Dallas, Texas

"…you should have heard some of these answers, pitiful, just pitiful, like they'd never even considered how the oil business works outside of the boardroom. Then even the ones that did get it…" shaking his head to emphasise his confusion and disgust, JR continued speaking, "…you'd think we'd described some kind of low skilled, underpaid position or something, not the opportunity of a lifetime for a talented young man. I understand they want to work for Ewing Oil in a more official capacity, who wouldn't? But this isn't a bad offer and I can honestly say it surprises me how few men seem to be interested, or for that matter, capable".

Taking advantage of his wife's willingness to listen to him talk, JR launched into letting out his main gripes almost immediately after she took his coat, handed him his drink at the front door, and enquired about his day. Patricia had taught her daughter that a good wife always put her husband's needs ahead of her own, and while he didn't like her to take that sentiment so far that she ended up neglecting her own needs, he did appreciated her attentiveness. He'd had a long day, not necessarily a hard day, because he'd been in the position of power and questioning people wasn't the most challenging thing he'd ever done, but it had still been a long day nonetheless; coming home to a sympathetic wife and a noisy but cuddly and playful son was a nice change of pace. Married life wasn't exciting day-to-day like he'd grown accustomed to in the past, however, Sue Ellen did try very hard to keep things interesting and exciting, and considering the grumbling that was likely happening at Southfork at present, being at his home with his wife and son was definitely where he wanted to be.

"Oh… that's a real shame", hearing Sue Ellen say exactly what he had expected her to say, he was pleased when she continued, leading the conversation to where he had naturally been heading. "You say some though, so not all? Surely not everyone was pitiful or uninterested. I'll fix you another drink and you can tell me about the positive interviews", following her across the room with his eyes, it was a mixture of her tone and the sight of John Ross on the floor playing quietly, even if it was just for a fleeting moment, that caused him to stop and take a breath before continuing. He was worked up and he had the opportunity to let everything out, but he didn't need to rush and shout to get his point across, no one was going to stop him from talking, and no one was going to blame him for the day's low points, he wasn't at Southfork and he was nowhere near his father.

"Mm, well there were a few, three that really stood out, but only two that will probably end up being serious options. You know what we need, someone young, someone fresh, someone who understands what the job requires and isn't afraid to do it… I hate to say it, but that someone might be Jack, he has the confidence and he surprised me with his answers. Jack lacks the right education and experience, but I think he could be trained. Like Bobby, he has people skills, and while I don't trust that he's not here to do exactly what he's doing, the distrust I have in him might actually work in his favour. What I mean is, he's not afraid to sneak around and manipulate things, we need that, but we need it used for Ewing Oil's benefit, not his personal benefit. I won't consider hiring him until I'm sure he's trustworthy, and I don't know how long that will take or if it will even ever happen".

Explaining himself, JR paused as Sue Ellen returned to him with another drink, before continuing as he noted her attentive body language; "Jack's not our only hope though, not that you'll hear daddy say that… There were a couple of others, most memorably Tex Jackson's boy, Alan. He has it all, he's young, he's a UT grad, he has experience in oil, sales, and marketing, and he understands the purpose of the role, he understands the drive us independents have and the struggles we face. He's not perfect, he doesn't have a natural killer instinct like daddy and I do, he's more like Bobby, more of a friendly face, so in that aspect I'd be a little concerned, but still, if we can train Jack, we can train Alan, or at least that's what I told daddy…"

"Anyway, we're considering a contracted term of nine to twelve months for whomever we choose to hire; it's enough time for a new employee to get settled and it's enough time for us to get an idea of whether we want to offer the job as a permanent position. Daddy and I are both busy with work at the office and leaving town to promote Ewing Oil no longer fits into either of our lifestyles, so naturally we have to choose someone now that Bobby's leaving. Being busy means we have other things to do apart from this too though, so if we can delay the long-term decision-making for a while longer, that's only a good thing".

"To be honest, I know I was resistant to Bobby joining the company and I wouldn't go as far as to say I'll be sad when he's gone, but I can't pretend things weren't easier when he was employed by Ewing Oil; this whole interview process is an inconvenience, especially the way it's been going. It's a difficult role to define and it's probably going to take a fair amount of training and trust on our part to find someone we can genuinely rely on to do what needs to be done and what is best for Ewing Oil. It might be Jack, it might be Alan, or it could be neither of them, I don't know; daddy was so sure Bobby was right for the job and look what happened there, so the question is, do we choose another Bobby, or do we choose someone different, but take a risk with that difference?"

Pausing as he noted Sue Ellen's facial expression, he raised an eyebrow as if to ask her to say what was clearly on her mind, which she then did, because as much as he studied her, she studied him too, and she understood him. "Hm, well I think it's wonderful you have two, or three, good candidates, but I have to point out, none of them are Bobby, and that's not a bad thing. Comparing Jack and Alan to Bobby is neither here nor there if you're looking for the right man for the job; Bobby wasn't it, but it wasn't necessarily because of one particular thing that you can single out and purposely avoid in future. I know he doesn't have the killer instinct like you and Jock do, so he wasn't comfortable with whatever dirty deals you had him doing, but that didn't make him unsuccessful; if anything, his friendly, nonthreatening attitude was actually a benefit of having him on staff. With that in mind, remember that although you were reluctant to hire him, hiring him didn't ruin the company, nor has his resignation".

"On the same note, comparing Jack and Alan to Bobby's natural personality and personal choices isn't fair. It sounds to me like both Jack and Alan tick certain boxes, boxes that are requirements or simply your hopes for the traits the new employee will possess; whether they're friendly or not isn't specifically a Bobby thing to compare with, nor is their level of comfortableness with manipulation. They are both individuals, as is Bobby, and being individuals, what one does doesn't necessarily mean it's what the others will do too. What I mean is, Alan could be very similar to Bobby on paper, but put in a situation, he could react very differently to Bobby; the same goes for Jack, he may be similar to you and Jock in one sense, but he's not you, nor is he Bobby, and he'll act according to his own values. I think you have the right idea with a period of a few months to test things out and see how things go with whomever you choose. The point that you really don't know how things will work until you try them is very true in this case; time isn't on your side, but trial and error may just be the answer to your question".

Listening to Sue Ellen speaking, JR frowned to himself; she had a point, but it didn't really help him much. Basing his opinion of Jack and Alan on their actual actions and reactions rather than his assumptions and comparisons to Bobby was a sensible thing to do, it was time consuming too though, and time wasn't really something he and his father had. Neither he nor his father were particularly unbiased either, so even if they did compare actual behaviours in real situations, there was no guarantee they wouldn't see exactly what they wished. Things were already complicated, and while Sue Ellen meant well in what she was saying, he couldn't say her sharing her thoughts had done much more than add another layer to the situation; still though, it was nice to have someone to tell his thoughts to, someone who wasn't just there because he was paying them to be.

To be continued…