Dallas, Texas

Closing their bedroom door, JR pulled his wife close to him and kissed her the way he had been wanting to all evening. He loved his son and he enjoyed spending time with his family, but sometimes a husband just needed time alone with his wife. Running his hands over her back, waist and then further down, he groaned, expressing a mixture of pleasure and frustration. He felt wonderful, not just because he'd been waiting patiently for hours for the opportunity to be alone with her, but as part of the bigger picture too; it felt so good to finally feel like they were happy and in sync with each other again, and now that he did, he wanted to make up for lost time. Untying the tie on the back of Sue Ellen's dress, he then moved on to sliding the straps off her shoulders and before she really knew what was happening, her dress was sliding right off her, though she had no complaints, the evening had been just as long for her as it had been for JR. Quickly ridding him of his clothes, Sue Ellen let out a small moan as he redirected his attention to her neck while simultaneously moving them back toward the bed, and as JR made a move to further their actions, her impassioned response only grew. It wasn't as if they hadn't been intimate recently, but everything was different now and she was excited and optimistic about their new beginning.

Houston, Texas

Sitting by himself on the Ewing jet as he headed back to Dallas after his short business trip to Houston, Bobby Ewing flipped through the incriminating photographs of Ewing Oil's newest ally before sighing to himself disgustedly. For the most part, he enjoyed his job, however, he had more of a conscience than his father and brother and when he had to resort to extortion in order to gain what was best for Ewing Oil, he always felt a little guilty. Usually he was able to move past his guilty conscience by reassuring himself that everything he did was for the good of Ewing Oil; that he made more positive deals than negative ones; that his work pleased his father, and that one day, he would be on the same level as JR and his father. He liked his job when it was enjoyable work, and he was good at his job, but growing up as Jock Ewing's son, he'd always expected that when he was all grown up, he'd be working alongside his father, not just occasionally meeting with him in his office before leaving for another business trip. Unfortunately, his dreams of working at Ewing Oil as a vital member of the team hadn't quite played out the way he'd imagined. It had become obvious in his first few months there that his talents lay not in the resources and deal making part of the oil business, but in public relations; he was good at making sure others in the oil business looked upon Ewing Oil favourably. He really hadn't had many problems with his position up until recently, when he'd found out that JR was set to be the sole heir to Ewing Oil and apart from being required to stay on the right side of morality and to keep Ewing Oil as a family owned business, there were no strings attached to his future ownership. The news had come as a shock to Bobby; he wasn't stupid, he knew that as soon as their father retired and JR became president and part owner of Ewing Oil, his days were numbered, and eventually, when JR gained full control, there would be no room for two Ewings at Ewing Oil, not until it was John Ross' turn.

With that new knowledge, doing the less pleasant part of his job on this business trip had left a bad taste in his mouth. He was ruining his personal reputation and other men's lives all to make sure Ewing Oil would have the connections it needed to grow; but what was the point? He was involved in all kinds of immoral things for the good of Ewing Oil, but as far as he was aware, he would never get to reap the rewards of his efforts, a realisation that really repulsed him. He loved socialising and spreading goodwill, but he hated sneaking around, hiring call girls and photographers to collect evidence for blackmail and extortion and then having to use that evidence to get what he wanted. He wasn't like his father and brother, he didn't find pleasure in other people's pain, but he did what he had to do because he wanted to be a part of Ewing Oil and he wanted his father to be proud of him. Knowing now though that his corrupt, nasty actions weren't going to benefit him in any way, he was really beginning to reconsider his life and purpose and it was clear that he and his father needed to talk and come to an agreement. He couldn't and wouldn't keep doing dirty work for no reward and even if they did come to an agreement where he regained his rightful place in Ewing Oil, he wasn't sure he wanted to keep doing that part of his job. Now that he'd thought about his actions from a different perspective, it was wreaking havoc on his conscience and he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to just go back to doing it just because it was part of his job. Sighing to himself, he slid the photographs back into their envelope and put them away in his briefcase before reclining his seat and closing his eyes; he needed to take a little bit of time to breathe and think about his course of action when he returned to Dallas. He knew he had to say something to his father, he couldn't just stay silent about his feelings, however, in saying something about his current job and his future at Ewing Oil, he was probably opening a can of worms with JR too, and knowing JR, that situation could potentially become complicated and unpleasant very quickly.

To be continued…