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“You’re clear on anything you did with her. Besides, it’s been over five years. Statute of Limitations for simple assault runs out at five. If she was able to prove it was predatory sexual assault, that’s a Class A2 Felony and there is no limitation.”
“Oh, God,” I said and frowned. “What does that mean – predatory sexual assault?”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s reserved for sexual predators who are habitual and repeat their crimes. The charge, if one was brought, would be Class B Felony and there is a five-year limitation. You’re clear.”
“Phew,” I said with a sense of relief.
“But she could still really screw with your life, Drake. She could go to the administration. You’d probably be asked to resign, you’d lose privileges and you’d have no way to fight it. You could probably practice somewhere else, but who needs the hassle?”
“What should I do?”
She hesitated a moment. “You either humor her and hope for the best, or leave completely so she can’t hurt you.”
I groaned. “I don’t want to humor her. I’m afraid she’ll get the wrong idea and it’ll be next to impossible to get rid of her.”
“I don’t know, Drake,” Lara said, her voice tired. “She sounds delusional. She reminds me of that female astronaut who wore adult diapers so she could drive across the country without stopping, so she could harm her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend.”
That sent a shiver down my spine. “Thanks for reminding me about that. Now, I’ll be worrying about Kate.”
“You’re welcome. Don’t let down your guard, whatever you do. Tell Kate not to either.”
“I will. And thanks for this.”
“Don’t mention it. You’ll get my bill in an email,” she said with a chuckle. Then, in a more serious tone, she continued. “I’m serious Drake. This woman sounds like she’s obsessed with you. Whatever you decide, tread very lightly. Don’t do anything to antagonize her. You can’t just go to the police and get a restraining order without revealing your history.”
“I’ll be careful.” I ended the call and sat in my office, Lara’s words running through my head. I had no idea what to do. I needed to think.
I called Dave.
“Hey, boss,” he said, his voice chipper. “What’s up?”
“I need to work out some excess frustration. Care for a game of racquetball?”
“Tell me when and I’ll make it so.”
At the end of the afternoon, I let my admin person know I’d be gone for a game of racquetball but I could be reached on my pager, and then I left the hospital to meet Dave. We met at the club and had a game of racquetball and I smashed that ball so hard that it could have killed someone had it hit them in the head, but it was a good release. Afterwards, Dave and I decided to go out for a drink before dinner. I texted Kate to let her know, and she was fine with it. She was sleeping so I told her I’d be home by eight at the latest.
Then Dave and I went in separate cars to the pub, where I met Kate the very first time. We found two parking spots not too far away from each other and walked the rest of the way. The entire time we were walking to the pub, I had this strange sense that someone was following me, but when I looked around, I saw nothing. The sun was setting behind Manhattan’s tall buildings, the air was cool, and people rushed down the sidewalks on their way home for the evening. I didn’t recognize anyone, but couldn’t shake the feeling.
Inside the pub, we sat at the bar and had a beer, speaking about the foundation and what Dave was working on. His latest project involved bringing orphaned children from East Africa to the USA for specialized surgeries using robotics. I hoped that one day, I could be primarily involved in that line of work since it was so rewarding to free a child from intractable seizures or spasms.
It was while we were sitting at the bar, talking about the game on the television that a group of people entered the pub, their voices loud. I turned to glance in their direction and saw that it was Lisa and her group of fellow residents. The pub was often frequented by NYP staff due to its location, but it was out of the way for NYU’s Tisch Hospital – Langone Medical Center where we were doing our specialization.
The coincidence was unbelievable. She had to have been following me or knew my plans.
“Oh, God,” I muttered under my breath.
“What?” Dave said, turning to look in the direction of the group. “You know them?”
“They’re residents from NYU.”
“And? Aren’t they your compadres?”
“Yes,” I said and sighed, taking a big drink from my beer. “And one of them has shown an interest in me and I can’t convince her nothing will happen.”
“Uh, oh,” Dave said. “Don’t tell me you cheated on Kate already…”
“What?” I said and frowned at him, my back stiffening. “No! Of course not. No, this woman – Lisa – is doing her residency in neurosurgery and seems unable to take a hint.”
