Addiction - Chapter 26
Thursday
"Oh. Oops. I knew to do that too." I still hated statistics, but it seemed a lot better when James was teaching it to me.
Especially because whenever I got a question right, he kissed me.
Maybe I had just needed a proper motivator.
I grabbed the paper back from him. I quickly fixed the equation and handed it back to him. "How's this, Professor Hunter?"
He laughed and looked down at the sheet of paper. "Much better." He leaned down and kissed me.
His phone started buzzing again. It had been buzzing nonstop all morning.
"Are you sure you don't want to answer that?" I asked. "Maybe it would be best to just get it over with."
"Talking to them will make it worse. If I ignore them, they'll get bored and move on to the next thing." He stood up and walked back over to the T.V. mount he was screwing into the wall. It was fun watching him use tools. There was something very sexy about a man who could use a power drill.
"But you don't even know who it is. You haven't listened to any of your messages. You could always answer and hang up."
"Which means I refused to comment. Which looks bad."
"Oh."
"Besides, if it's someone I know, it'll ring."
"Speaking of people we know...I was wondering if I could hang out with Melissa tonight?
" We had gone to my dorm room this morning and grabbed a few things.
But Melissa had been in class. I wanted to tell her in person that I was moving in with James.
And even though I had been texting her, I knew she had questions about what was going on.
Besides, I missed her. We used to do everything together.
He put down the screwdriver and looked back at me. "You know that you don't have to ask me permission."
For some reason it kind of seemed like I did.
He hadn't let me go to my classes today despite my nagging.
I knew it was just because he was trying to protect me.
"I know. I just wanted to make sure it was okay.
" I glanced toward the window. I was kind of nervous to leave the apartment.
I didn't want to have to walk past the news reporters.
I was worried they'd follow me until I talked to them.
And I always said stupid stuff when I was nervous.
"Well, how about you just invite her over here?"
"Are you sure that's okay?"
"Of course." He smiled and turned back to the T.V. mount.
"Do you want my help with that?" I asked.
"I'm pretty sure I can figure it out." He picked up the direction booklet off the floor and turned the page.
It was hard to focus on my Stat practice questions. My eyes seemed to automatically gravitate to him. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt. I was just about to suggest we both take a break when his phone started ringing.
James turned around and looked down at his phone. "It's just the front desk." He picked it up and slid his finger across the screen. "Hunter."
Silence.
"Regarding what?"
Silence.
James looked down at me. "Do you mind putting them on the phone for a second?" He put his free hand in his pocket, turned away from me, and walked toward the kitchen. "It was my understanding that she wouldn't be included in this."
Silence.
"We've already disclosed our relationship to Joe. If you have any other questions then I'd recommend discussing them with..."
Silence.
James removed his hand from his pocket and ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine. Please put Ben back on the phone."
Silence.
"Yes, go ahead and let them up. For future visitors please tell them I am out of town until further notice." James hung up the phone and tossed it onto the kitchen counter. He didn't turn around to look at me.
I put my Stat notes down and walked up behind him. "James?" I said quietly. I could tell that he was upset.
He sighed and turned around. "Apparently the people they hired for the investigation need to talk to you."
"Why would they need to talk to me? We already told everything to the dean."
"I don't know. But it probably isn't good."
"That's not necessarily true."
"Well, I guess we'll find out."
"How do you think they knew I was here?"
"Maybe they already tried your dorm room. It doesn't exactly take a great investigator to assume you'd be here."
A dinging noise sounded through the apartment. James walked over to the elevator door and pressed a button. The doors slid open.
Two men in suits stepped out. One looked about James' age and the other was probably 20 years older or so.
The older one put his hand out to James. "James Hunter, I'm Detective Tim Reed. And this is my partner, Scott Turner.
Detectives? Were they cops? When the dean had said they'd be interviewing all the students, I thought he meant a colleague of his. Not the police.
James shook Detective Reed's hand and then Detective Turner's. "I still don't see why this is necessary. Penny has already talked to Joe."
"It's a formality really. We just have a few questions." Detective Reed peered around James' shoulder. "You must be Penny."
"Yes, hi." I walked toward them. Detective Turner still hadn't spoken a word.
It felt like they were trying to intimidate me.
I wasn't going to let that happen. James hadn't done anything wrong.
I had told my parents about our relationship this afternoon.
Two men in suits weren't going to scare me now.
I felt stronger somehow. And I was sick of this.
I just wanted everyone to leave us alone.
"You said you have some questions for me?
" I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"Right. Well, we're actually going to need to talk to you in private, Penny." Detective Reed looked up at James.
"I really don't see why that's necessary," James said coolly.
"Something has come up in our investigation. And we need Penny to be able to talk freely about your relationship."
James' eyebrows lowered. "What has come up in the investigation?"
"We can't really discuss that with you right now. I'm sure Joe will be in contact with you shortly."
"I think that you both should leave."
"James, it's fine. I'll talk to them." The last thing we needed was for James to lose his temper and punch a detective.
"You don't have to answer their questions, Penny. Let me call my lawyer. He'll handle this."
"It's fine. I really don't mind."
James stared at me for a second. "I guess I'll be in my office then." He put his hand on my shoulder and then walked away.
I stood there awkwardly in the foyer. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. But I didn't have to decide. Both detectives walked past me toward the living room.
"If you wouldn't mind taking a seat, Penny."
Okay. I followed them into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Both of them remained standing. They were definitely trying to intimidate me. Screw them.
"I see that James has been buying you presents." Detective Reed looked at the T.V. It was still in its box and there was wrapping paper on the ground.
"No. He bought that for himself." I had taken a criminal justice class with Melissa my freshman year. I knew they were trying to get me to admit something without actually asking a question. I folded my arms across my chest again.
"Does he wrap everything he buys for himself? Or just expensive things?"
"I don't know. We've only been dating a few months."
A smile broke over Detective Reed's face. "You know, when people act defensive, it usually means that they have something to defend."
I glared at him. "I don't have anything to hide."
"Good. I expected as much. You're an open book, Penny. Straight As in high school. Same here except for the occasional B. You're a good girl. Respectable. A First State scholarship winner even. That must have made your parents proud."
"Yes, it did." My father's words came back to me. There wasn't anything I could do to disappoint him. He'd always be proud of me. I didn't need a scholarship to prove that.
"So the question is, what made you risk all that? What made you decide to sleep with your professor? Were you worried about losing your scholarship?"
"What? No."
"What kind of arrangement did you two have exactly?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." I knew what he was suggesting. And it made me sick to my stomach. It was like what Raymond Asher had said. Why did everyone assume it was something terrible that brought us together? Why couldn't everyone just see that I was in love with James?
"Was it for the presents? Or maybe you weren't doing as well this semester. You have a C average in your statistics class right now. Did you do it for the grades?"
"Do what exactly?" It was hard to stay calm.
"Did he, or did he not, agree to give you an A in his class if you gave him sexual favors?"
I stood up. "I think you should go."
"So it's true, is it?"
"You have no idea what you're talking about. We never did anything that we didn't both want to do. James is a good guy."
"Good professors don't sleep with their students."
"Tim." Detective Turner had finally spoken. He put his hand on Detective Reed's chest, as if holding him back. "Why don't you let me take it from here." Detective Turner gestured toward the couch.
Detective Reed nodded and sat down on the sofa. I stared at Detective Turner, who was now smiling. I was a little surprised by the sudden change. Were they seriously trying to good cop, bad cop me? I internally rolled my eyes.
"Please, Penny, take a seat," Detective Turner said. "I'm sorry about my partner's outburst."
No he wasn't. I sighed and sat down, as far away from Detective Reed as possible.
"You said you have nothing to hide," Detective Turner said.
"I don't."
"Would it surprise you, then, if James was hiding something from you?"
I swallowed hard.
He put his hands in his pockets as he studied my face. "It wouldn't, would it? I've heard that James is quite a complicated man."
"And who did you hear that from? His ex wife?"
Detective Turner smiled again. "It's not too late, you know. If you're willing to cooperate with us, we can give the First State scholarship committee a call. Maybe we can get them to reissue that scholarship of yours."
"If I cooperate?"
"Yes. You see, we are building a case against James regarding sexual misconduct."
"I'm not going to lie in order to get my scholarship back. Like you said, I'm a good girl. Besides for that fact, you have it all wrong."
"Unfortunately we don't. We do want to help you, Penny. But we don't actually need your statement. Yes, it'll help, but I think we already have everything we need."
"What do you mean?"
"Two girls have already come forward saying that James agreed to give them As for sexual favors."
What? "They're lying."
"And how sure are you of that? Because Tim and I are trained to tell if suspects are lying. These girls didn't seem like they were lying. Actually, they were both in tears. They were embarrassed and ashamed because of the position that their trusted professor put them in."
"I don't believe you."
"And their stories lined up. They both said that James lured them into his office to dispute a poor grade. And that he agreed to change it only if they agreed to have sex with him."
No. Isn't that what he did to me? No. Kind of?
"Does that sound familiar, Penny? Did he do that to you too?"
"No. It wasn't like that." Was it?
"How about you tell us what really happened. And we'll get that scholarship back for you. Your life will go back to normal. All of this will disappear."
All of this? All of this had already disappeared from me once before. I didn't want my old, normal life back. That emptiness. I'd never go back to that. All I wanted was for these two idiots to leave me alone. "I think this discussion is over." I stood up again.
"Don't you want your old life back? We can give you back what you lost. Stop defending him. Can't you see what he's taken from you?"
"I'm not defending him, I'm telling you the truth."
"He's not who you think he is."
"Yes he is." I could feel myself losing my temper.
"He's a predator, Penny. And you're the prey. Don't you see that? Those two other girls were his prey too. Who knows how many others didn't come forward? You're probably one of a dozen. You can't hide from the truth. He seduces students. He's not a good man."
I had thought that before. That he was the predator and I was the prey.
But I was wrong. And these men were wrong.
James wouldn't have done those things. But didn't he do it to me?
"Get out of my apartment." I didn't need to stand here and listen to this.
They were just as bad as the person who wrote the article about James and my relationship.
"Your apartment? Is that the deal then? The gifts, the apartment? Is that to keep you quiet?"
"You're terrible detectives," I snapped.
"We're trying to protect you."
"Protect me? I don't need your protection. I wanted this relationship just as much as he did. I love him."
"He doesn't love you."
"Yes he does." Who were they to tell me how James felt? Arrogant assholes.
"Do you even know anything about him? Do you know that he has a criminal record? Do you know that he's spent time in jail? This is the kind of thing he does. This is the kind of thing that a bored man with too much money and no sense of morals does."
"If you both don't leave right now, some of your detective buddies will actually have a crime to solve."
"Did you just threaten us?" Detective Reed stood up. "You do know that it's illegal to threaten a police officer?"
"Oh, I didn't realize you were police officers. I really couldn't tell. All you're doing is throwing out accusations without any evidence."
"Consider this a warning, Miss Taylor. We will be in contact again. This is far from over."
I didn't say anything. I watched them walk over to the elevator, step in, and disappear. The apartment was eerily quiet. I suddenly felt very, very cold.