Christmas; such a frustrating yet joyful holiday. Well, more frustrating than joyful, for me at least. The 25th was around the corner and I haven't gotten the chance to buy proper gifts for my sons. Managing Bellagio Hotel & Casino is not exactly the easiest job in the world, it kicks my ass although it pays well.
The worst fear of mine; I've become a workaholic. God, I've turned into my father. Before he retired for his own good, he used to be a paleontologist, digging up fossils in desert locations. His entire life was focused on his work, barely any time for me when I was younger.
Regrettably, I don't have much time for my two boys. My oldest, Zach, turned sixteen not very long ago. I feel very isolated from him; when I do spend time with him, he rarely conversates with me and instead spends time on his stupid iPhone that I never should've gotten him. When I was his age, I didn't have my own iPhone; hell, they didn't even exist back then. All he cares about is his phone and girlfriend, whom I'm not very impressed with. She's blonde and her name is Hannah; I don't believe in stereotypes, but wow, that girl is an airhead. I wish that Zach would look past beauty, and instead find a girl who's smart and intelligent. Yeah, like that's ever going to happen.
My youngest, Gray; he's a doll. I adore him and his chipmunk cheeks and his beautiful blue eyes. I'd have to say I'm definitely most closest with him. Although it sucks to be working all the time; it breaks my heart since he's very sensitive about me working every day of the week. Sometimes, I'll get an occasional Sunday off but only if I'm lucky.
Now Christmas was approaching very soon, but like I previously explained, I haven't gotten the time for Christmas shopping. I didn't even know what to get the boys this year. If only I could get Zach a brain and Gray some courage, but that's probably asking too much. I also had to figure out what "Santa" was going to get for the boys as well. Ah, Christmas; how I loathe thee.
After another eventful day at work, I arrived home around six. Snow began gently cascading from the dark sky, blanketing the streets in a thick layer. Carefully, making sure to not kill myself in the process, I exited my finally paid off Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe. My stilettos clicked rhythmically against the cold pavement as I huddled my trench coat over my Bellagio uniform, making sure not to ruin it from the droplets of snow.
My beautiful two-story home waited for me to come inside and take a nice, luxurious bubble bath and have a nice glass of Corbett Canyon. As soon as I entered the house, I was immediately greeted by Gray, whom I noticed was waiting on the bottom of the staircase that was in front of the door.
"Hey, mom!"
I was in the middle of stripping off my trench coat when Gray raced over and wrapped his little arms around me, burying his face in my belly. The abrupt force of him almost knocked me over.
"And hello to you too, sweetheart," I laughed and hugged him briefly. "God, you're getting so big; you almost succeeded in knocking me over."
"Yeah, mom, didn't you hear? Diana said I've grown a couple inches in the past few weeks!" Gray said excitedly.
"Oh, did she? Wow, you must be getting a growth spurt!"
"Sure am," he beamed proudly up at me; god, he's adorable.
"Here, why don't you give mommy a few moments to get this uniform off and we can relax and watch a movie together before it's past your bedtime, how does that sound?"
"Mom, I'm ten years old. And it's Christmas break. There's no school so I don't see the the point of having a bedtime," he argued.
"Yes, but I have work early in the morning, therefore you go to bed when I go to bed."
"Why does Zach get to stay up late?"
"Zach is older."
"He gets away with everything."
"That's not true."
"How would you know? You're never around."
I didn't argue, all I could do was stare down at Gray stupidly, my mouth parted open in slight shock. I mean, it was no surprise I worked so much; but having to hear those words come from my youngest's mouth really brought me to reality.
Before I could respond, Gray looked up at me with those big puppy dog eyes and then he turned and sprinted up the stairs. His face filled with sadness, I couldn't bear to see that. That really threw me off-guard, my son never called me out on not being around in their lives that much.
I realized I've been standing in the same spot for a minute so I shrugged off my coat and hung it up nicely on the rack that stood properly adjacent to the front door. I released a deep sigh as I turned left to go to the kitchen.
As usual, my housekeeper and nanny, Diana was busy with dinner. Curiously, I took a peek over her shoulder. Spaghetti and meatballs, yum. My favorite.
"Good evening, Ms. Grant," Diana said with a soft smile. She was an older woman in her fifties with cropped gray hair and pale blue eyes.
"Diana, please. You've been slaving over a hot stove for over ten years in this household; you can call me Colleen."
Her eyes gleamed as she replied, "I assume work did a number on you today, Ms. Grant."
Instead of reprimanding her about formalities, I responded tiredly, "Everyday, it seems like. It's just been so busy, especially with Christmas approaching very quickly; lots of vacationers coming to gamble all their money away in Vegas."
"Oh, yes. I remember being young and spending my time in the casinos," she reminiscenced.
"Yeah. I need to do something about this, it's getting ridiculous. I rarely spend time with the kids, and even Gray called me out on it."
"Oh, he did, did he?"
"Unfortunately so. We were arguing about his bedtime and he was complaining about Zach being able to stay up and getting away with most things. I told him that wasn't true and Gray said to me "how would you know, you're never around.""
"Oh, Lord."
"He's right though; I can't yell at him for telling the truth. God, I've become my father."
"Perhaps a vacation with your children would be the perfect solution," Diana suggested.
"Vacation?" I blinked.
"Why not? Oh, by the way, some Mr. Masrani left a message for you," Diana explained, absentmindedly stirring the spaghetti sauce.
"Again?" I asked. This Mr. Masrani has been contacting me nonstop for the past couple weeks. Apparently, he's a business owner of some sort.
"Afraid so. He says that it's real important that he talks to you for an opportunity of a lifetime."
Opportunity of a lifetime, my ass.
After Diana finished making dinner and everyone ate, I was inside my home office; dealing with financial paperwork. I felt guilty for not speaking with Gray afterwards but I didn't know how to approach without upsetting him. Gray was a very sensitive child.
As I was finishing up with some paperwork, Diana got me thinking about a family vacation. Would a family vacation really solve all my troubles with my boys? Well, anything could happen, I suppose. Maybe a trip to Disney World would suffice. I haven't taken any sick days off, so I knew that I had plenty of vacation days that I could take off.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
I jumped from the sudden ringing telephone. Who could possibly be calling at seven-thirty? Oh God, it better not be the Bellagio. I'd snap my neck if it was. I glanced at the caller I.D. and internally groaned. It seemed like this Mr. Masrani fellow couldn't take a hint.
Knowing this would lead to a pointless conversation, I decided to answer the phone anyway, about to give this man a piece of my mind.
"Hello, may I please speak with a Ms. Colleen Grant?"
"This is she. Is this Mr. Masrani?"
"Ah, yes, you are correct. Do you have a moment to speak privately, Ms. Grant?"
"Look, Mr. Masrani. I appreciate your politeness and all, but whatever scam you're attempting to set me up with, I'm not interested."
"Oh, no! Ms. Grant, no scam whatsoever! Allow me to explain myself; Simon Masrani, proud owner of the new and improved Jurassic World."
Jurassic World; my blood ran cold from these words. Flashes of the Jurassic Park incident from nearly twenty years ago burned into my mind. I still had an occasional nightmare or two from that horrifying yet thrilling experience.
"Ms. Grant, I understand that twenty-two years ago, you were among one of the first visitors to the underdevelopment Jurassic Park."
"That's correct," I confirmed, my throat suddenly going dry.
"Ms. Grant, I can sense your hesitance but I assure you, it would be such an honorable pleasure of mine to invite you and your sons to Jurassic World."
Wow. I honestly wasn't expecting this sudden invitation.
"Um... I don't know. I mean, I appreciate your invitation, Mr. Masrani, but I'm not sure about this. Last time I went to a dinosaur theme park, I was almost eaten by one of those creatures."
"Of course, I completely understand your predicament; although I must explain to you, our park has been functioning safely for a decade. I assure you, we have the safest security and updated technology to provide a wonderful experience for your family."
I bit my lip, contemplating this offer. I know in a heartbeat, Gray would love this more than anything. He has a strong, passionate love for dinosaurs and is heavily fascinated by them. Zach, being the stubborn teenager he is, probably wouldn't care much, but then again, it may give him the opportunity to stay off his phone and not see his girlfriend for a while.
"Please, Ms. Grant; I would be of most oblige to personally give you a behind the scenes tour of what Jurassic Park should've been."
"Mr. Masrani," I tried.
"Free of expense," he cut me off. I paused for a moment, not sure if I heard him correctly.
"Wait, what?"
"Free of expense," he repeated. "Free traveling expense, free hotel room, free unlimited food and V.I.P. wristbands provided for your kids."
Oh wow. This sounded way too good to be true.
"What's the catch?" I asked in a disbelieving tone of voice.
"No catch. I'm a very generous man, Ms. Grant. Unlike other business men, I don't pine for money and fame. I'm interested in making Hammond's dreams come true. If you don't mind, I'd also love to discuss business with you; I understand your managerial position with the Bellagio."
"Yes," I confirmed.
"Jurassic Suites, I believe, is in dear need of a successful individual with management experience. Of course, I recommended you."
"Oh wow, I appreciate that offer, but-"
"No buts, I advise this conversation to continue in person. Do you accept my proposal?"
I wasn't sure how to respond. His offer was starting to sound more tempting as he spoke. A trip to Jurassic World, free of cost? I've heard of countless people vacationing there, spending almost a year's worth of salary. The pros of this situation: I'd have the chance to spend more time with my sons. The cons of this station: I'd unfortunately be stuck on Isla Nublar with dinosaurs. Let's just hope they don't escape this time. I'd prefer not to run for my life a third time. Especially with my kids. Well, Jurassic World, like Masrani said, has been functioning for ten years without a problem. I was just being paranoid. The chances of history repeating itself are slim, I assured myself.
"Yes, Mr. Masrani. I accept."
