Merrick looked at his watch. “You want to do it now?”
I held up my hands. “No. I’m supposed to be helping people reduce stress. I don’t want to get in the way of what little free time you have.”
“It’s fine.” He nodded toward the hallway. “Let me run upstairs and drop off my bag and get changed. Did you eat yet?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Pub food okay?”
I nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
“There’s a good place a few buildings over. You can grill me again while we eat.”
“That would be great. Thank you.” I smiled. “Look at us making nice all on our own. I didn’t even have to threaten to tell your grandmother.”
Merrick shook his head. “I’ll meet you by the elevator in about ten minutes, wiseass.”
“Okay.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were already seated at a table. The waitress came by with menus and asked if we wanted to order a drink. I could’ve really gone for a glass of wine, but Merrick opted for water, so I followed his lead.
“So have my managers confirmed I’m the ogre you think I am?”
I shook my head. “No. Obviously anything said in session is privileged, so I can’t share specifics. But I will say that all of your people respect you very much.”
“Ah… So they think you’re a mole and are telling you what I want to hear.”
I laughed. “I don’t think that’s it.”
Merrick leaned back, resting his arms casually across the top of the booth. “People are talking to you, though? Not giving you a hard time?”
“The ones today did. I mean, therapy tends to start slow, so I don’t push or delve into personal things right away. We just get to know each other a bit.”
“Will liked you.”
“Oh?”
“We eat lunch together a few times a week. He mentioned you were easy to talk to.”
“That’s good to hear. I liked him a lot. He has a quick wit and dry sense of humor.”
“You can say that again. Will likes to bet on random things. Last year he came in on New Year’s Day when no one else was here. He collected all the personal photos from every employee’s desk, scanned them into Photoshop, and superimposed his own face on every kid, spouse, and dog. He egged me into betting who would notice last.”
“Oh my God,” I cracked up. “Who was it?”
Merrick shrugged. “I’ll let you know when we finally have a winner. Two people still haven’t noticed. It’s been almost seven months.”
“That’s hysterical.”
The waitress stopped by and asked if we were ready to order, but we hadn’t even looked at the menu yet. Merrick told her to come back in a few minutes.
“Do you have a favorite thing here?” I asked, looking down at the menu.
“I usually get the pub burger or the turkey club.”
“Mmm… Both sound good.” I set my menu on the table. “Want to order one of each and share?”
Merrick smiled. “Sure.” He drank some of his water. “So how do you like the job so far?”