American History 1988
Chapter 236 - 230 Collision

Chapter 236: Chapter 230 Collision

The lavish San Francisco Fairmont Hotel was still the same, and Clinton began speaking as soon as he entered the room.

Some of his topics were somewhat similar to the early advocacies of Hewlett-Packard’s founder, Packard.

He proposed the establishment of a government that helps people become self-reliant, and invests in education and research.

He revisited the ideas expressed a decade ago by Gary Hart and others, that it was necessary to develop the economy around sunrise industries and modernize trade policies.

He emphasized the significant importance of high technology—Silicon Valley’s high tech—to the country’s future.

At least 25 wealthy and influential people were gathered around him, listening. They were all Silicon Valley executives or entrepreneurs.

Setting aside Clinton’s political savvy, when it came to personal relationships, he was certainly a genius-level communicator.

The people of Silicon Valley really bought into his pitch, so everyone was willing to hear his political ideas; some even took out their notebooks.

Dean listened for a while before Hillary pulled him out onto the balcony outside.

In her words, "Dean, you’re William’s close partner, you don’t need to listen to his speech anymore. I know you will support him."

It had to be said that the gubernatorial couple seemed very confident in Dean, treating him as they would a friend.

"Dean, I read your interview in Time magazine. You answered very well.

They all say you have a political talent, and that if you dedicated yourself to this field, you might achieve success not unlike your current business achievements."

"No~," Dean laughed and shook his head, "Leave that to Bill; I prefer tinkering with computers on my desk."

"You’re always so modest," Hillary said, lifting her glass and extending it forward.

Dean smiled and clinked glasses with her, "How does it feel to be back in Silicon Valley?"

"I love the climate here," Hillary said, leaning on the railing and looking out at the distant sea. "It’s just as you described in your letter, always giving you the most comfortable feeling."

"That’s why I came from Ohio to California; the generosity of the sunshine here is irresistible."

After more than a month of continuous travel, Dean was finally enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Seeing the relaxed expression on his face, Hillary suddenly smiled slightly. "Shall we take a walk in the garden?"

"Now?" Dean looked back at the room, where Clinton was still speaking fluently.

"We’ll be right back." With that, she had already crossed the balcony and reached the garden outside.

Dean shrugged and followed. There were security personnel around, so he wasn’t worried about any accidents.

"I heard that Byte Company’s roadshow in New York encountered a little mishap?"

They hadn’t gone far, just outside the balcony of the gathering. There was a small garden, with a few chairs at the side.

"A little mishap?" Dean’s face showed surprise, then he realized, "Some minor tactics from the other side, but no impact on Byte Company."

"I heard they could become your competitors?" Hillary asked with concern, wearing a long dress.

"Byte Company wasn’t built in a day." Dean smiled confidently. "Just didn’t expect you all to have heard about it."

"Politicians have the keenest sense of smell," Hillary smiled with the same confidence. "But Dean, I advise you to nip the threat in the bud.

If you ignore them, it might cause major trouble for you later on."

"I’ll handle it, Byte has already made preparations." Dean was never really worried about his own field of expertise, least of all about that RAS CALL.

Did they really think that Teams software was so easy to imitate? He was waiting for them to come knocking at his door.

"By the way, have you and Bill decided..."

"Sorry, Marilyn, today’s not good. You know, I’m already in California."

Dean, about to speak, was interrupted by a familiar voice not far away.

With several trees obscuring the view, Dean stretched his neck curiously.

Hey, isn’t that Bill? Bill said just a few words and then hung up the phone.

Dean was about to greet Clinton with a smile, but suddenly someone grabbed his arm!

He turned his head and Hillary was looking towards that direction, her face ashen.

Dean was taken aback, "Hillary?"

"Let’s go!" She said nothing; she didn’t want her husband’s scandal to be known by others, especially not at this critical time.

Although curious, Dean could see from Hillary’s expression that this was not a good thing.

"Jennifer, I’m in California, and in a few days, I might go to Los Angeles... yes, Byte Company’s IPO roadshow. You’ll be there, won’t you?"

"This bastard!" Hillary cursed under her breath, full of loathing.

In just a few minutes, she heard two women’s names from her husband’s mouth.

One of them was Marilyn—Marilyn Jo Jenkins, who had once been a nightmare for her. Yes, that Marilyn!

For her, Clinton had even once suggested divorce to Hillary.

That was the year before last. Marilyn was the commercial director of an electricity company in Arkansas, and a divorcee.

She was beautiful, charming, talented, and versatile, and Clinton once thought Marilyn was one of the most understanding women he had ever met.

He fell in love with her and thought he had found true love. Beclouded by passion, he requested a divorce from Hillary.

However, Hillary refused outright. It wasn’t that she was so in love with her husband.

Rather, Hillary thought becoming a single mother might negatively affect her daughter Chelsea’s development.

She hadn’t made enough money yet; she was still concerned for her daughter. What if she divorced? She didn’t even own a house.

Hillary, who had always been strong-willed, would never let her marriage end so hastily. She refused to be labeled the loser.

Although she finally decided to refuse the divorce, Hillary still felt anger towards her husband’s betrayal.

Just last year, she even entertained the radical idea of running for governor of Arkansas herself.

But her advisor, Dick Morris, conducted two public opinion polls in Arkansas.

He found that Hillary had virtually no support among Arkansas voters, which made her abandon the idea of running for governor.

But the name Marilyn remained a taboo for Hillary, who saw her as a real threat.

Her own husband had even asked for a divorce because of her, something Hillary had never anticipated.

Clinton’s indiscretions weren’t completely unknown to Hillary, but they had never escalated to the point of divorce.

She thought it was all in the past, and Clinton had given her assurances.

But the phone call today shattered her illusions, and what was most hateful was the existence of another woman.

An angry and sorrowful Hillary practically dragged Dean’s arm back to the balcony.

Dean really wanted her to let go a little; she was hurting him.

But seeing Hillary’s ashen face and the tears swirling in her eyes, he held back.

Alright, she wasn’t as disliked as in her later years at this time, nor was she making any extreme statements.

So, Dean let her have her way, after all, she was a woman.

"Sorry, Dean."

Back at the balcony and seeing her fingernails deeply embedded in Dean’s arm, Hillary awkwardly withdrew her hand.

"Do you need to go inside and rest for a while?" Dean took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

"I’m alright," Hillary wiped her eyes, then noticed the handkerchief caught her attention due to the Byte Company logo on it.

Dean shrugged, "Byte Company gives out a lot of freebies."

With a snort, Hillary couldn’t help but laugh, lightening her mood a lot.

"Sorry about just now, Dean..."

"I understand, I didn’t see anything~" Dean was smart; some things didn’t need to be articulated.

"Thank you," even at this stage, Hillary still thought about protecting her husband’s reputation.

As a politician, she was prepared for this, and so was Clinton.

The evening breeze blew by, still refreshing and pleasant, but Dean awkwardly wanted to quickly find an excuse to leave.

It was better to stay out of a couple’s affairs.

"Dean," Hillary’s voice stopped him.

"What’s up?" Dean looked back, feigning nonchalance.

"If I run for office one day, will you support me like you do now?"

Dean paused, then smiled and nodded, "Of course."

A smile returned to Hillary’s face, just like when they had started their conversation on the balcony.

"Good, I’ll remember that."

"Then... may I go in now?" Dean rolled down his sleeves, ready to leave.

"Sorry, is your arm okay?"

Hillary caught his arm again and rolled up Dean’s sleeve, touching the spot where she had scratched him earlier.

"They’ll be gone by tomorrow," Dean took back his arm and rolled his sleeve down again.

"See you later~" With another smile and nod to her, Dean turned and went back inside.

Glancing at the place her husband had just hidden away to make a phone call, and watching Dean’s retreating back, Hillary put away the handkerchief and resumed her politician’s smile.

...

In a private hotel in Fairmont, the Clintons, Dean, Larry Stone, Baram, Regis and his wife Diana, and several others gathered together.

They were having a secret meeting concerning the next year’s election.

"So, Bill, are you ready?" Dean initiated the conversation.

"Yes," Clinton responded enthusiastically, "I plan to announce my candidacy in October."

"But before that, we might still need a little help," his political aide Craig Smith chimed in.

"More support from Silicon Valley?" Baram said nonchalantly, "After Bill’s speech today, Silicon Valley will be captivated by his charm."

"No, not political support, but fundraising," Smith revealed the truth, "We need a large amount of campaign funds.

We have to ensure Mr. Clinton has enough budget to shoot the initial campaign adverts, which are crucial."

The others exchanged looks, none of them speaking up.

Clinton’s face still wore a smile, while Hillary occasionally swept her gaze over the people in the room.

"How much do you need?" Finally, Dean broke the silence for the couple.

Smith let out a sigh of relief, grateful as he looked at Dean, "At least 3 million dollars."

Regis and his wife Diana gasped; this was beyond their capacity.

The atmosphere in the room became somewhat heavy, and at that moment, Diana spoke up; she was a council member in Sunnyvale City.

"Is there a ’Willie Horton’ hidden somewhere?"