Dallas, Texas

"Have a seat JR", Jock motioned toward the chair in front of his desk and JR cautiously sat down; he really had no idea why his father had wanted to see him privately this morning and now that he was here, he was a little worried. Walking over to the bar in his office and making two drinks, Jock returned and sat down, handing JR his glass before speaking; "I want to talk JR, about Ewing Oil and your future here…" JR suddenly felt ill, he'd expected the news of his promotion to president of Ewing Oil to be delivered in a much happier and more celebratory tone than the sombre, serious tone his father was currently speaking in, so the fact that he was speaking in such a way was a warning sign to him that something was wrong. "It's no secret that when I retire as president, you, being the eldest son and the current vice president, will assume the position; that was how I always intended it to be and that is how I intend for it to stay". He started off his speech by assuring JR that he wasn't intending to change the order of things, because he knew that JR had to be wondering what he meant by his original statement and the last thing he needed right now was to be dealing with an angry or irrational JR. "I'm not getting any younger and although there's no guarantee that Sue Ellen's having a boy, though I damn sure hope she is, if everything goes to plan, then you could be the president of Ewing Oil very soon. I'm not planning on retiring this year, or even next, but sometime in the future I know that I'll have to start taking a few steps back from the business, and when I do that, I want to know that I'm leaving my legacy to a man who will respect and honour the way we do things around here". He looked at JR as he spoke and then paused for a moment to regather his thoughts.

"Scandal is not good for business, so I'm going to require a few concrete assurances and guarantees before I make anything legal, because Ewing Oil is our livelihood and I will not have our reputation or profits damaged by your actions. I know that in the past I've not really enforced any boundaries around your behaviour, because, for the most part, nothing was ever bad enough for me to believe you really needed talking to, however, recent events have prompted me to think differently. You're about to become a father, your wife has just returned to you after a serious absence and if everything in my life goes to plan, you could soon be the president of this company and that's something I'm not sure that you're personally ready for just yet. Business wise, absolutely, but there's more to being the leader of a company than just good business skills. I know you've been trying to fix your marriage and I'm pleased with how that's been working out for you and Sue Ellen lately, however, it's not enough for me to just accept your word that you'll try to be a better husband and father, because that doesn't really guarantee anything. I need more than that; I need something to hold you to, something that is really going to make you think twice in situations where you may be tempted to deviate from the right path". Opening a folder on his desk, Jock pulled out a thick stack of stapled pages, "this is an updated version of your contract; I have had the lawyers amend a few things and add a new clause. If you agree to abide by the morality clause as detailed, then I guarantee that upon my retirement, you will become the president of Ewing Oil; I have had the lawyers remove the clause that made your position dependent on your parental status, specifically having a male heir ready and waiting. Ewing Oil is yours JR, as long as you live by a certain set of rules", Jock handed his son the new contract and waited for him to say something. He knew it was a risky move, but he didn't really know how else to handle JR; he had raised him to believe that power, money and Ewing Oil were the most important things in life, so he knew that to get through to him, he had to use those things as a bargaining tool.

JR was shocked at his father's proposal and was honestly a little unsure of how to react. On one hand, he was thrilled to have a written guarantee that Ewing Oil would be his one day, because he deserved it. On the other hand though, he was highly annoyed that his father was making his business success dependent on his personal success, because they weren't mutually exclusive; whether he was a good husband had nothing to do with his ability as an oilman and he didn't like the idea that his father was making moves to legally link them. It also annoyed him that despite showing that he could be a good husband, his father still didn't quite trust him and thought it necessary to take more serious steps to guaranteeing his good behaviour; he was really trying to be a better man, but it was difficult when everyone constantly expected him to be a bad person. "I understand", JR flicked through the contract. "Good. Well, that's all I had to say for today, unless there's something you wanted to talk about?" Jock politely gave JR an opportunity to voice his feelings before he dismissed him. "No sir; I'll read the new clauses and have my lawyer take a look at it and I'll get back to you in a few days. Does that sound acceptable?" JR stood and waited for his father to say yes and then dismiss him, he was just about done with this conversation. "That's fine", Jock nodded and JR took at as a sign to leave, standing up and walking out of the room, now with a lot of thoughts running through his mind. It shouldn't have been a difficult decision to make, because he had made a promise to his wife to be a good and faithful husband, however, making that commitment legally was a whole different story. If he messed up, then he would have no wife and no company and that was a thought that scared him more than he would ever admit.

"Miss Ellie?" Sue Ellen broke the comfortable silence as they drove back to Southfork from their charitable morning activity, one she had very much enjoyed. "Yes dear", Miss Ellie prompted Sue Ellen to finish her thought, she was pleased that Sue Ellen appeared to be a little more open with expressing her thoughts and feelings lately and she wanted to encourage her to keep doing that. "How do you think JR would react if I took that opportunity? It's not a real job, but it is more consistent and time-consuming than just being a part of the DOA", she had been mulling over the thoughts all morning, ever since the offer had been made to her. This morning, as part of their DOA activities, they had gone to meet with and deliver the care packages they had made for underprivileged teenagers and as part of that, they'd been offered a tour of the charity's facilities. Sue Ellen had enjoyed shopping for the items in the care packages and then seeing the joy that they brought the recipients; she liked shopping and she liked helping people, so it gave her great pleasure to be a part of something with such a purpose and then see her hard work pay off like that. As part of the tour of the building, they had been shown another department, one that was focused more on women than teenagers, more specifically, helping women to dress the part for the working world so that they could better themselves by getting professional jobs, allowing them to earn their own money and be self-sufficient. Sue Ellen had found herself drawn to the racks of clothing as they were shown a demonstration of what a dresser did; her fashion-oriented mind was quickly drawn into the process and she found herself enjoying helping the other volunteers to coordinate and sort outfits for the women they were assisting. Her enjoyment and talent hadn't gone unnoticed by the manager of the department and after only a half an hour of participating, she was offered the opportunity to join the team, strictly as a volunteer, but she didn't care, it wasn't as if she was one of the women that needed a paying job. She'd been thrilled just by the idea that someone actually liked her and valued her enough to want her to work for them and personally, if it were just her she had to think about then she would have agreed on the spot. However, she knew that she had other things to consider before she accepted the position, specifically, her husband and her child and the roles she played for each of them.

Miss Ellie smiled knowingly as Sue Ellen spoke; she'd had a feeling that that was what was on her mind, "well, first and foremost, I think it's a wonderful opportunity and I think if JR loves you the way he says he does, then he'll think so too. That's just my opinion though and I know that that's not exactly what you're asking, but I can't give you JR's opinion because I'm not him, so instead of trying to, I'll just say this; talk to him before you start stressing about it. Calmly approach the subject with him and explain why you want to do it because I have a feeling that he'll understand and be a lot more receptive to it if you approach the situation in that way. If you sit around thinking about it and exaggerating it in your mind, then when he does find out, it's going to end up being more of an elaborate story than the simple facts. Talk to him first before you start assuming things, you never know, he might just surprise you with his opinion", she smiled at her daughter-in-law and allowed her a few minutes to think about what she'd just said, hoping that when Sue Ellen considered everything, she decided to take her advice. "Mm, I suppose you're right, I do tend to exaggerate issues and put them off until they become bigger than they should be". Sue Ellen sighed to herself as she came to the realisation that a lot of the communication problems she and JR had had in the past were largely preventable if she had just said how she was really feeling in the moment instead of holding everything in. "For what its worth though, I don't see why he would have a problem with it, because as you said, it's not a 'real' job. I know that its more time consuming than just being in the DOA, but it's not a full time position; ten hours a week, that's comparable to taking up tennis again. You need something for you and I think this is perfect", Miss Ellie gave her a few more words of support and Sue Ellen began to feel a little better, though she was still nervous for some reason. She didn't know why she so desperately needed his approval, but she did and it scared her to possibly hear him express his opinion, one that was possibly negative. They were in such a good place right now, but she was damaged by her previous experiences and she was afraid of their marriage crumbling; she knew that there were a lot of reasons for him to say yes and approve of her decision, but the only thoughts running through her mind were ones related to JR's disapproval. They needed to talk, but she was scared of the consequences of that talk if things didn't run as smoothly as she hoped.

To be continued…