Over the next few months, the Overees included Sharon in their social engagements. The intention was to allow Sharon to tap into their network of friends and contacts in high places. Sharon was thrilled to suddenly be propelled into an elite social circle. She found herself lunching with CEOs of financial and investment institutions who made decisions that moved millions of dollars across accounts. Her ambition was stoked.

When Elvis eventually invited her to join his political party, Sharon was taken aback. He explained that the elections were coming up and the party needed new blood. There was a dire lack of representation of young professional women in the line-up, which made her the perfect candidate. Despite his insistent persuasion, Sharon was hesitant.

“Tell me, what is holding you back?”

Sharon explained that she was not keen to be under the constant scrutiny of the media.

“None of us are, except perhaps a handful of egomaniacs,” conceded Elvis. “That is why we are the luckiest politicians among democracies worldwide. Think about it—who owns the media in our country?”

Sharon could not argue with that. Not only did Elvis’ political party dominate parliament by taking up 84 out of 87 seats, the party had, over the years, held tight control over media regulations. The cosmopolitan city-state of five million was served by a single media conglomerate with strong ties to the dominant political party. Seventy per cent of the population read the same newspaper every day.

“But I have no political background and zero grassroots support. I am a complete stranger to the electorate.”

“You don’t have to worry,” Elvis laughed. “I will guarantee you passage into parliament. You will run for election under my team.”

Sharon could not argue with that either. The country had pioneered an election system that was unique among democracies worldwide. Candidates representing different constituencies could team up and run for election on a collective ticket. An established cabinet minister like Elvis Overee could easily carry two to three new political candidates on his back and ferry them into parliament safely.

When Sharon continued to be hesitant, Elvis made an appeal. “I’ll be honest. I need you on my team. There is politics within politics. Among the cabinet ministers there are factions. During the last election in 2006, my arch nemesis, whom I shall not name, tried to bring in a very strong candidate. But he was overconfident. He placed that candidate to run in a single member constituency, and the poor fellow suffered a humiliating defeat by the opposition. This time round, he will piggyback this candidate in on his team ticket. It’s a guaranteed win. I am sure you know who I am talking about, yes?’

Sharon nodded; she knew whom Elvis was referring to. Dr Gimme Lao had shot to instant fame during the national SARS crisis back in 2003 as both the doctor who identified the first carrier and the task force leader who effectively traced and identified all cases in the country, thereby putting an end to the pandemic that could have annihilated the entire population. He was touted as the star candidate of 2006. So it came as a shock when he lost the election to an opposition candidate.