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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scorpienne" data-source="post: 446131" data-attributes="member: 67264">Chapter 8 ~ Famous Last Nights…And Words Wednesday Dallas ~ The ElysiaSue Ellen, having just returned from Santa Fe, let herself into the penthouse and noticed right away the blinking light of the answering machine. Making her way to the writing desk, she pressed her finger to the play button.The first one made her cringe. “Sue Ellen, this is Don. We need to talk. Call me at home.”The last sentence of his message brought a smirk to her face. All that time she had spent, dawdling at home. Trying to stay busy. Waiting for him. Endless, countless days and nights. Now she was gone and he, all of a sudden, had conveniently found his way home and was available to talk.What could they possibly have to talk about? She’d read over much of the divorce summons prior to taking it to her attorneys. There was nothing earth-shattering in it. Coming off two failed marriages, she had taken steps to ensure her financial interests were protected before entering this one. The prenuptial agreement was very clear cut. They each would retain what they brought into it, nothing more.No, there was nothing worth discussing with him. The time for that had passed. And if she did, she’d be doing so against the advice of her attorneys.There was one aspect of it she would need to broach with JR, however. A relatively minor thing and nothing to do with the prenuptial agreement but one in which she would like his approval.“Next,” she said aloud, skipping to the next message before Don’s voice message had a chance to repeat.Her reaction to the second message was far different.“Just seein’ if you’re back in town. Call me at the office if you want.”Her earlier smirk giving way to a grin, Sue Ellen rewound the message and played JR’s voice again.Ewing Oil JR turned his attention out the window and laughed at the ludicrousness of it. Don Lockwood truly was an imbecile. The man had spent the better part of a year creating a biographical film about him and yet knew absolutely nothing about his subject.Lockwood’s call earlier hadn’t been entirely unexpected. JR had anticipated hearing from him in some form upon discovering he’d hired a private investigator to trail Sue Ellen. But the fool actually had the audacity to phone him at Ewing Oil. What Lockwood failed to recognize was that, even if only via telephone, by doing so he’d ventured into JR’s territory. Even dumber, he somehow thought he could intimidate JR. An act that the recipient of the phone call found very offensive.Lockwood proceeded to launch one accusation after another, sounding as if he was reading from a list. JR reasoned, given Lockwood’s severe lack of intelligence, he probably was.First came the private investigator who had ceased responding to his communication. JR’s response to that? Deny, deny, deny. And technically, he wasn’t being untruthful. He hadn’t any better idea of the man’s whereabouts than Sue Ellen’s soon-to-be ex-spouse.One after another. Accusations of infidelity on Sue Ellen’s part? Well, Lockwood seemed to have forgotten JR was John Ross’ father. It’s only natural that the two of them, as parents, would be in contact with one another from time to time.What about the morning she arrived at The Elysia via limo and emerged from it looking disheveled? “What about it?” had been JR’s response. She’d entered The Elysia alone. How was JR to know who she’d been with? He’d then reminded Don he wasn’t her keeper.Eventually, when Don got nowhere, he resorted to what JR knew was coming from the very beginning. What Don thought was his ace in the hole. The movie.“Do that. I’ll have you tied up in court ‘til the day you die,” JR had told him.“I don’t appreciate your threatening…”JR had simply chuckled at that and cut him off. “Make no mistake, Lockwood. It’s no threat…”When Don attempted to speak again, he interjected something else.“Let’s just say she did take up with me again, which I can assure you she has not,” he began, lying. “The fact she would come seekin’ out a rogue such as myself says a whole lot more about you than it does about me…”“I…..”“I’m only gonna say this once. If you care at all about your career, you’ll leave her alone. You’ll put that trash movie in a dumpster where it belonged in the first place. I don’t ever expect to hear from you again. And this conversation never took place.”“Or what?”“Or I can make damn sure you never make another movie again, either here or jolly old England. We clear on that?”Throughout the conversation, JR kept a steady voice, interjecting a chuckle here and there, knowing from experience it invoked more fear than any expression of anger ever could. And the last part? He’d dealt with men like this before, men much more powerful than this comic book character. Though the industries differed, their Achilles’ heel was always the same. Their pocketbook. This instance was no different.What followed had been a long silence and then a click, ending the call. JR chuckled to himself, envisioning Don mentally running all the figures through his head and realizing just how much his continued pursuit of her was going to cost him. He’d never release that movie.That infernal movie. Though confident his problem with Lockwood had found a resolution, that did nothing to diminish his loathing of its mere existence. That was a situation that needed to be rectified for good. But for now, his satisfaction in knowing he’d planted a seed of fear in Don would have to suffice.JR rose from his chair and sauntered to the window. Turning his gaze downward, he looked toward The Elysia and, for just a moment, lamented the fact it wasn’t yet nightfall. Sometimes, when he was working late, he would look toward her penthouse. Though they only saw one another once a week, something about just seeing her light burning brought a smile to his face.The Elysia  Sue Ellen picked up the phone and dialed JR’s private line. After a couple rings, his gravelly voice came on the line. “JR Ewing here…”“It’s me,” she said, grinning as she carried the phone through the penthouse to the curtain wall.“It’s good to hear your voice…”Though she shared the sentiment, she failed to tell him so. While on her shopping adventure with April, she’d been deliberate in creating some space between them. Therefore, they hadn’t spoken since the day before she and April flew out and, seeing how it was at another of John Ross’ baseball games and was very brief and mutually dismissive by design, that one didn’t really count.“You’re coming over tonight?” she asked.With a chuckle, he replied, “Let me look at my calendar. Yes, it’s right here. Wednesday Night Bible Study…”Sue Ellen withheld her own laugh and shook her head. “You’re never going to let that go, are you…”“Not for a while anyway. How was your trip?”“Expensive,” she replied, laughing. “I’ll tell you all about it when you get here.”“See you tonight, darlin’…”“See you tonight.”London ~ Soho Climate-Controlled Storage Don wheeled his Land Rover into an empty parking slot and cut the engine. It had struck him odd when Sue Ellen originally insisted on storing the picture in a standard climate-controlled storage facility rather than his studio vault, but he’d gone along with it to appease her. He really hadn’t given it much thought after that. But following his discussion with JR, something told him it might behoove him to take stock of his body of work—at least, one of them. Not that he would actually do anything with it.He knew enough about JR to recognize his threats weren’t idle. And the inflection of his voice when he’d laughingly made them—pure sinister evil, just like everything Sue Ellen had described about him. The man was capable of anything.Stopping at the reception desk, he took out his photo identification and handed it to the clerk, telling him, “Unit 278A. The name’s Lockwood.”He then proceeded to wait for the older gentleman to verify his credentials and buzz him through the heavy insulated doors as was the usual procedure.“You said 278A, correct?” the clerk asked.“Yes, that’s correct.”“Let me do a name search. There is no one named Lockwood associated with that particular unit.”Shifting uncomfortably, Don leaned forward so he could view the computer monitor. “There must be some mistake.”The clerk shook his head. “No. As a matter of fact, it was just leased out last week.”Incredulous, he instructed him, “Do me a favor and perform a history search on that unit. Surely, you can do that.”“Okay but it might take a minute or two.”“Go ahead. I’ll wait.”Don was beginning to recognize what had likely taken place. He just didn’t know when. And he was beginning to wonder if he had really known Sue Ellen at all. “Having any luck?” he asked, nervously.Nodding, the clerk replied, “I think I do have something.” Gesturing him over, the man pointed at the monitor. “We did indeed have a lease under the name Lockwood.”“And?” Don then asked, making no effort to camouflage the sarcasm in his voice.“It looks like it was terminated a little over three months ago by the other individual on the account…a Sue Ellen Lockwood.”Dallas ~ The Elysia  Sue Ellen checked her dress in the full-length mirror. When she’d first laid eyes on the deep sapphire sleeveless shirtdress in a boutique a week prior, she’d instantly fallen in love with the nipped-in waist and intricate lace detailing. Smoothing the front of her dress, she turned slightly on her neutral slingback heels and liked what she saw staring back at her. She looked very…Texas.Making her way downstairs, she paused long enough to press the wall keypad controlling the music system and turned on some soft music before heading out to the terrace.Settling onto the chaise, she lazily trained her eyes on the Ewing Building and sighed. Tonight would be bittersweet. As much as she looked forward to this evening and to settling into her new home tomorrow, she’d have been lying to herself if she didn’t admit she was a little wistful. Once she left The Elysia behind for Whispering Willow, things would be different. Just how much was yet to be determined.The Elysia had proven to be a private sanctuary for her and JR. The days of him slipping over at night would be no more. Given her close proximity to Southfork, they’d also have to be more cautious. Arranging to be together may not come as easily as it had to this point.There was something else. Wednesdays, though delightful and never disappointing thus far, were only temporary. Thursdays, once he was gone, were beginning to feel a little cold. And the next Wednesday seemed ages away. It was a feeling Sue Ellen had been aware of for the last couple of weeks. On the first occurrence, she’d swiftly brushed it aside. Last week, however? There was no denying it. This was real, at least on her end, and the premise of a relationship only in the physical sense was now a figment of her imagination.Going in, she hadn’t considered her feelings might escalate and do so in a relatively short span of time. Given their history, should it have really been a surprise? She would never go so far as to say she had fallen in love with him again. Only that she wanted him in her life and desperately hoped they could keep possession of what they had, whatever that was…for a while anyway.Should Sue Ellen, at any given time, wish to increase the frequency of their meetings, she had a good feeling JR would be a willing, eager participant. But then what? What would happen when that was no longer enough either? Three nights? Four? No. It was imperative she exercise restraint. She owed it to herself.Besides, she liked things the way they were for right now. It made her feel young.She held that thought. There was nothing wrong with desiring someone. Or enjoying being desired. Even by him. Maybe especially by him.A few minutes elapsed and Sue Ellen’s eyes trailed back to his window. The light flickered off for the final time. A smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes crept across her face. Rising from the chaise, she drifted inside, leaving the French doors open and the sheer curtains billowing behind her.Preoccupied by her thoughts, she didn’t realize she’d forgotten about dinner until she saw the restaurant menu lying on the credenza. Hurriedly, she picked it up and gave it a once-over before phoning in a room service order.Before she knew it, several more minutes slipped by. Then, the familiar knock at the door. A telltale flutter stirred in her stomach, and she thought it funny how she could feel butterflies over someone she had a thing for but most definitely was not in love with.Click, click, click went her heels against the hard surface beneath her as she went to the door, conscious of the sudden quickening of her heartbeat when she took a brief pause for one last mirror check.Taking hold of the latch, she was already grinning before she even pulled the door open to find him standing there. And this time, the grin made it all the way to her expressive brown eyes. Hat in hand, JR’s eyes briefly locked with them before looking her over from head to toe.A silence followed and their gazes met again. Seven days apart, minus the short exchange at the baseball game, had culminated in this moment. She watched as he opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. What was it he intended to say, she wondered.“A week is too long, darlin’,” he finally said.Whether he meant it or not, JR’s acknowledgment of their time away from one another moved Sue Ellen more than she cared to admit. Quite suddenly, she found herself compelled to reach out and touch him. Taking him by the arm, she pulled him inside.Right then, the same woman who had sworn she’d never wait for a man again lifted her eyes to meet his once more. Unabashed and wearing a smile, she said, “Come on in. I’ve been waiting for you.”</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?