Page 119 of Badd Love
"Mr. Thorvaldsen," I said. "Good afternoon, sir."
A lengthy, posed pause, and then he turned to face me, scrutinized me closely, silently. Head to toe, twice. He noted the cut of my suit, I'm certain. My chin-length black razor bob, long enough to pull back if necessary, short enough to fit under a flight helmet comfortably without getting in the way. My makeup-free face. And, most certainly, the irritation I knew I was failing to hide—I have a shit poker face.
"My apologies for the long wait, Commander Tiernan." His voice was quiet, smooth, and placid.
I didn't answer that—I'm not in the habit of saying "oh, it's fine" when it's not, and a three-and-a-half-hour wait when I was one of six candidates was absurd.
An intentional slight, as I saw it.
For some reason, Thorvaldsen smirked at me, and then gestured at the chairs. "Please, sit."
I sat—on the edge of the chair, knees together at an angle, feet under me, spine straight, chin high: seated attention.
More smirking. This guy was starting to irritate me with the knowing smirks.
He flipped open a manila folder—my CV. Perused it slowly, line by line, page by page.
"Impressive," he said, when he'd finally closed the file.
This didn't merit an answer, since it was objectively true.
More smirking.
"I've interviewed eleven men and three women for this position," he told me. "All of them have impressive qualifications and resumes."
At some point, hewasgoing to ask me a question, right?
"None of them have been even remotely interesting."
This got my attention. “Interesting, sir?"
A full grin, this time. Dazzling. Megawatt. “Yes,interesting, Commander. You'll find the things I value are not always…what you'd expect."
"Such as qualifications for a personal pilot?" I said, my tone arch and wry.
He laughed. "Precisely, Commander." He leaned toward me, shoving my file aside. "I could throw a rock and hit forty excellent pilots. Every one of the fifteen pilots I've interviewed over the last month, has been more qualified than the last, regardless of which order you put them in."
"Fourteen, sir."
That smirk. "Quite right." It didn't reach his eyes, though—those were calculating, assessing, not quite cold but not exactly nice or warm. "I'm looking for more than just a pilot, Commander."
"Oh?"
"I travel a lot. I have ventures in some remote places—research stations in the Arctic, satellites in the jungle, office buildings in Dubai, server farms in the desert, that sort of thing. I don't trust just anyone, however, so when I hire a pilot, he or she is not just flying my Gulfstream from airport to airport. My pilot must be willing and able to fly in all conditions. Fixed-wing and helicopters. Sandstorms, windstorms, blizzards. I might get a call at four in the morning and have to fly from Seattle to Nome on a moment's notice."
"Sounds like an adventure," I said, honestly.
"I've been in three crashes, Commander. The first was a hard landing in a puddle jumper in the Caribbean, just got a little jostled when the landing gear gave out. I went down in a helicopter during a freak sandstorm in Africa, and then, mostrecently, a very bad landing during a blizzard in Siberia. Chances are I'll crash again, and I need to know my pilot will keep me alive."
I kept my face blank. "I make no promises, sir. Flight is dynamic. We think we're in control, but we aren't. But if survival is possible, I'll make it happen. I’ve been through a few myself, sir."
"A few, eh?"
"I've been flying since I was a little girl and soloing before it was strictly legal. I've put down hard plenty of times in all manner of aircraft. I've ditched at sea, crash-landed behind enemy lines, bailed out, skidded off runways." I shrugged. "I can land a C-2 on an aircraft carrier, sir. I can keep a helo hovering over a pitching deck. I can handle whatever you care to throw at me, sir."
This got me a long stare. "Crash-landed behind enemy lines?"
"Details are classified, sir,” I said. “I wasn't the only survivor of the landing, but Iwasthe only one who made it back—through no fault of my own, I feel compelled to point out.”
