Welcome to Jurassic World

Chapter 2

(A/N: Beti means daughter in Hindi. Hope you enjoy. XxD)

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Owen had taken them both back to his bungalow that overlooked the lake.

While Anya lived in the most luxurious apartment her father could afford, and he could afford a lot, she liked the simplicity of Owen's house, the peace that you got as you watched the lake with an ice-cold beer in your hand.

Which was how she sat now.

Owen sat on an overturned bucket as he worked on his motorcycle, a beer next to his feet while Anya sat in a camping chair next to him, the two of them making idle chat and laughing until a silver Mercedes pulled up and Claire got out, fixing her hair in the reflection on her window before walking over.

"What do they want now?" Owen asked as he watched her.

"Guess we're about to find out," Anya said as she sipped her beer.

"Mr Grady, Miss Masrani. I need you both to come take a look at something," Claire said as she stopped a few metres shy of Anya's chair.

Anya glanced at Owen before she looked back at Claire.

"What's with the formal titles?" he asked, and Claire forced a small smile as she corrected herself and said,

"Owen. Anya. If you're not too busy."

"I'm pretty busy," Owen shot back as he lifted his beer to his lips, and Anya smiled as she leaned her head back against the chair, enjoying the entertainment she was being provided with.

Owen had told her all about his relationship with Claire.

And she hadn't stopped laughing for a solid 5 minutes when he told her, the story of their first and last date being one of her favourites. 

"We have an attraction," Claire said and Anya's head turned to her, smirking at her choice of words that she knew was going to set Owen off.

"That's not what you said the last time I saw you," Owen replied as he stood.

"I'm talking about the dinosaurs, Mr Grady."

"Owen," Owen corrected.

"A new species we've made," she said as she swatted at a fly that Owen moved over and caught in his fist.

"You just went and made a new dinosaur?" Anya asked in surprise and disbelief.

"Yeah. It's, uh, kinda what we do here," Claire answered. "The exhibit opens to the public in three weeks. Mr Masrani wanted me to consult with you." 

"You wanna consult here or...in my bungalow?" Owen teased and Anya laughed, Owen turning to smile at her, at the sound.

"That's not funny," Claire said unamused.

"What is funny is that she thinks that I'm going to help her. If Papa wanted me to do him a favour he would've called," Anya piped up and just as she did, her phone began to ring.

As she fished it out from her back pocket with a sigh, Owen smirked as he said, "Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear," before bounding up the steps to his bungalow, still talking with Claire as Anya rolled her eyes and pressed the green button.

"Hi, Papa."

"Anya, beti, I have a favour to ask of you."

"Let me guess. You want me to pop over to your new dinosaur and take a look at her? Make sure she can't escape and that she's safe for the paying members of the public?"

"I take it Claire already spoke with you?"

Anya smiled. "She's trying to persuade Owen as we speak."

"Ah. So, Anya, what do you say?"

She sighed into the phone as she took another swig of her beer. "What's in it for me, Papa?"

"I'll close the petting zoo for a month."

Anya bit her lip as she contemplated the offer.

Out of all her father's pursuits, the one she didn't agree with was subjecting baby dinosaurs to be manhandled and ridden on by children. And persuading her father to close one of the most successful profit-making schemes he'd ever devised, was an ongoing battle.

"Make it a year and you have a deal."

"Six months."

"I will up it to two years."

Simon chuckled. "You drive a hard bargain, my dear."

"Yeah, well, I take after my Papa," she smiled, and her father laughed.

"You have a deal, Anya. One year, starting tomorrow. Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome, Papa. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

And Anya's smile only grew as she hung up and tucked her phone away to listen to the end of Owen and Claire's bickering, Claire looking down at Owen from where she stood on the top of the stairs to his bungalow as he addressed her.

"You might have made them in a test tube, but they don't know that. They're thinking, I gotta eat, I gotta hunt, I gotta..."

Anya bit her lips to keep her laughter in as Owen made a sexual gesture and Claire only remained unamused as she rolled her eyes.

"You can relate to at least one of those things, right?" he asked, and Anya couldn't take it anymore.

Owen smiled at her as he turned to where she burst into laughter, beer still in her hand as Claire walked down the stairs.

"I'll be in the car. You might want to change your shirt. They're very sensitive to smell."

And with that, she strutted towards her car, the empty arms of the coat she'd placed over her shoulders flapping in the breeze and Anya chuckled again and moved to stand at Owen's side.

"Sure you don't want that second date?" she joked as she took another swig of her beer.

"Nah. I'd much rather date you," Owen winked and she laughed as she shook her head, bringing the bottle back to her lips as her stomach fluttered.

"What made you think that dating Claire, who is like the total opposite of you, would be a good idea?"

Owen shrugged. "She looked good in tight pants."

Anya only rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Hey, do you still have my clothes from the last time I crashed here?" she asked. "Because after standing this close to you, I think I smell almost as bad."

"Haha. Very funny. How do you like this then?" Owen grinned wickedly as he wrapped her in a hug as she tried to squirm away from him, sweat and grease staining her shirt.

"Ok! Ok! I give. Let me go change and use like a million bottles of deodorant," she said as she trudged up the stairs and into Owen's house, pretending to ignore the lingering stare he sent her way.