22 #2
Julianne gives a slight smile of approval.
“A very accurate description.”
“It wasn’t in my notes,” I admit.
“It shows,” Maika murmurs, a faint curve on her lips.
I give her a warning look. She almost smiles fully.
Arturo brings up the same question from across the table.
“If Helen hadn’t established strict boundaries, the pier would have been an unmanageable mess,” Maika admits.
“She knows where to draw the line, which access points to close, and when to stand firm against local authorities to prevent overall security from collapsing. I can convince a customer to wait for a bus; Helen ensures the physical space so that bus can maneuver safely.”
I lower my gaze to the table, aware that if I maintain eye contact with her, our bosses will read all too clearly everything that’s going on inside me.
Julianne clasps her hands together.
“Your coordination at the Naples dock is the most solid performance we’ve recorded since we set sail from Marseille.”
Maika and I exchange glances at the same time. “Oh my God. Since Marseille.” The amount of things these two must have gone through while monitoring us.
“But… that doesn’t negate the risk factors,” Arturo warns. “Your shared history can act as a powerful catalyst for performance if managed with maturity, or as a source of instability if you allow it to interfere with decision-making.”
“We’re working on that last part,” I assure him.
“Sometimes,” Maika replies.
“Sometimes is better than never, isn’t it?” I say, and my gaze locks with hers.
Maika smiles. And Julianne clears her throat, bringing us back to the agenda.
“Let’s consider the final scenario. If you were required to recommend your colleague for the senior management position, what would your argument be?”
My heart rate is spiking. This has gone way beyond an assessment; it’s an emotional endurance test. Every phase of my plan for humanity… going to hell.
Maika places her palms on the table.
“I would recommend Helen because the shipping company needs a leader capable of maintaining stability when the system is faltering. Because she knows the internal regulations better than anyone else in the fleet, because she doesn’t rely on luck for an operation to go well.
And because, even though she believes her greatest virtue is control, her true value is that she cares so much about the safety of this ship that she is incapable of leaving anyone unprotected. ”
I’m running out of arguments. Arturo turns toward me, and that makes me swallow hard.
“I would recommend Maika because we can’t afford to forget that behind every satisfaction statistic there are real people.
Because her crew supports her out of loyalty.
Because she has the ability to make people breathe and trust in the midst of a crisis before executing an order.
And because she has a boldness that bears no resemblance to my concept of safety, but which the company urgently needs to incorporate. ”
Maika looks down at her lap, and I feel a strange sense of relief at having put into words what I really think of her.
I see Julianne clear her throat.
“Very well. One last question: would your collaboration be possible if one of you took over management and the other remained in her current position?”
Maika sighs, pausing before answering.
“As far as I’m concerned, there would be no problem,” she states. “As long as the terms of the employment relationship don’t repeat the mistakes of our previous contract.”
Julianne passes the baton to me.
“And your position is…?”
“I could work with Maika if she gets the job. I’m not going to lie to anyone—yes, it would come at a very personal cost. But above all… I’m an officer with this shipping company, and I know how to identify when someone has the right profile for leadership.”
Arturo is the first to stand up.
“That’s all from us. Good work, both of you.”
· · ·
We leave the conference room in complete silence. The hallway is empty. Maika walks a few steps ahead, with that innate ease, as if the statements that just took place in there hadn’t completely shattered my defenses.
I can’t let her go back to her cabin like this. At least, not again.
“Maika…”
She stops dead in her tracks and spins on her heels. I close the distance between us just enough to lower my voice, enough for my body to register that proximity to the entertainment coordinator remains a top-level operational risk.
A risk whose warning signs I decide to ignore.
“Why did you do that?” I ask her.
“What do you mean?”
“Saying all that about me in the interview.”
Maika looks at me and gives me a smile.
“Because I had to tell the truth, Helen. And that’s exactly what I think of you.”
“You’re making it way too hard for me to keep my distance. You know that, right?” I whisper.
Maika takes a small step forward, invading my personal space.
“Maybe that’s exactly my goal,” she replies, sending a little shock through me. “I don’t want you to pretend; I want you to feel and act without thinking about all the rules you’ll be breaking in the process.”
Then she winks at me knowingly and walks away, leaving me in the hallway, my heart pounding, just before turning back to add:
“The question is, what will you do with it…?”