At the end of the evening, Jan invited Oliver to a dinner party the following Saturday. ‘I’d be delighted.’
From that night on, they started seeing only each other.
‘They’ll be getting married soon,’ the senator predicted to Peter Tager. ‘It’s time we got Oliver’s campaign rolling.’
Oliver was summoned to a meeting at Senator Davis’s office.
‘I want to ask you a question,’ the senator said. ‘How would you like to be the governor of Kentucky?’
Oliver looked at him in surprise. ‘I – I haven’t thought about it.’
‘Well, Peter Tager and I have. There’s an election coming up next year. That gives us more than enough time to build you up, let people know who you are. With us behind you, you can’t lose.’
And Oliver knew it was true. Senator Davis was a powerful man, in control of a well-oiled political machine, a machine that could create myths or destroy anyone who got in its way.
‘You’d have to be totally committed,’ the senator warned.
‘I would be.’
‘I have some even better news for you, son. As far as I’m concerned, this is only the first step. You serve a term or two as governor, and I promise you we’ll move you into the White House.’
Oliver swallowed. ‘Are – are you serious?’
‘I don’t joke about things like this. I don’t have to tell you that this is the age of television. You have something that money can’t buy – charisma. People are drawn to you. You genuinely like people, and it shows. It’s the same quality Jack Kennedy had.’
‘I – I don’t know what to say, Todd.’
‘You don’t have to say anything. I have to return to Washington tomorrow, but when I get back, we’ll go to work.’
A few weeks later, the campaign for the office of governor began. Billboards with Oliver’s picture flooded the state. He appeared on television and at rallies and political seminars. Peter Tager had his own private polls that showed Oliver’s popularity increasing each week.
‘He’s up another five points,’ he told the senator. ‘He’s only ten points behind the governor, and we’ve still got plenty of time left. In another few weeks, they should be neck and neck.’
Senator Davis nodded. ‘Oliver’s going to win. No question about it.’
Todd Davis and Jan were having breakfast. ‘Has our boy proposed to you yet?’
Jan smiled. ‘He hasn’t come right out and asked me, but he’s been hinting around.’
‘Well, don’t let him hint too long. I want you to be married before he becomes governor. It will play better if the governor has a wife.’
Jan put her arms around her father. ‘I’m so glad you brought him into my life. I’m mad about him.’
The senator beamed. ‘As long as he makes you happy, I’m happy.’
Everything was going perfectly.
The following evening, when Senator Davis came home, Jan was in her room, packing, her face stained with tears.
He looked at her, concerned. ‘What’s going on, baby?’
‘I’m getting out of here. I never want to see Oliver again as long as I live!’
‘Whoa! Hold on there. What are you talking about?’
She turned to him. ‘I’m talking about Oliver.’ Her tone was bitter. ‘He spent last night in a motel with my best friend. She couldn’t wait to call and tell me what a wonderful lover he was.’
The senator stood there in shock. ‘Couldn’t she have been just –?’
‘No. I called Oliver. He – he couldn’t deny it. I’ve decided to leave. I’m going to Paris.’
‘Are you sure you’re doing –?’
‘I’m positive.’
And the next morning Jan was gone.
The senator sent for Oliver. ‘I’m disappointed in you, son.’
Oliver took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry about what happened, Todd. It was – it was just one of those things. I had a few drinks and this woman came on to me and – well, it was hard to say no.’
‘I can understand that,’ the senator said sympathetically. ‘After all, you’re a man, right?’
Oliver smiled in relief. ‘Right. It won’t happen again, I can assure –’
‘It’s too bad, though. You would have made a fine governor.’
The blood drained from Oliver’s face. ‘What – what are you saying, Todd?’
‘Well, Oliver, it wouldn’t look right if I supported you now, would it? I mean, when you think about Jan’s feelings –’
‘What does the governorship have to do with Jan?’
‘I’ve been telling everybody that there was a good chance that the next governor was going to be my son-in-law. But since you’re not going to be my son-in-law, well, I’ll just have to make new plans, won’t I?’
‘Be reasonable, Todd. You can’t –’
Senator Davis’s smile faded. ‘Never tell me what I can or can’t do, Oliver. I can make you and I can break you!’ He smiled again. ‘But don’t misunderstand me. No hard feelings. I wish you only the best.’
Oliver sat there, silent for a moment. ‘I see.’ He rose to his feet. ‘I – I’m sorry about all this.’
‘I am, too, Oliver. I really am.’
When Oliver left, the senator called in Peter Tager. ‘We’re dropping the campaign.’
‘Dropping it? Why? It’s in the bag. The latest polls –’
‘Just do as I tell you. Cancel all of Oliver’s appearances. As far as we’re concerned, he’s out of the race.’
Two weeks later, the polls began to show a drop in Oliver Russell’s ratings. The billboards started to disappear, and the radio and television ads had been canceled.
‘Governor Addison is beginning to pick up ratings in the polls. If we’re going to find a new candidate, we’d better hurry,’ Peter Tager said.
The senator was thoughtful. ‘We have plenty of time. Let’s play this out.’
It was a few days later that Oliver Russell went to the Bailey & Tomkins agency to ask them to handle his campaign. Jim Bailey introduced him to Leslie, and Oliver was immediately taken with her. She was not only beautiful, she was intelligent and sympathetic and believed in him. He had sometimes felt a certain aloofness in Jan, but he had overlooked it. With Leslie, it was completely different. She was warm and sensitive, and it had been natural to fall in love with her. From time to time, Oliver thought about what he had lost. ‘… this is only the first step. You serve a term or two as governor, and I promise you we’ll move you into the White House.’
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