Believe it or not, I don't think what you and I wrote is contradictory....they both can be true to a degree.
you wrote "How fragile can he be?"A lot of really rich, smart and powerful women are EXTREMELY fragile...like the former CEO of banana repub, who I won't name by name.
So, I think Russ fits in the same category of powerful (like that lady I know), but emotionally limited in certain circumstances--and therefore lack power to navigate tricky situations presented to them---like DIck Sherman can do. YOu know, in the NFL, you have to fend for yourself in the locker room...and when you can't, the team won't respect it....I think Russy is one of those guys who is kinda like a
pussycat in confrontational situations...like the aforementioned former CEO...and she is AWESome!
You could probably replace that cat word with another word....and then it all makes sense. Just ask Cogs, he knows.