Dallas, Texas

"Feels good knowing that Ewing Oil is truly a family company now", Jock commented on the new state of affairs at Ewing Oil again, the third time that night, and what felt like the millionth time that week. Sue Ellen was confused, JR had told her that he had a plan, but so far, it didn't seem like it really existed, everything was just running a little too smoothly at Ewing Oil. She was concerned, she didn't want to believe that JR's power and influence was falling, but it certainly seemed that way; the man she had known when they were dating never would have allowed his brother to just move into an almost equal position in the company. After dinner, Jock, JR and Bobby gathered in the downstairs office to discuss business, it was a semi-frequent occurrence, although they worked all day, the oil business didn't just stop existing because they left the office. Sue Ellen made her way upstairs to entertain herself for a while before JR came back, she didn't feel like playing backgammon with Lucy or Miss Ellie, and she wanted to be available for JR when he finished his meeting. Picking up a book, she read for a while before getting bored, whatever the meeting was about must have been important, because JR had been downstairs for a lot longer than she had originally anticipated. Her mind wandered, thinking back to when they were first married, it was so different to how they were now, she was always so unsure now, his attention was split so many different ways and sometimes she felt like she was the last thing on his mind. She understood that he was a busy man, but she missed being the centre of attention; their one-year wedding anniversary was coming up in just a few weeks and JR hadn't once mentioned it, let alone suggesting doing something special to celebrate. She would like to go away on a vacation, but she set her expectations low; it just didn't really seem possible with everything that was going on right now at Ewing Oil, especially Bobby's involvement. Even though she hadn't seen any evidence that JR had a plan, she knew that he wasn't nearly trusting enough to leave town for more than two or three days unless for business purposes; she sensed that he was almost afraid of what would happen when he was gone.

"So it's settled, you'll both go", Jock was pleased with the decision as his sons continued to agree that it was best for Ewing Oil for them to work together, building Bobby's knowledge and experience so that they would one day be able to successfully run the company together. It was all part of the larger plan for the company and his legacy; it didn't matter that the oil business was in a bit of trouble right now, he wouldn't stall his company's plans just because they weren't at their best. In fact, now was the perfect time to be educating and training Bobby, because when business turned around, they would be bigger and stronger than ever. JR faked a smile as he shook Bobby's hand, repeating to himself that it was all part of the plan and he couldn't make a fuss just yet; right now he had to play the supportive, encouraging business partner, not the enemy; that way, his future suggestions for Bobby's job within the company would be taken seriously. At first, Jock had been slightly suspicious of JR's response to the decision, he had almost been too accepting, he had really expected more drama, but now, a few weeks after the decision, he continued to be pleasantly surprised by JR's behaviour. JR had taken on the role of mentor willingly, actually taking time to include and consult with Bobby before making a decision; the whole transition had really gone a lot smoother than he'd expected, especially on JR's end. Of course, JR still overreacted to Bobby's mistakes sometimes, but that was just who he was, JR was a natural and assumed that everyone else had the same common sense thought processes that he did, it just didn't occur to him that Bobby hadn't spent his whole life watching and learning and he had some catching up to do. His critical comments were fairly harmless in the grand scheme of things though and Jock really believed that a little bit of criticism was necessary for growth; he may not have criticised Bobby much growing up, but he had to agree that it was required sometimes where Ewing Oil was concerned. Bobby wasn't as natural as JR was, and it showed in his quick decisions, but that didn't mean that he didn't have potential; Jock was sure that JR realised that now, and that he was really trying his best to do what was best for Ewing Oil.

"Sorry that took so long darlin'", he walked upstairs and entered their bedroom, finding his wife sitting in one of the armchairs as she read a magazine; he smiled at the thought that she was always where he expected her to be, and she was always waiting and willing to do whatever he asked her. Sue Ellen looked up as her husband entered the room, he was grinning and she immediately knew that there was more to his expression than just the fact that he was pleased to see her, no, he had that look in his eye, she couldn't describe how she knew, but she knew, he was up to no good. Secretly, she loved his evil side, there was something so raw and sexy about him showing just how in control he really was; of course, she would never want that side of him working against her, but she loved watching him scheme and plot to take someone else down, it added a bit of extra excitement to their marriage. If she was honest with herself, sometimes she enjoyed their intimate activities more when he was angry or malevolent than when he was sweet and romantic; she actually liked when he wasn't so slow and gentle and his actions weren't so calculated and cautious. It wasn't that she didn't love that he wanted to treat her like a lady and respect her, but sometimes variety was nice, he didn't always have to treat her so delicately, she wouldn't be offended if he occasionally just acted on his deepest desires rather than repressing them in order to maintain her ladylike purity. Of course, she never verbally explained that to him, he was always so quiet and looked disappointed in himself after those occasions, and despite her reassurance that he hadn't hurt her, he still seemed to blame himself, as if he had almost ruined her with his actions. So, instead of furthering the discussion, she just kept quiet, she feared that if she approached the subject herself, he would take it as a criticism, that she was dissatisfied with how he normally treated her, and she didn't want him to think that at all, because it wasn't true. Secretly though, she hoped that whatever he had just done downstairs was enough to put him in the mood to just act without thinking, she wasn't in the mood for slow and gentle right now, "I take it your meeting went well?" JR grinned, everything was falling into place nicely; despite it not looking like it, he was in full control of everything, just the way he liked it. "It did. I'll be introducing Bobby to some of our Odessa connections tomorrow. Oh, that reminds me, I may be home late tomorrow, I'm not sure how long our meetings will run, those men will talk your ear off if you give them the opportunity", Sue Ellen raised an eyebrow, that didn't exactly sound like it was good for JR, "Bobby's going with you? You're happy about that?" now she was even more confused, she thought that Bobby was supposed to be the enemy in the whole situation, but JR wasn't acting like it. JR's grin widened as he watched her mind work, trying to figure out why he wasn't upset; "mhm, I said 'introduce', not 'sign a deal with'. It's all part of the plan darlin'"; once again, Sue Ellen gave him a confused look, surely introducing Bobby to everyone was the next step in making him a legitimate partner in Ewing Oil, the opposite of what JR wanted. JR laughed, he was glad that she hadn't been able to work out his plan from his description, although it wasn't really that indicative, because she didn't really know anything about business; he decided to give her a little information, just enough to answer her question, but not enough to give away his plan. "I won't bore you with all the details, but let's just say, Bobby will be so busy keeping our out-of-town connections happy that he won't have time to get anywhere near actually making a business deal", he grinned and watched as Sue Ellen realised what he was doing. "JR Ewing, you are the most fascinating man I have ever met, and I love you", she smiled up at him, she was happy that he had finally let her in on what he was up to and awed by the way his mind worked, he was a master manipulator and she honestly didn't know how he did it. "Thank you sugar", he looked into her eyes and was surprised by the way she was looking at him, there was love, but there was also something else, he wasn't sure whether he was misreading her though. Deciding that only a fool would let the opportunity pass by without investigating for himself, he kissed her, lightly at first, but then more passionately, his desire for her quickly taking over, though he waited to see how she would respond before making any further moves. Sue Ellen almost sighed in relief as his lips met hers and as he deepened the kiss, it was the only thing she had really wanted since he walked into the room, and even if it didn't go exactly where she wanted it to, she was just happy that the barrier was broken and they were in that position now.

To be continued…