Four days later, Claire still felt a bit on edge over what had happened. She didn't know why exactly she might be feeling this way, but it had seemed like the right idea at the time. Checking in with her secretary, she asked Zara to tell her if there were any unusual recordings or messages in the next week or so. Just another funny feeling, at least she had a sense these people might try and contact either Masrani or Grady. Looking at her self in the car mirror, she would feel a slight sense of apprehension and anxiety.
There was no reason to be worried, as she was just going through her breathing exercises. King. Jessica King, that was the woman she was going to meet today, she thought, as she took another deep breath, stepping out of the car and heading out across the parking lot into the bar. That had been her idea, just a quiet nondescript bar. No dinosaurs…no offices…and no Grady. Owen. Owen.
Why did he bother her so much? She wasn't sure, and maybe it wasn't what they'd been. Or what they never were. She frowned, shaking her head as she tried to push these thoughts into the back of her mind for now. She was not here to think about it, she was here to escape.
Or who they were, she thought as she opened the door into the bar, she'd dressed 'casual' or as casual as she could feel herself being. To Claire, that meant dress slacks and makeup as 'warm' as she could feel. The bar was almost empty this time of day, the only people being there were day drinkers, nestled in their favorite booths on the far side.
Jessica king was nestled already on the bar, a beer in her hand, as she gave Claire a warm wave. Claire couldn't help but notice that the news was still talking about the press conference from yesterday on the screens blaring just above the barista. But no, her gaze was fixed on Jessica. The Public Relations manager of Masrani global, she had worked with her on a lot of the setup for the Mesozoic project.
This was one of the few times they'd met when not at work though, she was afraid to say that she didn't really know too much about what this was about, even as she slid into the seat next to them. "Hey. I know you wanted to talk, but this…you know this really isn't the sort of place I go to that often." She sighed, trying to relax her shoulders, even as she'd order a beer of her own.
Ms. King smiled, she was dressed even more casually than Claire, almost enough to be mistaken for a office worker that was taking a well earned Friday after noon drink. "Call me Jessica." She said her voice rather light and airy, even as she seemed to already be at ease. As Claire sat down, the barista would pass her a bowl of pretzels, and she'd move them to the middle.
"I don't really think we need to talk too much shop here…at least more than usual," The brunette said, as she'd stare upwards at the tv sets, nibbling at the pretzels as she'd sit. Claire for her part, stared, somewhat stiffly still, as she reached for a pretzel, thinking over what had happened.
"Fine. I think we can move aside shop…forget all the deadlines and all that," Claire said as she noticed the sign above the bar. She remembered- from where? She looked over at the other woman, as she wondered what was really going on here, why she'd really been called over.
"Thinking that we could be figure something out…just you've been working so hard Claire. I know that the Mesozoic project has had all of us working overtime." That was true enough, Claire had many sleepless nights working through it, juggling all the different facets of the project. There were plenty to handle after all, as she had seen, not even getting into everything with the Grady team.
She had her own beer now, cradling it, as she took a sip. Cold and breezy down her throat. She paused a second, letting it travel through her. Had been too long since she'd had a beer…as she sipped, the longer she did, the more she felt- She shook her head, as she looked to the side. "Yes. I won't lie…it'll be a relief when it's done When the reserve's done, at least the hard part…" She could feel all of that pressure in there, definitely building.
There was a constant battle to keep it under wraps, not let it show, as she had to be the one to stand up and represent Masrani Global. She would feel better though, being here, for at least a hour or so to get her mind off of things. "I don't know. It just really feels like everything has been a bit too easy so far." Easy. Easy… she heard someone playing the jukebox somewhere in the background, and somehow 'easy' didn't seem the right word for that. Far from it, really.
"Everything ends eventually," Jessica mused, as she'd grab a handful of the pretzels, crushing them slightly in her hand as she would pluck them out, and eat them one by one gingerly. "But what's important is that we get the big stuff out of the way, and the smaller stuff will fall into place." She seemed rather nonchalant about that, especially considering that her phone must have been nonstop voicemails since the announcement the other day.
Claire could see Jessica now all over the news footage, it was unsurprising to her that they'd find a focus there. Claire had specifically requested not to be in the speaking role, she couldn't it was better that her particular role in the Mesozoic project wasn't out there yet. She was fine with taking a back seat…not all the way, but at the same time, she didn't know. Being in the spotlight was a lot different from being an operations manager. She had enough problems on her plate, she figured.
"You did great up there. Maybe better than I would have," Claire said, as she knew that she wouldn't talk about work. But there it was staring at them directly in front of each other. There were even people talking about that stupid concept art, the one she told Masrani was too obvious.
Jessica shrugged, patting Claire's hand, and Claire looked down at it quizzically. She'd never really known her colleague that well. Not that she'd ever felt like socializing with others that she worked with. This was an exception… maybe an exception to an exception, she thought as she turned to the side, noticing that photo was still there, on the side something that was framed, a hall of fame…of course, they wouldn't take his picture down…
"Claire. Claire. Can I call you Claire?" She smiled, although Claire couldn't tell if that smile was entirely serious. Just a feeling about it, she couldn't place it. Either way, she'd feel not quite put at ease like the other woman maybe wanted her to be. A strange feeling…although no justification for it. "It's all about just relaxing, taking things one day at a time- and most of all not letting them see just how nervous you are."
Leaning against the counter, Jessica's hair fell to one side. "You think I wasn't nervous? Oh yes… believe me I was. There was a lot of eyes, it will take probably the rest of the year just to beat that email backlog. You should see the voicemails…" She nibbled on another pretzel, as her eyes trailed over Claire. At the moment, Claire couldn't explain it, but she had the mental picture of a gazelle being sized up by a lion. But then the moment passed, and she smiled widely, and it seemed like nothing had changed at all.
Claire rubbed her eyes. Maybe she was just working too hard. Perhaps. That was certainly one way she could explain that feeling, as she sipped at the beer again. Somehow it was easier the second time… She smiled slightly, feeling a bit better. Just trying to forget about raptors, and dinosaurs… and all of that shit. She was feeling like she'd been working harder than everyone behind the scenes…
It didn't even bother her that people should be getting the credit for that work she'd done, in trying to iron out the kinks. That entire presentation might have been the public relations idea, but it was made possible through her work. That work was made possible only by working with…Grady. Staring at the picture of him on the bar wall, she let a slight upward curl of her lip pass, as she relaxed her shoulders slightly. This wasn't really so bad, she thought. Being here at the same bar after all this time.
Only this time it was different wasn't it? She didn't know if it really was different, or just the company. But it had a certain effect on her. "There's something to be said…about just letting the cares of work slide by, not thinking about it for two seconds," she said as she really was calm now. It was strange to think that was something which should have bothered her for even a few seconds. Looking up, she'd smile wider, feeling more confident, as she saw Jessica nod in approval.
"See that wasn't so hard. Just important to not let it all weigh you down. Not just here… but at work, and even when you're at home too." Claire nodded, it really did seem to make more sense the more she thought about it, as she leaned back, her cares seeming to wash away. "So what about we order an appetizer? Maybe talk about…" Just as she turned to face her, Claire heard her cell phone ringing.
"Sorry…god it's always the worst time. Mind if I take this?" Jessica shrugged, as if it were really no bother, as Claire was there, answering it. Her face shifted from relaxed to stern, and there was an expression on her face, a bit unreadable, as she looked up at the tv screen. It was saying something about an incident over in California. She stared blankly. "Yes-Yes…I get it. I get it. I'll tell her. Don't worry. I'll tell Masrani right away" She looked at the photograph again, as she quickly looked back at Jessica.
"God. I am so sorry. The worst timing. I have to get going. It's…Masrani. He said he's going to call an emergency session- something happened. I don't have all the details here, but looks like we're back on the clock, both of us-" She sighed. As she picked up her stuff, "Rain check?" Jessica nodded, giving her a her aside, she'd let her go, as if it was not an issue.
"No problem. Same place?" She would watch Claire go, eyes never leaving the other woman as she left. Eyes flickering, she'd look at the photograph Claire had been staring at. It was that trainer, Owen Grady, but behind him, there was no mistaking it. There was Claire, next to him, younger and seemingly carefree, holding up a beer in celebration with him. Huh. So how about that.