Chapter Two

The scent of sweat was beginning to drive me insane and I place my perfumed handkerchief over my nose to try and cover up the scent that was most pungent. I breathe in the familiar smell and calm myself from swearing at the man that kept raising his arms over his head and letting out the stink from his unshaven armpits. I nearly gag when he scratches at the source of the smell then raises his fingers to smell them. I look out the boat and stare at the ocean, praying that the trip on the boat would end soon before I toss the man overboard. Never in my life have I been so disgusted with fellow human beings.

Eventually the boat docks and everyone rushes to try and get off first. I wait until the rush is over before grabbing my duffel and messenger back and calmly getting off. I look around at the joyous faces around me. Children were screaming at the top of their lungs with excitement to see the dinosaurs and I laughed as one of the younger children started hitting their older sibling with the stuffed T-Rex. I shake my head and search for a board with my name on it only to see nothing for me. I frown and begin walking towards the information building. I flash my pass and walk into the air-conditioned building, nearly bumping into several people along the way. I take off my sunglasses and squint at the brightness but decide to put them back on. I watch as a child plays with the holographic model dinosaurs while another plays with the touchscreen tablet, switching the dinosaurs making the other kids watch in delight at the various ones available at the park.

I look at the map of the place and find nothing on where I would be able to meet Mr Masrani. I seek out one of the people that work around this place and ask for some directions. She points me in a direction and I thank her. My phone rings in my jeans pocket and I pick up

"I do apologise for the wait Miss Jones. I will be with you shortly"

I give Masrani the details of where I was waiting for him and he hangs up first. I take a seat on a nearby bench and wait while playing a detective game on my phone. After a few minutes I raise my head and see a whole group of people walking towards me. In front was an Indian man, who I recognise to be Masrani. I get off my seat and shake his hand in greeting, smiling in a disarming way.

He waves a hand to the gentlemen with him and they grab my bags. He orders them to take it to my room in the hotel while the staff was setting up a more permanent place for me to stay

"What makes you think I would be staying for more than a weekend Mr Masrani?"

"When I show you the importance of your duties here at the park Miss Jones, I doubt you would be able to say no"

I raise an eyebrow playfully

"So the pay check isn't much is it?"

He smiles

"The pay check is more than what most people earn in a lifetime with a fancy degree"

He walks ahead of me and I trail behind him and the remaining men with him. I look at all the different shops that were selling the park related t-shirts and curios. I eyed a juice bottle with the T-Rex head on top and Mr Masrani smiles and picks it up then hands it to me. I shake my head only for him to insist

"I'm paying for everything in this park; I doubt a juice bottle is going to break my bank account"

With a bashful smile I take the bottle from him. Eventually we end up at his office and I take a seat on the chair in front of his desk and wait for him to speak

"Miss Jones, you are aware of the fact that I'm attempting to hire you for the park, correct?"

I nod

"You see as impressive as your qualifications may be, they are not the actual reason I want to hire you for the care of our latest hatchling for paddock nine"

"What's going in paddock nine?"

"Recently our scientists have made a Tyrannosaurus Rex, however the creature has no mother and as such we need someone to keep him in line. Having a mother for the hatchling would be too dangerous"

"Then why me?"

He walks in front of his desk, leaning back on it slightly

"I…heard of your condition…"

"Is that what they call it now?"

"Make no mistake Miss Jones, I do not mean to be offensive in any way"

I smile

"I doubt a man that got me a juice bottle would want to offend me on purpose"

"The reason why I want you here, is because you would be able to connect with the hatchling on a more primal level. I see it as you being a good influence and in the long run protecting the tourists of this island"

"You can't train these animals like dogs Mr Masrani, nature doesn't work that way"

"I understand that Miss Jones, but I doubt any self-respecting Tyrannosaurus Rex would allow anyone to tame them. The problem that we face when it comes to them is that they don't trust anyone, making our jobs harder in terms of keeping up with their development so on and so forth"

"So I need to be the hatchlings guardian?"

"In a simpler version of the contract, that is what I am asking you to do"

I think over the proposal for a moment

"I'm going to be needing a copy of the contract Mr Masrani. I believe there is a line I need to sign on"

"You won't regret signing it"

"I better not"

After signing the contract I get off the chair to go outside and find my room. The journey had been draining on me because of the heat

"Miss Jones"

I look over my shoulder at Masrani

"There is something I don't understand"

"About what?"

"All of this could have been yours"

He gestures to the outside

"Yet you seem to show no interest in keeping your grandfather's legacy alive"

I step away from the door and face him

"After my grandfather died, I made sure that I would have no part of this fiasco. The family name has been dragged through the mud enough just by the idea of Jurassic Park. If my family had attempted to reconstruct anything in relation to dinosaurs the media would have had us splurged on every front page about the colourful past surrounding the theme park…"

"…and after the kinds of science used to keep me alive, I don't want any kind of secrets about me being revealed. My family has been through enough because of my grandfather, I don't want them to be under any kind of eye glass ever again"

The doors slide open and I walk through them, coming face to face with a woman

"You must be Rae Jones"

I shake the offered hand

"I'm Claire Dearing"