“The office doesn’t open until seven.”
“Oh. I’ll just go get some coffee or something.”
Merrick eyed the large cup in my hand. “Why don’t I show you where your office is, and you can get situated.”
“Oh, no. That’s okay. I don’t want to interrupt your run.”
“It was my last lap, anyway.” He tilted his head toward the door. “Come on.”
In the lobby, Merrick stopped at the security desk.
“Hey, Joe. This is Evie Vaughn. Dr. Everly Vaughn.” He turned to me and winked. “I’m sure HR will be sending down the paperwork to get her building cards later today. Just figured I’d introduce you and tell you not to forget the Doctor part before her name.”
“No problem, boss.”
Merrick extended his hand for me to walk first toward the elevator. I waited until we were out of earshot to say anything.
“You know, I’m not a jerk about being called doctor. I could care less about the title. You were just being difficult that day and brought out a side of me.”
The elevator doors slid open, and Merrick held them and grinned. “What side would that be? Your bitchy side?”
I squinted. “Did you just call me a bitch on my first day of work? I think I’ve already figured out the root of your stressed-employee problems here at the office. This job is going to be easier than I thought.”
Merrick smirked. “I never claimed I wasn’t part of the problem. Your job is to get people to learn how to deal with it.”
“Or…you could act more professional.”
Merrick pressed a button on the elevator panel. “What fun would that be?” He paused. “By the way, your office is on a different floor than the one you interviewed on. Not sure if Joan told you that.”
“Oh yes, she mentioned it. The traders are all on one floor and everyone else is a floor down?”
He nodded. “We don’t all fit on one, but it’s better split this way, anyway. The traders yell across the bullpen all day long. It can get pretty loud, and the language isn’t great when a stock they’ve invested in heavily tanks.”
“I bet.” The doors slid closed, and I felt Merrick’s presence, even though he was standing an appropriate distance away in the elevator car. “So…do you come to the office early to run every day?”
“I live in the building. The top few floors are residential.”
“Oh, wow. Guess that cuts down on commute time. It also explains where all your papers and photos are.”
“Papers and photos?”
“Your desk is so clean. I was in your office twice, and both times I saw no sticky notes, notepads, files, or paperwork. And your credenza didn’t have any personal items like framed photos or signed baseballs or whatever.”
“I like things organized. My files are in drawers, and my sticky notes are electronic.”
I snorted. “You’re not going to love my office then.”
Merrick raised a brow but said nothing. The elevator dinged at the thirty-fourth floor, and he led me down a series of hallways. It didn’t dawn on me that every one of the offices was a glass fishbowl until we came to the one he said was mine. It was glass, too, but the glass was different, frosted so you couldn’t see inside.
He unlocked the door and opened it for me. The lights turned themselves on as we entered.
I sniffed a few times. “Do you smell that?”
He pointed to the glass. “It’s the glue from the film we installed to make the privacy glass. It was just done over the weekend. HR thought it was necessary to shield people who are having appointments with you from prying eyes.”