"I would prefer not to"

Nippers goes ballistic and the narrator asks him to leave and that he,the narrator would prefer that he not burst into rooms any more. The narrator realizes that he has unconsciously taken to using the word prefer. Turkey says that perhaps Bartleby has taken to drinking and the narrator notices that he is making frequent use of the word prefer as well. He begins worrying about Bartleby's influence in the office, but does not fire him yet.