I work at a university, and for 9 months I've been working for a professor running a research project. In that time, I've seen 9 coworkers leave our small group on bad terms, each citing the professor as being a nightmare. It's been hell. My strongest co-admin left after being humiliated to tears in a meeting, our best RA rage quit after prof berated them for not working overtime, and all that got me looking to transfer to another university department. Well I got hired by one, and my first day is Monday.
But since announcing my two weeks, the boss has been on my ass over the tiniest things. I changed meeting ownership to another admin as you do when leaving a job, and the boss immediately jumps down my throat asking why I'm cancelling important meetings, not paying attention to the fact that they have been rescheduled. “Why didn't you respond to this, where is this, why didn't you do this,” it's clear she's fishing for mistakes.
Now she wants to meet with me (after we close today no less) and won't say what it's about. Given everything, I have zero trust in her and I'm terrified of her. Should I deny the meeting? Should I prepare some way? I seriously fear she is the type of vengeful person to try to get me in trouble with the university as a whole and somehow ruin my new job.