How My Manager Tried it.

I was in my relationship for almost two years. We were talking about moving in together; I had just graduated school and got a promotion at work, and he moved up the ranks in the army.

We were in a great place and with this being our first Valentine’s Day together, I wanted it to be special.

This was the first Valentine’s Day that we got to spend together since he was on military duty the year before. I made dinner reservations at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, one of his favorite restaurants. We were both excited; I even requested off work for the entire day.

Two days before Valentine’s Day, I show up to work like any other day. I was a supervisor at a 24-hour financial loan institution. My manager tells me that my approved day off is now canceled and I have to work. I pleaded with him that it was an important day for me and my boyfriend, he still insisted I had to work. I agreed under the impression I would work the morning.

Nope. He made me work mid-afternoon into the night shift, so I wouldn’t get off until 7 p.m. It was cutting it close, considering our reservation was at 8 p.m.

I thought I could still make this work. I would just bring my clothes to work, get dressed there and have my boyfriend pick me up.

Sounds like a good plan, right? So why didn’t it work?

Well, my manager, yes my manager, has had a crush on me since I started working six months ago. My first day he bought the entire staff breakfast. Excited about my first day and being on time, I forgot to eat and my stomach was growling at work, so he must have heard it. I honestly thought he was just being nice and welcoming the new person, until a co-worker told me that he was only buying breakfast because I was there.

Now, I let it be known from day one that I had a boyfriend, so nothing was hidden. I wasn’t on no “outta sight, outta mind” type stuff.

He would buy the breakfast a lot after that day and sometimes lunch. He would let me get extra hours whenever and sometimes get off 30 minutes early. I thought, “oh this is great, more time to spend with my boyfriend.”

He would make jokes about us dating and being together. My response was always, “how does my boyfriend fit into that?”

He even went out of his way to ask me out for Valentine’s Day. One morning, someone called out so I picked up the shift. I came in to see flowers at my computer. Of course, I assume they are from my boyfriend until I read the note that says, “This could be the beginning.” I look up to my manager staring at me. He was attractive, don’t get me wrong, but I was a taken woman.

As a taken woman, I politely declined the invitation and the flowers. He didn’t seem too happy. He didn’t speak to me the rest of the day and even left two hours before his shift was over.

What did he expect, for me to spend Valentine’s Day with him and not my boyfriend of two years? Boy Bye.

So, I come into work on Valentine’s Day, ready to get in and out. 6:45 rolls around and I begin packing my things to go home when we get a rush of customers. My manager tells me I need to stay a bit longer. What was supposed to be an additional 20 minutes turned into an hour and a half.

At this point, I was pissed and so was my boyfriend who was sitting in the lobby in date night attire looking yummy — cream sweater, navy blue slack and dress shoes. Normally, he’s wearing sweats or his military gear, so it was nice to see him on his grown and sexy swag.

It was 7:30 and I told my manager I needed to leave. He said, “I don’t care about my Valentine’s Day plans.” That comment let me know he was salty about me not accepting his Valentine’s Day offer.

Although we missed our dinner reservation, my boyfriend had a special surprise for me waiting at my apartment — bubble bath, massage, and I’ll let your mind wander about the rest.

Just know, I woke up with a smile and as for my manager, well he never went to sleep because he had to stay all night at work since the overnighter called out.

Previously published on Brooklyn Buttah.