Dallas, Texas

Three hundred miles east of Midland, JR Ewing sat in his office attempting to read through various reports for his daddy, though not getting far as he was distracted by thoughts of what was going on both at home and out on the road. He had been against the hiring of Jack at first, but recently he had warmed to the idea; the first real test of Jack's suitability for the job was occurring now though and he sincerely hoped that his change of heart was worth it because time was running out for Ewing Oil to find someone decent to fulfil the role. He could just imagine his daddy's reaction too if Jack didn't work out, somehow he'd find a way to absolve himself of any responsibility in the hiring decision and instead find a way to blame him, he always did.

At home, things weren't quite right with Sue Ellen either and he knew it was partly his fault, though he'd be damned if he admitted that. His wife was doing her best to appear as if everything was normal, but he instinctively knew that inside she was still a bundle of nerves and he was beginning to wonder whether he should have tried a different approach to getting rid of Pamela Barnes. The two women had nothing in common, so perhaps if he had just let her figure that out on her own and then tried to introduce Jenna to her, he wouldn't be in such a position as he was now. There was little he could do to change what had already been done though, not now that Sue Ellen knew his plans and had suspicions about his motives when it came to those plans. It wasn't often that he did something and regretted it, usually he stood behind his actions even when the results created waves in his life, at the moment though he really did have to wonder if he'd made a huge error in judgement and was about to pay for it.

"JR?" hearing his name being called and a loud knock he looked up as his father proceeded to walk into his office without hesitation, as he so often did, any and all thoughts of personal woe disappeared, replaced by a series of questions when he noticed his daddy's facial expression. "Daddy?" standing, he walked toward the bar, keeping his eyes fixed on his father as he studied the slight smile he displayed; it was strange, very strange, he couldn't think of one reason why his daddy would appear so happy, so the fact that he was puzzled him. "I've just spoken to some of the boys in Odessa and I was right, Jack is a natural", listening as his daddy explained, he turned toward the bar and proceeded to busy himself with the preparation of their drinks, using the opportunity to roll his eyes out of sight of his father. It was typical, just moments ago he'd been concerned about the treatment he'd get if Jack turned out to be useless to Ewing Oil, he should have prepared himself instead for the pang of annoyance that he'd experience when his daddy inevitably praised Jack's performance instead.

"That's great daddy, now we can get back to concentrating on the real business at hand", brushing off the topic, he handed his father his glass before returning to his desk, keen to move on from talking about his cousin, even if he'd decided the man wasn't the worst person he'd ever met after all. "I've been reading over those reports and I think there are some changes we need to make if we're to continue to operate at the same levels if or when things get tough", attempting to change the subject, he wasn't at all surprised when his diversion did little but briefly distract his father. "Can it wait a few hours? Jack and Bobby will be back any minute and I want to have that debrief we planned as soon as possible so I can have Julie figure out the arrangements for the next couple of weeks and then beyond when Bobby's gone". Answering, his father seemed less interested in the business that made them real money than the business of promoting themselves, which he thought was ridiculous considering how hard they were working to stay above the rest of the industry as things out of their control became worse as time passed.

"Fine", nodding, he bit his tongue and said nothing about how glad he'd be when Bobby finally did as he said he was going to do and left, freeing them up to get on with working on their own jobs and not sitting around discussing what had once been a small fraction of his job, before Bobby's incompetence became apparent. Returning to his desk, he waited for his daddy to continue speaking, moments ago he'd made it seem like he was there for a reason and yet now he was silent, it was odd and he briefly wondered whether his father was all right. Some days it seemed like he was the only man who really cared about Ewing Oil and if that was the case it was a real worry that his daddy was still the president of the company and he was simply the vice president. Someone had to take care of things and if his daddy couldn't or wouldn't then he really needed the authority to do it himself.

"Good. If you have notes have one of the girls make a copy for me", finally saying something, his father seemed to return to the topic of real business, but not completely, which left his concerns hanging. "I will", sick of the shallowness of their conversation, he nodded and agreed again, almost verbalising how grateful he was when his intercom buzzed and Diane's voice punctuated the conversation, or lack thereof in his office, giving his daddy a reason to leave, more of a reason than he'd had to invite himself in in the first place it seemed.

"Sir, Mrs Ewing is here to see you", surprised by Diane's words, he couldn't say he was disappointed to hear them; things weren't exactly brilliant with Sue Ellen at the moment so he couldn't guarantee she was there to make him happy, but at least when she was around he felt like he was being listened to. "I'll be right out", answering back, he followed his daddy out of the room, walking quickly down the hall to greet his wife, pleasantly surprised when she stepped forward and met his welcome kiss with one of her own. Considering he'd seen her just hours earlier at their tense appointment with Doctor Williams and they'd left that appointment with some distance between them, her actions now did cause him to question what was happening, not enough to stop her though, he wasn't that inquisitive. "Hello darlin'", greeting her verbally as they broke apart, he found it hard to resist grinning proudly as he noted both the way she was looking at him and the audience they'd gathered, the two secretaries and his daddy watching them with interest; there was no chance of negative rumours spreading about the state of their relationship now.

"I hope you don't mind me dropping by like this", gently rubbing his hand as she spoke, he didn't mind at all her being there if this was how she was going to act; what he could see himself minding was if she'd just come to rehash their earlier argument. "Not at all darlin'", squeezing her hand in his, he turned to his father, "daddy, if you'll excuse us", waiting for his wife to smile politely and say a quick hello before making their exit back down the hall to his office. Closing the door behind them, he was quick to note that she didn't drop his hand or move away from him now that they weren't on public display anymore, that meant her affection earlier was likely genuine which was nice, but didn't bring him any closer to understanding exactly what the purpose of her surprise visit was.

"So darlin', to what do I owe this pleasure?" walking toward the bar, he grinned as she followed him, "club soda?" occupying himself with preparing her drink after she nodded yes, he waited patiently for her to say something. "Well, after our appointment with Doctor Williams today, I haven't been able to stop thinking; thinking about what I've said and done, what you've said and done, just thinking", taking a seat on the couch to the side of his office, she appeared to look straight through him instead of meeting his eye, which only further added to his confusion. "Oh?" responding as he walked over, he handed her her drink before taking a seat next to her. "Mm, I don't like what Doctor Williams said about you scaring me into submission to suit your own interests; that comment itself scares me because the more I think about it, the more I question it, the more I question myself, and you". Looking down as she began to speak, she looked up as she finished her sentence, finally making proper eye contact with him, this time leaving him to feel scared; she was questioning his motives again and that wasn't good, because to be quite honest, they weren't all that pure.

"Sue Ellen…" lifting his hand in protest, he fell silent as she raised her own hand and cut him off; "please, I didn't come here to argue", pausing a second, probably waiting to make sure he was listening, she then continued, "I won't be upset with you as long as you tell me the truth. What do you have planned? Long-term I mean; and how exactly do I fit in to that plan?" Staring deep into his eyes as she asked her question, he felt trapped; if he told her the whole truth, there was no guarantee she wouldn't be upset even if she said otherwise, and if he didn't and his plan worked, she'd be upset and likely angry, which didn't bode well for him.

Thinking fast but carefully, he decided to stick to the same line he'd been telling her all along, after all, he'd always said to never tell the truth when a good lie would do. In this case, he was barely even lying, he did have good intentions when it came to her, it was just that Pamela Barnes he had no intention of helping find happiness. "Now darlin', you'll begin to hurt my feelings if you keep with this line of questioning. I told you, I don't have anything in particular planned except your happiness, I won't take any blame or responsibility for whatever happens as a result of that happiness though, what my little brother chooses to do or not to is nothing to do with me, I've told you that all along. I'm not playing matchmaker, that was all you and continues to be you. I'm only looking out for you while you're looking out for everyone else, and that my dear is where you fit in". Brushing his hand against her cheek, he leaned forward to kiss her softly, hoping to distract her from further questioning, aware that if they were in the good doctor's office, he'd have all sorts of accusations being thrown at him, most of which were true; fortunately though, they were alone, and for the moment his plan appeared to be working.

"JR", pulling away from his attempt to silence her, it seemed unfortunately that Sue Ellen truly wanted to continue their conversation, no matter how much he insisted otherwise. "I believe you, but believe me too, if anybody gets hurt here and I sense that you have something to do with it, I won't be so quick to let you change the subject like you so clearly want to now. Understood?" Surprising him with her acceptance, he muttered a quick comment of agreement before returning to their changed subject, one that didn't require much talking at all. They had a problem, she was wising up to his plans and making him responsible where he wanted only to see end results, not involve himself completely, however, as long as she 'believed' him and remained on his side, he could deal with a bit of extra inconvenience. There were plenty of ways Bobby could forget about Pamela Barnes that didn't involve Jenna Wade distracting him and if Sue Ellen was so concerned about his actions hurting someone, she needn't be, not when in the end Bobby would end up happy, just like she wanted.

To be continued…