I tapped the pen in my hand against the top of the notebook I’d closed ten minutes ago. “So you think the only people who need a little help with their stress are the people who can’t hack the job?”
“I think that’s the case the majority of the time, yes.”
I smiled. “I think we’ve found the root of the problem.”
“And I assume you’re still inferring it’s me? After what—has it been an hour you’ve been here yet?”
“You set the tone in this office. It must be difficult to live up to your standards, if not impossible. That’s bound to trickle down to the employees at every level.”
“So I should lower my standards to make this a more pleasant place to work?” He locked eyes with me. “I don’t bend. People need to reach.”
“Have you ever seen a therapist?”
Merrick sat back in his chair. “You won’t be counseling me, Ms. Vaughn.”
“Doctor Vaughn. And I thought all of the employees were mandated to have monthly sessions.”
“I’m not an employee. I’m an owner. And if you read through the board minutes, you’ll see that I made sure their mandate for therapy was very specific in not including me.” He reached up to the two monitors on his desk and turned them on before checking his watch. “If you don’t have any other questions, I need to start my day.”
I nodded and stood. “Thank you for your time.” But as I reached the door, Merrick spoke again.
“Evie?”
I turned back. “Finally, he calls me Evie and not Ms. Vaughn…”
The corner of his lip twitched. “I just wanted to say that while I may be strong willed, I can admit when I’m wrong… And I am. I shouldn’t have hired you.”
My face fell.
“My goal was to hire someone incompetent to prove a point. But I can already tell you’re not.”
“I think there was a compliment buried in there somewhere, wasn’t there?”
Merrick looked like he tried not to smile, but failed as he shook his head and turned to face his monitors. “Try not to soften my troops too much on your first day.”