A/N: Last one in this book, I swear! OK, azurenflugel, you asked for some more of the Airplanes AU, here it is. Insert after the flight but before the proposal.
The interview with Erwin Smith had gone well. They had gotten along fine and he'd hinted that she basically landed the job. He'd been handsome and charismatic and she wasn't at all surprised that he was the CEO of the Wings of Freedom.
Levi turned out to be Erwin's second in command, they also seemed to be close friends, along with their other partner, Hange Zoe.
Mikasa was eager to learn any tidbits of information about him. He was still somewhat of a mystery to her.
Mikasa had met Hange Zoe and although she was eccentric, Mikasa had taken a liking to the scientifically inclined woman.
After the interview, she had come home to an email from the Wings of Freedom saying that she'd landed the job. Squealing excitedly to herself, Eren had poked his head into the room asking what she was so excited about.
She told him about the job and he was excited too. Eren, Armin, and herself shared an apartment to save on rent and this was great news for them. Eren worked odd jobs and Armin was in an internship. A steady income would help them out a lot.
The next day, Mikasa wore a simple, black, pencil skirt, a black blazer and a cream colored blouse with a pair of elegant black heels.
She opened the door to the building where the Wings of Freedom offices were located and got on the elevator to ascend to the office level. After entering the elevator a young man got on behind her. About the same height as her since she was wearing heels, he had sandy hair and a slightly long face. When he saw her, his eyes widened slightly.
"H-hi," he said nervously, "I've, uh, never seen you here before. Are you new? Your black hair is very pretty," he blurted out. His cheeks were pink and he seemed like a nice guy.
"Yes, I'm new here. Erwin Smith hired me to be the new marketing manager," she replied. His eyes widened, " Wow, Erwin Smith! You must have already had some connections. Usually Levi does the interviews, but you got lucky. Levi usually intimidates people so much that they don't even want the job anymore. Oh, I'm Jean by the way. Jean Kirchstein."
Really, Levi was that intimidating? That was interesting. "Hi Jean, I'm Mikasa. Mikasa Ackerman." He gave her a hesitant smile and held the doors open for her as the elevator stopped at their floor. "I work in marketing too. I guess we'll be seeing more of each other." "Yeah, I guess so," she agreed.
She spotted Hange Zoe waving her arms frantically at her and said, "Duty calls, I'll see you later." "Yeah, bye!" Jean called after her. She approached Hange who said enthusiastically, "Ready for your first day? I'll be the one showing you the ropes although I think you're more than capable from the looks of your resume. Quite the high-achiever I see, college seemed to have treated you well."
"Ready as I'll ever be," Mikasa said, shrugging. Hange showed her around the office and laid out the basics for the current project they were working on.
Mikasa paid close attention and nodded along, already planning out a strategy. She needed to put together a marketing team first and foremost and then she needed to gauge customer insight to see what they could do to increase sales.
When Hange finished the tours, Mikasa nodded and made her way to the office that had been set up for her. She perused the list of names in the Marketing Department:
Jean Kirchstein
Sasha Braus
Connie Springer
Mina Carolina
Thomas Wagner
Hannah Diamant
Franz Kefka
Samuel Linke-Jackson
Nac Tius
Mylius Zeramuski
Marlo Freudenberg
Hitch Dreyse
Boris Feulner
Sitting down at her desk, she prepared to slog through the copious amounts of paperwork and general drudgery she needed to sort through before she could even remotely prepare to do anything else.
Reading everyone's files she realized that the Wings of Freedom had some very talented people hired. But in the end she picked the top 4 she wanted on her team. Jean Kirchstein, who seemed to possess excellent leadership qualities and spoke his mind clearly and concisely. She appreciated someone who would be able to take over if she was indisposed and she always wanted someone who wouldn't be afraid to voice their opinions.
Sasha Braus, who had been noted to be eccentric and a little too obsessed with food, but seemed to be amiable and had peculiarly good intuition when it came to marketing trends and perceived customer needs with uncanny accuracy.
Connie Springer, who some had labeled as a dimwit, but was noted as being loyal and reliable and quick to carry out specific tasks.
Lastly, Boris Feulner, who she was slightly apprehensive of, but he had an excellent file, the only strange comment was on his unusually serious disposition.
Sighing, she typed her requests into the computer and received a confirmation email that all 4 would be placed under her command to do as she pleased.
Sighing in satisfaction, she rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. Ah, just in time for lunch break. At that moment, a knock came on her door, "Come in," she called.
She jerked upright in her chair as she saw Levi's head poke in through the door.
"Oi, come have lunch with me," he said. Mikasa rolled her eyes, but got up from her desk to follow him. As they passed through the maze of cubicles, Jean Kirchstein's head poked out from one of the cubicles, "H-Hi Mikasa, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out and eat lunch with me?"
She was ready surprised and taken off guard and he seemed to think that her silence meant that she was angry, "I-I mean, not just with me, a whole group is going out." She opened her mouth to politely reject his offer when Levi spoke up from beside her, "I'm afraid she can't, Kirchstein, I suggest you get back to work." Levi glanced at his watch, "You actually have 43 more seconds until lunch break actually starts." He turned and walked away and Mikasa followed, muttering at him, "I could have totally handled that. You don't need to get involved in my business, besides, Jean will be on my team, there's no reason to try to ostracize him."
Levi turned a deadpan look at Mikasa, "Relax, I was just helping. The brat left you alone because I was there. Trust me, he would have been a lot more persistent without my presence."
Mikasa kept her thoughts to herself and her mouth in check as she followed Levi into the elevator.
At the parking deck, he took his keys out of his pocket and sleek, black car lit up in response. Eyeing the car appreciatively, Mikasa said, "Nice car." The corner of Levi's lip quirked up in response, "You haven't even seen the inside yet."
He opened the passenger door for her like a gentlemen and her eyes widened as she took in the plush leather and the high tech, digital console. The tinted mirrors gave the entire car a dark, intimate aura.
While she admired the interior, Levi slid into the driver's seat and the engine hummed quietly to life. Smoothly pulling out from the parking garage, Levi drove in the direction of downtown. "Where are we going?" Mikasa asked curiously. Levi smiled mysteriously, "A favorite restaurant of mine, I think you'll like it."
