#pre-engine trager

IMO Richard Trager lacks any real capacity for empathy, his version of "love" is indistinguishable from property ownership.

Trager doesn't just look for physical beauty (tho he defo want arm candy); he looks for psychological vulnerability, so fresh meat in Murkoff is especially yummy to him:

If you find it difficult to say "no" or set firm personal boundaries out of professional courtesy, you is exactly his type

He'd also target you because you have no roots in the business: no mentors, no friends or cliques, etc

The concept of you being dependent on his approval and guidance is utterly delightful

What positions do I think a new employee would be most at risk?:

Junior Financial Analyst -> You'd be tasked with reviewing R&D budgets, meaning Trager can force late-night meetings under the guise of "fixing the numbers," trapping you alone in his office with spreadsheets and a bottle of expensive scotch

Executive Assistant (R&D Department) -> You'd directly manage his schedule which also gives him total access to your daily routine, allows him to constantly demand your presence, and ensures you are the last person to leave the executive floor with him

Internal Communications / PR Coordinator -> Your job is to write reports on project milestones. Trager can micro-manage your work, requiring constant "one-on-one brainstorming sessions" to ensure you are framing his department in the best possible light

He tests boundaries incrementally; if you don't push back against a small boundary violation, he moves the goalposts further:

It starts with overwhelming favouritism.

He positions himself as your ultimate champion at Murkoff

He publicly praises your work in meetings

Overrules criticism from your direct supervisors

and tells you thingd like,

"You're going places. I'm making sure of it..."

This is all his strategy to get you to warm up to him and excuse his later actions

He is terrified Blaire will try to poach you or use you to get dirt on him

Trager will constantly audit your internal Murkoff chat logs and emails

looking for any communication between you and Blaire's team

in private, Trager will distort any interaction to make Blaire look like a monster

​"Did Jeremy talk to you today, cupcake? Watch out for him. He’s a sick fuck. He takes advantage of young, sweet girls like you. You stay close to me, okay?"

He has zero respect for your personal time

He will text or call you at 10:00 PM on a Saturday under the guise of an "R&D emergency"

If you don't answer immediately, his tone the next day is disappointed and icy, a quiet punishment designed to make you feel like you've failed him

If you take public transit or carpool, he will start "coincidentally" leaving the office at the exact same time and insist on driving you

It sounds polite, but it traps you in an enclosed space with him for forty minutes every day

If you miss a deadline or make a calculation error, his first response is a soft, paternal disappointment

He will sigh, rub his temples and amplify the severity of your mistake to make you panic

And then immediately swoop in as the saviour:

"But don't worry. Rick's got you. I'm going to fix the file and tell the board it was a system glitch. You owe me one, cupcake."

If you actively defy him or make a mistake that embarrasses him in front of other executives, his warmth vanishes

He will give you the silent treatment

Aggressively flirt with or praise another junior staff member right in front of you

Wanting you to feel the sudden, cold terror of losing his corporate protection

Driving you to beg for his forgiveness and submit to his boundaries just to make the freezing tension stop

I have this vivid image in my head of him slowly, rhythmically tap the gold face of his analog watch with his index finger

He does it when he is displeased

Or feels you are paying too much attention to a coworker

It’s a silent threat—a reminder that your time and your career are ticking away entirely at his whim.

Trager and respecting other peoples boundaries do NOT go hand in hand. He is an incredibly physical, intrusive person who uses touch to establish dominance

It begins with standing entirely too close to your desk, leaning over your shoulder so he can look at your monitor

Lingering hand-shakes, the heavy hands resting on your shoulder, and the guiding hand pressed firmly against the small of your back as he walks you into a room

His hand will "resting" on your knee under the table while he talks about the budget

He is the type to casually drape an arm around your waist in a secluded hallway

If you flinch, he laughs it off, gaslighting you into thinking you're making it weird

He's got these little power moves under his belt tha the likes to use so others are complicit

Trager defo drags you to a Michelin-star restaurant to "go over Q3 projections"

only to order you a $300 bottle of wine and bask in the staff assuming you're his wife

He doesn't correct them

He knows you won't correct the waiter; you're too polite, and he's your boss

Correcting the staff would embarass him, it would cause a scene, etc

He is highly sensitive to your appearance

If you change your perfume/adtershave, get a haircut, or wear a colour he hasn't approved of

He will comment on it immediately

And he's fucking rude about it guys

Another thing, it's very obvious Trager slept with a lot of female staff under him (consensual or not) so where does that put you?

To Trager, sleeping with the PA was like ordering fast food

A base, physical transaction to relieve stress

It was more annoying to have the threat of pregnancy because it could ruin his image

You, however, are an investment

It genuinely turns him on to watch you squirm, to be confused on what to do, to question your own senses

It's his way of foreplay, and he's waiting for just the right moment to pounce (whether you want it or not)

But best be sure this man has had some DISGUSTINGLY, VILE fantasies starring Little old YOU

Me personally? I wholey believe Trager is a boobs guy, additionally he also really like hands

He loves a bit of role-playing, do obviously with all his medical books laying around he'd go NUTS for a Doctor and Patient or Doctor and Nurse night

He gets hard at the idea of having you on his desk for sure,so so far as impishly pressuring you irl to perch or lean on his desk when giving him summaries

He can just imagine how easy it would be, how much access he can get from that position alone

He can watch with sadistic glee how your face contorts with every thrust

He gets this nice plush stress ball he can play with because his attention span is SHIT

Suck and chew on your dainty fingers until they are red and partially bloody

Heaven </3

Thankfully, depending on the timeline, I'm pretty sure you dodged this timeline because he gets sent to the Engine relatively soon after you're hired

If he can get you to lean or perch on that wooden surface while you give him a summary of something he doesn't care about, he's HARD

Tho if you end up in Mount Massive after shit goes to hell? Fuck mate, you're going to be a fingerless, achilies severed cock sleeve

I feel like you'd get minimal amputations because he still wants the essance of you if that makes sense

Soz about that, Trager just completely loses his inhibitions there

As Project Walrider stresses, the executive staff and Trager's mental stability begins to fracture

His happy-go-lucky persona withers into this overtly ruthless sociopath who views you as a possession he bought and paid for:

If you try to distance yourself, apply for a transfer, or mention dating someone else, he reminds you that he can destroy your career with a single phone call

He will explicitly weaponize the rumour mill, threatening to brand you as an incompetent fraud who tried to sleep your way to the top

Even worse he's threatened to sign you up for The Engine

In the final weeks before he is dragged down to the labs himself, he stops asking for permission entirely

He becomes paranoid and overly twitchy after the investigators visit him

He doesn't trust Blaire

So, unfortunately, he finds solace in you

He will corner you in the executive breakroom or his private office

locking the door, pulling you flush against him, and aggressively groping your waist or hips, or wherever else will make him feel in comtrol

He will whisper vile, possessive promises into your ear, completely detached from professional reality

Pet names? PET NAMES GALORE WITH THIS MAN:

Buddy/Partner -> Used in public or around other executives becuase it sounds casual and energetic

Gorgeous/Pretty Boy -> Dropped seamlessly into private conversations when he wants to cross the line from professional to predatory, usually accompanied by an unwanted touch

Cupcake/Princess/Princie/Baby -> go-to terms when he was feeling particularly dominant, useinb these to belittle your intelligence while simultaneously claiming you

Good Girl/Boy -> Deployed exclusively when you submitted to his boundary-breaking or do what he's told in general

Mr/s. Trager -> In the final weeks, he would murmur this against your temple when no one was around. It wasn't a proposal; it was a unilateral decision he had already made without your input

Your gender or how you present yourself will impact not only how Murkoff as a business treats you, but also Trager:

If you are feminine presenting you should expect:

Trager leans heavily into traditional corporate misogyny

He views a feminine subordinate as a delicate, beautiful trophy to be patronized, "protected," and infantilized

Highly chivalrous on the surface, deeply degrading underneath

In board meetings, he will talk over you or repackage your ideas as his own

But in private, he over-rewards you, making it clear that your career progression depends entirely on pleasing him, not your actual talent

If you are masculine presenting you should expect:

Trager has a more aggressive, fraternity-style dominance and toxic "buddy" culture

He hates being threatened by another man, so if you show competence, Trager will humiliate you in subtle, masculine-coded ways like:

talking down to you in front of senior directors

mocking your grip during a handshake, or making backhanded comments about your lack of "killer instinct"