DISCLAIMERS
1. I DO NOT OWN JURASSIC PARK/WORLD. This is just for fun.
2. This is a femslash story. If you don't like that sort of thing, you won't like this.
PART 1
She stared out the plane window. She could not believe she was doing this. Blame her enigmatic boss, who would not take "No" for an answer.
Claire Dearing, Operations Manager of the biggest theme park in the world, was currently 38,000-or-so feet in the air, on Simon Masrani's private jet. She and the enigmatic CEO were on their way from Isla Nublar to mainland America. For Simon, it was a business trip. For Claire, it was anything but.
Much to the redhead's chagrin.
Indeed, this was a trip Claire definitely did not want to have. Why? That was a stupid question. There were more reasons not to do this.
Claire thought back to what got her into this predicament. Simon entered her office three days ago rather agitated; apparently he noticed the OM of Jurassic World had not taken any leave for... how long? Months? A year? Claire honestly did not know. All that was certain was it was not in recent memory.
So of course, Simon demanded she take some holiday time. Claire was aghast: what was her boss thinking? She lived to work: her job on the island was practically her life. She had next-to-no hobbies, fewer friends - which was pathetic, really - and her lovelife? Please. Apart from her less-than-successful time with a certain animal handler, Claire's romances were as nonexistant as her downtime. Surely Simon understood that Jurassic World took up all of her conscious time? She did not have time to take off, no matter what her annual leave entitlement said.
But did the CEO listen? No. In his so-annoyingly nice way, Simon insisted Claire take time off - immediately. Claire was incredulous: now, of all times? Not only was it the park's tenth anniversary soon, but they had a new asset all-but-ready to be unveiled to the public... the biggest deal Jurassic World had ever seen. But Simon actually used the Hybrid in his argument; he said Claire had done more than enough overseeing the "project" and deserved a holiday. By the time she returned to work, the indominable one would be set to go and Claire would be refreshed and truly appreciate her hard work.
No, it made no sense to Claire, either. Simon was just too caring and considerate for his own good. He had even gone as far as booking a five-star hotel room for her.
So here she was, in the air on a luxury plane with her boss. To begin with, Claire wondered if Simon had some ulterior motive: it was not everyday a billionaire invited one of his top employees on their private aircraft without... that... on their mind. But, as far as Claire knew, Simon was in a relationship with a leading fashion designer, and it certainly seemed serious. Still, Claire was unsure, especially as he paid for the hotel himself.
Of course, her initial misgivings were unwarranted: Simon had not made a single move, and indeed, barely spoken to her on the long plane journey. Instead he spent the time on his phone, doing business as usual. Claire tried to listen in every now and again; something about a special meeting with someone, and later, helicopter lessons... ? The redhead must have misheard that bit.
Claire's musings paused as she saw land start to appear below them. Finally, they had reached the US. The sooner they landed, the sooner Claire could start her time off, and the sooner she could end it and get back to the park. She shook her head: this whole thing was nuts. What was she meant to do with herself for a whole week? Where they were headed, Claire knew no one nor had any idea what activities were held there. Was she just meant to sit on her arse in a hotel room for seven days?
Maybe she could meet someone. Maybe... yeah, right. Her couple of dates with the "Raptor Whisperer" were so disheartening she reckoned romance was just not for her, regardless of if she dated men or women. She was too wound-up, too obsessed with her work. Not that she was going to apologise for that. A dinosaur theme park did not manage itself, after all. Actually, that was something else that drove Claire mad: Simon was so insistant she relax, he barely allowed her to prep her cover people. God, she hoped the island did not sink or blow up under Lowery, Vivian and Zara's watch.
And of course, Simon refused to tell Claire what he was doing on this trip, which hardly calmed her. Some crap about not wanting her to think about work for a week... Claire sighed. Considerate so-and-so.
Continuing to stew silently, Claire decided not to moan. What could she do, really? The hotel was paid for - it would be a slap in Simon's face if she did not use it. It was not as if she could palm it off to her sister, either: Karen had a family, but Clare was not about to ask Simon to pay for three more people. And Karen would only feel indebted to Claire if she paid for the extra hotel space.
So, Claire was stuck. Like it or not, she was having a holiday. And she definitely would not like it.
Right... ?
TO BE CONTINUED