Dallas, Texas

"I'm sorry Mr Ewing, but I'm going to have to decline your offer. My decision isn't anything to do with Ewing Oil as a company or you personally, it's really just the details of this offer don't stack up so well in comparison to other offers that have been made. If the position being offered was more permanent it would be a harder decision to make, because I really would like to work for Ewing Oil; if all you can offer me is a trial period though and there's no prospect of negotiation in that then I'm sorry to say I must decline". Nodding a couple of times as he listened to Alan speaking, Jock maintained a serious facial expression for JR's benefit more than Alan's, because Alan couldn't see him as he was on the other end of the phone, not sitting opposite him like JR was. Alan had been JR's choice of applicant to hire and now that he was declining their offer of employment, he could only imagine the things that were going through JR's head, things that weren't true but were awfully convenient for his plans for Jack.

He hadn't had any contact with Alan since their interview earlier in the week, so even if JR wanted to accuse him of interfering, there was no evidence to support anything of the sort; the honest fact was, Alan was a smart, educated, capable man and it wasn't unbelievable he'd been applying for other jobs and received some interest. It also wasn't unbelievable that he would be more interested in accepting a job that wasn't so weighed down with conditions, just like Jack probably would be if he wasn't a family member. Jack now had nothing to worry about though, he was sure he'd do just fine in the job even if JR insisted he still be employed only on a trial basis to begin with. The fact was Jack was perfect for the job for more reasons than JR gave him credit for, and now that he had no competition, it would be a lot harder for JR to criticise him for small things. Jack didn't have a college education or relevant experience in the oil business, however, he did possess charm, some understanding of business concepts and a willingness to learn everything, including their various methods of encouragement and information gathering. He was confident in Jack's abilities and now that Alan had turned down their offer, he had a feeling JR might refocus his energy on turning Jack into the employee Ewing Oil needed, because he was the best of a unbelievably bad bunch of applicants and if he failed to thrive in the role, they were in trouble.

"We're sorry to hear that, we understand though, we hope you understand too that a permanent position just isn't something we can offer at this moment in time. You're welcome to apply for any future vacancies we have though". Giving a diplomatic, bland answer that was designed to reaffirm their position to Alan and appease JR and his insistence that they offer the job to both men, he didn't try particularly hard to convince Alan to reconsider their offer, because he didn't particularly want to hire him anyway. There was nothing wrong with Tex Jackson's boy, he simply wanted Jack for the job and since everything was falling into place nicely now, he wasn't going to try too hard to change how they were. Glancing over at JR, he was pleased when he followed his comments with a few comments of his own, which mirrored his position. His eldest son had said something earlier about hiring Jack having advantages, so perhaps he was actually beginning to see the positive side of the situation and wasn't so fixated on equalling things out.

Concluding their conversation with Alan much faster than they had begun it, his thoughts were confirmed when JR voluntarily mentioned the next phone call they had to make. "I suppose we'd better call Jack to let him know then. Do you want to do that or shall I?" It was surprising, JR didn't seem thrilled, but he also wasn't arguing against hiring Jack like he had during their earlier discussions, all the way up until he had agreed to taking him on if they also took on Alan, making it somewhat of a competition. He wasn't complaining though, this was what he wanted and what he knew was best for Ewing Oil; they were a family business and Jack was a perfectly capable, trainable young man, a young Ewing man; in his opinion, things were working out as they should.

"Go ahead. I think it might mean more coming from you, he already knows I want him here", unable to resist making a smart comment in response, he then motioned toward the phone and waited, pleasantly surprised when JR followed his direction and picked up the phone without saying something sarcastic in return. His high hopes were dashed when Jack answered the phone on the third ring though, because JR's "howdy cousin" greeting was spoken in a voice that oozed faux charm and friendliness. "I'm calling with some news I think you'll be very pleased but not all that surprised to hear…" shaking his head as he listened to his son speaking his carefully chosen words, he was both amused and annoyed. He had three sons, two of them possessed qualities he could identify as coming from him, JR's cynicism was one of those qualities, so it wasn't particularly surprising that he was accepting the situation in his own way. What was important to him was that he did eventually accept the situation and did welcome Jack to Ewing Oil and the family though, and now that steps had been made toward that, he was pleased, even if the situation was far from resolved. Jack would have a hard time over the next couple of months, there was a lot of learning to be done and he would need to learn to deal with JR's needling comments and attitude, but if he could do that, things would hopefully be good and they could get back to focusing on more important things than public relations.

To be continued…