“Welcome aboard.” the HR Manager smiled at me, extending her hand. I smiled and returned the gesture, my eyes never leaving hers. She was short, even shorter than I, her dark brown eyes holding a genuine passion and love for what she did. Her smile was sincere and infectious, and I found myself content in the choice of employment I had made.

It had been four months I had gone without a fulltime contract. Sure, I had done some side work along the way, a few missions, some training courses, etc, but not having a steady income had started to weigh on me. Keeping my small fleet of fits operational was a costly thing, and steady cashflow was imperative.

Of course, the universe revealed itself as it often does. There were no bites on my CV for the first few months, but as soon as I tentatively accepted the offer from this corporation, a half dozen other offers came to the table. It’s like relationships; when you’re single, nobody wants you but as soon as you’re in a relationship, you’re attractive to everyone. It’s the irony of life really.

She gestured for me to walk with her to the hangar, which we did. I was already thinking about the task I had been hired for: training a new fleet, defining their processes from start to finish. That wouldn’t be so bad. They had wanted someone with previous military experience. My guess was that the discipline and uniformity that came with military command was something of value, and something I could provide in abundance.

I met the single pilot the corporation had under its employ. I was a little underwhelmed, having worked up the idea of a new fleet in my mind, so to see a lone pilot that was responsible for all company flights was a bit of a shock. Make no mistake, he was very likeable, though young, and eager to establish himself with me. We spoke for a few hours, me mostly trying to get the lay of the land, so to speak, and him sharing everything he had learned in his career as a pilot.

When I was finished with him, I spoke with the CEO. That is where the real shock began. My understanding had been that I would be Flight Controller, training pilots. Period. Obviously I would be responsible for vetting and hiring new pilots, which wasn’t part of the original discussion, but I was ok with that. Then the CEO went on to explain how given my extensive military processes experience, he wanted me to redefine all internal processes from Account Management to Business Strategies to Flight Control, and more…

I think we’re going to need a new chat about money though I’m hesitant. Given the humour of the universe, I’ll lose this opportunity if I push for more money (our original haggle on my fee already pushing them to their upper limits), and once I’m on the market again, the market of course, won’t be interested.

We’ll see how things go. I’m liking the team I’ve met so far. The people always make it or break it.

Either way, it’s good to be back in the saddle again.