Two Sides to Every Coin
Description: Simon asks Claire to take on a little extra responsibility on her already full plate. One of the project managers is retiring and Simon needs Claire to take on oversight of the project until he can find a replacement. Which project? The raptor paddock. When she overhears a mysterious phone call and notices strange changes around the paddock, she dives head first into dangerous adventure.
A/N: This is very AU Jurassic World. The park is open and everyone is alive. No Indominus, so no incident, no bad date either. Claire's evolution happens a little faster, but this is really about her. This story asks the question: What would happen if Claire was forced to evolve? What if it was never really an evolution in the first place? There are characters from FK, but not the same story for them either. There will also be some new OC in the mix. This is still set around Christmas time. This is becoming fairly epic, at least for me, so check it out and give it a try. My second fic and I would love feedback.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Frank. Just having fun
Chapter 1: Claire Dearing: Project Manager
"Gentlemen, we will pick this discussion up again in two weeks after the holidays. Come better prepared. We will not continue going around in circles. I will not sign on for any new asset development until I am satisfied my concerns have been put at ease. That will be all."
Claire Dearing, Operations Manager of Jurassic World, sat at the end of a long board table staring down the the large group of men in suits in the room. She was a master at her job. The only woman in the room and they all feared her. She preferred it that way.
"Thank you gentlemen. We'll see you in two weeks. Happy Holidays all! Claire, can you stay for a moment? I need to discuss something with you.", asked the voice coming from the large screen at the other end of the table.
"Of course sir." Claire looked up at her boss. Simon Masrani was not your typical billionaire CEO. Despite having a widely diverse company, the park was his favorite project. He had loved dinosaurs since he was a child and when the opportunity came up to take over InGen following the San Diego incident, he jumped like a kid in a candy store.
Moments later the room was empty except for Claire and the video feed of Simon.
"Frank Thompson wants to retire. I offered him more money to stick it out one more year, but his health is rough and he wants to see his grand kids more. I didn't have the heart to say no. But that will leave a massive oversight gap if I can't get a replacement soon. And it won't be easy. Frank is one of my best project managers at Masrani.", Simon explained.
"Frank? Really? I thought he'd never retire! I haven't had much time to see him when he's been on island in the last few years. I've actually been missing our walks, surprisingly enough. Which projects were under him?" Claire inquired. Frank Thompson had taken Claire under his wing at Simon's personal request early in her career. He was Simon's closest advisor at Masrani Global and his closest friend. He wanted Claire to learn from the best whenever he came on the island for site visits.
"He had five major build projects going up in Dubai and Hong Kong. He only had one asset project on Isla. I've got Phil Spencer able to cover Dubai and John Lavin to cover Hong Kong, but I'm having trouble covering the one project he had on Isla. My go to guys don't want to deal with the required check ins and paperwork. With the additional insurance liabilities, it's a heavier load than building a hotel." Claire could see the frustration in Simon's face as he explained the situation.
"Would Frank just cover the one project for a year?" Claire offered.
"No, I had thought of that. But the time and travel commitment would defeat the whole point of his retirement. If he could have managed it from home, I probably could have convinced him." Simon sighed.
"So what's the plan?" Claire inquired, wanting to get to the point. She knew what he was working up to. She just hoped she was wrong.
"I'm hoping I can put it under your purview for the time being. I know your plate is overflowing right now, but this project is important to me and I need to know someone I trust is overseeing it. It would be temporary anyway until I can find a new project manager." Simon trusted Claire more than anyone in his company other than Frank. He had personally guided her to her position and no one did it better. He needed her to help him with this problem.
"You know I want to say no, Simon. I have enough to deal with day to day here. Having to run for weekly site visits will put a dent in my availability to investors." Claire was hoping the money factor would make him reconsider.
"I can get you an assistant Ops Manager to help with the day to day. You might even find you like having one. Maybe it'll make you take a day off once and while. And we can limit the site visits to monthly to accommodate your schedule better," Simon laughed.
"Well you've obviously already made up your mind on this. I really wish you could find someone else. I'm under pressure from the board to show some kind of profit increase. Our numbers have been lower than usual and Henry keeps dropping hints about developing hybrids. I refuse to sign off as I'm not satisfied the cost of possible, necessary safety measures balances out with the potential profit. Our already insane insurance liabilities would go through the roof. I've got meetings with a dozen potential investors and a Christmas gala to finish planning. That's just outside of my other daily check-ins. I only have so much time in the day, Simon." Claire bigger fish to fry than Simon's pet projects, though she always respected his need to have them.
"Claire, I will do everything in my power to help you make space for this. We will get an assistant for operations and don't be afraid to lean on Zara and the rest of the team more. You are not a robot. I know I tend to put a lot of responsibility on you, but Claire, you need to breathe a little too. I would like you delegate as much as you can and help take on this project. It is important work that I cannot risk being corrupted by lack of oversight. I need someone I personally trust with eyes on it." Simon was almost pleading.
"If you promise that my overall responsibility will be limited and temporary, then I suppose I can take it on for now. When should I expect a meeting with Frank to debrief?" Claire gave in. Secretly, the idea of an assistant manager to give herself a break once in while wasn't a terrible idea. She wasn't going to tell Simon that though. No need for him to bask in being right yet again.
"Let's plan on next Monday. I'll have Mary reach out to Zara to set it up. He's done as of next Friday, so he can spend the week before getting you up to speed." Simon breathed a sigh of relief. Claire would take care of this. He had nothing to worry about.
"That's fine. I'll have Zara clear up as much of my schedule as she can for the week. When should I expect help?" Claire was definitely taking that offer. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she wanted time to herself.
"Mary started reaching out this morning. Hopefully it will be a quick process." Simon was glad Claire was taking the opportunity. She has been his right hand for so long now. But he wasn't blind to the fact that she seemingly did nothing but work. He knew what that kind of life was like and he didn't want to see Claire making the same mistakes he made.
"Perfect. If we're all set then, I need to do a control room check before my next meeting. Anything else?" Claire asked, eager to get back on track for the day.
"No, that should be all. I'll make sure you get the team lists and backgrounds before Monday. Other than that, I have a flying lesson to get to!" Claire rolled her eyes at that. No one could pay her enough to fly a helicopter. Heights were a major fear of hers, though she made sure never to show it.
"Real quick before you go, which project on the island was Frank overseeing?" There we're about a dozen side projects being run under InGen on the island that she was not typically responsible for. She was aware of all of them, but there was one project in particular she hoped it wouldn't be.
"The raptor paddock" Simon responded.
Well shit. She should have known.