Dallas, Texas

"Deal?" holding his hand out, Bobby Ewing waited nervously for his father to do the same, and when he did, verbally confirming that they had a deal and then reaching out to shake his hand and then pat him on the back in a familiar way that he knew meant he was proud of him, he began to smile. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted in his personal life, but his new agreement with his father meant that in six weeks, he'd finally be on the career path he knew he wanted to follow and he knew he could succeed at. He had had to compromise a little, but in the end, what his father had asked of him did make sense and did satisfy his needs and wants. Provided that he could find a college to accept his late application, he would begin working toward a Master of Agribusiness in the summer and since his father was planning to retire sometime in 1974, by the time he finished his two years of further study combined with his current and future work experience, he'd be set to take over. He hadn't planned to have to jump through so many hoops to get what would eventually be his anyway, however, after being put in his place by his father, he now had a new appreciation for everything he had in life.

Jock Ewing wasn't the most transparent man, he was like JR, he played a long game and he didn't keep everyone up-to-date on the progress of his plans, that didn't mean they didn't exist though. He liked to control things and have things happen on his schedule, not anyone else's, and while that was frustrating for Bobby at times like these where all he wanted to do was get on with the future, he understood why the planned timelines existed and he was content to adapt his own life plans to meet his father halfway. If he wanted his father to personally spend time out on the ranch mentoring him then he would have to wait until he was free to do so. The ranch was important to Jock, as was their father-son bond, however, financially, Ewing Oil was the company that allowed them to continue living in the way they had become accustomed to. Ranching was profitable, it wasn't just a pet project meant to satisfy Aaron Southworth's historic wishes, but oil was big business and Bobby had to respect that, and he did. It felt good to finally have a solid plan for his future, a future where he would eventually be the most powerful person in an organization rather than an employee and 'little brother'. JR didn't care about ranching and while he knew his father wasn't thrilled about that fact, he was, because he was ready to no longer have to worry about what JR was thinking, doing or had planned to stifle his success. A bit of competition was a good thing, but too much competition was exhausting and not fun, especially when he didn't have a chance at winning, which was sadly the case at Ewing Oil as long as JR was there. He was sure there'd always be a bit of competition between he and JR, they were competitive by nature and now each set to own a family business they would have something to compare, however, unlike before when they were both competing for Ewing Oil, he felt confident that their competitiveness would be more good-natured sibling rivalry than anything else.

"Good, well now that that's settled, buy you a drink?" asking more rhetorically than anything else, Jock automatically began to walk over to the bar in his office. He hadn't been thrilled by his youngest son's decision to be difficult and demanding and he was a little disappointed that he even felt the way about Ewing Oil that he did, however, he could see that Bobby genuinely meant what he said about the ranch and that was truly appreciated, and in the end, it did all make sense. He'd had to rearrange his schedule and come up with some alternative ways to teach Bobby how to run a successful business as well as farm animals and ensure the land they owned and relied on was sustainable, but in the end he'd managed to do that and he was sure the future would be positive. Bobby wasn't stupid and he wasn't afraid of hard work, oil just wasn't his calling like it was for JR, but he had a feeling that ranching just might be.

Setting two glasses down on the bar, Jock hesitated for a moment before setting a third glass down next to the previous two and then walking back over to his desk to phone through to JR's office. JR was the vice president of Ewing Oil and probably should have been consulted about a major change like a Ewing resignation, however, at the time of Bobby's request it hadn't even occurred to him to ask JR for his input, he was so used to making executive decisions himself. As it was now though, he was sure that while JR wouldn't be happy about being left out of the discussion, he would be thrilled about what the outcome of the discussion actually meant. In six short weeks, the only Ewings working at Ewing Oil would be named John Ross Ewing, it was what JR had always wanted and it was happening sooner than he had imagined. Logistically though, things were about to get a bit more complicated because they'd have to have a serious discussion about how to accomplish Bobby's role at Ewing Oil without disrupting their own schedules and in JR's case, without ruining his marriage. No way in hell was he sending JR back out on the road to use the three B's to promote Ewing Oil, create valuable connections and collect incrimination information on those men who may think of acting in a difficult manner in the future. JR was a married man, he was a father, and he had already nearly lost his family once; to put him in a role where he regularly dealt with paid women, excessive alcohol consumption and multi-day, out-of-town business trips was a recipe for disaster and Jock knew it. He was plotting and planning and so far there really only seemed to be one answer; they would have to hire someone new, but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be quite that simple. Overall though, the future seemed to be looking more positive now than it had been just a few days ago. JR would continue on the path he was on, Bobby would begin working toward his new life, and somewhere in the middle of the two, Jock would oversee everything to make sure that the legacy of the Ewing family did not stop with his sons.

To be continued…

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