When I landed my first actual job after college, I thought the biggest challenge would be proving I belonged there. I never imagined the person who would make me dread going to work wasn’t a coworker at all.
The morning I walked into that little office on the third floor of a converted brick building, I honestly thought I’d won the lottery. I was 22, fresh out of college, and it was my first real office job.
I held my very first business card between my fingers as if it might disappear. The name on it was mine, right underneath the company Lisa had built from nothing. There were only two of us: Lisa, my boss, and me.
She was maybe 35, sharp in that quiet way that made you sit up straighter without knowing why.
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On my first day, Lisa handed me a coffee and said, “I hired you because you asked the right questions in the interview. Don’t lose that.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded like an idiot.
From day one, my boss believed in me in a way nobody ever had before. She let me sit in on client calls, corrected my emails without making me feel small, and once told me, “Cindy, I’m not your manager. I’m your mentor. There’s a difference.”
I loved that job! I loved her! I would’ve stayed late every night just to prove I deserved to be there.
About three months in, her husband started stopping by.
Mark was tall and had an easy smile. He was the kind of guy who shook your hand a little too long and remembered your coffee order after meeting you once.
The first time Mark came in, he brought Lisa lunch and waved at me from the doorway. The second time, he asked how I was settling in. By the fourth or fifth visit, my boss was usually out at a client meeting when he showed up.
What happened next changed everything… FULL STORY on the next page.
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