Dallas, Texas
Stepping out into the Ewing Oil office reception area as the elevator doors opened, Sue Ellen's heart sank, Diane was nowhere to be seen and Julie's pleasant, welcoming, face of the company of smile had dropped and her expression had transformed into something much more contemptuous and unfriendly almost as soon as she registered who Ewing Oil's latest visitor was. Walking toward Julie's desk, Sue Ellen mentally prepared herself for the worst; she didn't imagine Julie would actually say anything nasty to her, but she always liked to be prepared. "Good afternoon Julie", speaking politely, but not in a particularly friendly tone, she greeted Jock's secretary and waited for an equally polite but generic response. She didn't see much point in trying to be friendly, Julie knew exactly how she felt about her and her past with JR and she had to know that if it wasn't for JR's respect for his father as the president of Ewing Oil, he would have suggested and then insisted she be replaced years ago. As it was though, JR wasn't going to tell his father what to do and Julie ought to be glad she worked for Jock, not JR.
After exchanging a short series of polite greetings and then enquiring about Diane's absence, to which she was relieved to hear was just due to her having a common winter cold rather than anything more serious or permanent, Sue Ellen then got to the reason for her visit. "I'm here to see my husband. Would you please call through and let him know I'm here", emphasising the word husband, she then waited for Julie to pick up the phone and call through to JR's office. She hadn't scheduled time to see him today, but she knew he was in, she had walked past his car in the parking lot earlier, and he had told her a long time ago that she was welcome to stop by the office anytime she wished.
Turning her attention to the weekly agenda sitting on her desk, Julie took her time reading over the page before looking back up at Sue Ellen, "is he expecting you? He's very busy today". Hearing Julie's words and condescending tone of voice, Sue Ellen's mood worsened; whether JR was expecting her and whether he could see her was between them and she had no interest in clearing it with Julie first. As well as that, it was infuriating to sense just how little respect Julie had for her, JR and their marriage. What JR had ever seen in Julie was beyond her, because as far as she could tell, she was rude, she lacked respect and she didn't follow orders well at all. It was bad enough to deal with her in a semi-professional manner, but to willingly choose to share intimate actions with her was unfathomable to Sue Ellen.
"Julie, please, pick up that phone, dial through to his office, and ask him whether he's expecting me. I think you'll find that once he hears I'm here, he'll make time for me, even if he is busy. He's my husband and I'm his wife, we're married, very happily I might add, that's what married people do…" pausing for a moment, she looked at Julie with a hard, serious expression and waited for her to either do as she had asked, or argue back. In her mind, Julie had one more chance to do things right before she bypassed her and walked straight into JR's office; she wanted to at least try to do things correctly before she barged in though, that way both Jock and JR were less likely to think she was just badmouthing Julie because of her previous relationship with JR.
Not hiding her contempt, Julie glared at Sue Ellen as she picked up the phone and dialled JR's extension, and when he picked up, she couldn't help but internally roll her eyes at the way his tone of voice changed as she spoke. "He'll be right out" motioning to Sue Ellen to take a seat, she then went back to her work, though it was extremely difficult to concentrate with JR's little wife in the same room. "Hello darlin', what a lovely surprise", hearing the door opening and seeing JR walk out into the reception area, greeting his wife with a kiss that was more than just a simple peck, she felt an old, familiar feeling bubbling up inside her. She'd thought she'd buried her jealousy months ago, when JR had first introduced his son to everyone in the office, because somehow, the reality of a child was much less appealing than what she had always imagined, however, the way she was feeling now told her that perhaps she'd been too quick to tell herself she had moved on.
"Mm, I was in town and I thought I'd take you up on one of those invitations you're always offering me. You're not with a client are you? I know you're a busy man…" seeing Sue Ellen briefly glance over at her before she followed JR's lead and they disappeared into his office to continue their conversation, Julie's glare intensified. What JR saw in Sue Ellen was beyond her; sure, she was pretty and she was well able to handle the recognition and socialisation that came with being a member of the Ewing family, but she was boring and honestly, although JR didn't see it, she didn't seem to be a very nice person. Sue Ellen hid her darker side well; she had the entire Ewing family convinced that she was the perfect wife and mother, so even if by some miracle Julie did manage to make public her true catty personality, she doubted anyone would believe her.
Hearing the click of a lock, a surprised gasp and then a playful giggle, she gagged a little. JR was a skilled lover and she wouldn't mind returning to a position where she was on the receiving end of his attention, however, as jealous as she was, that didn't mean she wanted to hear him giving that attention to another woman, especially not when that attention appeared to come with genuine love and affection attached to it. Not wishing to hear any more of what she was sure was about to happen in JR's office, she then picked up her phone and dialled Jock's office to check whether he was ready to dictate his letters yet; she needed to get away from the noise, the silence and reminders that Sue Ellen, not her, was Mrs JR Ewing.
To be continued…