“Who did they pick?” I asked out of pure curiosity, “David? Nathan?”
“Me,” Oliver replied.
I stared at him in surprise. It was a good choice. A better choice than I would have thought.
“Durant Industries has never had a CEO who wasn’t a Durant,” I remarked, “Congratulations. Are you going to rehire Jenna?”
A slow smile was beginning to show on Oliver’s face.
“Thanks,” Oliver replied, taking another victory swig of beer, “and yes, obviously I’m going to rehire Jenna if she’s willing to return. But I don’t intend to stay at Durant Industries for very long.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion, “you just accepted the position of CEO.”
“Interim CEO,” Oliver corrected, “emphasis on the interim aspect. I’m too old to be CEO of an embattled chemical conglomerate.”
“You aren’t old,” I snapped irritably, “I am unwilling and unable to entertain the possibility that sixty-five might be too old to run Durant Industries. My dad is sixty-five. Hell, my grandfather was CEO until he was practically dead.”
“Yes, and look how well that worked out,” Oliver joked, “Your grandfather allowed a massive chemical weapons program to proliferate right under his nose, and with the knowledge and support of his own son who then continued to grow it after your grandfather retired.”
“Fair point,” I acknowledged. “But you still aren’t too old.”
“I’ve got my eye on something else,” Oliver admitted. “Tom Ellis’ Senate seat.”
My eyebrows shot up.
“Oh, so you’re too old to run Durant Industries, but not too old to run for US Senate? That makes sense,” I snipped and then immediately softened. I warmed to the idea almost instantly. “But I’m sure you’ll make an incredible Senator. We need someone in that seat that actually gives a shit about something other than money and how to advance his own power.”
Oliver nodded.
“You’re exactly right,” he said, “which is why I want you to run. I’ll be your Chief of Staff.”
My lips parted in disbelief.
“What?” I managed eloquently.
“I think you should run for Ellis’ senate seat,” Oliver replied simply, “you know I was Ellis’ Chief of Staff for fifteen years, right?”
I nodded dumbly.
“There was a time when I thought Ellis was a good man,” Oliver explained. “I was wrong, obviously. I ended up working for Durant Industries because after Ellis threw me under the bus, your father offered me a job. And I really needed a job. But Durant Industries has never been my passion. I want to make another go of it in public service, before I actually am too old to make any difference. And I think you’re the right candidate.”
I was still unable to make words exit my mouth. Oliver took my silence as an invitation to continue.
“You probably think I’m crazy, but you have a lot going for yourself as a Senate candidate. You have the Durant name, first and foremost. Even though it will take a bit of a beating in the fallout, the Durant family has been a political and economic power in this state for almost a hundred years. That matters. Second, you’re a good person. Unlike your father, you were more than willing to do whatever it took to bring the truth to light. You were never willing to compromise on your morality. Third, you’re going to come out of this scandal as a hero. Your father has seen to that now. By coming clean in the way that he did, your heroism is going to look even more spectacular. This probably sounds cynical, but you’ve got a perfect narrative if you want to run with it.”
I absorbed Oliver’s words, but my processing was still lagging behind.
“I ran away and hid in Alaska for five years,” I said, “that’s hardly heroic.”
Oliver smiled.
“You didn’t want anything to happen to your father, your extended family, or your family business,” Oliver said, “You thought you were doing the only thing that you could to keep them safe. And it’s not like you were living it up at a resort somewhere. You were miserable.”
“I wasn’t—” I started, but then thought better of it, “I guess I was miserable. But I have no qualifications for Senate. I’m not even a lawyer or anything.”
“Where did you go to college Nicholas?” Oliver asked. He knew, but he still asked.
“Yale,” I replied with a frown. I had never even applied to Yale. I was just told I was going there, so I went.
“That’s going to be good enough for most people,” he said, “The fact that you then worked as the COO for Durant Industries is a pretty good resume. Your on-paper qualifications are solid.”
“I don’t know how to be a Senator,” I said next.
“Oh, and when Tom Ellis was elected he did?” Oliver replied. “The job isn’t easy, but it isn’t rocket science either. It’s all about compromise and representing your constituents. It’s about doing the right thing when you need to, and the best you can all of the time. I think you could do that.”
“Are you trying to convince me this a good idea?” I asked, “or are you interviewing me for the job?”
“A bit of both,” Oliver answered, “I’m gauging your reactions. I’m pretty sure I could talk you into doing this, but I want to see if it’s something you’re interested in. You’re still a very young man, Nicholas. You need to decide what you want to do with your life.”
I didn’t reply for a long time.
“I just want to be with Jenna,” I said, “that’s all I know right now.”
Oliver grinned at my answer.
“Well that’s a given,” he replied, “but she’s going to be busy, too. Durant Industries is going to need a permanent CEO after I leave to run your campaign.”
My mouth dropped open a second time.
“Have also picked out our wedding china?” I asked him, “Do you have our entire lives mapped out?”
Oliver laughed. He set his empty beer down in the recycling bin and adjusted his jacket, which he’d never removed during our highly illuminating conversation.
“I’m still torn between a traditional gold-and-white bone pattern or a more elaborate Wedgewood look,” he admitted jokingly, “but I know you’re going to name your first son Oliver.”
He winked.
“Well think it all over,” Oliver said, “I’ll be in touch soon.”
45
Jenna
Our visit to Richard was not something I’d been looking forward to. I knew it was inevitable, even necessary, but I’d been dreading it for the past week. At least we weren’t heading to a federal prison today. Instead, Richard had been confined to house arrest during the run up to the trial.
I’d never been to the Durant mansion before. It was an impressive place. Imposing.
In the late-winter Pennsylvania weather, the mansion sprang out of the snowy rolling hills like a misplaced jagged rock. The structure itself was beautiful in a brutal, cold sort of way. The mansion looked like it belonged on a cliff in Europe somewhere, not plopped into the suburban countryside.
“You grew up here?” I asked Nicholas as I crawled up the long drive. Nicholas still only had one functional hand, so I’d been doing all of the driving lately. He nodded.
“During spring it looks a lot less creepy,” he told me, “there are lots of flowers and things. It’s just during the winter that it looks so gothic. Plus, now that only two people live here fulltime it seems a lot colder. The exterior also needs to be washed.”
I wasn’t so sure the addition of some flowers would make the bleak façade less frightening. The dark stone and profusion of unlit windows made the place look haunted.
Within the house, I was even more convinced that this mansion was not a place that I would enjoy living. The scale of the architecture was immense, and it made me feel small by extension. Just the entry and the main hallways could contain multiple ordinary single-family homes.
“How do we find him in here?” I asked Nicholas, holding Harley’s collar to
keep her from running off and getting lost forever. “This is kind of a big place.”
The question was moot, because a moment later a woman emerged from the door directly to our right and I could hear masculine laughter from the rooms beyond.
The woman was Angelica Hunt. I froze and felt my lips parting in surprise.
I’d seen her picture plenty of times, but I’d never met Mrs. Hunt. She was every bit as beautiful as she looked on TV, so tall and fashionable and blonde. She looked like she belonged on a magazine cover and had the strut to match. But like her pictures on TV lately, she was frowning deeply.
“Hello Angelica,” Nicholas said politely. Angelica’s sapphire gaze washed over Nicholas and then me with an intense, evaluative expression. Her steps never paused. She stomped past us without any further acknowledgement. A second later, the front door to the house creaked open and then slammed closed.
It seemed that Angelica had places she would rather be.
“That was weird,” I remarked.
Nicholas smirked and shook his head.
“It was lucky,” he replied, “Trust me, it was very, very lucky.”
“Nicholas?” An unknown, masculine voice from beyond the door yelled, “is that you out there? Come in here with us!”
One of the inevitable consequences of a house this large must be that the occupants were constantly yelling at one another. Nicholas and I pressed forward through a few layers of doors to emerge into a recreation-type room. Seated in three recliners were Richard, Oliver, and another man I didn’t recognize.
“The prodigal son returns!” the unknown man bellowed in an unnecessarily loud and dramatic tone. “Welcome home, Nicholas. Good god that’s one big-ass dog. You weren’t kidding about that thing, Oliver.”
“Hello Alexander,” Nicholas replied blandly. “Have you met my girlfriend Jenna Masters? Jenna, this is my uncle Alexander.”
Alexander II rose and shook my hand enthusiastically.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Jenna,” he said in a more normal tone, but while still frowning deeply, “Oliver has told us great things about you. I’m glad that Nicholas finally brought you to meet us. I was concerned he was hiding you.”
I smiled politely but had no idea what to make of Alexander II. He was sort-of reminiscent of both Nathan and Richard, but more dramatic than either.
“Have a seat you two,” Alexander II insisted. He gestured to two more of the cushy leather recliners that absolutely filled the space. “We’ve got business to discuss. Keep that beast on the ground though. I don’t want it up on the furniture.”
Harley didn’t like leather furniture anyway. She settled happily on the ground between Nicholas and me.
“Hello Richard, hello Oliver,” I said as I perched on the edge of one of the recliners. The two men both nodded politely.
“What was that business with Angelica all about?” Nicholas asked curiously, “She looked even more venomous than usual. Did you two have a lover’s squabble?”
Alexander smirked, Oliver shook his head, and Richard rolled his eyes. Interesting.
“I’m off the hook with Angelica now,” Richard said simply. When Nicholas and I continued to look at him for explanation, he sighed.
“Good lord,” Alexander interjected, “you didn’t really think your father wanted to marry that awful girl, did you Nicholas?”
He guffawed loudly. Nicholas and I exchanged a confused look.
“It was a political compromise,” Richard explained with a bemused expression on his face. “In exchange for Tom looking the other way on you and Jenna and giving me some time to try and get the situation under control, I agreed to take Angelica off his hands.”
“Take her off his hands?” I asked, disgusted. The idea was ridiculously antiquated. “You mean marry her? Aren’t we in the twenty-first century? You’ve got to be kidding me. An unmarried woman isn’t exactly an embarrassment to her father these days. That’s an outdated and offensive thing to say. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Alexander looked at me as if surprised I’d stand up to Richard, and Oliver hid a smile. Richard merely stared at me with a neutral expression.
“If the woman in question is Angelica, she’s an embarrassment regardless of marital status,” Richard replied tiredly, “The truth is that Tom Ellis wanted me to marry Angelica for two distinct but equally important reasons. The first is that Angelica’s become an enormous public relations problem for Tom. Her whole semi-murder thing of her late husband Albert is embarrassing. Getting her remarried and out of his house again would be extremely helpful for him. Second, Ellis always thought that one of his daughters would marry one of the Durant heirs and tie our families together in perpetuity. Clara is engaged to someone already. And obviously no one in this family was dumb enough to mess with Angelica. So, by marrying her myself, the Ellis and Durant families would be stuck together permanently. Thus, Tom could finally cement his power over us in blood.”
“That’s just positively medieval,” I said, “and gross. And also quite sad. Why would you agree to such a thing?”
“Oh, I like her!” Alexander remarked to Oliver, gesturing in my direction,“I like her a lot.”
Richard mused over my question as I looked at Alexander in annoyance. I was sitting right next to him.
“I agreed to marry Angelica because it would benefit me—benefit our entire family in fact,” Richard said with a frown, “believe it or not, I didn’t want to see anyone get hurt. I also didn’t want Durant Industries to be damaged. I discouraged you from looking into Nicholas if you recall. I was attempting to protect you, Nicholas, Oliver, Theresa…”
“Oh, please, that’s bullshit, and you know it,” Nicholas snapped. He’d been growing increasingly tense at my side as the conversation had progressed. “You were only ever attempting to protect yourself.”
“Not just that. But that too,” Richard admitted. He looked at Nicholas with what I interpreted as a mixture of disappointment, resignation, and irritation. “Did you come here today just to tell me how self-centered I am? Didn’t you do that last time we talked? Honestly, I’d hoped we could move on from punishing me. The courts are going to do that anyway.”
“I came here today to figure out what the hell we’re going to do,” Nicholas snapped, “As far as I’m concerned, you just happen to be here because your ankle bracelet won’t let you leave.”
Richard looked at Nicholas with an unreadable expression on his face. I wondered if he was surprised or hurt, or if he just didn’t know how to control his son and it was irritating him. Richard’s motivations continued to be a mystery to me. I was no closer to understanding what was in his mind now than I’d been before meeting Nicholas.
“How’s your arm?” He finally asked Nicholas, changing tracts entirely. Nicholas’ jaw dropped open and then closed into an irritated line.
“It’s fine,” Nicholas replied with his characteristic nonchalance. “I got shot in the palm. I’m sure you saw on the news. It’s healing but I might need surgery later.”
Richard nodded. A moment of silence spread uncomfortably through the room. Alexander finally cleared his throat to get us back on track.
“To your question of what the hell we’re going to do,” Alexander boomed, “I think we’re all waiting on you for that, Nicholas.”
Nicholas had shared Oliver’s plan for us both with me. I wasn’t sure what to make of it either. The plan almost sounded too good, too perfect to be possible. Although I trusted Oliver and believed he had our best interests at heart, joining the Durant family dynasty was clearly a risky proposition even after the resolution of the recent drama over chemical weapons.
“Waiting on me for what, exactly?” Nicholas asked carefully.
“We need to know if you want to run for The Senator’s seat,” Alexander said. Apparently, Alexander referred to Tom Ellis as ‘The Senator’ despite the fact that he no longer held the office. He’d resigned swiftly after his indictment and subsequent arrest
.
“And if I choose to run, Jenna will be appointed the permanent CEO for Durant Industries?” Nicholas asked.
Alexander nodded. Nicholas and I exchanged a wordless glance. Although standing on the top of the ladder had always been my goal, I never thought it would happen like this. Or this quickly.
“If we move forward this way, Oliver will give up control of Durant Industries to Jenna but will retain the position on the Board that The Senator used to occupy,” Alexander II explained. “In addition, Jenna will take over Richard’s seat on the board.” Alexander looked at his brother. “Sorry Richard.”
Richard shrugged.
“I’ll be in jail anyway,” Richard said, “I couldn’t attend the meetings from my cell.”
“And then the Durant family would fund my senate campaign?” Nicholas asked.
“Yes of course,” Alexander confirmed, “You’ll win, too. We’ve already hired some polling. The numbers look good.”
Nicholas stared at the ground for a moment, and then at me. I shrugged.
“It’s up to you,” I told Nicholas, “I can always find another job.”
“You won’t find a better job than CEO of Durant Industries,” Oliver interjected, “and Durant Industries won’t find a better CEO than Jenna Masters.”
“Ok, I’ll do it,” Nicholas said, “but I have an important condition.”
Alexander and Richard exchanged a tense look.
“What would that be?” Alexander asked with a deep frown. His emotions seemed to swing wildly between grumpiness and laughter. It was a very strange thing to witness.
“I want you to understand that I’m not going to be a slave to Durant Industries,” Nicholas said in an even, firm voice, “I get that the reason you’re going to fund my election campaign in the first place is to support your interests. I’ll do that only insofar as I think that it’s the right thing to do. You have to convince me. With facts. Not just with money. Are you willing to do that?”
Down and Dirty (Scions of Sin Book 3) Page 23
