Dallas, Texas

"Have you spoken to your wife about this?" looking at JR, trying to withhold his personal opinion from appearing in his response to JR's questions, Harve Smithfield waited for his response and when JR shook his head and mumbled the word "no", he wasn't particularly surprised. Of course he hadn't thought to be open and honest with his wife before consulting his lawyer, his natural response was always to think factually and economically before thinking empathetically; profits before people had helped to build Ewing Oil into the company it was today, unfortunately though, this wasn't really about Ewing Oil, at least not directly. Sighing, Harve spoke, "I know you don't want to, and legally, you don't have to, but there's a chance that the media may get wind of this story and I think we both know Sue Ellen would be devastated to find out from a newspaper rather than her husband himself. I strongly recommend as both your lawyer and as a family friend that you speak to your wife about the situation and if at all possible, bring her over to your side", trying to be non-judgemental, he made sure to get his point across before moving on to the more legal aspects of the situation. If it did become public knowledge, which was a possibility in the case that either JR or Cynthia filed a legal case against the other and the court documents were a matter of public record, or the press did somehow pick up on the story, it would only help JR to have his wife on his side, legally and emotionally.

"Noted. Now, can we please discuss the rest of this?" not entirely sure that he would tell Sue Ellen anything, at least not until he was sure of more facts, JR nodded and waited for Harve to move on. He wanted and needed to know where he stood and what his next move should be, he wouldn't just sit around and wait for something to happen, he needed to make the next move, he needed to assert his authority and power, but before he did that, he needed to know his legal rights and responsibilities. "Yes, of course", listening to JR's tone of voice, Harve switched straight back into lawyer mode, temporarily leaving his empathetic side behind; "first things first, your name is not recorded on the child's birth certificate, this can be both a pro and a con for potential fathers, however, in this case, it's more of a pro than a con. By leaving the father's name section of the birth certificate empty, not establishing any man as the father of her son, Miss Moore has made it more difficult to demand financial support from whomever she later tries to claim is the father, whether it is you or any other man. Establishing paternity of a child with unwed parents, especially after the paperwork has already been filed, is a more complex process than if the mother named the father at the initial signing of the birth certificate; this is good news for us, Miss Moore is in the weaker position now. If she wishes to ask you for child support, or in the unlikely case, you wish to ask for visitation rights, paternity must be proved or agreed upon by both parents, and if it is not, either party has the opportunity to counter the others claim. That brings me to my main point today; Miss Moore has not yet demanded anything from you, therefore, due to a lack of evidence, we cannot proceed with filing charges of blackmail, extortion or anything else just yet. However, we may begin gathering our own evidence to use in the event that she does make social and/or financial demands or threats. Ordinarily, I wouldn't recommend you respond to any correspondence that implies a threat or is written purposely to bait you into offering a bribe, however, with the action I would like to move forward with until such contact does occur, we cannot act alone, so we must make contact, and doing so on our terms maintains our upper hand. The action I want to take is getting a HLA blood test done, this will tell us exactly what kind of situation we're working with. The test requires a blood sample from both the presumed father and the child in order to establish or disestablish paternity though, and unfortunately, without permission from the child's mother or a court order, we cannot obtain the other sample. Therefore, although I don't like the idea of involving yourself in a situation that has potential for blackmail, I recommend that you respond to Miss Moore's letter in a polite, non-threatening and non-implicating way. Remember, all we want right now is to find out what she is looking to gain and why she believes she has the right to ask for such a thing; we want to gather enough information and evidence to build our case; we do not want to start an argument or push her to make any risky decisions". Pausing as he finished part of what he wanted to say, he then waited for JR to nod as a sign of understanding before he moved on to present him with his range of options.

"Now, I can draft a written response for you, or you may write one and I'll check it before you send it, or, alternatively, you can just go ahead and start legal proceedings against her. I can file a Petition to Adjudicate Parentage this afternoon if you would like; that would eliminate any need to speak with Miss Moore personally and would establish a legal request that she submit her son for blood testing to establish paternity before filing for any benefits from you. This is the most official way to do things, however, you must know that since making a personal dispute into a legal one is an official process, you will be giving up some control of the situation, including your right to complete confidentiality. What I mean by that is although the details of the case will not be made public, the case number, names and legal issue will be identified and will be public records, available for any potential snooping journalist or member of the public to find; so you need to think very carefully about which action you want to take today. With what you're telling me, although the dates are a little misaligned, there is still a possibility that you are the father of that child and although the blood test may completely disprove that, it may also prove it, and you need to be prepared for the consequences of such a link. If paternity is established, you will have legal responsibilities towards the child; child support, insurance coverage etcetera; but you also have legal rights, visitation, custody, educational choices, religious choices, things like that; I urge you to really consider each of these before making your decision about how to proceed today". Doing his duty as a lawyer, Harve explained what JR's options were and that it was his decision which path they took, however, as both a lawyer and a friend of the Ewing family, he hoped that JR listened to him and decided to attempt to negotiate and settle out-of-court; it really seemed like the best option right now.

Staring out the window of Harve's office for a few moments, JR considered everything that had been said and what his options were. Harry was working on obtaining a copy of Cynthia's medical records, however, that was an illegal action, so even with the information they would provide him with, he wouldn't actually be able to use it to his advantage. The fact was that despite not wanting any of it to be real, there was a possibility that it was, and he needed to consider what would happen to his life if that was the case. He had signed a contract with his father guaranteeing his good behaviour in exchange for ownership and control of Ewing Oil, and despite the fact that his mistake had occurred before the signing of the contract, he wasn't sure his father would see things the same way as he, especially not when it was about to have current consequences. What he wanted was for the tests to be done in a private, confidential setting, without the possibility of public record, consequence or reveal, so if a legal, but out-of-court negotiation between he and Miss Moore was possible, then he would rather do that than force their case through the court system and most likely, through the press too. He didn't want another child, not right now and certainly not with some filthy, manipulative whore, however, the fact was that he was being faced with a situation that was not just going to disappear and he needed to tackle it head-on, and if that meant entering a negotiation, even if it wasn't fair or right, then he would.

"No, no Petition to Adjudicate Parentage. I don't want this to be public knowledge and I don't want this to be something I have to secretly deal with for the next eighteen years if's proven that I am the father of that child. I want you to set up a time for blood tests and then a meeting, a negotiation. Make it clear that I will pay for the blood tests; if she truly wants something from me because she's sure that I'm the father, not because she's just playing me, then she has no reason to say no. We will establish paternity and what that tramp wants, and if it's proven that I am in fact the father, then we will settle for a relocation of mother and child, out of Texas, never to return again. Confidentiality contracts and a waiver to any future claims will be signed, no exceptions. Now, if the paternity test proves that she is lying and playing games, I will be very angry that she put me through all of this, so in addition to setting up an appointment, I want you to research what the harshest punishment I can legally dole out. Nobody attempts to blackmail JR Ewing and gets away with it". Speaking coldly and seriously, he gave his instructions and then waited for Harve to acknowledge them; he couldn't exactly tell his lawyer that he had no qualms when it came to illegal acts of revenge, so he tried to make it clear that he was serious and wanted a serious solution to the situation. Nodding, Harve comprehended what JR was saying, "a meeting, a blood test and contracts to cover every possible outcome", speaking and then mentally calculating how long it would take him to get things in order, he then finished his sentence, "I'll have the letter written and sent by tomorrow. I'll have it served to her personally; it's not a court summons, but it's a legal document requesting her presence, it's allowed. Shall we say next Tuesday morning for the blood test, Wednesday afternoon for the meeting? I'll have the lab prioritise the tests so that we can get the results quickly, and the paperwork will be completely ready and finalised by then. How does that sound?" waiting for JR to agree or counter his idea, he was pleased when he just nodded and mumbled a few words of agreement, "good, I'll have my secretary notify your secretary of the details, discreetly of course". Sighing at the realisation that he was really having such a conversation, JR agreed, shook Harve's hand and then left; he wasn't happy, but he couldn't do much about anything right now, not until he had the facts and was sure that he held the power in the situation.

To be continued…