The Boss Project

“I monitored and treated patients involved in clinical trials for antidepressant and anxiety drugs.”

“So every patient was treated with drugs?”

“Well, no. Some people receive placebos during a clinical trial.”

“Were these people who worked in a high-stress environment?”

“Some. They were people from all walks of life. But they all suffered from depression and anxiety.”

Merrick rubbed his lip with his thumb. “I would assume these were people seeking drugs because traditional therapy didn’t work.”

I nodded. “That’s right. All participants had to have had at least one year of therapy in order to qualify for the trial. The studies Halpern did focused on whether the drugs helped a person who had not responded to counseling.”

“And did the drugs prove effective?”

“The ones I worked on did, yes.”

Merrick sat back in his chair. “So the only experience you have is working with people who don’t respond to counseling and needed drugs to get an improvement. Do I have that right?”

I frowned. God, he’s a jerk. “Unfortunately, not everyone responds to counseling. Many of the people I treated saw improvements. However, because of the double-blind nature of drug trials, I couldn’t tell you how many patients took placebos and improved solely from my therapy. I’m sure some did.”

He tossed my resumé on his desk. “I run a brokerage firm. I wonder if I could stop reporting the rate of return my company earns its clients? It must’ve been nice to not worry about anyone gauging the success of your efforts.”

I felt my cheeks heat. “Are you insinuating that I didn’t do my job because no one could tell if it was my counseling or the drugs making people better?”

His eyes gleamed. “I didn’t say that.”

“Not in so many words, but you implied it. I counsel all patients the same, to the best of my ability, whether anyone is watching or not. Tell me, Mr. Crawford, if your clients didn’t, in fact, see their rate of return, would you perform your job differently? Perhaps slack off?”

A ghost of a smile lurked at his lips, as if he was enjoying being a dick. After a few heartbeats of staring at me, he cleared his throat.

“We’re really looking for someone with experience treating people in a high-stress work environment, before they resort to drugs.”

It hit me that it didn’t matter what I’d said since I walked in the door. And that I wasn’t in the mood for any more ridicule, especially since it was clear from his attitude that I wasn’t going to get the job.

So I stood and held out my hand. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Crawford. Good luck with your search.”

Merrick arched a brow. “Is the interview over?”

I shrugged. “I don’t see any reason to continue. You’ve made it clear that you don’t think my experience is what you’re looking for. And you’ve said time is money, so I’m sure I’ve already wasted what…a grand or two?”

That smirk he’d had earlier came back out to play. His eyes roamed my face before he stood and clasped my hand. “At least twenty thousand. I’m very good at my job.”

I tried to withdraw my hand, but Merrick clasped his fingers tighter. He pulled unexpectedly, leaning me over his desk. Then he leaned in, too. For a second, I thought the guy was going to try to kiss me. But before my heart could start beating again, he veered to the left and his face went to my neck, where he inhaled deeply. After, he simply let go of my hand like nothing had happened.

I blinked a few times as I righted myself to stand. “What…what was that?”

Merrick shrugged. “I figured since you weren’t going to be my employee, it wouldn’t be harassment if I took a quick sniff.”

“A quick sniff?”

He slipped his hands into his trouser pockets. “I’ve been curious since the dressing room.”

My eyes bulged. “Oh my God. I knew it was you! Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“Seemed more fun not to. I wanted to see how you’d handle yourself. You looked like you were considering bolting when you first walked in. But you recovered pretty nicely.”

I squinted. “No wonder you need help with your employees’ stress level. Do you often play with people for your own entertainment?”

“Do you often hide in fitting rooms and sniff your pits?”

I frowned, and my squint narrowed further. Merrick seemed amused.

“I’ll have you know, I was cleaning up because I got stuck on the…” I shook my head and growled. “You know what? It doesn’t matter.” I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I was a professional and sometimes it was better to take the high road. I straightened my skirt and stood tall. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Crawford. Hopefully, we won’t cross paths again.”