Dallas, Texas

"JR?" speaking his son's name as he opened his office door, simply announcing his entrance rather than waiting to be invited in first, Jock Ewing looked expectantly at JR before looking back at Jack, ushering him into JR's office and closing the door behind them. "Ahem", making sure he had his eldest son's full attention, he waited a few seconds before speaking again, "JR, there's someone I want you to meet". Looking at Jack again, he waved his hand in JR's direction, "Jack, this is JR", and then back in Jack's direction, "JR, meet Jack, your cousin. Jack's going to be in Dallas for a while so I thought what better place to start to get to know the city than right here in the Ewing Oil office?" He hoped that for once Sue Ellen had actually reported back to JR about what had gone on at Southfork the previous evening, because it would save him a lot of time if he didn't have to explain how Jack fit into the Ewing family and why he had come to Dallas. He hoped too that there wasn't even a grain of truth to what Ellie had tried to guilt him into before bed either. JR was a grown man, he was surely past the point of sibling jealousy, and if he was jealous of the attention others supposedly received in comparison to the attention he received, then that was something he had to deal with on his own, he had no business bringing Jack into his personal issues. Unfortunately, he knew that considering how he wanted JR to act was one thing, but actually getting him to act that way was another, and only time would tell whether the plans forming in his mind could ever feasibly work. JR had made it clear long ago that he had no interest in sharing anything at Ewing Oil with anyone not named John Ross Ewing, and he had made it very clear in his treatment of Bobby at the office that he intended to follow through with his selfish attitude and set plans. He couldn't blame JR too much for the way he thought, he himself had had to make a number of decisions regarding Ewing Oil that excluded Jason and Digger and he was always cautious about sharing too many deals with the cartel, so he understood JR's mentality, but that didn't mean he supported him completely. He liked Jack, just like he liked Bobby, on a personal level, and while from a business perspective it was obvious that JR had what it took to handle things alone, he didn't want to see people he cared about left out in the cold.

Studying the young man from the moment he entered the room, JR had a pretty good idea about what he was working with when Jack, his 'cousin', eventually spoke. "Nice to meet you JR, Jock's told me all about you. This is an impressive company you two have here. I'm glad I decided to investigate my daddy's stories myself", extending his hand in an introductory gesture, Jack looked at him expectantly and eagerly, and not wanting to reveal his opinion too soon, JR responded in kind, shaking his hand and nodding, before responding verbally in a faux-friendly, somewhat passive aggressive manner. "Howdy", grinning, he slowly walked over to the bar in his office and began to prepare three drinks, "this is an impressive company isn't it? Almost the biggest independent oil company in Texas... I'm sure my daddy, and yours, has told you all about that though, so let's talk about something more personal. Seeing as this visit is all a big surprise to me, let's start with, who is 'Jack'? Then we can move on to what exactly it is he here to investigate? You know, so I can make an informed decision about whether or not it really is nice to meet you". Handing his father and his 'cousin' their drinks, he then strode back to his desk, took a seat in his large, leather chair, and waited for them to follow him and answer his questions.

This Jack person, whether he was a Ewing or not was still to be determined, had clearly found some way to get in with his father and he imagined his father would have some strong words about his attitude toward him when they were alone. He had to make it clear though that he wasn't going to be quite as easy to push into sharing information, power, or tangible things with. Ewing Oil was to be his soon, he had spent years ensuring that the transition would go smoothly when his father retired and eventually died, and he wasn't about to let some stranger walk in off the street and ruin everything for him. He didn't anticipate it would be too difficult to get rid of him though, he was too keen to hear about Ewing Oil and involve himself in things, eventually he would slip up and Jock would realise he was just another moneygrubber. Then there was the matter of his age, he was young and from what Sue Ellen had told him, he had come from working drilling for oil in Alaska, so he was probably inexperienced in anything to do with the business that occurred in offices, therefore, he was unlikely to be a threat to anyone with half a brain. For now though, he couldn't be too impassive, unfortunate experiences in his life had proven to him that just because something should happen didn't necessarily mean it did, so even if he just stood back and allowed Jack to prove himself to be the shady person he sensed he was, things might not turn out as he expected. For that reason, he had to be aware of everything that was going on and a few steps ahead of both his father and his supposed cousin; if he wasn't careful, Jock would have Jack filling Bobby's role in more ways than one, and although he hated to admit it, that would hurt him. He was only just beginning to acknowledge how much it bothered him that his father refused to acknowledge his role in making him into the man he was today, issues and all, and it felt like he'd only just recently won against Bobby in regard to Ewing Oil, so to have to face a new adversary right now was inconvenient. Of course, he didn't doubt his ability to compete, anything Jack could do, he could do better, but the thought of having to compete for his father's affection and attention yet again was wholly unappealing, so if there was a possibility he could get rid of Jack without too much fuss, then it was worth a try.

"Well, that was a warm welcome…" sipping his drink slowly as to not embarrass himself again, Jack took a seat in the chair opposite JR's desk; he hadn't expected JR to be quite so rude, but he wasn't backing down either. Jock liked him and Jock owned Ewing Oil, so if he played nice with JR and continued to build a relationship with Jock, then things might work out exactly as he wanted them to.

To be continued…