Dallas, Texas

"Washington?" repeating the information back to him, Sue Ellen's recent history of being difficult to read suddenly disappeared. Sitting across the dinner table from him, her attention previously split three ways, between her dinner, John Ross' dinner and paying attention to their discussion, now focused on just him, it was quite clear she certainly hadn't expected him to answer the way he had when she'd asked about his day.

"Daddy insists", setting his knife and fork down, he explained it in the simplest terms. He was the vice president of Ewing Oil and unfortunately that meant that although he had a significant amount of power, ultimately he did have a superior to answer to and that person happened to be his father. For all the independence he had and growing he'd done in his adult life, sometimes he just had to follow what his daddy wanted him to do.

"And you?" frowning, her face reflected what she felt. It had been a while since he'd taken a business trip, which had been good for their marriage, and the idea of him returning to travelling for work was clearly not something she'd been prepared for or liked the idea of.

"I think I'd better go and get a feel of what's actually happening there instead of listening to the rumours here", considering how many calls and visits they'd been getting from the cartel, it was time for someone to go and find out how much of what was being spoken about was fact and how much was fiction.

"I thought you said there was nothing you could do about the situation?" looking as if she doubted his assessment of the situation, she reminded him of his own words, tearing her eyes away from him only when John Ross mumbled and gestured for more bread to accompany his dinner meal.

"There might not be, but as the vice president of Ewing Oil it's important that I know what's going on out there", not trusting that Seth Stone or Jordan Lee had the same drive he did, despite their say-so, he knew that if Ewing Oil was to maintain their position he'd best investigate things himself.

Listening as she buttered and sliced John Ross' bread, Sue Ellen was quiet for a long while before she turned her attention back to him, accepting what he was telling her and asking, "how long will you be away for?"

"Not long, a few days at most, I just need to be there in person", knowing what he had to do, he felt confident with the timeline he gave her.

"I understand. I don't like seeing you leave, but if it's necessary", supportive, it was clear she hoped he'd tell her it wasn't necessary and he'd reconsider, he couldn't tell her that though, because it wasn't true.

"It is", surely disappointing her, he reiterated what he'd said previously.

"We could come with you", making a suggestion, he had an idea of what was going on in her head now. Accepting of his decision or not, she had insecurities and concerns that weren't so easily settled with words. It was impractical for her and John Ross to join him, but practicality never crossed Sue Ellen's mind when she was in an emotional state.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. I'm going to be busy and I can't guarantee there would be much time for us to spend together. I'm not sure I like the idea of you exploring a new city alone either, it's one more thing on my mind", sure nothing terrible would happen if she and John Ross were to join him, he was honest in saying it was more for his own peace of mind than anything. He wouldn't have hours of free time to tend to their needs and he saw no benefit to them joining him for such a short period.

Clinging onto the idea, she asked, "what if I want to?"

"I'm not going to stop you if that's what you really want to do, I just need you to understand what my days are going to look like there and what that would look like for you. Personally I'd prefer if you two stayed here, safe and sound", sighing, he meant what he said; she could join him if she really wanted to, he just didn't see any real reason to.

"You're sure?" reading her expression, one of uncertainty, it occurred to him that perhaps her concerns weren't so much about what she'd do with her time as they were about what he did with his.

"Yes. Darlin', it's work, just work, I promise", assuring her he had only genuine business intentions, nothing dubious that would break their marriage apart, he hoped she trusted him enough to believe him.

"Work… Why isn't Jack going?" remembering he wasn't the only Ewing at Ewing Oil, she asked a good question, one he had an equally good answer for.

"Jack's job is making sure Ewing Oil has allies, my job is to go and see what those allies can offer us now, it's a give and take", having explained over the years, she just needed a little reminder about how things operated; Ewing Oil didn't spread goodwill for no reason.

Listening, she nodded, seeming to appreciate where he was coming from, "we'll miss you but we understand".

"You won't have a chance to miss me", chuckling, he emphasised again that he wouldn't be gone for as long as she thought.

"We always miss you, don't we?" brushing her hand over John Ross' head, she included him in the conversation, causing him to look around and smile, clueless about what was going on, just as he would be when it was happening and then all over.

"I'll be back before you know it", ruffling his son's hair in much the same way Sue Ellen had, he reassured the both of them that it really wasn't such a big deal, because it wasn't. He'd go, get done what he needed to and be back before he was really missed. The fact that she had told him at all that she'd miss him was good news too, because it meant their marriage still mattered to her and that she would still rather be close to him than distant from him.

Just as he thought everything was resolved, she added further comment to their discussion, "JR, I worry".

"Why?" knowing she was a worrier, he needed the specifics for why she was concerned to assist her. Based on their conversation it could be any number of things.

"Because my intuition tells me I should", vague, she blamed her anxieties on her mind, a mind she was well aware had the tendency to overthink things.

"You shouldn't, everything is just fine. Business is a little tough at the moment but we'll get through it, and personally I'm very happy. You don't need to be concerned, I have been faithful to you and I intend to continue to be faithful to you", reassuring her, as he'd grown accustomed to, he didn't lie.

"Have you?" looking him straight in the eye, she asked him the question in what felt like an accusatory tone.

"What are you getting at?" feeling like she had all but directly accused him of infidelity, he held back his aggression for the sake of John Ross.

"I just have this feeling you're not telling me everything", softening her tone, matching his, she showed him her vulnerability again.

"Your feeling is steering you in the wrong direction, I've told you the truth", firm, he reiterated his words, maintaining his position. She was the only woman he'd been with for a long time now, she could accuse him all she wanted, it didn't make her concerns true.

"Everything?" still sounding sceptical, she pushed him on the subject again.

"Everything important", answering quickly, the topic of Julie pushed into his thoughts; if something had happened he'd consider that important, but as it hadn't, he didn't.

"That tells me there's something supposedly unimportant that I don't know", frowning, Sue Ellen noticed his ambiguity immediately.

"It doesn't matter, I've dealt with it", brushing off her concerns, he told her the truth again; he had dealt with Julie, he just hadn't bothered to give her a play-by-play of the situation as it unfolded.

"What doesn't matter? What are we talking about?" clearly confused, he couldn't blame her, Julie was so far in their past he doubted she ever thought about her, especially not enough to consider she was the subject of their conversation.

"Evidently Julie was still holding out hope that I'm still the man I used to be, I set her straight and she doesn't work for daddy anymore, she's been moved on. Our marriage is more important than her secretarial skills", admitting what he'd been holding back, he studied her facial expression as he spoke.

"Julie?" repeating the name, Sue Ellen looked as if she were about to cry. She had to know that Julie meant nothing to him, but he understood that that probably didn't take away the feelings that rushed back when her name was mentioned.

"Nothing happened, I put a stop to her naïve fantasies as soon as they became apparent", defending himself, he could hear how he must sound to her; he had been faithful but it sure didn't sound like an innocent encounter.

"When was this?" glancing at John Ross, she kept her tone even as to not upset him, but it was no secret that she wasn't happy with what she was hearing.

"Last Friday", admitting he'd kept her in the dark for almost a week, he knew he'd made a mistake.

Shaking her head, she responded, "I asked you what was wrong that night and you said nothing about Julie".

"I didn't think it was important then and I realise now that that was wrong, I'm sorry", seeing no avenue but to apologise, he did just that.

Listening to his apology, she didn't automatically answer him, nor did she thank him, just eventually broke her silence to ask him, "she's gone?"

"You won't see her face when you come to the office", truthful, he didn't quite tell the whole story, which she apparently was able to easily figure out.

"I'm not going to ask again, I'm just going to say, if that means she's still at Ewing Oil that's not good enough. Write her a reference, pay her severance if you have to, whatever it costs to get her out of our lives, and in future, mention this sort of thing", sternly setting her terms, he didn't doubt she had more to say on the subject but as far as their discussion at dinner with their son went, it was over. He'd made a huge error in judgement and would need to be careful not to repeat that mistake.

To be continued…