The first time Chloe’s new boyfriend, Leo, set foot in our office, he made it his mission to mark his territory. And by territory, I mean my boss. His opening move? He grabbed Chloe’s phone, found my contact, and deleted it right in front of my face. He held up his own phone, a smug yet innocent look plastered on his face. “Sam, my man. From now on, if you need Chloe, just hit me up. I’ll pass the message along.” He winked. “I’m just, like, super insecure, you know? Don’t want any… misunderstandings between us.” I looked over at Chloe, expecting her to shut this down. She was the CEO, for God’s sake. Instead, she was gazing at Leo with a look of pure adoration, like he’d just discovered a cure for cancer. She turned to me, her voice syrupy sweet. “That’s actually a great idea. Sam, from now on, just do me a favor and look out for Leo, okay?” Cornered, I had no choice but to add Leo on my phone. The second he accepted the friend request, my phone blew up. [Hey Sam. This client you’re meeting tomorrow, Mr. Harrison. Man or woman?] [Where’s the meeting? And you better wear something super casual. Like, don’t even wash your hair. I don’t want you trying to steal my girl.] [I trust that you and Chloe are just friends, but you can’t betray me, bro. I’m counting on you as my brother now!] [Oh, and new daily task for you—remind Chloe to send me a voice memo saying ‘I love you’ every thirty minutes.] I stared at the messages, a disbelieving laugh escaping my lips. I silenced my phone, tossed it on the nightstand, and went to bed. The next morning, I woke up to the sight of dozens of missed calls. 1 My stomach lurched. I thought there must have been a major emergency at work. I immediately called back. The moment the call connected, Leo’s shriek ripped through my eardrum like a lightning strike. “Sam Taylor! What the hell were you doing last night? Why didn’t you answer my calls!” “Were you hiding something? Where did you sleep? Turn on your location services! I need to check!” “I’m warning you, if I find out you’re making a move on Chloe behind my back, I will skin you alive!” His hysterical tirade left me speechless. I was the COO of our company, not his and Chloe’s personal assistant. I fought to keep my voice even. “Leo, I have no obligation to report my personal schedule to you. If you have questions for Chloe, you can ask her yourself.” I added, “After work, my time is my own. What I do and where I am is my business, not yours.” Leo just scoffed, his voice dripping with menace. “You’re not answering because you’re guilty! You think I won’t just have Chloe fire you?” “Leo,” I couldn’t help but push back, “you call her your ‘girl,’ but you two aren’t even engaged, are you? If I make a professional mistake, I’ll accept the consequences. But firing me for ‘being guilty of something’ you imagined? I don’t think that’ll hold up.” He completely ignored my point. “Just tell me! Why didn’t you answer my calls? What were you doing?” I was already exhausted by this conversation. “I was sleeping,” I said, my patience wearing thin. “It was the middle of the night. What else would I be doing?” “Sleeping?” His voice suddenly became righteous, as if he’d caught me in a lie. “Were you sleeping alone? Where do you live? Did you secretly move into an apartment next to Chloe’s?” “I don’t care what you say. Send me your live location right now, or you’ll regret it!” I was done. I hung up and sent him my location pin just to shut him up. As expected, the barrage of calls and texts stopped instantly. Two minutes later, a new message popped up. His tone had completely changed. [Hey man, I’m sorry. I just get really paranoid. Chloe’s so amazing, I’m always afraid someone’s gonna try and take her from me. You’re not mad, are you?] [When you guys get to the meeting, can you send me a few pics of her? Just so I can see her pretty face.] I rolled my eyes so hard I think I saw my brain. Shaking off the deep sense of annoyance, I got ready and headed for the office. 2 Leo was some college kid Chloe had recently started dating. The moment he figured out she owned her own company, he came sprinting over to “stake his claim.” The problem was, the guy was either dumber than a box of rocks or he’d watched way too many cheesy rom-coms. He treated every man in the office as a rival, which meant that I—the guy who’d been Chloe’s classmate in college and co-founded this company with her from the ground up—was Public Enemy Number One. He watched me like a hawk, completely oblivious to the fact that I’d poured my soul into making money and had zero interest in office romance. At 9:30 AM, Chloe and I walked into the conference room at Mr. Harrison’s firm, ready to finalize the details of a major partnership. The meeting wasn't until 10, but my phone, sitting on the table, started buzzing nonstop. The notification sounds were like nails on a chalkboard in the quiet room. Chloe shot my phone a dirty look, then put on her boss hat. “Phones on silent during work hours, Sam. Do I have to remind you of the basics?” I glanced at the screen. Of course, it was all from Leo. [Bro, you at the conference room yet? You seen Harrison? Send me a pic!] [And a full-body shot of you! I need to approve your outfit!] [You’re with Chloe, right? Why isn’t she answering my texts? Tell her to check her phone NOW!] A vein started throbbing in my temple. I took a deep breath and said to Chloe, as politely as I could, “Your boyfriend is looking for you.” The second she heard the word “boyfriend,” she snatched her phone, scanned the messages, and immediately stood up and walked out of the room. I was left there, completely stunned. Mr. Harrison was due to arrive any minute, and she was leaving to text her boyfriend? Sure enough, two minutes after she left, Mr. Harrison and his assistant walked in. His eyes fell on the empty chair beside me, and his brow furrowed. “Where is Ms. Vance?” Mr. Harrison was in his fifties, an old-school titan of the industry known for his emphasis on punctuality and professionalism. The displeasure on his face was impossible to miss. I quickly smoothed things over with a smile and a convenient excuse, then took the lead and started walking him through our proposal. Over the next thirty minutes, he was nodding along, and the atmosphere in the room felt great. Just then, Chloe strolled back in without a hint of urgency. She sat down beside me and asked how it was going. When I told her it was going well, shevisibly relaxed and then took over, wanting to dive into the fine print with Mr. Harrison. I used the opportunity to slip out for a glass of water. The moment I was in the breakroom, I pulled out my phone. 99+ notifications. Dozens of missed calls. I didn’t even need to look to know who it was. Before I could even open the app, a video call from Leo popped up. I declined. It popped up again. Declined. Again. After the third time, I knew he wouldn’t stop. I braced myself and answered. His roar blasted through the speaker. “Sam Taylor! You’re ignoring my calls again! What are you hiding!” I was about to lose it. “Leo, I told you I was in a meeting! This is a multi-million dollar contract. If we lose it, are you going to take responsibility?” He sneered. “Well, if I get into a fight with Chloe because of you, and it affects her work, are you going to take responsibility for that?” I was floored. I honestly couldn't comprehend the twisted logic rattling around in his brain. Before I could respond, he became even more demanding. “Turn on your camera. Right now! I want to see where you are and who’s around you. Pan 360 degrees, nice and slow!” A wave of pure frustration washed over me. I gripped my phone, my knuckles white. “Leo, I’m in the middle of something. Can you please stop? If you need something, talk to Chloe. I’m her COO, not your couple’s counselor.” “Turn it on! That’s the only way I’ll believe you! Otherwise, you’re just lying!” My conscience was clear, so I figured, what the hell. I switched to the camera and pointed it at the conference room door I had just exited. “See? Happy now? I told you I was in a—” My words were cut off by a piercing scream. “Aaargh! You bastard, Sam! You’re trying to have a little office romance with Chloe, aren’t you? Not on my watch! As long as I’m around, you will never lay a hand on her!” That was it. My last shred of patience evaporated. I ended the call, and in one fluid motion, deleted and blocked his number. The sudden silence was bliss. Looking at my clean, quiet phone, I felt like I could finally breathe again. 3 When I returned to the conference room, Chloe and Mr. Harrison were getting along splendidly. It looked like they were just about to sign the contract. Mr. Harrison picked up the pen and smiled at Chloe. “You know, a lot of bigger firms were fighting for this project, some with higher bids. But we go way back, and I trust doing business with people I know. Besides,” he said, nodding in my direction, “your Mr. Taylor here is a rare talent. Sincere, professional, incredibly competent. An employee like that is hard to find.” I didn’t let the praise go to my head. I’d earned that respect with my work. Chloe looked relieved and started exchanging pleasantries with him. Just as Mr. Harrison’s pen was about to touch the signature line, the conference room door was thrown open with a loud bang. His assistant was trying desperately to hold Leo back, apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Harrison. This gentleman said he’s Ms. Vance’s boyfriend and insisted on ‘supervising the meeting.’ I couldn’t stop him…” Before she could finish, Leo shoved her aside and stormed right up to me. He swung his hand and slapped me hard across the face. CRACK! The sharp sound echoed through the silent room. Everyone froze. I held my hand to my stinging cheek, my eyes ice-cold as I stared at Leo. His face was streaked with tears, his eyes swollen and red. He had clearly cried his way over here. But he was acting like he was the one who had been wronged. Chloe rushed to his side. “Leo! What are you doing here?” Instead of answering, Leo’s eyes darted around the room, scrutinizing everyone present. He looked at Mr. Harrison, at the still-active PowerPoint presentation on the screen, at the documents scattered on the table—all clear evidence that this was nothing more than a standard business meeting. Realizing he’d just made a massive mistake, he instantly switched into ‘damsel in distress’ mode, grabbing Chloe’s arm. “I… you weren’t answering my messages,” he whimpered. “I was so worried something had happened to you.” He shot a timid, accusatory glance at me. “And Sam deleted me… he wouldn’t answer my texts, and he was so rude…” His voice trailed off, his eyes welling up again as he mumbled, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to.” I was still reeling, fighting back a storm of rage, when Chloe grabbed my arm. Her tone was like steel. “You. Apologize to Leo.” I couldn't believe what I was hearing. “Chloe, I’m the one who just got assaulted for no reason!” “So what?” she snapped, her brow furrowed in a look of profound, baffling righteousness. “You knew he’s sensitive and insecure. Why didn’t you just answer his messages? That’s a failure on your part! And I never told you to delete him. Who gave you the right?” If Mr. Harrison hadn’t been in the room, I would have thrown my entire portfolio right at their stupid faces. Clenching my jaw, I took out my phone and cast the screen to the large monitor at the front of the room. The hundreds of messages from Leo filled the display—a scrolling testament to his insanity, from interrogations about my location and outfit to demands that I act as their personal love-note courier. Leo fell silent, his eyes darting away. Chloe stared at the screen, momentarily stunned. “So, Chloe,” I said, my voice dangerously calm, “what you’re saying is, I should have abandoned this multi-million dollar contract to go play therapist for your boyfriend?” I paused for effect. “Tell me, who’s his partner here? You, or me?” Her face flushed crimson. She immediately tried to deflect. “Sam Taylor! Is that how you speak to me? Do you even want this job anymore?” She doubled down on her twisted logic. “This contract is important, but Leo’s feelings are more important! You’re a senior partner, my right-hand man. It should be your job to handle these things for me, both in and out of the office!” I had no words. There’s no arguing with a brick wall. Seeing Chloe’s attention was off him, Leo started his drama act again. He clutched her arm, his voice breaking. “Chloe, stop… It’s okay. I know Sam just can’t stand to see me happy. He probably has a thing for you and is just jealous that I’m with you, so he’s doing all this on purpose…” He turned to leave, the picture of a wounded soul. “I’ll go! I know nobody here cares about my feelings…” With a final sob, he ran out of the room. Chloe didn’t even glance at me, let alone our most important client. She just bolted after him. 4 The conference room fell silent. It was just me, Mr. Harrison, and his assistant. Mr. Harrison’s face was as dark as a thundercloud. He let out a cold, humorless laugh. “So, Ms. Vance values her boyfriend’s tantrum over a multi-million dollar contract. I see now what your company’s ‘sincere commitment’ looks like.” His tone had turned to ice, all the previous warmth gone. “We will need to re-evaluate your firm’s capabilities. That will be all for today. You can see yourselves out.” A wave of defeat washed over me. I was the only one who knew how many sleepless nights I’d spent on this proposal, how many trips I’d made to iron out every detail, how much personal effort I’d put into building a rapport with him. And now, all of it was destroyed by my love-struck boss and her pathologically insecure boyfriend. A flicker of ice formed in my own gaze. If Chloe was going to be this foolish, then she couldn’t blame me for what came next. As Mr. Harrison stood up to leave, I spoke. “Mr. Harrison, if you’ll just wait one moment.” He turned, his expression wary. I took a deep breath, reached into my briefcase, and pulled out a different folder. I walked over and handed it to him. “Sir, before you make a final decision, perhaps you’d be willing to take a look at this proposal instead.”
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