The hell with it. I can be happy without any of that, Oliver persuaded himself. But occasionally, he could not help thinking about the good things he might have accomplished.
With Oliver’s wedding imminent, Senator Davis had sent for Tager.
“Peter, we have a problem. We can’t let Oliver Russell throw away his career by marrying a nobody.”
Peter Tager frowned. “I don’t know what you can do about it now, Senator. The wedding is all set.”
Senator Davis was thoughtful for a moment. “The race hasn’t been run yet, has it?”
He telephoned his daughter in Paris. “Jan, I have some terrible news for you. Oliver is getting married.”
There was a long silence. “I—I heard.”
“The sad part is that he doesn’t love this woman. He told me he’s marrying her on the rebound because you left him. He’s still in love with you.”
“Did Oliver say that?”
“Absolutely. It’s a terrible thing he’s doing to himself. And, in a way, you’re forcing him to do it, baby. When you ran out on him, he just fell apart.”
“Father, I—I had no idea.”
“I’ve never seen a more unhappy man.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Do you still love him?”
“I’ll always love him. I made a terrible mistake.”
“Well, then, maybe it’s not too late.”
“But he’s getting married.”
“Honey, why don’t we just wait and see what happens? Maybe he’ll come to his senses.”
When Senator Davis hung up, Peter Tager said, “What are you up to, Senator?”
“Me?” Senator Davis said innocently. “Nothing. Just putting a few pieces back together, where they belong. I think I’ll have a little talk with Oliver.”
That afternoon, Oliver Russell was in Senator Davis’s office.
“It’s good to see you, Oliver. Thank you for dropping by. You’re looking very well.”
“Thank you, Todd. So are you.”
“Well, I’m getting on, but I do the best I can.”
“You asked to see me, Todd?”
“Yes, Oliver. Sit down.”
Oliver took a chair.
“I want you to help me out with a legal problem I’m having in Paris. One of my companies over there is in trouble. There’s a stockholders’ meeting coming up. I’d like you to be there for it.”
“I’ll be glad to. When is the meeting? I’ll check my calendar and—”
“I’m afraid you’d have to leave this afternoon.”
Oliver stared at him. “This afternoon?”
“I hate to give you such short notice, but I just heard about it. My plane’s waiting at the airport. Can you manage it? It’s important to me.”
Oliver was thoughtful. “I’ll try to work it out, somehow.”
“I appreciate that, Oliver. I knew I could count on you.” He leaned forward. “I’m real unhappy about what’s been happening to you. Have you seen the latest polls?” He sighed. “I’m afraid you’re way down.”
“I know.”
“I wouldn’t mind so much, but…” He stopped.
“But—?”
“You’d have made a fine governor. In fact, your future couldn’t have been brighter. You would have had money…power. Let me tell you something about money and power, Oliver. Money doesn’t care who owns it. A bum can win it in a lottery, or a dunce can inherit it, or someone can get it by holding up a bank. But power—that’s something different. To have power is to own the world. If you were governor of this state, you could affect the lives of everybody living here. You could get bills passed that would help the people, and you’d have the power to veto bills that could harm them. I once promised you that someday you could be President of the United States. Well, I meant it, and you could have been. And think about that power, Oliver, to be the most important man in the world, running the most powerful country in the world. That’s something worth dreaming about, isn’t it? Just think about it.” He repeated slowly, “The most powerful man in the world.”
Oliver was listening, wondering where the conversation was leading.
As though in answer to Oliver’s unspoken question, the senator said, “And you let all that get away, for a piece of pussy. I thought you were smarter than that, son.”
Oliver waited.