Dallas, Texas

Closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair as the door to his father's office closed, JR let out a long sigh. "I think it's safe to say that one was a no", speaking aloud to no one in particular, though his father was present, he allowed his tone to reflect his frustration. Things were not going as planned and he was beginning to wonder whether it was because their way of doing business was foreign to many people, or whether they had simply not worded their job advertisement clearly. Surely it wasn't an unreasonable request to ask an agency to send them men who knew public relations and marketing, who could use those skills out in the real world and wanted to do so. They didn't need another person in the office to create promotional posters, television advertisements, or draft statements that supported Ewing Oil's interests; they needed a man who understood what Ewing Oil was about, what business was like, and was happy to play the game as it was outside the walls of a boardroom. It was simple, they needed someone who would travel around, wining and dining anyone JR or Jock thought might be useful to Ewing Oil at some point; at the very core it was networking, making their name known and creating connections, there was little real business to be done outside of the creation of connections.

JR thought they had made it clear that first and foremost what they were looking for in the men applying for the position was strong people skills and an understanding of why the position was necessary in business, everything else could be taught on the job. To him it sounded simple, it was simple, he'd done it himself for years, but apparently, whatever they had written in their ad just didn't translate in such a simplistic way to applicants; the men they had interviewed so far seemed far more interested in working for Ewing Oil with tangible results than doing so in such an ambiguous manner. What surprised him more than the lack of initial understanding though was the lack of applicants who seemed to jump at the opportunity they were offering when it was explained; surely he and Bobby weren't anomalies, they couldn't be the only men who thought it rather pleasant to be paid to socialise, with an agenda of course, but socialise nonetheless. That didn't seem to be the case though, he didn't understand it, but he had heard the answers from interviewees himself, they either didn't seem to understand what he and his father were looking for when they explained it, or they were more interested in what they could do for Ewing Oil in a more official capacity. Ewing Oil was a name people recognised in Dallas and there was no shortage of capable, qualified men willing to work for them, unfortunately though, in the stream of men they had interviewed so far they hadn't found a match for the actual job vacancy they had available, that was a problem.

"I think it's safe to say I was right, none of these men are suitable and we're wasting everyone's time interviewing them. I can tell you from the resumes that they're all too far into their careers and lives to take a step back, even if the money is good; if we were hiring in another position they might be worth an interview, but this is just pointless. The job is entry level, granted, it's not your traditional entry level job, but it's perfect for a young man who's just starting out in this business, someone who understands what's what in oil but hasn't yet found his place in the industry. It's PR, pimping if you really want to be honest about it, it requires the right man, but it's not rocket science, I don't know what's so damn complicated that we can't get a good group in here to interview. As for those idiots at the agency…"

Expressing his thoughts, Jock's frustration was clear in his tone, he hadn't wanted to interview applicants for the role in the first place and every minute he spent having his first opinion confirmed in person was a minute of his time wasted. He had told JR the group the agency had sent them wasn't right and he had been correct; had anyone listened to him though? No. The one bright spot in the process was that JR had agreed to interview Jack, the applicant his gut told him was right for the position. He couldn't really hire Jack without reason, JR would throw a fit, their HR department and the employment agency they'd contracted wouldn't be thrilled that they'd spent so long vetting applicants, and Harve had warned him they could face discrimination claims if they made it so public that they had a vacancy only to fill it with another Ewing. To him, nepotism wasn't really a problem, he saw no point in holding power if he couldn't help someone he knew personally, especially since his version of helping didn't necessarily mean giving without adequate training or high expectations. There was more going on now than just a handshake deal though, so if they hired Jack now that they'd advertised the role to the public, it had to be because he was the best of the bunch rather than because he was his nephew; luckily, it now appeared that wouldn't be so difficult to prove.

"I tend to agree. It feels like we're interviewing the wrong group here…" responding without argument, JR turned his attention to the agenda on his desk. They had three further interviews to conduct before Jack came in at the end of the day and for the first time since Jack had opened his mouth regarding Ewing Oil, he wasn't dreading the outcome of that final interview. He wouldn't pretend he was thrilled his cousin had weaselled his way into their lives, because he wasn't; Jack's presence in Dallas was just another inconvenience in his life, especially now that he was almost rid of Bobby at Ewing Oil and he'd finally been able to tell his father some of his true feelings about how he treated him. One thing was becoming clear to him though, despite Jack's lack of formal qualifications and his inexperience in the oil business outside of actually drilling, no longer did he sound like a complete write-off. Jack had a couple of things going for him that few of the other men they'd interviewed did; firstly, he was a Ewing, as much as JR hated to acknowledge it, it appeared to be true, and for the sake of consistency and name recognition, being a Ewing had its advantages; secondly, he was enthusiastic, he truly wanted the job. They hadn't even interviewed Jack yet, so he didn't know whether his personality would translate into a good interview, one that measured up and outshone the rest of the interviewees when compared, however, JR couldn't help but think it might.

He had spent some time with Jack informally and although his thoughts were hazy, he did remember thinking his cousin wasn't such a bad guy when he wasn't trying so hard; that likeability wasn't everything required for the job, however, it was an advantage. On a selfish level too, JR was beginning to realise that if he didn't want Jack hanging around Dallas and Southfork all the time, then perhaps instead of playing dirty and getting rid of him, he could instead send him away, travelling, on the road for long periods. Bobby barely had a presence at the office and he liked it that way, if he could keep Jack out of his domain too, he would have one less thing to worry about day-to-day. Thinking about it, he wondered whether he had been too hasty in making his dislike of Jack known and whether perhaps he should have stayed quiet in order to have more time to consider his options. Hearing the buzzing of the intercom though, his thoughts were broken, and as his father pressed the button to respond to let Julie know to send the next interviewee in, he was reminded that it would be premature to make any decisions right now, they hadn't even finished interviewing outsiders, let alone Jack, they didn't have the full picture yet.

To be continued…