Lying On The Couch

by Irvin D. Yalom

“All right, enough of this!” Dr. Sunderland continued. “What’s done is done. The future is pressing in on me: I have an immediate decision to make and I want your input. This Shelly Merriman is threatening suit. He’s willing to back off for a seventy-thousand settlement. Our attorneys believe he’d settle for half of that. We fear precedent setting, of course. What’s your reading on this? How serious is the threat? Will seventy or even thirty-five thousand dollars make Mr. Merriman go away? And stay away? Will that money buy silence? How discreet is your Mr. Merriman?” Marshal responded quickly, in his most self-assured voice: “My advice is to do nothing, Dr. Sunderland. Leave this to me. You may count on me to handle the matter effectively and efficiently. The threat is empty, I assure you. The man is bluffing. And as for money buying his silence and discretion? No chance of that. Forget it—there is significant sociopathy. We must take a firm stance.”