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The first time I met Merrick Crawford was during my job interview.<\/p>\n
Well, technically, I\u2019d met him twenty minutes earlier when he\u2019d barged into a fitting room a few doors down from my appointment.<\/p>\n
I yelled.\u00a0 He yelled.\u00a0 After an argument while standing in my bra, I proceeded to smash the door into the gorgeous jerk, trying to yank it shut.<\/p>\n
As you might imagine, I was freaked out when I discovered that the rude guy was my potential new boss.<\/p>\n
Yet he didn\u2019t seem to recognize me. Or so I thought\u2026\u00a0 Until we wound up bickering again during my interview and he told me to\u00a0go sniff my armpit<\/em>.<\/p>\n Okay, so maybe I hadn\u2019t exactly been changing when he walked in on me.\u00a0 In my defense, I\u2019d been stuck on a hot train for two hours and wanted to make sure I didn\u2019t smell.<\/p>\n I obviously didn\u2019t expect to get the job. But somehow an invitation to a second interview arrived in my inbox.<\/p>\n Before I left, I asked to see Merrick.\u00a0 I needed to know why I was even in consideration after our disastrous start.<\/p>\n Turned out, Merrick only wanted to hire me because I was the\u00a0least<\/em>\u00a0competent candidate.\u00a0 It seemed his board was making him fill the position, against his wishes.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t really want to work in a place where my boss expected me to fail.\u00a0 But I figured maybe I\u2019d enjoy proving him wrong. It was a little thing I dubbed the\u00a0boss project<\/em>.<\/p>\n What I wasn\u2019t prepared for was that there would be\u00a0other<\/em>\u00a0things I\u2019d enjoy doing to Merrick Crawford.<\/p>\n Getting involved with the boss wasn\u2019t the smartest choice.<\/p>\n But you know what they say about choices: Some we regret, some we are proud of.\u00a0 I just had no idea where this one was going to land.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Merrick<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Facebook Profile\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Page<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Website\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Twitter\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Instagram\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/The-Boss-Project-Teaser.jpg?resize=450%2C450&ssl=1\")
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\nExcerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\u201cMr. Crawford?\u201d My assistant, Andrea, poked her head into my office while I was eating lunch with Will. \u201cSorry to interrupt, but HR asked me to find out if you might have time to talk with one of the candidates for the in-house therapist position?\u201d
\nI shook my head. \u201cI don\u2019t need to talk to the applicants. I already gave my input to Joan. HR is holding second-round interviews and will let me know what they think when they\u2019re done.\u201d
\n\u201cApparently one of the candidates asked if she could have a minute with you after her appointment with HR. But her meeting is starting now, and I know you don\u2019t like anything on your schedule during trading hours.\u201d
\n\u201cWhich candidate?\u201d
\n\u201cEvie Vaughn.\u201d
\nI leaned back in my chair with a chuckle. \u201cSure. Why not?\u201d
\nShe nodded. \u201cI\u2019ll let her know.\u201d
\nWill lifted his chin after Andrea shut the door. \u201cWhat was that little grin about?\u201d
\n\u201cOne of the candidates for the stress therapist job is\u00a0interesting<\/em>, to say the least.\u201d
\n\u201cIn what way?\u201d
\n\u201cHer first-interview appointment wasn\u2019t until five one day last week, so when the market closed, I ran downstairs to Paloma to pick up a suit I\u2019d bought and had tailored. After I left the store, I thought I\u2019d forgotten my cell phone in the fitting room, so I went back to check. When I opened the door, I walked in on a woman.\u201d
\n\u201cI hate those places that have one fitting room for both men and women.\u201d
\n\u201cActually, this place has separate ones. The woman was just in the men\u2019s room. But that\u2019s not the best part. When I walked in, she was half undressed\u2026and smelling her armpit.\u201d
\nWill\u2019s brows shot up. \u201cCome again?\u201d
\n\u201cYou heard me right. Anyway, a few minutes later, my five o\u2019clock appointment walks in, and it\u2019s her. The woman from the fitting room.\u201d
\n\u201cThe pit sniffer? Get the hell out of here. What did you do?\u201d
\n\u201cNothing. I played it off like I didn\u2019t recognize her, though she definitely recognized me. I could see her squirming.\u201d
\n\u201cShit like this only happens to you, my friend. So what went down? How did the interview go?\u201d
\n\u201cShe was the least-qualified candidate. I don\u2019t even know how her resum\u00e9 made it into the group that got called for interviews.\u201d
\n\u201cYet she\u2019s back here today for a second interview?\u201d
\n\u201cShe is, indeed.\u201d
\nWill shook his head. \u201cWhat am I missing?\u201d
\n\u201cWhen I got home that night, I started thinking about how the board is shoving this position down my throat. They mandated that I hire someone, not that the person be competent.\u201d
\nWill smiled. \u201cGenius.\u201d
\nI shook my head. \u201cI need my people to be focused and ruthless while they\u2019re here\u2014not getting in touch with their emotions.\u201d
\n\u201cI hear you.\u201d
\nAs we finished lunch, Andrea returned and knocked. Evie Vaughn stood right behind her. Her wavy blond hair was up today, and she wore a simple black skirt and jacket with a red blouse underneath, giving her the sexy-librarian look every male fantasizes about at least once in his life. I tried to ignore the stir seeing her caused in me and forced my gaze down.
\nAndrea peeked her head in the door. \u201cDo you need more time?\u201d
\nI looked at Will. \u201cWe need to discuss anything else?\u201d
\nHe shook his head. \u201cNot that I can think of. I\u2019ll get the Endicott buy order placed as soon as it hits forty a share.\u201d
\n\u201cGood.\u201d I turned my attention to Andrea. \u201cPlease show Ms. Vaughn in.\u201d
\nWill left, tossing me a smirk over his shoulder as he passed Evie.
\nWhen the door shut, she took a few steps forward, then hesitated. \u201cThank you for seeing me.\u201d
\nI nodded and gestured to the guest chairs on the other side of my desk. \u201cHave a seat.\u201d
\n\u201cYour assistant mentioned you don\u2019t usually take appointments while the market is open.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d Leaning back, I tented my fingers. \u201cWhat can I do for you, Ms. Vaughn?\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s Evie, please. And\u2026well, I was hoping you could clear something up for me.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat would that be?\u201d
\n\u201cWhy am I here? For a second interview, I mean. You made it pretty clear during the first one that you didn\u2019t think I had the right experience for the position, and I didn\u2019t exactly make a winning first impression in that fitting room. So\u2026why am I here again?\u201d
\nI folded my arms across my chest and deliberated how to answer. The politically correct and professional response would\u2019ve been to say I\u2019d reconsidered based on how she\u2019d handled herself during the interview. But I\u2019d never been accused of being politically correct or professional.
\n\u201cAre you sure you want the real answer? Sometimes it\u2019s better not to know and just accept the outcome.\u201d
\nShe folded her arms across her chest, mimicking my posture. \u201cMaybe, but I\u2019d like to know anyway.\u201d
\nI liked her spunk. It was a challenge to keep myself from smiling. \u201cYou were invited back because you are the least qualified of all of the people we interviewed.\u201d
\nHer face fell, and I felt a tinge of guilt, even though she\u2019d said she wanted the truth.
\n\u201cWhy would you do that?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause hiring an in-house stress coach wasn\u2019t my idea. My board of directors is forcing my hand.\u201d
\n\u201cIs it a problem because it wasn\u2019t your idea?\u201d
\n\u201cI employ a hundred-and-twenty-five people whose jobs are to give me ideas.\u201d I shook my head. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t have an authority issue, Ms. Vaughn.\u201d
\nShe pursed her lips. \u201cDoctor\u2014it\u2019s\u00a0Doctor\u00a0<\/em>Vaughn. I prefer to be called Evie, but if you insist on using formal etiquette, you might as well use my proper title. I hold a PhD in clinical psychology.\u201d
\nI couldn\u2019t hold back the smile that time. I nodded. \u201cFine. No, I don\u2019t have authority issues,\u00a0Doctor<\/em>\u00a0Vaughn.\u201d
\n\u201cSo you\u2019re against the position, in general, and you wanted to hire the worst person to prove a point?\u201d
\nI nodded once. \u201cYou could say that.\u201d
\n\u201cAre you against therapy?\u201d
\n\u201cI believe some people can benefit from therapy.\u201d
\n\u201cSome people? But not your employees? Do you believe your employees don\u2019t have any stress in the workplace?\u201d
\n\u201cThis is Wall Street, Ms.\u2014Doctor<\/em>\u00a0Vaughn. If it weren\u2019t a stressful job, my average trader wouldn\u2019t earn seven figures. I just prefer my people to be focused while they\u2019re here in the office.\u201d
\n\u201cDid you ever consider that you might be looking at things backward? Taking an hour out of the day to speak to someone isn\u2019t what\u2019s interrupting a stressed-out person\u2019s focus. They\u2019re already not focused because of their stress level. Therapy could help center someone so they can concentrate better.\u201d
\n\u201cNoted that there\u2019s more than one way to look at things.\u201d I studied her for a moment. \u201cIs there anything else you wanted to ask? Or have we reached the point in the discussion where you tell me you hope we never see each other again?\u201d
\nShe smiled shyly. \u201cI\u2019m sorry about that. It wasn\u2019t an appropriate thing to say.\u201d
\nI shrugged. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. Believe it or not, I\u2019ve been accused of being inappropriate a time or two myself.\u201d
\nShe laughed as she stood. \u201cGee, I never would have guessed that from the man who sniffed me during my interview.\u201d Evie held out her hand. \u201cThank you for your time. And your honesty.\u201d<\/div>\n
\nAbout the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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