He was late.
Cleaning had taken far longer than they had planned. By the time they had finished and fed the raptors, He knew he would be late. Owen had rushed back to the outbuilding and quickly thrown on some deodorant, a fresh change of clothes, and sprinted out the door. He had no doubt that Claire would not appreciate tardiness, but he hoped she would understand that sometimes work came first.
The sun was just beginning to set when the handler finally walked into the park's Main Street. Guests milled around, enjoying the restaurants and shops that lined the central plaza. Owen spotted Claire standing beneath the Hammond memorial statue just outside the innovation center. He approached her casually, offering a wave to the woman as she talked on the phone. When he was close enough to hear her, she said her goodbyes and hung up, gripping a leather bound notebook tightly in her hands.
"You're late."
"Sorry about that, the paddock took longer to clean than we anticipated, but I didn't want to leave a job half done."
"Very well Mr. Grady."
"Please call me Owen."
The woman's eyebrow raised and Owen could see her eyeing him with an unreadable expression. "Anyway, I appreciate your commitment to your job, though I wish you had budgeted your time well enough to at least change before coming tonight."
Owen glanced down at his Jurassic World polo and board shorts. "Oh, this? I changed before coming. It wouldn't be safe to wear shorts around the raptors. The legs would just be an added temptation for bites. I just changed into something more fitting for the weather."
Her eyebrow raised again, silently appraising the man in front of her. Owen suddenly felt a little more self-conscious about his choice of clothing. Finally, her piercing eyes left him as she suddenly strode past him.
"Come along Mr. Grady, I've reserved us a table at Nobu. Providing they have not released it to other customers, we can discuss the rest of the evening over dinner." She continued to walk, not checking to see if Owen was following. He followed hesitantly, wondering if he was actually ready for this at all.
Nobu was packed when the couple arrived. By the looks of things, there was at least a thirty minute wait for the high end restaurant. It became quickly apparent for the trainer that he had sorely underdressed for the occasion. For walking Main Street or visiting the other restaurants that dotted the resort, sure; but his business polo and a pair of boardshorts stuck out among the slacks and dress shirts around him. Claire on the other hand was dressed sharply. She comfortably wore the navy pencil skirt and white blouse, though how she wore the tan dress coat in the island heat, Owen would probably never know.
The couple barely stopped at the hostess podium, Claire simply greeting the employee and being immediately ushered inside with Owen in tow. They were guided back into one of the restaurant's private dining rooms, and Owen stepped forward to offer Claire her seat.
The red head removed the coat from her shoulders before hanging it on the chair Owen had pulled out. As they sat, the waitress passed them their menus.
"Hi, my name is Ashley and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with anything? Salads? Wine?"
Both Owen and Claire shook their heads.
"Do you two need a few minutes to look over our menu?"
"No, we are actually on a tight schedule. If I could get the Arctic Char, but please hold the soy." Claire responded, pushing the menu back to the waitress.
"Of course, and for you?"
Owen scrambled to look through the menu as two pair of expectant eyes watched him. He enjoyed fish, but he wasn't familiar with the dishes offered on the menu. Ultimately, the trainer settled on the first thing he recognized. "I'll just take the fish and chips."
Claire's eyebrow raised once more before the waitress distracted her.
"May I get you anything to drink?"
"Water." Both replied in unison.
"Alright, we'll have that right out for you!"
"Thank you." Owen replied as the waitress turned away. The door closed behind the waitress as she left, muffling the sounds of the crowds in the public side of the establishment. When they were alone, Claire unzipped the notebook she had been carrying and pulled out a formal document before sliding it across the table to the trainer. "What's this?"
"It's our itinerary for the evening. We are a little behind schedule, but if we eat quickly then we can still make the botanical gardens before they close for the evening."
She had printed an itinerary. The woman before him had actually drawn up and printed a schedule of events for the night. Owen could deal with type A personalities. He was experienced with them from his time in the Navy. An itinerary for a date though, that was a little extreme. Not only that, but Claire had actually scheduled an ending time. Things were supposed to wrap up by nine thirty.
He read over the schedule a few more times, trying to grasp the absurdity before him. Finally, he set the document aside deciding to ignore it and chalk it up to a quirk of her personality. If she wanted to be this organized, he could deal with it. He watched her as the waitress returned with their water.
Claire Dearing was unique. She stood out to him. She had a lithe frame and red hair, both things that Owen had been attracted to immediately, but she also had a dangerous and commanding air about her as well. Now that he thought about it, Barry may have been more correct in his comparison than he realized.
He turned to her when she let out a small sigh before addressing him. "Mr. Grady. Tell me, how are things going with the Velociraptors?"
The trainer had been about to respond when his eye caught the itinerary sitting on the table. The question left his mouth before he was fully aware of it. "I'm sorry, Is this a date or am I at an appointment?"
The red head's eyes hardened just a little and he could see her jaw tighten as she stared at Owen. She watched him for several seconds before letting out a deep breath and relaxing her shoulders. "I can assure you Mr. Grady, I am not dining with you on business."
"I'm sorry, it's just, with the schedule and the tone, and everything else, I was just worried I might have scheduled an appointment with you by accident.
She glanced at the schedule on the table her posture loosening a bit more. "If you had scheduled an appointment with me, we would be meeting during regular business hours at my office, not over dinner in one of the park's restaurants."
"Okay, just wanted to make sure. The raptors are doing well, all things considered."
Claire seemed to relax and the tension in the room faded as both people decided to move past the question. Claire took a sip of her water, glancing at him with a small smile. "Very good. Your reports have been quite thorough. Mr. Masrani has been very impressed with them so far. While I don't believe that the final outcome will be enough to turn park sales completely around, I do believe your research will be very valuable to the future of this park."
"Thanks." It was sort of a compliment, he could accept that. "Honestly, I'm just glad we are finally making some progress. Delta is still giving me some issues, but the others are falling in line nicely."
Claire gave him a confused look. "Mr. Grady, I'm sorry, who is Delta?"
"Oh, she's one of the Velociraptors. The second youngest, and currently the largest pain in my ass. Their names are Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo."
"You named them?"
"Of course, what else was I supposed to do? Give them numbers? I mean, I suppose I could call them by their designated numbers 'V-0013, V-0014, and so on, but they deserve something better, they need something to respond to."
"Can't they just respond to you?"
Owen gave her a flat look. "They're living creatures, they deserve at least some respect. If I'm going to work with them then I need a name to work with. If nothing else, it helps me. Names help build a connection with them, distinguish them as more than just another animal in this park."
Claire fixed the trainer with a skeptical frown. "A connection?"
Owen chuckled at the face she was making, having had this conversation before. "It's not some mystical bond or telepathic link with them. Addressing them by name helps keep me focused when I work with them. I remember their traits, flaws, and habits far more clearly than if they were simply 'Velociraptor three'."
Owen took a light sip of his water. "People are hard-wired to care more about something with a name. We remember things more clearly if a name is attached to it. That's why my parents told us not to name that stray dog we found. And consequently, naming it is why we kept it."
"We never had a dog growing up. But I guess I can see where naming them would make you a more efficient trainer."
Owen paused, glancing up from fiddling with his napkin, something bugging him as he looked at the woman sitting across the table. "You know, I listed the raptors by name in my reports."
Claire looked away, a small blush reddening her cheeks.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence until the waitress returned with their food.
Claire remained poised as she cut into her fish, eating with grace born from years of business dinners and public affairs. She was very good at putting up a friendly face, but Owen had years of experience in reading behavior. The subtle grimace she made every time he picked up a French fry was very telling.
The conversation was broken and spaced between long stretches of silence. Twice, she had excused herself from the table to take a phone call. The last one lasted for nearly ten minutes. He had learned a few things about her though.
She had graduated from Harvard and moved on to graduate studies at Oxford. Claire had also worked in two other theme parks before Jurassic World. She disliked sports and she had scoffed at his suggestion to grab a drink at Sunrio after dinner. Tequila was apparently not good for her diet. Owen on the other hand, was pretty sure she had refused simply because it wasn't in her scheduled plan.
Unfortunately, that was about it, she had shut him down every time he mentioned family or anything beyond her work.
When she finally returned, Owen was finishing the last of his dinner. Wiping his mouth with his napkin, the trainer spoke up, hoping to strike a more relatable conversation.
"So, did you ever think you would end up managing Jurassic World?"
Claire looked up at him, swallowing the bite she had just taken. Dabbing her mouth with her napkin, she shook her head. "Not directly, no. When Simon first mentioned it, I was helping manage some smaller sections of Masrani Energy. When he explained he would be stepping down from his position at the park, he requested that I consider the position. That was the first I ever thought about it."
"So what made you say yes?"
"I agreed because of Mr. Masrani himself." She paused, seeing Owen's confused look. She sighed. "Simon is a brilliant CEO and business person. He took his father's industry and expanded it exponentially. The man is a visionary and a dreamer; he is not a great manager. This park's early success and growth have been heavily reliant on Simon's willingness to pump billions of his own investments into it."
She paused, collecting her thoughts before continuing. "He succeeded against some steep odds and Jurassic World succeeded in building great profit margins for a number of years, but its expenditures are enormous and although much of it is necessary, more of it is wasted as well. Simon knows this; that is why he asked me to step in. I helped restructure Masrani Energy, and I intend to do the same here."
"So you are here to cut costs? Is that where the rumors of staff downsizing came from?"
"They were let go because their roles were unnecessary or inefficient. The work they did could easily be filled by their coworkers. I'm here to make this park more efficient Mr. Grady. I do not fire people simply to save money, I am in charge of asset management; that includes staffing, merchandising, and the attractions."
"You mean the animals?"
She ignored his question. "I have been surveying the assets and their care for the last two weeks. I've found significant areas for improvement and waste reduction. By eliminating or replacing some worn equipment, staff, and unnecessary additions, the park should be able to cut its spending significantly. The money saved, will allow us to expand, build, and develop new assets."
Owen's eyes narrowed slightly, he didn't like where this was heading. "So how much of this saving eats into the enrichment of living, breathing animals? Food and water aren't the only things an animal needs to survive. "
"I'm well aware Mr. Grady, but some things need to change. The last two years have shown that Jurassic World is hemorrhaging money. It ebbs and flows, but the fact of the matter is that we are no longer breaking even and that is making a lot of investors nervous. Simon stepped back so I can turn that around."
"No, I get that; but why are you starting with the animals and caretakers? Why not begin with something else, maybe something that isn't a living creature and the heart of this park?"
Claire's face hardened a bit and she put her fork down. "Because Mr. Grady, those assets are where the most waste occurs. Simon spared no expense in the making of this park. It helped the park succeed, but it also brought a lot of waste and unnecessary expenditures. For example, there is no reason why we should be building a second aviary for the Dimorphodons when they can be housed safely within the Pteradon aviary. This would cut costs immensely and keep us from having to hire more keepers."
"And I'm sure housing them together would increase the risk of staff injury or decrease animal welfare. Claire, these are living, breathing animals, have you considered that the keepers are using this money to keep these animals safe and happy? They spend every day with these animals, they know their needs inside and out. The expense they incur are not for fun, they meet very real needs."
"I am well aware of what each asset requires to remain healthy within their enclosure. Those that cannot be cared for safely are either moved north into the research zone or disposed of."
Disposed of. The two words reminded Owen of Wu's comments about his raptors. His hands tightened into fists around the napkin he held.
"Dammit Claire, these are living creatures that have needs beyond just being fed and having a place to sleep. You can't just decide-"
"Mr. Grady! With all due respect. These creatures were created in labs, they are property, bred in Our labs, cared for by us. They. Are. Assets."
"They are alive, Ms. Dearing and they rely on the people in this park to care for them. Just because you created them, doesn't mean you have the right to 'dispose' of them when they are no longer convenient."
"They are attractions bred for the use of this park. We do not need to breed thirty-seven Triceratops, they may move in herds, but we don't need a herd that big. What we need are attractions that draw more people in and keep them coming back. Both are costly ventures, but only one will actually make a return on its money."
Owen pushed his plate away, no longer hungry. He stood from the table. "Ms. Dearing, I think I need to go check on something at the paddock."
"I think you may be right." Her tone was cold and she joined him in standing. "I need to head back to the office as well. Thank you for dinner Mr. Grady." She paused. "It was enlightening."
"It certainly was." Owen grumbled, snagging the check and turning towards the door.
"Oh, Mr. Grady, please dress more appropriately tomorrow. There are a number of investors joining me and I would like you to at least look professional for our inspection."
Owen stopped in the door. "What are you talking about?"
Claire dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "Your, paddock survey is tomorrow morning. I do hope everything is in order."
Owen pushed through the privacy door, leaving Claire at the table, her business notebook in hand.
Owen stalked out of the restaurant, stopping only to pay the hostess. He ground his teeth, but forced himself to calm down and pull out his phone.
He needed to call Barry
They had a lot of work to do.