Dallas, Texas

Sitting silently for a moment, JR considered the situation as it was and then as Doctor Williams had presented it. The man had a point, things were unnecessarily complicated in business because of the personal relationship he and his father had, but by isolating the business issue, they became a whole lot clearer. He was the vice president and future president of Ewing Oil and he had worked his way up to that position, he was an experienced and educated businessman and his judgements were worth something. That being said, his father was also a very experienced businessman and his opinion was worth a lot, but they were in business together and had a similar level of power and responsibility when it came to business decisions. The conversation they had had yesterday was a good start, his father hadn't completely dismissed his opinion, however he had made it known that he thought he knew best, even if JR believed otherwise. Things had to change a little more though, he and his father needed to talk again, this time not as father and son in business together, but as president and vice president; they needed to look at all of the information available to them and make an informed decision, one that had several backup plans. His father had never been a quitter before, in fact, he was part of the reason why JR was so insistent on winning and being the best, but for some unusual reason, in this circumstance he seemed to believe the wider context they were working in had more influence on their success than their own actions did. If JR's predictions were wrong and his father was right about the economy bringing bad times for everyone, meaning that their profits would be nowhere near predicted, even with his plans to attempt to make money in other areas, then so be it, but it was stupid to act as there was nothing they could do about it.

"Fair point. I don't like the use of the word kowtow, it makes me sound weak and I'm not, but I do see your point with the other stuff", breaking the silence, JR nodded at Doctor Williams, looked over at Sue Ellen who was silently observing their interaction and then continued to respond to Doctor Williams' earlier question. "This is business and whether my daddy is my daddy or not is irrelevant when it comes to making business decisions. I don't appreciate the way you say things sometimes, I have no problem telling you that, so I suppose I should do the same when it comes to making a point in business discussions, I am the vice president after all, my opinion does carry some weight. I think I'm already part of the way there in some respects, daddy knows I'm not weak and I'm not easily influenced by other people, that's half the reason why Ewing Oil is so successful, because I get things done, but I suppose I do act differently when I'm around him. I shouldn't allow him to manipulate me into doing things he wants me to do and I shouldn't allow him to override my decisions without real, valid reasons to do so. At the office we should be professional with each other, that means we should be discussing what is best for the company and making those decisions based on the facts and statistics; whether daddy is upset with me for moving out of Southfork, or whether he's the head of the Ewing family is irrelevant. He's my boss and he's my father, but if he was just my boss I probably wouldn't feel half the stress I feel, because a lot of my feelings do come back to worry about my relationship with him as my father and not wanting to be the son that disappoints him. I never want to be regarded in the same way Gary is".

Thinking as he spoke, JR was surprised by some of the things that were coming out of his mouth. It had never occurred to him in such a clear way before, but it seemed obvious now, his father was his weak point and he used that to his advantage. He had been delegated more than his fair share of drudgework and he had had to fight hard and work hard to get to the point he was at now in his professional life, and he didn't mind any of those things because he did genuinely love the oil business, but he didn't appreciate some of his father's actions. If he was capable enough to be trusted to seek, negotiate and organize deals and the running of certain fields on his own, and he had proven many times over that his ideas could and did work, then surely his opinion was worth something and his father should respect that. It was unkind and unfair for Jock to use JR's talents for things that benefited his agenda, but to also discount his opinion when it differed from his. Both JR and Jock had a problem with allowing their personal opinions to influence their actions at work, so they both needed to work on that, but in this instance, if JR's leaving Southfork had any bearing on Jock's attitude toward his professional opinion and plans, then that needed to stop. It wouldn't be easy to change the way their relationship operated at work because it was so natural for them to play the roles of father and son, but in the long run, it was better for them to separate their business and personal lives, or at least establish a higher level of respect in both areas.

Watching as both Sue Ellen and Doctor Williams' expressions changed as he finished speaking, JR knew he had said something they weren't expecting, and when Sue Ellen took his hand and gave him a sympathetic look, he knew what had made them both react that way. There were very few times where he would liken himself to Gary and even now, that's not really what he was doing, but just mentioning the fear of having his relationship with his father resemble anything similar to Jock and Gary's relationship was enough to make Sue Ellen feel for him. Of course, not knowing the entire history of the Ewing family, Doctor Williams' expression was more quizzical than sympathetic, but even without the details, it was obvious that for JR being 'regarded in the same way Gary is' was not a good thing. Sighing, he was a little annoyed that he was going to have to delve into a completely different topic because he couldn't keep his mouth shut and Doctor Williams was nosy, however, as experience had proven to him, sometimes talking about things was actually helpful. Even just the conversation they had been having had been helpful; he would have never thought to separate the business issues he was facing from the personal issues he and his father had, because to him and to his father, they were connected. Having a therapist wasn't something he would publicly advertise, but privately, he couldn't deny that without Doctor Williams interference, he and Sue Ellen would have probably divorced months ago and he would have never truly understood some of his thoughts and reasons for doing things. Because of that, if opening up about his childhood and early adulthood in relation to his brothers was what was necessary for Doctor Williams to assist him, then that's what he would do.

To be continued…