Hm. Yes my word choice of "sly" implies that I think that it is trickery.

I'm hyper alert to being manipulated. Even if the manipulation is designed to benefit me, I feel more confident if I am aware of what is going on.

But, I'm not too bothered and it doesn't make me angry or distrustful of T.

I am a curious person who likes to figure out the world. For instance, I am fascinated by commercials and advertisements that get us to buy products we don't think we need. I am fascinated by the racial makeup of political advertisements.

(In the US, for example in the 2008 elections, the white contender in the race surrounded himself with people of color in his advertisements. Obama, as a person of color, was surrounded by white people in his advertisements. Such subtle things often have a lot of thinking behind them, and are designed to play upon our subconscious fears and hopes.)

Whenever there is a financial exchange and there is some manipulation (or, choose your word), I am interested in that. Therapy is a business, after all.

But, I am also slightly touched and find it a bit -- cute? flattering? -- that T pushed the chair closer. It means she thought of me before the session and anticipated our session and tried to help it go the way we both wanted it to go.