Dinosaur Girl

Part Seven: Stupidity in the Raw

    Em kept herself busy by paying special attention to her Barys and taking Minnie along with her. The dog had hopped up in the passenger seat of the borrowed park jeep, her tail wagging a mile minute as her tongue lolled out of her mouth adorably. The woman had given her furry friend a bone to gnaw on while she went to feed her dino babies. Her Barys always cheered her up, which may sound weird about giant prehistoric carnivores, but she had raised them. She knew each personality and loved to find out their favorites. Iris seemed to be her shinning star today and soaked up all the attention lovingly while making little chirping noises that the others joined in on. Tossing them the treats she walked down the stairs into the little supply room to wash the smell of fish away from her hands. Finding her phone she had put down on the small counter top earlier she saw she had two missed calls and a text message. One call from her mom, the other her dad. The text was from Owen.  

   Eyeing the missed calls she canceled them off her screen and moved to read the text. 'Are you going to the meeting tonight? I can pick you up.'

    Meeting? The hell? Scrolling down her texts she saw a reminder that Clair had forwarded out to everyone. There was a be a large meeting of all staff tonight at the main hall to discuss what the grand opening would entail. She hadn't wanted to go but Mr. Misrani had asked her to attend to talk to her about her Barys being released into a larger enclosure. Groaning Em tossed her head back and let the noise creep out of her throat, following it by some overly dramatic fake sobs. She didn't respond to the text right away and contemplated. Em hadn't liked that Owen dated everything that seemed to walk. A guy who got around was normally bad news. Biting her lower lip Minnie barked signaling she wasn't alone. The sound of tires on gravel sounded and then the engine cut off. Tucking her phone back in her pocket she walked out the small building and came face to face with Owen.

    "Hey." He grinned and shut the jeeps door. Damn if he didn't look good even standing still. "I'm not trying to be a stalker or anything, when you didn't answer I wanted to make sure you made it on time." He said and held up his hands to show there was no bad intentions involved.

    "Mmhmm, suuuure." She drew out and smiled at him. Putting her hands on her hips she watched Minnie sit next to Owen and look up at the man adoringly. She never forgot when someone took the time to play with her and was incredibly loyal. "I had honestly forgotten... I've been here all day." She said and shrugged. "If I could bail out I would though, I want to go to sleep." And she did. After getting hardly any the night before and spending the whole day running above the enclosure had drained her. Stretching she was sure she looked a sight. Her long hair was pulled in a high pony tail, her face make up free, and she just wore a black t shirt that had a v cut, her shorts plain denim. She had put on her work boots because standing too long normally hurt her back. Owen surprised her by planting a light kiss on her lips. She blinked up at him slightly confused and her grinned like a loon.     

"You look pretty." He said and moved to escort her to the jeep. "We can drop Minnie off and head right over." They did just that and flew down the gravel roads to the large concrete conference all. It was just behind the labs and connected she was sure at a door but the parking lot was swarmed with loads of the parks vehicles with Clair's vehicle up front in her reserved spot. They walked in to be mobbed by their familiar group and pulled towards the back corner. Em felt like the bad kids in school, the ones who scribbled on the desks and passed notes, making fun of the teachers. She oddly enjoyed the feeling, Owen taking one side of her and Sasha taking the other. Everyone chatted around them and she heard her name being spoken. Looking back at Jackson she quirked up her eyebrow and he grinned at her.

    "I said, woman, are you excited for the Bary to be on the Cretaceous Cruise?" He asked with all that tan skin, dark windswept hair, and woman eating smile. Em laughed at him and reached to lightly punch his shoulder.