CHAPTER 34

Olson, playing up for the camera, smiled widely and waved charismatically. He even threw in a couple of thumbs up and fist pumps toward the camera, sometimes running his hand through his balding hair. It was something I wish I could erase from my memory like they did in the movies.

"Good morning, everyone watching from home! It is I, your humble public servant, Jebediah Olson." He made an entire show repeating his name. I had to clap politely as well, but every single one I did hurt my soul deeply. Thankfully, Olson eventually sat down on the chair opposite mine, and there was a clear glimmer of devilishness in his dark eyes. "And good morning to you, OVTPresidentBen Oviatt," he emphasized my position, signaling to me he was undoubtedly up to no good already.

My eyes darted once more toward Olivia, who only gave me a determined look, encouraging me. Eric and the other employees sported the same expression as well.

I sat up properly in my chair once more, faking a small smile directed at Olson.

"Good morning to you as well, Mr. Olson. Thank you for agreeing to be with us," I politely returned his loaded greeting.

"Oh, of course! I'm sure this is going to be a lovely time," Olson replied very snappily, not giving me a second to breathe. This was one of the things that Olivia told me he tended to do to overwhelm anyone who attempted to expose him. I could see why it could work, Olson's demeanor was very intimidating, but he wasn't anything like Johnson DuPont. I was confident I could take him.

"You people must be tired from all the stories you publish!" he added, still unbelievably brisk and loaded with each word. This was the second thing Olivia warned me about: Sarcasm. Apparently, it either riled up or entertained his supporters, not to mention it gives Olson moments to infantilize me.

"As I'm sure you must be as well, Mr. Olson. Campaigning all around America is no easy feat, after all," I brought up, trying to divert the topic back to himself.

His eyes squinted a bit as his evil grin widened in a minuscule manner. It was such a tiny reaction that there was no way for any camera to pick that up in a recording. Olson definitely knew how to play this game, but I wasn't one for backing down.

"I'm not simply campaigning for myself, Ben. I do what I do for the people who desire true and resolute change for this corrupt country!" His voice boomed, quite evidently trying to trigger a bandwagoning effect while also making a stealthy jab directed at OVT. This was the third thing Olivia warned me about.

"And might I ask you how your campaign is progressing? How do you feel about your current projections?" I inquired, and it didn't take a scholar to know that Jebediah Olson absolutely adored talking about himself.

He proved it easily once I observed his body language relax, slumping back into the red seat.

"Why, of course, I'm ahead in the polls in most states," he haughtily declared. I had never seen an ego that huge on a below-average height man. But this was the fourth aspect of him that Olivia told me about, and she emphasized very firmly that this was the key to staggering him and bringing out the most important fifth and final tendency of his.

One quick look at Olivia confirmed it, as she was giving me a driven look.This was my chance to turn the tides.

I leaned forward in my seat, trying to provide the physical impression to Olson that I was indeed cornering him. What people probably didn't know about tough interviews like these is that a lot of it is psychological warfare. It was all mind games, especially knowing that messing up in front of a live camera was an instant death. One had to be careful, precise, and eloquent in what they wanted to convey. And I learned all of that from no one else but the best, the legend, the one and only Johnson DuPont.

"It's funny you say that, Mr. Olson, because OVT, much like any other news outlets, have access to the latest projection polls," I countered, and the cityscape background of the talk show changed to a graphic chart that clearly showed Olson in second place. For a split second, I saw a smug look on my father's face as he slowly shook his head. He knew exactly what I was trying to do. "While yes, you are definitely winning in some states, official resources say that you are losing by a wide margin in quite a lot of states with large cities," I elaborated, and I could finally see a visible twitch in his eye. In my peripheral vision, I could see Mark pumping his fist stealthily in front of him, which told me he got Olson's reaction on the recording.

"I was sure you would have that data on hand because I have proven many times that those numbers are fake," Olson condescendingly replied, even though he was definitely way over his head. "This only proves that everything I've been saying about OVT was true all along! You people strive off of reporting false information." A satisfied look spread across his face. "You call yourselves as the harbingers of unequivocal truth. Puh! I call poppycock!"

The tension was at its highest, and this was now or never. It was the moment that would define every person in this room's future. It was up to me, their president, to lead them out of this crisis once and for all.

"I would like to ask then, Mr. Olson, how exactly can you prove this data to be invalid?" With a single question, I saw Jebediah Olson's eyes widen in realization of what he had just said out loud.

"Well—Well, I…" he began to stutter, and I mustered up all my energy to hide the smirk that was forming on the side of my lips. "It's simple! I can't believe I even have to explain it to you!" Olson was clearly stalling as he began to look around for his campaign manager. However, it caught my eye that Olivia was staring at the said campaign manager with a satisfied smile. I had no idea what she did, but she definitely did something.

"And while we're on the topic of that, why don't we get down to the nitty gritty of this interview?" I started to use Olson's own tactics against him—I wasn't giving him any room to breathe or think about his next answer. "You claimed various times during your campaign rallies that OVT's report about your actions of selling government weapons to terrorists was false. What is your basis on these statements when public court records show details of your trial from a couple of years ago?" I relentlessly questioned.

Olson began to sink in panic.

"I was— I was— Those charges were dropped—"

"While that may be true and some might say irregular, it does not necessarily constitute any acquittal for those crimes, rendering these reports entirely factual, in contrast to your recent statements," I interjected, maintaining a calm and cool but serious composure the entire time, and I could tell that I finally pushed the devil over.

His horns were starting to show, and Olivia and I especially prepared for this part. "Okay, bucko," Olson's clear and loud tone had now become a dark and threatening one. "I came here in good spirits, and you disrespect my good will!?" He stood up, face fuming and completely red that he sort of looked like a tomato about to burst inside a microwave. "Well, since we're so hoity-toity about facts, then why don't we bring up—"

My heart skipped a beat as I saw Olson dip in his suit pocket for what was adamantly going to be a hard copy of the picture of me and Olivia holding hands and going into her apartment.

I was ready to face all of it. I was ready to come clean when it came to this. I would give up everything I ever had just so I could be with Olivia. Instinctively, I took a deep breath, preparing myself for my entire empire to fall in one fell swoop.

"Okay! Thank you, OVT, for having Jebediah Olson, but this interview is now over!" Out of nowhere, Olson's campaign manager completely pulled him off the stage before he could reveal the photo in his pocket.

"What are you doing!? Let me go, you stupid shithead!" Olson cussed out his campaign manager as he was being dragged out of the building. As he passed the exit, the photo fell from his hands, and I almost sprinted to pick it up as soon as possible, but it came to my surprise to see my father retrieve it and hide it in his pocket.

Then, I realized that I was still live on television, and, again, like a switch, I reverted back to my professional talk show demeanor.

"And that was a very eventful interview with Presidential candidate Jebediah Olson. Thank you for joining us here at OVT Broadcasting Network. Please stay tuned for your local news." I ended the show flawlessly, and Mark gave me a thumbs up, signaling that I was officially off-the-air.

There was silence in the air. Everyone was simply staring at each other, then to me, back and forth, over and over. The room's reactions were very understandable. A lot of it felt like a dream, but slowly… surely… intensely… we knew… we knew that—

"WE DID IT!" Lucy screamed out in celebration, everyone else following suit. I never thought she had that much volume in her, but it was an energy I welcomed.

A lot of staffers jumped in joy. Lucy and Janet were hugging each other in glee. Mark ran around the room with his crew, absolutely ecstatic. Eric gave me the tightest hug, to which I gave one back, as thanks for staying by my side after all these years. I couldn't have asked for a better best friend. My father, to my shock, smiled at me genuinely before taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs to rest.

And finally… the woman that made all of this possible for all of us. My eyes scanned around the room that was brimming with celebration, looking for the woman who was the love of my life. I turned and turned, looking for her tender hair and her captivating hazel eyes. I continued to spin around the rapturous room… until finally… I saw her in the middle of all the happy chaos. A wide smile slowly spread across my mouth as I made my way over to her, and all I felt was nothing but how my heart yearned to hold her close in my arms.

"Hi," I greeted, no longer caring about the countless number of people surrounding us.

"Hi," Olivia greeted back, a small tear of joy trailing down her blushing cheeks.

At that point, I was tired of words, and I did as my heart desired. I pulled her into my arms, promising to never let her go, no matter what happened beyond this day.

It was a new chapter for OVT. And it was a new chapter for Olivia and I. Who knew where it would take us next?