Three weeks after the explosion that had nearly killed her, Taylor Clayton was back in business. She had returned to work, was busy planning her wedding which had been rescheduled and would take place in a month, and was running an investigation into the web that the Ewings had been sucked into. The future Mrs. Ewing sat at her desk, Ross in his bassinet at her side, looking over the plans for the wedding. Her final fitting for her dress was today, everything had been booked, and all she had left to do was to show up. As she worked through her to-do list, the door to her office opened. She didn't look up, thinking it was John Ross or Christopher. "Boys, I'm busy right now, can it wait?" It felt like all the air was sucked out of her office when a cold voice spoke. "No, darlin', I'm afraid it can't." Taylor turned her head, immediately tensing.
Cliff Barnes and Harris Ryland stood in the door to her office, Harris shutting the door as they walked over to the two chairs in front of her desk. Taylor stood up, pegging them with an icy stare. "Well, I didn't expect Satan's two right hand men to walk into my office today. Do you have an appointment?" Cliff laughed. "Still a fiesty little girl, aren't you?" The redhead's eyes narrowed. "I'm only fiesty when somebody messes with me and my family. And there's two assholes who are doing just that. So do you care to explain why you're breathing valuable air in my office or should I just call security now?" Harris stood up, stepping closer to Taylor. She didn't back down, matching his steely gaze with one of her own. " You've got everything, don't you, Taylor? You're engaged to J.R.'s son, you had John Ross's little baby, and you're Miss Perfect to everyone. It'd be a shame if something happened to your perfect little world, Miss Clayton." Taylor pulled herself up to her full height, her protective instincts kicking in. "Is that a threat, Ryland?" He chuckled. "It's only a threat if you don't back off, Taylor. I'd hate to have to go to John Ross and tell him that his beloved bride-to-be is sleeping around on him." Taylor bristled. "I'm no more sleeping around on John Ross than you're the King of England, Ryland." The older man again chuckled. "Honey, no one said it had to be true. That's the magic of technology. And your little Romeo is so paranoid right now, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to convince him that his little whore was playing the field. And maybe we could talk to your mother, get her support. I'm sure that after you treated her so bad at the hospital, she'd be happy to take you down."
Taylor froze in place, quickly lashing out and slapping Ryland across the face. "I swear to God, Harris Ryland, if you so much as breathe in John Ross's direction, I'll rip your throat out with my bare hands!" She stormed over and slammed her office door open, pointing outside of it. "Get the hell out of my office right now!" The two men walked out, casting her lingering glances. John Ross rounded the corner as they were leaving, his eyes immediately locking on Taylor. While keeping an eye on Ryland and Cliff, he hurried over to Taylor's office, sticking his foot in the door just as she went to slam it. "Goddamn it, Ryland, I told you to get the hell out of this building!" She turned around with her arm wound up for another slap, but halted when she saw John Ross. His face creased in worry as he saw the look on her face. "Taylor? What did Ryland and Cliff want?" She went to answer him, but then her face crumpled and she burst into tears. John Ross caught her in his arms as she swayed on her feet, leading her over to the couch to sit down. "Taylor, baby, tell me what happened." She immediately felt the anger fill her again, her eyes burning. "They threatened me, John Ross. Threatened that if I didn't back off, they'd tell you I was sleeping around on you, and that they'd get my mother on their side to tell what she knows about me. They messed with the wrong woman, John Ross. If they thought I was coming after them before, they haven't seen anything yet. Now, I won't stop until I have blood." She stood up, walking over to the window and staring out at the Dallas sky. "They had the nerve to come in here and threaten me in front of my son. They brought up my mother. They played every card they have, John Ross." A smirk spread across her face as she turned back to face her fiance.
"But what they don't know is that I've got the winning hand, honey. And I'm about to lay all my cards on the table."
John Ross got up and walked over to kiss her. "You're acting like you've got a little J.R. in you, baby. Ya know, it's real sexy when you get vicious." The redhead winked. "Then you better get ready, the claws are about to come out, and believe me, Cliff Barnes and Harris Ryland will be sorry they ever messed with this girl." As they plotted their revenge, Taylor's secretary Wendy walked in, carrying an envelope. "Miss Clayton, this letter was just delivered for you. I was told it was urgent that it get to you." The redhead took the envelope. "Thank you, Wendy." As the secretary shut the door behind her, Taylor looked at the address, John Ross watching her curiously. "Who's it from?" Taylor's eyes widened in disbelief. "Houston Regional Mental Institution. It's from your sister." She opened the envelope, pulling out the folded letter inside. Jessica's loopy handwriting covered the page, Taylor sitting at her desk as she started to read.
'Dear Taylor,
I hope this letter gets to you. The nurses at this damned nut house are insane. First, please tell my brother I love him, and I'd like if he could come see me. I miss both of you a lot. If there's anyway you could, can you try to convince John Ross to let me come home, back to Southfork? It's awful here, and I miss my family. I heard about what happened to you on Christopher's oil rig, and I'm so sorry. I hope you're okay. I also know I'm late, but congratulations on baby Ross. I hope he can meet his Aunt Jessie one day. Please try to talk to my brother, Taylor.
Lots of love,
Jessica Ann Ross Ewing'
Once Taylor finished reading the letter, she handed it to John Ross, her fiance quickly scanning it. In a fit of anger, he crumpled it, tossing it into the trash can beside Taylor's desk. "She's not coming anywhere near Southfork! I have enough on my plate without my fucking crazy sister coming around crying about my father all the time. Don't worry, I'll make sure that she has no contact with you, Taylor. She's only a hinderance to this plan, and I won't have her screwing this up." With that, he stormed out the door, Taylor casting a glance at the crumpled paper in her trash can. Jessica had been locked away for two months, sedated and numbed to reality. It was a wonder she was able to even write that letter. But something kept gnawing at her, and she pulled the letter from the trash, folded it up, and stuck it in her purse.
Perhaps she'd have to make a business trip to Houston.
Personal business, anyway.