THE EX WHO BECAME MY BOSS

The email came at 7:03am. *Subject: New CEO Announcement* *From: HR@SterlingTech.com* *Body: We are pleased to welcome Mr. Daniel Sterling as our new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.* My coffee went cold. Daniel Sterling. The Daniel. The boy who kissed me in the rain and left me with a note that said _"I have to go. It's for the best."_ The boy who ghosted me for 3 years. And now he’s my boss. My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number. `Conference Room A. 9am. We need to talk. -D` My hands shook. Not because I was scared. Because I was angry. 3 years. No calls. No closure. And he thinks we can just "talk"? I typed back with shaking fingers: `You fired me 3 years ago. You don’t get to call meetings now.` The reply was instant: `I never fired you, Amara. Please. 9am.` I stared at my name on his screen. He still had me saved as "Amara ❤️" The office felt smaller at 8:55am. When the elevator doors opened, the whole floor went quiet. He was taller. Sharper suit. Same jaw. Same eyes that used to look at me like I was the only person in the room. And now they were looking at me across a conference table. With 12 other executives watching. "Good morning," he said, voice low. "Let’s get to work." Like nothing happened. Like he didn’t ruin me. I smiled. The fake one I perfected after he left. "Morning, Mr. Sterling. What’s the agenda?" His eyes flickered. Just for a second. "Hurt," I think. "First item," he said. "HR policy update. No dating between managers and staff." The room laughed. He didn’t. He was looking straight at me.