I sat up late with him out of boredom and laziness. He spoke to me as though I were interested in girls, although he must have known that I was gay. He knew various friends of Menem’s, but he was still worried about his future under the new regime, especially if it sold off the oil industry. On one of those nights, when we had had dinner together and had drunk too much wine and brandy, I agreed to apply for a contract. When I arrived in my office the following morning the details were on my desk. I got the impression that Federico Arenas did not sleep much. He was happier prowling than resting. By that afternoon we had filled out the application, worked out the details of how and when the money would be paid, and how and when he and his cohorts would get their share. This time I had no problem agreeing to the deal; I knew the industry better and I understood that I was not being set up. He smiled as he walked out of the office with all the documents under his arm. I wondered how many other such deals he made. If there were a problem, I realized, I would be able to claim that I had acted in good faith. But in the climate of that time I did not think that there would be a problem.

SENOR CANETTO BECAME resigned to the idea that he might never be president of Argentina. He grew lighter and more good-humored and he invited me to dinner regularly. He was impressed by my new status, by my secretary and the address of my office, by the fact that I knew so much about the oil industry and its future. He began to take an interest in oil shares, and, from what I could make out, he had vast resources, money in Miami, which he moved around every day. He rang me in the Miami, which he moved around every day. He rang me in the morning when he had gone through the newspapers and we discussed what was worth watching.

I told him everything I knew, except about Federico Arenas. I told no one about him, I made sure my secretary did not know what was happening. I prepared a file on transport and shipping and got to understand the details of the deal we had made, even though they were pure fantasy. I made sure that they existed on paper.