Dallas, Texas

"Are you forgetting who originally brought you into business with Ewing Oil? I don't take kindly to my associates switching sides; I did you a favour and it's only right that you show me the same courtesy. From now on, if you want to deal with Ewing Oil, you go through me. Not Bobby, not my daddy, me. Understood?" he looked at the man and was satisfied that his point had been made. It was JR's fourth meeting of the day and he was beginning to tire of the idea that doing business with Ewing Oil meant making deals with any of the three Ewings that worked there. He didn't see it that way, his deals were his deals, he worked hard for them and he should be given credit for them; ultimately they benefitted Ewing Oil, but they also benefitted him; he knew the ins and outs of the details and he knew how to negotiate to get the best results. Ewing Oil had thrived under his method of leadership; he took things a step further than his daddy did and he would stop at nothing to be the best, even when that meant he had to use less than ethical methods to get what he wanted. His way of doing things had been working well for them for the past decade, Ewing Oil was quickly on its way to becoming the biggest independent oil company in Texas; that is, until Bobby joined the company; JR saw his brother's presence as stifling to their business success. Jock didn't seem to see things the way JR did anymore, he didn't see why Bobby's moral methods of negotiation weren't what was best for Ewing Oil and that made JR mad. JR always made sure that he went into a negotiation with the upper hand, he always had some kind of information that would encourage people to work with them; but Bobby, he seemed to think that that wasn't necessary, that they could just wine-and-dine their associates and they would automatically want to work with them. Jock encouraged free use of the three B's, but Bobby somehow managed to make it seem as if it was all just because they were being nice, not because they were secretly collecting incriminating information to use later if necessary. It was the contrast of Bobby's methods with JR's that meant that some of their business associates were realising that dealing with Bobby was a more pleasant experience, though JR saw it as Ewing Oil settling for less than what they were capable of. He didn't care whether people found him to be a nice person or not, in fact, he actually enjoyed the reputation that he had, but he didn't appreciate the way that people forgot all about that when Bobby was around, it undermined his power and influence. He had had spent the day making his way around Dallas reminding a few of their associates that he was the Ewing that made the decisions at Ewing Oil; restoring the balance of power, at least that's the way he saw things. Of course, his father was still the president and ran a majority of the company, but JR was really the negotiator, the one that could make seemingly impossible things happen, he didn't have the boundaries that other people had, and that worked in their favour most of the time, he was responsible for a lot of Ewing Oil's current success. Leaving the man's office, he was satisfied that their Dallas partners were once again on his side, he always had the power, he just had to show that he could and would use it. His final stop of the day was to somewhere less savoury, though thoroughly enjoyable for all of the men involved; it was a necessary connection to have, and it definitely came in handy when he needed the fourth B, blackmail. He could always trust the group of women to be loyal to him, he was the one paying them and they were the kind of women that responded to monetary influence. The situations they manufactured were always for the benefit of Ewing Oil and never required their business associates to pay for the services. JR was confident that he had full control of the situation, but he decided to visit them anyway, for old times' sake; it had been a while since he'd sampled their services and he thought he deserved a little reward for his hard work today.

Sue Ellen and Miss Ellie walked around The Store as they did a little last minute Christmas shopping; Sue Ellen had already bought all of her big presents, but she always enjoyed shopping, so when Miss Ellie had asked her whether she wanted to go into Dallas, she immediately agreed. She could always find more small gifts for everyone, because there was no such thing as too many presents; that was a lesson she had learned from JR, he was a man who knew exactly how to buy his way into women's affections, or at least influence them positively. "Let's go up to the children's department, I want to buy a few more things for Lucy", Miss Ellie spoke and Sue Ellen followed as she led them up the stairs, she would go wherever her mother-in-law wanted, she already had everything that she actually needed. "I'll just be over here", Sue Ellen motioned toward the toddler clothing, she had already bought enough for both Lucy and Kristin, but she only had one gift for Paula's son James; she may not see her friend very often, but she still cared about her, and the least she could do was send a nice gift at Christmas. She quickly found a few things that would be perfect, and then just walked around looking at the rest of the accessories, blankets, toys and other cute things. She didn't realise how much of a mistake she had made until she was right there, standing in the middle of the nursery section, staring straight at the large display of baby clothes. It wasn't that she had deliberately walked toward those particular clothes, it was more as if she had been drawn there subconsciously. "Oh aren't these lovely, so festive. I can't wait until there's a little Ewing to wear something like these", Sue Ellen jumped as she heard Miss Ellie's voice, and she held back tears at her comment, she wanted a child so badly and it hadn't happened for them yet, it was disappointing, frustrating and embarrassing. "Yes, they're lovely… was there anywhere else you wanted to go? I think I have everything I need"; she knew that she couldn't blame Miss Ellie for her reaction, she was just an excited grandmother, but that didn't mean that she wanted to discuss it. She would never cry in the middle of a store, but she was having a hard time controlling her emotions and she really didn't want to dwell on the subject for any longer than necessary. Miss Ellie sensed that her daughter-in-law was a little uncomfortable but she didn't question her, it wasn't her business to pry, "no, I think I found everything that I wanted. I'm ready to go home if you are?" Sue Ellen nodded and they silently made their way downstairs to purchase their items before they drove back to Southfork. Sue Ellen didn't like when her emotions affected her outward mood, she had always been taught to publicly display a happy façade, but it was difficult sometimes, especially when she felt so powerless. Just wanting a baby wasn't enough, it wasn't something that money or status could influence or buy, it was purely biological and that wasn't at all comforting; she felt useless and weak, and those feelings just made her even more stressed out. Her worst fear was that as time went on, her worth to the Ewing family would diminish, and she would be left with nothing. Of course, JR brushed off her thoughts as silly female emotions, assuring her that that would never happen, and that she shouldn't even worry about it because he was sure that they would have a baby soon enough; but his words didn't comfort her. It was fine for JR to be confident and unconcerned about the situation, he was the one with all the power, if she couldn't have a baby then he wouldn't really lose anything except time if they got a divorce and he had to remarry to find a mother for his son. It was different for her, she was the vulnerable one in their relationship, being infertile and divorced would make her completely unmarriable and that really scared her. She loved JR, and she was fairly certain that he loved her, but that didn't mean that she didn't fear the unknown sometimes; it wasn't a completely rational fear, and it wasn't something that was always at the forefront of her mind, but it was a thought entered her mind in moments where she got stressed or started to worry. Returning to Southfork, she pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind; it wasn't actually a reality yet and JR didn't seem concerned about it, she was causing herself unnecessary stress and that wasn't good for anyone.

To be continued…