106

ON MONDAY AFTERNOON BRUCE Singer phoned Carol at her office. He told her he’d be finished with his final campaign appearance about seven o’clock and wanted to take her to dinner at The Mills Falls in Barrington. “I called over there and the owner said it’s pretty quiet on Monday nights. How about meeting me at home at 7:30 and we’ll go in one car?”

The evening passed quickly and pleasantly. They spoke a lot about their daughters and how mature they had both suddenly become. Bruce was aware of the fact that his being governor would introduce some difficulties for Bonnie and Rachel, especially in their social activities. “Fortunately,” he said, “between college and grad school, they’ll be able to spend most of their time outside Rhode Island. That should help.” Carol was pleased with his sincere concern for the girls’ happiness.

He told Carol he heard that Fiore was going to be released from intensive care the next day but would stay in the hospital for an additional battery of tests. “Before Saturday,” he said, “I never would have believed that Doug Fiore would put someone else’s interests ahead of his own, especially when there was so much at stake for him personally. It just goes to prove that people can always fool you, no matter how well you think you know them.”

Carol didn’t want to say anything that might keep Bruce on that subject. She just nodded her head, as if in agreement.

Bruce knew she would crave at least one bite of some chocolaty dessert with her coffee, and insisted she pick one from the menu. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll finish whatever you leave,” he told her. She gave in to the chocolate suicide cake and they smiled at each other over her decision.

As Carol put down her coffee cup, Bruce reached over and took her hand. He put it on the table and covered it with his own. “I want to ask you something I’ve been thinking about recently,” he said. “We both know how you felt about my running for governor and how distant it left us over the past six months. But doing this is my life, Carol, and that’s why I couldn’t listen to you when you begged me not to get into the race. I had to hope that eventually you’d begin to see things from my point of view.

“Since I became a candidate, I’ve tried to figure out what it is that bothers you about the whole political scene. Campaigning is a long and horribly difficult ordeal, but it’s the only way the voters out there can ever get to know enough about the candidates to make them want to pull the lever for someone. Anyway, the one thing I did learn is that I can go through the whole thing without having to disrupt your life as well by having you with me. So I want you to know that if I run for reelection, or anything else, I’ll never ask you to give up your time to support me.

“I’m going to be governor for at least the next four years. There are so many things I want to do, and I’ll need an awful lot of help. I want to ask you to consider something, not because you’re my wife, but because you’re such a terrific lawyer. I’d like you to think about leaving your firm and heading up the Office of Industrial Opportunity. Attracting private industry into the State is going to be one of the most important jobs of my administration. That’s how we can put Rhode Island back on its feet, and you’re the most talented person I can think of to handle it.”

Carol didn’t anticipate any kind of offer to join State government. She knew that her days at Walters, Cassidy & Breen were numbered. Fiore would figure out at some point, if he hadn’t already, that she was the one who arranged for the photographer that night and then coaxed him into bed with Pat and herself. Once he realized what she did to him, he’d stop at nothing to get her out of the firm.

She could start building some support among the partners for a showdown with Fiore later on, but she knew it wouldn’t be worth it. He would resume his position as managing partner as soon as he returned to practice. That would give him any number of ways to make her life there miserable. Besides, Carol really didn’t want to ever have to look at Doug Fiore again.

But she couldn’t do what Bruce was asking. Sooner or later, while playing the tapes for a lark, he was going to hear her making love to Fiore in Room 606. That would end their marriage and any other kind of relationship along with it. The irony was that she began to have a rekindled feeling for Bruce in the final stages of the campaign. She felt his sincerity deeply as she watched him answer questions during the two TV debates. Her respect for him grew immensely when he made it clear that he wouldn’t use those tapes for his own advantage and risk the problems they could create for Pat Hanley. And he honored her objections by campaigning on his own, never once suggesting that it would help him immeasurably if she accompanied him to an important event.

Bruce sensed that Carol wasn’t ready to answer him yet. “There’s another lawyer we know that I’m going to ask to join my administration,” he continued. “George Ryder. He’s one of the most experienced labor lawyers in the city. He probably knows every important union official out there. We’ve got to have a few years of labor peace—especially in the private sector—if we’re going to pull ourselves out of this recession. Ryder’s the man I’d want to send in when it looks like the two sides need someone to help them reach a fair settlement. He’s been through the nitty-gritty of that stuff for years, and many of my AFL-CIO supporters told me that George is someone they all trust.”

“I think you’re right,” Carol said, “and I bet he’d love it.”

“I just don’t want him to feel it’s something I’m offering him because he brought me those tapes.”

“I’m certain he wouldn’t, Bruce. George never thought in political terms like that. He did it because he didn’t trust Fiore and wanted you to have some ammunition in case Doug tried to pull something dirty on you at the last minute.”

Bruce nodded his head in agreement. “It doesn’t really matter because I destroyed all the tapes the week after he gave them to me. I didn’t want them sitting there, tempting me to use them under any circumstances. If they ever became public, it could have ruined too many lives.”

Carol’s heart leapt at Bruce’s words. She was almost overcome with the relief they brought. Suddenly, so unexpectedly, she could let go of the fear she was living with since he first told her about the hidden microphones in Room 606. Now, he would never turn on the recorder and find out that she was intimate with Fiore. He wouldn’t discover that hers was another one of the lives that could have been ruined. She realized that it was a chance to start all over again.

But was it a good idea to work for Bruce? Could she handle a job that would necessarily bring her into daily contact with politicians battling to be in on any deal that would bring a new office building or manufacturing plant into his or her district? Could she work in that atmosphere, or would her general loathing of the political process affect her ability to carry out the task and impair Bruce’s goals for the State? At that moment, Carol knew only that she wanted to do whatever would help their marriage.

She took her hand out from under her husband’s and then placed it on top of his. “I’m flattered that you think I could do that job for you, Bruce, I really am. And the truth is that I had already made up my mind to resign from WC&B. It’s become a much different place from the law firm I went to work at fifteen years ago. There were too many times in the past year when I stepped off the elevator in the morning and dreaded going to my office. Maybe it’s what the recession did to make so many lawyers the way they are today—cutthroat about everything and having so little fun—or maybe it’s just me. But I’m going to be out of there before the end of the year.

“The answer to your proposition is that I’ll think about it. This has all happened so fast. Before I do what may be good for Rhode Island, I want to be sure I’m doing what’s best for us. But I’ll only give it some thought on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“That I can be with you and the girls when you make your victory speech tomorrow night.”

“It’s a done deal,” he said, resting his other hand on top of the hand that held his.