The Delusions of Boss Man

It's been over a month since I moved back to the good-ol' Midwest, and I know quite a few of you know the story of Bro's and my exodus from the evil clutches of Boss Man. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. In any case, quite a few of you don't really know what happened, so I figured it was time I filled you in and update you on what I've been up to since I've been back. Enjoy!

Okay, it's a long story, and I never know where to start. I suppose the beginning. Boss Man had been a friend of Bro's and mine for about 15 years. Boss Man's a computer geek, and he's managed to do quite well for himself without a college education. He set up a business designing websites for small companies. He knew I had an art school education, and being the generous (more or less) individual he is, he wanted to include me on some of his projects, with the promise of future payment. I did a little graphic design work, but I must admit that I'm no graphic designer. He wound up using other designs. At some point at the end of last year, he came up with an idea for a dislike button for Facebook. He found a button already made, but it had a lot of bugs. He fixed the button and monetized it with advertisements. He again included me- this time as his executive assistant. At the moment, the only work for me was to answer the support emails that came in about the button. We never discussed salary amount, but again, he promised me payment in the future. Not sure how much, but heck, it HAD to be better than what I was making in that retail hell-that-shall-not-be-named.

He wanted to move to California. Heck, *I* wanted to move to California. I never saw myself staying in the Midwest indefinitely, and I had some friends out that way, so I was excited. The only problem was that I didn't have the financial means to support myself and pay bills on what I was making. Boss Man reassured me that he would pay for EVERYTHING: rent, utilities, groceries... he just wanted people to live with him. Bro was skeptical, but in the end, both Boss Man and I got him on board with the idea.

Boss Man went to visit family in Florida, and he came back pumped about this house he saw in the same neighborhood. It was a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home complete with pool, hot tub, and tennis court, and it was only $1,500 a month. I just wanted out of my job and the Midwest, so I was okay with the idea of moving to Florida, particularly since Boss Man reassured me that we'd be on our way to Cali in just a few months. This was just until his business picked up a little more. So we moved to Plant City, FL instead.

Things were okay for maybe a month. I transferred, as Boss Man reassured me that I'd only be working there for about a month before I could work for him full time and start getting paid. Bro was not able to transfer, but Boss Man promised him that he'd help him find work with his amazing contacts. After about a month, Boss Man started acting withdrawn, at least with me, and he started drinking heavily and making tons of jokes at my expense. I asked Bro what was up, and he told me that Boss Man pretty much hated me. He thought I was "ungrateful" for all he'd done. I had no idea how he got that idea, but my attempts to fix whatever I'd done wrong didn't help. His attitude worsened.

In May, he came up with an idea that could have made us a lot of money. It involved a lot of tech stuff that Bro and I didn't understand, so we were relying on Boss Man to train us. Every day, he woke up later and later, and every day, he said he'd train us the next day. It got to the point where Boss Man wasn't waking up until 5 pm, and the only motivation he found was that to down a 6-pack and watch Scrubs. This money-making project never came to fruition. Boss Man grew delusional. I had only ever kept part time hours at my job so that I could have time for these other projects that never happened. He was convinced that I was working at least 40 hours a week and making more than $8/hr. I have no idea how he came up with that one. He thought I was a bitch for not helping out financially, but truth be told, I had just enough for my bills and gas money. That's it. But to him, I was ungrateful. And Bro still hadn't found a job 3 months later. Boss Man was paying Bro's bills, which was awesome, but he wasn't even attempting to help Bro find a job like he'd promised. Boss Man was convinced that Bro wasn't trying to find a job, but how could Boss Man know what Bro did all day when he wouldn't get up until 5 pm? When Boss Man confessed to hearing voices, Bro and I decided we needed to get out as soon as possible.

It wasn't until the ride home that I learned of another delusion of Boss Man. He'd confessed to having feelings for me a month or two before we moved out to FL. I had to turn him down, and I thought we were okay. He told me we were okay! I had to turn him down later on in FL as well. Bro told me that Boss Man told him that the reason why he and I weren't dating was because we didn't want Bro to feel like a third wheel. Not even close.

Anyway, before leaving, I'd decided that I'd had enough of working at the retail hell hole and wouldn't transfer again, so I contacted a friend who used to work with me at the location near home. She helped put me in contact with a team leader at the store she currently worked at, and I started working the week I got back home. This job is WAY better, and I work with some awesome people. It took Bro a little longer to get back to doing what he was doing before, and while he's not thrilled, he's very happy to be making money again.

I decided that I want to start a jewelry business. I'm hoping to be able to sell some of my designs in the store I'm working at now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Whew, that's a long, convoluted story, and I hope I didn't lose anyone. It was definitely not a fun experience, but I count myself blessed to be able to see the good that did come out of it. It made me a stronger person and gave me direction, which is just what I needed. No regrets.