"Nice car." Owen snorted, following Claire across the parking lot towards her Mercedes.
"You should have gotten a car…" Claire trailed off, watching Owen round her SUV to the passenger side.
Sliding in his seat, he sighed heavily, finally getting off his feet. "Oh I did, but I denied it. I brought my motorcycle over with me."
"Right." Claire laughed. "I probably should have known you would refuse to fit in at all."
"Fit in?" Owen snorted. "No thank you. That's why I built my own place. No reason to be like the rest of you and live in one big happy gated community."
"Joke's on you." Claire said as she pulled into her parking spot under the carport. "I live here." She pointed at the top floor of the resort. "No gated community for me."
Owen glanced in the direction she was pointing in and couldn't hide the smirk on his face. "Whoa, so we are bunking together?"
"What?" Claire shrieked, shifting uncomfortably. "No! You have a room on one of the main floors. The top two floors are apartments for those of us that need to be close to the park. Your gated community is further away." She explained. "So the main park employees live out there. Management mostly lives here."
"Well what's your room number?" Owen asked as they walked up to the main entrance. He continued when Claire paused, turning to face him, eyes wide. "You know, if I need to borrow some milk or sugar." He shrugged, throwing her his best innocent smile.
"You have my cell number. Call me if you need something." Claire said as she continued walking. "Besides you need a special key card to get to the top levels." She continued on when she saw Owen's mouth open to speak. "No you don't get that key card."
Owen hung his head, defeated. She was good at her comebacks and for once in his life, he wasn't going to finish last.
"Hi, Erica." Claire greeted the woman behind the counter.
"Ms. Dearing," Erica smiled warmly. She glanced down the hall most of the employees used so they didn't have to go through the main entrance. Their elevator down that way opened with their key cards and went directly to the top floors of the resort. "Everything ok?" She asked, her gaze falling back on Claire.
"No, no, everything is fine. I have an employee from the InGen project here," Claire gestured towards Owen. "Mr. Grady needs to be close to the lab's nursery for a while, so I had booked him one of the suites."
Erica's eyes fell on Owen and she nibbled her bottom lip as she smiled at him. "Well," Erica said softly. "Welcome, Mr. Grady. Glad you will be staying with us."
"It's Owen." He corrected, the correction geared more towards Claire than the woman behind the counter.
"Owen." Erica repeated, peeling her eyes from Owen's biceps to search her computer. "Yes, Ms. Dearing has you set up on the first floor, room 1064."
Owen turned towards Claire as he took the keycard from Erica. "First floor?"
"Yeah," Claire raised an eyebrow, confused. "If you need to get to the nursery quickly, do you really want to wait for the elevator?"
"Well, no…" The corner of Owen's lips twitched as he fought to keep his face serious. "It's just, you know so many floors between us."
With a roll of her eyes, Claire turned towards the hall where her elevator waited. "Twelve floors, to be exact, Mr. Grady."
"Owen!" He called out as he rushed after her.
She paused before walking down the hall, chuckling when she noticed him following her. She reached out, grabbing his keycard. "Room 1064." She pointed to the number and then the sign above her head which read To Employee Elevator Only. "Your room is on the other side of the lobby."
"Can't a man escort you to your elevator?" Owen asked, tugging on Claire's keycard she was clutching. Hesitating, she let go of it and he swiped it across the scanner before handing it back to her.
"How chivalrous." Claire grumbled.
"Cant help it." Owen winked and stepped towards the elevator as the doors opened. His hand laid on the open door, giving Claire an extra moment to step inside.
Claire swallowed hard, her eyes lost in his. Normally she'd run from any man who tried to take care of her, but she was having a hard time understanding if Owen was being serious or not. "You better get some rest before you have to go feed Blue." She said, forcing herself to step away from him, unsure of when she actually moved to stand directly in front of him.
Someone behind them cleared their throat, causing Claire to stand stiff.
"Oh, hey, Dr. Carter." Owen turned to face him. "How did it go?"
Andrew reached back to rub at the tension in his neck. "Just great." Andrew grumbled.
"I didn't mean…" Owen trailed off, noticing just how stressed he looked.
"No, no." Andrew patted Owen on the shoulder. "It's always a rough night saying goodbye to any dinosaur. No matter their age."
"I bet. I don't think I could have done it."
"Yeah," Andrew sighed, his eyes landing on Claire who had backed up against the wall of the elevator, Owen's hand the only thing keeping the doors from shutting. Their eyes met for a moment before he turned back to Owen. "You staying on the top level?"
"No, I'm on this floor." Owen answered, waving his keycard in the air.
"Well, get some rest, Mr. Grady. It won't be long before you have your pack to care for. Those other eggs are ready to hatch." Andrew stifled a yawn and stepped into the elevator. He reached out, pushing his floor number and realized Claire's wasn't lit up.
"Night." Owen said, but his focus was on Claire. She smiled slightly as the doors shut.
Andrew leaned against the wall beside Claire as the elevator climbed to his floor. "You planning on riding the elevator all night long, or were you coming to see me?"
"Huh?" Claire looked over at him.
Andrew gestured towards the floor buttons. "Fourteen is not lit up."
Claire swore under her breath and stepped forward to push her floor number. "I'm tired." She covered.
"Yeah, long day." Andrew let his chin drop to his chest, images of the babies he spent some time cuddling before letting them go.
Claire knew that look. She knew the pain he was in, but she just couldn't find the words to sympathize with him. They only thing she could think about was the paperwork he probably left on her desk.
"Did you check in on the other batch?" Claire asked, her focus turning to the other raptor eggs instead of the ones no longer alive.
"That's it?" Andrew raised his head, his eyes locking with hers. "I just dealt with three dead baby raptors and you ask me about the viable ones?"
"Well, yeah." Claire pushed off the wall, her arms folded tight against her chest.
"Damn it, Claire." Andrew reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I don't want to keep fighting over this."
"That's the whole reason why you moved out." Claire's stare was ice cold as she silently dared him to start an argument with her now.
"I just wish you would understand—" Andrew started, but Claire cut him off.
"And I wish you would understand! I get thrown shit from all over this damn park and the only thing you are ever worried about is I don't care for those animals. I do care, but I have to focus on so much more than a single life." She yelled, her voice echoing off the bare walls of the elevator.
"I've tried to understand." Andrew said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, yeah? I came home from three non-stop days of meetings back in the states and I find your stuff gone! You left me, Andrew. That's not trying."
"I needed space." He couldn't deny the fact that he was still just as in love with her as the day they met. He hated himself every day for walking away from her, even more so that he did it while she was away. But as the days went on he noticed her more involved in work that them. He missed the person she was before she held her rank.
"Space." Claire snorted. "I was in California! How much more space could you want?"
The elevator doors opened and Claire snapped her mouth shut. Why was she fighting with him? She swore to herself that she wouldn't care anymore. They have been broken up for almost a year, but for Andrew, it still felt very new.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Claire." Andrew said as he held down the button to keep the doors opened.
"Little late for that." Claire mumbled, rolling her eyes. She had locked her heart away, the trust she had in Andrew was gone and there was no way she'd ever be able to put that trust back in him.
Andrew stood silent, eyes pleading with Claire. He missed the way she would do all she could to comfort him after a day like today. Those days early on in their relationship, before her final climb up the corporate ladder.
Claire, unfazed by the pain in his eyes, shoved by him. She understood he was hurting, but so was she. Hurting by the fact that after two years together he could up and walk out. No warning. No explanation. He left her abandoned and broken. He left her alone.
"Where are you going?" Andrew called after her.
"Taking the stairs." She snapped back.
Andrew glanced down at his finger, still holding down the button. Sighing heavily he shook his head. He should have known that wouldn't be enough to keep her there with him. Jumping slightly when he heard the stairwell door slam shut, he finally lifted his finger off the button and walked towards his apartment.
XXX
Claire stepped out in the damp morning air and breathed in deeply. Most workers and guests were still asleep, so Claire always took advantage of her early morning run around the lagoon. The sun had yet to rise and even with the dinosaurs quiet, Claire enjoyed the feeling that she was the only one on the island.
Finishing her first lap, she found herself rounding the corner for a second loop around the lagoon. Her argument with Andrew was still fresh in her mind, giving her extra energy she needed to run off.
The shadow swooping in from her right side caused her to yell out, tripping over herself. Owen's eyes were wide beside her as he tugged at the cords to his earphones.
"Damn! You trying to give me a heart attack, Woman?" Owen panted, bending over to rest his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath.
"Me?!" Claire gasped, gripping her shirt over her heart. "What about you!"
"Everything ok down there!" One of the park's security guards called out as he flashed his light on them. "Ms. Dearing?" His voice was cautious as he approached them. He knew she ran that patch most mornings and that the scream came from her.
"Yeah, Raul, I'm fine." Claire waved him off and he immediately turned down another path to patrol.
"You run with the secret service out here or something?" Owen laughed, his breathing becoming more normal.
"No. That's the overnight security guard. I run here every morning." Claire explained. She suddenly straightened up, her mind finally catching up with her. "You following me, Mr. Grady?"
Owen scoffed as he shook his head. "Hardly! I just got done with Blue's 4am feeding. This is the usual time I go for a run."
"I find that hard to believe."
"Yeah," Owen agreed, turning to look out over the lagoon. "I've never actually watched the sun rise. No way am I usually up at this time." Ignoring Claire's chuckle he continued. "I know if I go back to bed now, my whole day is going to be off, so I decided to go for my run now." Owen reached out to poke Claire's hip. "Didn't expect to run into you, but I'd like a running buddy. You know," He shrugged and threw her a smirk that had her knees shaking. "If you can keep up with me."
"Excuse me, but this is my running trail, so technically I'm allowing you to come along with me." Claire shoved his shoulder before turning to set a slow pace, giving him a chance to jog beside her. "Besides, I'm not racing you."
"Oh, come on, Dearing! Gotta have some fun in life. We are halfway around the lagoon," Owen explained and pointed towards a worker setting up a small food cart just outside the resort doors. "Last one to the coffee cart buys."
Claire stopped jogging and stared at Owen's outstretched hand.
He caught the hesitation on her face and tapped the back of his hand against hers. "Live a little. Have some fun."
"I take my coffee with cream and one sugar." Claire smiled as she took his hand in hers, giving him a tight shake.
Before he could say anything she spun around and ran full speed.
"That's ok!" Owen called after her. "I was going to give you a head start anyway." He was impressed that it actually took him a minute to catch up with her. Falling in step at her heels, Owen found his view much better than any spot on the island. The few times he had run ins with Claire was only during work hours. She was beautiful and pristine in her perfectly tailored outfits. Though she looked stunning in work clothes, his favorite was the one she had on now. Her leggings hugged her in all the right places, her shirt was short enough that he was focused on the small amount of skin that peeked through where her shirt didn't quite meet the top of her pants.
Claire knew he was letting her win, even as she slowed down from exhaustion. He always stayed just behind her. She slowed some more, turning her head slightly to see Owen staying in step behind her. "You know one thing I hate?" Claire panted.
"What's that?"
"Idiot men trying to be the big macho man that let the woman win."
"Good thing I'm not one of those men." He wasn't lying. He wasn't really planning on letting her win. He just couldn't bring himself to leave his current view.
He caught her falter and knew her mind will eventually realize why he was standing behind her. He said a silent goodbye to his view and swerved around her. "All the good runners keep pace with their opponents until the last few seconds of the race." He covered and winked at her as he rounded the final corner.
Claire eyed the shortcut she takes some mornings when she wants to cut her run short and immediately turned up the small path that would lead her directly to the resorts front door.
"Cheater!" Owen called after her, picking up his pace to still try and beat her.
"It's not cheating when you just said first one to get to the cart!" Claire yelled back.
Owen fell into a flat out sprint when Claire approached the cart. He immediately realized it was a mistake when Claire's path was going to cross his. Her focus was on the cart and not where he was. Doing his best to slow down he watched Claire approach and knew the collision was unavoidable. "Incoming!" Owen called out just as Claire's head snapped towards him. His arms were around her doing his best to keep them both upright. Together they stumbled a few steps, but both stayed standing. "Sorry." Owen said through gasps. His arms stayed around Claire, enjoying the moment. Nothing in his life felt as right as she did right now. He felt her vibrating in his arms and tuned into her reaction. She was laughing. No, she was hysterically laughing.
"You've got to work on those breaks, Mr. Grady." Claire managed to get out through hysterics.
"You ok?" He asked, finally letting his arms drop as she stepped away from him.
"Me?" She asked and shook her head. "I'm fine."
Finally catching their breath, Owen motioned towards the coffee cart. "You won, so my treat."
Claire cleared her throat when she noticed the attendant starring wide eyed at her. "G- Good morning, Ms. Dearing." The attendant stuttered.
Finding herself in a really good mood, Claire smiled warmly at her. "Good morning, Anna," she said reaching for her coffee.
Once Owen paid, Claire followed him towards the main entrance to the resort. She hesitated when he sat down on a bench facing the park. Glancing back at the door, she nibbled her bottom lip as she fought with herself on what to do.
"Sun will be rising soon." Owen pointed out as he patted the bench beside him.
Claire glanced down at her watch. She had an hour before she had to be at work.
"Sit down, Dearing." Owen said, reaching out and wrapping his fingers around her wrist.
She let him tug her towards him and sat down. Taking a sip, she looked out at the sky starting to turn a bright shade of pink. "It's Claire."
"Yeah," Owen smiled, sipping his coffee. "I know."
"I hate nicknames."
"I hate being called Mr. Grady."
"Sorry," she chuckled. "It's a habit."
"But you call most of the park employees by their first name." He wondered.
"The ones I know well enough, yes." Claire agreed. "I have never called Simon by his first name, or Dr. Wu. It's just out of respect."
Owen nodded, understanding that. "So you don't know me well enough to call me by my first name?" He couldn't help but tease.
She turned to face him, tilting her head as she studied his face. "No I don't."
"But you respect me enough to call me Mr. Grady?"
Claire smiled. "Yes I do."
"Well, what are we on now," Owen hesitated as he thought. "Two days of knowing each other?"
Claire nodded as she sipped her coffee.
"Well, here's the deal. I'll stop calling you Dearing when you start calling me Owen."
Claire met Owen's smile and glanced down at his cup raised towards her. "Fine," she tapped her cup against his. "Owen."