Dallas, Texas
"Ok, if Jack's in based on willingness to try and potential trainability then so is Al, it's only fair. We discussed a short-term contract before we started hiring, but I like this trial period idea better". Accepting the fact that Jack was now in, because his father had made it clear he was not about to change his mind, and accepting the fact that in all honesty, he'd somewhat come to terms with Jack's presence too, JR nodded and replied in short to his father's comments. "We don't have Bobby for much longer so we need a replacement; we've never hired and trained anyone else for the job though, so being realistic we don't know exactly what we're looking for. Jack and Al are the best of the bunch, I see no harm in trialling them both and hiring whoever is the best man for the job. If it's Jack then I'll accept that, like I accepted Bobby into his role here, I just want to know we're doing what's best for Ewing Oil. If Al turns out to be what's best then I want us to hire him though. Either way, Jack won't lose whatever place he's talked his way into in this family; after all, we try to separate family and business, don't we?" Making a fair point about doing what was best for Ewing Oil's success rather than simply what his father wanted to do, JR was well aware too though that his tone toward the end of his comments was not appreciated.
His father liked to think that they had a good separation between their personal and professional lives, however, more than a few times in the past and even now, he allowed his personal feelings to affect what went on in the office. Linking his fidelity to his position in the company was an example of blurred lines, but even smaller things demonstrated an overlap in interests, things like customising a job for Bobby to avoid his discomfort with the reality that he wasn't cut-out to be an oilman, or even considering Jack for Bobby's job despite his lack of relevant experience. The reality was, if Jack wasn't family, they wouldn't even be discussing him, because he would've had to apply like everyone else, by sending in his resume, a resume full of irrelevant experience and few noteworthy educational qualifications, a resume which would have been quickly read and discarded by HR and the employment agency and never would have reached them. His father couldn't see beyond Jack's personal presence, that he was a Ewing and was interested in being a Ewing, but he wasn't the ideal candidate for Ewing Oil's job vacancy.
Logically, his father had to know that he was considering Jack for his name and his name only, because based on his application alone, he was decent, but he was nowhere near the high standard they looked for in applicants when hiring. What his father was seeing in Jack was likely the potential to replace the son he was losing now that Bobby was leaving Ewing Oil; Jack was young and eager to please, and since he didn't have any of the responsibilities of the business world on his shoulders to weigh him down, his easy-going personality shone through. Knowing his father, JR guessed he really did see Bobby leaving the company as a personal loss and he did need to replace him for his own satisfaction, therefore hiring someone he liked was just as important as hiring someone who could do the job. With the relationship they had, it wasn't likely his father would see Bobby's resignation as an opportunity for things to return to how they had been prior to his employment, the way he would prefer it to be, so in a strange way, replacing Bobby with a similar family member made sense.
He had come to terms with the fact that Jack was being chosen for reasons that went far beyond what he presented on paper and in his interview and he was beginning to realise that Jack wasn't such a terrible guy when he wasn't trying so hard to impress everyone. As the saying went too, better the devil he knew than the devil he didn't; bringing Jack onside could actually end up working in his favour if he controlled the situation correctly. Like Bobby before him, he would be in and out of Dallas, away from the office most of the time, more importantly though, he would be a Ewing Oil employee rather than simply a family member, making him easier to control in some ways, though not completely, because he wasn't totally subservient.
Insisting on hiring Al was protection for Ewing Oil and his feelings though, not to mention good business; Alan Jackson had the education and family background required to succeed in the role they had open and it made sense for them to at least take him on on a trial basis, Jack was their risky investment. Hiring both men covered their bases, Al was the safe, reliable choice and hiring him now meant they didn't lose him to another company, which they would if they waited too long; Jack was the choice with the most possibilities though, he was an almost blank slate and that could work to their benefit it utilised correctly. His opinion of the situation had developed over the past couple of days after realising what exactly was out there and seeing how easily they could be left with no one. Negotiating to bring two employees in for a trial period seemed like a good idea to him now, better than the alternative of hiring just one and that one turning out to be the wrong man for the job, bringing them right back to square one again.
"I'm going to ignore your tone for now, but any more of this defiance and fishing for trouble and you can say goodbye to these consultations and hello to hearing of these decisions in a memo on your desk". Frowning as he listened to his father's comments, because he most likely wasn't joking, JR's bad mood didn't last for long, because as his father continued to speak, it became clear that while his tone wasn't appreciated, his proposal was. "As for bringing Al into the company too, I suppose there's no harm in it if it's just for a trial period too; it's no secret that if we didn't have Jack, he'd be the next choice. So, for let's say the next say month, Bobby has one or both of them accompany him to the rest of his commitments, then for the next month after that, we have each man on his own tasks; at the end of that month we assess the situation and make a decision. The permanent position will go to the man who is most successful in the role, that's difficult to measure but I suppose it really comes down to how many allies we can make based on charm and how much material we can gather to create compliant peers. Agreed?"
Surprised by his father's short summary of his proposal and quite frankly by his proposal itself, JR was silent for a moment before nodding and confirming his agreement, "yes sir". He was genuinely surprised, he had expected to have to argue his point more, even though they had just debated the issue; he wasn't complaining though, he had achieved the outcome he had asked for and he was pleased. They still had to actually organise for their two new employees to start work and there was still more to come in respect to the actual job, but finally, they had passed the first hurdle, they now had a replacement for Bobby.
To be continued…