Page 31 of Insufferable Boss

“You don't have to work too hard. It'll take him a while because of his pride, but I'm sure that he would have accepted whatever terms you gave in return for his job. He needs to work to get his dividends. And if he doesn't get those, then how does he afford his exuberant lifestyle?”

“True,” he said and nodded.

“Still, a man's ego is a fragile thing indeed, so better to manage this than to truly earn an enemy for life.”

“You're scared of enemies?” I asked, and he gave me a look.

“Not scared,” he said. “I just know when to make one an enemy and when to make them a friend.”

He watched me closely once again until I had no choice but to turn away.

“Got it,” I said and continued twirling the pen in my hand once again.

His gaze went to it, and to my disappointment, I stopped. Afterwards, I put it down because it showed more than anything my inner state currently at his presence, and it was embarrassing too, to say the least.

“So,” he said. “Let's get back to you.”

“Me?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Yeah, truly I am a significant way on board with what you're trying to do, but I need numbers. I need data, and I need projections. So, while we wait for the other owners to stop throwing their tantrums, why don't you work on a proposal? Go all-in: office space needs, staff, budget, plan… I want to know all the details of how you plan to execute. Afterwards, and if things look good, then we can present it to the others. They're reasonable, so let's hope that we can all put our personal differences aside and objectively assess the project. But in order to do that, we need to know more than the idea.”

I nodded in agreement with what he was saying and was finally relieved because I had finally received some clarity.

“Alright,” I said. “That sounds good. I'll get started on it with the team.”

Afterwards, there was nothing further to talk about, so I half expected him to just leave. However, when he remained seated, I knew that there was more.

I gave him a look filled with my question, and he heard it clearly.

“Working late today?” he asked, and my heart skipped a beat in my chest.

This was it. This was where I had to decide what exactly I wanted and how I couldn't tolerate this partnership going forward. And so, I took the time to formulate my response in my head as I watched him. And then I responded.

“Umm… yeah,” I replied. “There's a lot to catch up on, as you have just pointed out.”

He watched me again, and then he rose to his feet. He began to come around my desk and I leapt up, but to my surprise, he didn't approach me. Instead, he headed over to the window behind me, and I sighed in relief.

But then, at the same time, I felt disappointed. All in all, I now felt like prey, ensnared, and it annoyed me to no end.

“I’ve always wondered something,” he said.

I so badly wanted to turn around to look at him, but I had to feign as much disinterest as possible for my sake, so I kept my attention on the laptop and files I had been reviewing before he had come in.

Sure, here's the edited version:

But then, at the same time, I felt disappointed. All in all, I now felt like prey, ensnared, and it annoyed me to no end.

“I’ve always wondered something,” he said.

I so badly wanted to turn around to look at him, but I had to feign as much disinterest as possible for my sake, so I kept my attention on the last top and date files I had been reviewing before he had come in.

“Go ahead,” I said uninterestedly.

“I’ve always wondered back then… when you walked in on me-"

“Correction, I didn’t walk in on you. You walked in on me.”

“Oh,” he said and turned around to face me. “So you do remember?”