Citizen Hughes - Michael Drosnin [51]
Captain Hughes refused to be intimidated. “Bob, my reason for withdrawing from this is purely one of timing,” he explained. “I believe, with good cause, that I will be accused of attempting to cash in on somebody else’s bravery.
“Bob, lets put the shoe on the other foot—If I am to be the so-called Captain, what good is it if you ignore my deep conviction and raise so much hell that I have to do it your way or face the consequences of bad feeling from you and threatened reprisals or horrible ‘repercussions’ tomorrow?”
Maheu did not understand. He seemed to have the strange idea that Hughes had canceled the TV show for the pure pleasure of shooting him down. Just to provoke another fight. They argued bitterly all night and into the morning of the moon landing, and they were still at it when Neil Armstrong took “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
“Howard, please give this little boy from Maine an opportunity to prove to you whether he is right or wrong,” pleaded Maheu, still trying to save his show while the rest of the world watched the space spectacular.
“If you are the gambling man that I think you may be, I am prepared to make a little wager with you. If I fall on my face on this caper, I will continue working for you for the rest of my life at no cost to you, and if you are wrong you will double my salary as long as I work for you.”
Hughes had no interest in the wager.
“Your proposed bet is just absurd,” he wrote. “You would not be able to get along with me working for free.
“We can’t even get along when you get paid.”
It was true. By now their marriage had turned into a nonstop brawl, with both partners weary of the battle but continuing to slug it out, as if by habit. It didn’t take anything as sensitive as space shots or golf tournaments to get them going. Even routine business could become the flash point.
Maheu started the fireworks one Fourth of July with a simple request for decisions on several pending projects. There was nothing provocative about his memo, and he even apologized for intruding on the holiday weekend.
“If you feel that the above items should not have been mentioned on the 4th of July,” he wrote, “you might attribute it to the fact that I am under sedation as a result of a stupid accident I had yesterday. My leg is in a complete cast.”
Hughes was not sympathetic. He saw Maheu’s routine request as a vicious attack and responded with a blast at his crippled lieutenant.
“I work around the clock,” he began defensively. “There are only so many hours and the day is gone.
“Regarding your apology for disturbing me on the 4th of July weekend, this was not necessary. As you are aware, holidays mean very little to me, since I work just about all the time.
“There is only one thing that occurs to me, Bob. Whenever you call something like this to my attention, I get the impression that, instead of merely calling my attention to something you fear I may have forgotten, you are seeking to place me in a posture of guilt.
“It is almost as if we were playing some kind of game.
“I have no desire to pick a quarrel with you. I did get your message last nite. It did raise hell with my evening. I had not forgotten any of the items mentioned. I did not resent being reminded of them. I think it was just the ominous, warning tone of your reminder that disturbed me. The snide, sarcastic language.
“Bob, I dont think I merit this kind of insulting language from you, and, since you are always talking about maintaining the respect of your associates, how do you think this sounds to my staff?
“Someday, when you have time, just come out with it and tell me exactly and fully how stupid you really think your associate is.
“Anyway, I am sick of fighting with you when you are supposed to be on my side.”
The sedated, injured Maheu was stunned.
“I have cast my entire business life in your hands which, of course, also means the future of my family,