Dallas, Texas

"Diane?" contacting his secretary through the intercom, JR didn't realise the time until Julie's voice came through the speaker to tell him, "it's almost six JR, Diane's already left".

"Oh, so she did", murmuring, he spoke more to himself than Julie, remembering then that Diane had said goodbye before leaving for the day.

"Is there something I can do?" sounding ever so helpful, as she had always been, Julie offered her assistance.

Hesitating, knowing all too well how dangerous being alone with Julie could be, he flipped through the stack of papers on his desk, then responded, "grab your steno pad and meet me in my office". It was just business, there were letters that needed to be written tonight so they'd be ready to be sent out first thing in the morning, Julie was paid to do what he was asking her to do and that was all he intended for her to do.

Appearing in his doorway, she greeted him and walked into his office, sitting down in the chair in front of his desk. She was an attractive woman, he couldn't deny that and she certainly didn't pretend she didn't know it, but as nice as the hint of cleavage and sultry smile she gave him were, he surface appeal was no match for Sue Ellen. It wasn't a thought to have, not really, Sue Ellen was his wife and that meant whether or not he met another woman he found more attractive than her he wasn't supposed to act on it, however, seeing Julie now made that decision easier.

"We've got a few letters to get through tonight, I want them all dated tomorrow, to be sent out first thing", wasting no time, he launched into the business he'd called her in for.

"…report no later than Friday, 21 September…" a little while later, barely having made a dent in the pile of dictation he had for her, he trailed off as he spoke, considering what he was saying and then correcting himself, "no, scratch that, make it Thursday". He knew what he wanted to say, he was just tired from a long day and stressed from everything going on not just at home but at the office too. The rumblings of an oil crisis were getting louder by the day and he and his daddy were preparing as best they could for what that meant for Ewing Oil.

"JR? What's wrong? You seem distracted and you look tense", speaking where she wasn't invited to, her personal concern for him showed, which he appreciated, but knew he couldn't get too involved with.

"Nothing, let's just finish this", mindful of the time of day outside and history between them, he brushed off her concern. Julie might care for him, even now, years after their last encounter, but it had to be a one-way transaction, they couldn't conduct a friendship like they'd had in the past.

"How about I give you a back rub first?" moving to stand behind him, she didn't wait for his reply, running her hands over his shoulders without hesitation, bringing back a series of old memories in an instant.

"I think I'd rather just get this done and go home", needing no time to consider it, he stated his feelings. Julie was attractive and throwing himself at him, but for what? She couldn't offer him anything he couldn't get and enjoy getting more from Sue Ellen.

"Are you sure? You always felt better after one of my back rubs", whispering in his ear, she skilfully loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, lightly scraping her nails over his chest as she had so many times before.

"I'm sure", circling her slender wrist with his thumb and index finger he resisted the physical temptation to let her continue, stopping her hand from travelling any lower than it already had. Julie had had a lot to offer him at one point in his life but that time had long passed.

"If you say so", withdrawing her hand, she collected her steno pad and pen and returned to the chair in front of him.

"I do", murmuring the words more to himself than her, he knew he'd made a mistake in asking her to assist him. It was one thing having her floating around the office during the day, it was another to call upon her after everyone had gone home, especially since they both knew that in the past asking her to use her secretarial skills to assist him rarely meant taking shorthand or typing.

Waiting patiently for him to return to dictating, she took his long pause as reason to stand and walk over to the bar, returning not too long later with a drink for him.

"Thanks", taking the glass from her, he watched her take a seat again, ready for him to continue where they'd stopped.

"Now, where were we?" scanning the documents on his desk, he sighed, conscious that he'd be home even later than he'd anticipated if he didn't focus and get on with what he had left to do.

Frowning in response to his sigh, Julie stood and approached him, kneeling down beside him as she spoke, "JR, please, you're distracted, let me help you clear your head".

Aware of what was happening as she nimbly ran her hands up over his thighs, landing on his belt, he felt powerless to stop it. Her touch was a reminder of exactly how skilled she was at clearing his head and considering that was what he needed, it felt like the logical thing to let happen, except that at the same time, it didn't feel right at all.

Unbuckling his belt in a smooth motion, her unbuttoning and unzipping came at exactly the right time to help ease some of the physical pressure her actions was causing, however, the closer her bare skin came to coming in contact with his, the tighter the knot in his stomach grew.

It was tempting to let her continue to do what she was offering to do, but the guilt of letting her anywhere near him was already eating away at him and he knew he'd lose a lot more than he'd gain by allowing her to follow through with her actions.

"Julie…" putting his hand out again, he knew what he had to do.

To be continued…