This was a prompt sent to me anonymously on Tumblr, so I thought I'd share what I wrote. I hope you all like it.
It didn't really start up right away. When Claire was first introduced to everyone as the park manager, people mostly just welcomed her. Of course there were a few snide comments about how Masrani thought a woman could really take care of the park, but she managed to prove them all wrong with her organized plans and the rapidly increasing bookings to come to Jurassic World.
No, it started after Claire went on a date with the raptor trainer, Owen Grady. The date itself was pretty terrible, but that wasn't the point. The point was after that date people started making comments.
Owen wasn't aware of what people were saying about Claire, until Hoskins made an off-handed comment.
"Our new park manager sure got around," Hoskins joked with a sly grin.
Owen jerked up from his leaning position against the viewing platform. Was he hearing correctly? "I'm sorry, what?" Owen asked, frowning at Hoskins' grinning face.
Hoskins chuckled and swaggered closer to Owen. "I'm just saying, I wouldn't mind if she wanted to get on my good side," he paused and looked out at the raptor paddock, "let her have the ride of her life."
Owen had grabbed a fist full of Hoskins' shirt before he had time to think. "You don't get to talk about her like that," he hissed, fury dripping from each syllable. "She got her job by being better than anyone else. She's worth way more than that."
The other man had the audacity to laugh at Owen's anger. "Forgot you went out with her, she any good?"
This time he was fully aware of his actions, as he dealt a swift punch to Hoskins' jaw. The man stumbled a bit and reached his hand up to nurse his jaw. "Claire Dearing earned her job," he said firmly before leaning down towards Hoskins' hunched form. "How much ass did you have to kiss to get your position, Hoskins?"
He didn't stay to hear his reply, instead storming off towards the entrance to the raptor paddock. He watched as his girls played with each other before pulling out his phone and typing a quick message.
That evening, after attending meetings all day, Claire found a message on her phone.
Sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Do you think you'd be willing to try again? Just remember it's about mutual respect.
P.s. I won't wear my board shorts this time.
Claire couldn't stop the shy smile that crept up on her face. One more date wouldn't hurt; maybe mutual respect is all that they were missing.
This feels a little short to me, but I hope it's okay. Leave a review if you have time *gives you all a plate of cookies and a glass of milk*