regulation-issue ballpoint. The sight of that lean, restless male hand—contrasting so poignantly with the pale pink cotton of the open shirt-cuff, with the deskworker’s accessories and with my smaller, paler hand next to it—strikes me as so erotic that my belly floods with longing, a sharp, lingering shock of desire. Instinctively I shift my butt and at once curse myself, because Cleveland might think that I feel uncomfortable sitting next to him. He is watching Matthew Dancey welcome Dean Ortega, a tall woman with a boyish figure and an unruly mop of hair, who is accompanied by a judicial affairs officer and someone from Equal Opportunities. My fidgeting makes Cleveland turn round to look at me.
Something is wrong.
I don’t know what it is, but his expression when he turns and sees me sitting there next to him—as if he hadn’t noticed me earlier—is at once scornful and anxious. Cleveland is upset. Upset, and trying to hide it. I have the irrational impulse to clasp his hand and draw it close to me.
Dean Ortega does most of the talking, and what she has to say does not visibly surprise anyone now. She regrets having to inform us that Nick Hornberger has been suspended from his university duties for an indefinite period. This much, precisely, and no more, we may impart to the student body, should we be approached with questions. Any further speculation, spoken or written, runs the risk of being slanderous or libelous, and she trusts that the college can rely on our discretion at this time, as always.
Within these four walls, however, she will tell us that charges of sexual assault have been filed against Hornberger both with the Sexual Misconduct Hearing Panel and with the Shaftsboro police department. He was arrested on Wednesday (so it was a plain-clothes policeman!) and released on bail a day later. It is to be expected that the local news will report the case, but we would be well-advised not to believe everything they print. It goes without saying that under no circumstances may we discuss the matter with outsiders, especially not with journalists. She adds that although Ardrossan University’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual misconduct applies to faculty as well as students, we ought also to recall that the accused is innocent until proven guilty—a principle difficult to maintain when so heinous a crime has to be investigated.
“Are there any questions?”
Several hands go up. Erin Gallagher wants Ortega to reassure us—“unofficially, of course!”—that Hornberger has denied the allegation. Immediately the noise level spikes as some people groan at her apparent naïvety, and Ortega evades an answer.
“May we know the plaintiff’s name?” Brenda Dampier asks, and I am surprised that she seems surprised when Sam Ruffin, under cover of the murmuring at Ortega’s refusal, leans over and whispers something into her ear.
“The students are likely to know a lot more about this than we do,” Kay Chang says. “Does nobody else find that a very awkward situation to work in? Is this, for example, a race issue as well as an issue of sexual violence?”
Several nods support this as a valid point, but it is passed over by Dancey, who seems to feel it is time to put in his oar and promptly proceeds to deflect all questions.
“One of this incident’s unfortunate consequences is that we need to find a new chair. A new search committee will be installed in the next few weeks, but you know how long the process takes. Meanwhile I would be prepared to step up from associate chair to interim chair.”
“Having said that—” Ortega raises her voice above the low murmur “—it is customary to ask the department to name an interim chair or to ask whether there are any other nominations. I would then forward this list to the Provost for further negotiations.” Something like a wan smile appears on her haggard face when she adds, “I say ‘list,’ but things being what they are, I’d be content with a list of one. One volunteer.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Sam Ruffin looks round, frowning. “Surely you don’t mean now.”
“Since we are rather pressed for time, yes, I would appreciate it if you would consider the matter here and now. Obviously there will then be talks in private with the volunteers, to sort out the details.”
I do not wonder that Dancey, who is salivating at the prospect of institutional power, advocates this gun-shot method. From Ortega I would have expected a more delicate form of personnel management. The tail