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Interesting, I think.
“You didn’t like marketing?” I smile, encouraging him to fess up.
Instead, he withdraws behind a wall of professionalism. “Our marketing team is excellent, as are all the teams at Helius Airlines. I was an unnecessary addition.”
“Oh. Sure.” I consult my notes and try again. “What was the first team where you really felt like a necessaryaddition? Where you flourished?”
“It’s not about me,” Luke says stubbornly. “It’s about what’s best for the company.”
I groan. “Luke, with all due respect, it’s your memoirs.This time it is about you.”
His jaw clenches, mulish.
I sigh. “Look, this book is supposed to make people like you, right? Well, it’s easier to like people when they’re talking about something they’re passionate about.”
Luke doesn’t say anything. But his jaw does relax slightly.
I wonder what else I could do to get him to relax,I think, and then clamp down on the thought.
“Show me,” he says, and for a breathless moment I think he’s read my thoughts.
But then he continues.
“Tell me something you’re passionate about. Then I’ll tell you what I like about the work I do,” he clarifies.
I purse my lips. Part of me thinks he’s dragging out the clock so he can avoid my questions. But if this is what he needs to trust me, I can do it.
“I like writing profiles of people. But Ilovewriting fiction. There’s something about creating a whole world in your head and filling it with characters you love...anyway.” I look at my lap, feeling self-conscious. “Sometimes it feels like trudging up a hill. But when everything clicks into place, and the story is flowing, it’s magic. It’s the closest I’ve ever felt to flying.”
When I look up, he’s watching me, an unreadable look in his dark blue eyes.
Is he going to say something caustic? Make fun of me?
He scratches the side of his jaw absently. “Why aren’t you doing that then?”
Because no one wanted my book, I think.
I shift in my chair, uncomfortably. “That wasn’t the deal. Your turn. Tell me your favorite part about working at Helius.”
He leans back in his chair and laces his hands behind his head, surveying me. “Do you know what Strategic Planning and Performance does?”
“Cooper says you keep the planes in the sky,” I say.
He arches an eyebrow sarcastically. “We all do that. But yes, I’m the person in charge of figuring out what success looks like today, and what it will look like in the future. And then I give my people everything they need to make it happen.” He leans forward, his excitement creeping towards the surface. “For example, the airline industry is at the mercy of fuel prices. If regulation passes to limit drilling, if a war or natural disaster restricts our access to oil, we have no choice but to jack up prices, whether that makes sense for customers or not. But imagine we could reduce how much fuel we needed per flight.”
“How?” I ask, curious. I didn’t know much about airplanes, but I was pretty sure things like gravity and physics couldn’t be changed, even by Luke.
“Hybrid planes,” Luke answers, his eyes alight. “Like hybrid cars, they’re more practical than going completely electric, while still offering many of the same benefits.”
“And they’re better for the environment,” I say, thinking that Cooper would like that.
Luke waves aside that point. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll get good P.R. for it. But the point is, it will save us money in the long run, and give us more control over our business model.”
I sigh. God forbid he do something just so kids with asthma can enjoy better air quality.
“Some airlines have already dipped their toes into the waters,” Luke continues. “And as soon as I’m CEO, Helius Airlines will be next.”
He smiles, fierce, like a warrior about to charge into battle.
