Citizen Hughes - Michael Drosnin [42]
“So, you see I would not dream of suggesting that you leave, because I would be afraid you would call my bluff and take me up on it.
“I am afraid those are your lines in this drama,” concluded Hughes, “so please dont accuse me of stealing them.”
“Howard,” Maheu wrote in reply, scrawling his response on the reverse side of the billionaire’s plea, “please let’s knock off this horrible exchange of negative notes because we have too many important things to accomplish in a short period of time.
“I have no desire to leave and I would most certainly never think of taking advantage of your obvious desire not to get rid of me.
“Seven years ago I promised you I would phase out from all other clients. This, I have done. For God’s sake, Howard, when will you realize that you are my only ‘boss’! I truly don’t know where in the hell I’d go or what I would do if you decided to ‘kiss me off.’
“So—please—stop talking in terms of worry—because I would leave only if it were an accomodation to you. It may be difficult for you to believe this. I am sorry we do not have an opportunity to discuss these things in person. I could convince you of my dependency upon you in a matter of minutes.
“Anyway—let’s forget who’s to blame for what and move forward.”
It was never over that easily. Hughes needed the fights. He often seemed to court battle with Maheu, seeking to draw him closer, to get him more emotionally involved, to make their relationship more intimate, an intimacy that could be attained only through combat. It was hardly acceptable for Hughes to tell his only friend, “I love you, Bob.” So, instead there were the fights, and the inevitable postmortems.
“I dont consider it an unavoidable occupational hazard that you and I have to be at each others’ throats like yesterday,” wrote Hughes in the cold light of a new day.
“When we have an episode like that, I feel ashamed and disgusted with myself for my contribution to it. So even if you are able to brush it aside the next day and take it as a part of the game (which I admire), I am not able to do likewise.”
Remorse mingled with bitterness, a true sense of loss with a terrible yearning for the golden old days of peace and harmony, that lost idyll of first love that never really existed.
“Whenever I suggest that our relationship be altered or improved in some manner, you always say there is nothing wrong with it,” Hughes continued.
“But I can’t buy this, Bob, I remember too clearly how it was when we first came to Nevada.
“Every new project that came up seemed to move more quickly and successfully than anyone could have anticipated.
“Also, you did not object to working at night.
“But the thing that impressed me the most was the speed with which you functioned. Perhaps I am simply more impatient than most people.
“This is probably why I started doing business by phone when most people were using the mail.
“Anyway, when I first got to know you, I remember thinking to myself—
This is the real “get dunner” I have been looking for!’
“Bob, you lead a very active life.
“You have a lot of people around you—your family, friends, and others.
“I have absolutely nothing but my work.
“When things dont go well, it can be very empty indeed.
“I would like to make a real effort to restore things to the way they used to be, and I promise to do my share.
“I cannot tell you how truly grateful I will be if you can find it in your heart to do likewise.”
It was a marriage that was not only always on the brink of collapse from internal tensions but also under constant attack from outside by rival courtiers. Maheu’s sudden rise to power, his new intimacy with Hughes, was a shock to other top executives in the empire. When Hughes eloped to Las Vegas he left several would-be brides at the altar, all of them now united in jealous hatred