony more heavily. He didn’t hurt me. You have to believe me!” Julia grew desperate, on the verge of tears.

“Miss Harandi, control your client.” The Dean’s voice rose with irritation.