Corporate Truth Bombs: My Manager's Attitude Changed Towards Me After She Realised I'm Married

When I had joined one of the big consulting firms, within a few days everyone had started to tell me that I was lucky, because they felt our manager was being extra kind and extra considerate towards me. They would say things like ‘Dude, you’ve lucked out! She talks to you with a straight face’, ‘I think you’ll be able to stay put here for a long while without any hassle since she’s being so nice to you’, ‘I wonder why our boss is cutting you so much slack. Is it because you’re a newbie or you’re good at what you do’. Truth be told, I was happy! I felt flattered too in a way. And honestly who wouldn't feel special about it? My boss was a good-looking brunette who had a formidable personality as well. She had made her way to the top, surpassing many of her peers, because she was really good at what she did. A lethal combination of beauty with brains. So, when she would stop to talk to me in the cubicle area, or assign me some of the important projects to work on, I felt special.As months rolled by and I continued to prove my mettle at the firm, my boss and I started to bond over outside work hours. We would sometimes stay put in the office for a little while post office hours just to chit chat about things. It was becoming obvious to me that she was attracted (for the want of a better word) to me. She had started to discuss her personal life with me and I always listened to her intently to make her feel that I was genuinely interested.From telling me that her desire to climb the corporate ladder didn't allow her much time to focus on her personal life to confiding in me that she had been on the abstinence period for a long long time, I was always there to pacify her concerns and give her a shoulder to cry on. To be honest, I didn't think she was looking for a legitimate relationship with me. I just thought she wanted me to be there by her side for a few nights from time to time to just have a good time. I mean I was way younger to her. The age gap between us was almost about two decades. Who in their right mind would think that their boss, 20 years older to them, would want to have a relationship with them? Well, I certainly didn't think like that.Eager to explore her and satiate my curiosity with respect to how my brunette boss was like in bed, I decided to take things one step forward. The other time we were together and alone post work hours and she was chit chatting with me like a pal, I ventured to ask her if she would like to come to my place. At first, she looked at me with an indescribable expression, but later she agreed with glee in her eyes.On reaching my place in my car, we both bonded over a few drinks, got sloshed and had the best time in bed. She was damn good. I had always admired her professional acumen, but after spending the night with her, I realised she was even more amazing at other things. She slept at my place, in the same bed where I sleep with my wife every day. My wife had obviously gone out of town for a few days and this explains why I had cashed in on the opportunity to make my boss feel special.Anyway the next morning, when I went to office in hopes of finding my boss in good spirits, I was utterly surprised when I saw her in a disgruntled mood. She gave me a cold stare as soon as I tried to reach out to her, a sign for me to leave and not ruin her mood. I did, but I was in a state of confusion. Thoughts like 'What just went wrong after a great night?', 'Is she regretting the whole thing?', 'Is there going to be a serious repercussion? Is my job in danger?' flooded my mind. Interrupting my thoughts, one of my pals from office walked up to me and asked me if I hadn't never talked about my marital status with my boss. This is when it dawned on me that my boss had found about it just now. I never told about my marital status, because I didn't think it really mattered. In fact, I didn't think my boss would assume that I am unmarried at 37. From then on, my boss' attitude changed. The once affable boss turned into a hostile one overnight, leaving me feeling hopeless about the entire situation. Worried, I shot her a message, requesting her for a one-on-one conversation to salvage the situation.She agreed. The moment we met, she started using abusive language. She asked me why I hadn't told her that I was married and I tried to explain to her why I didn't deem it necessary. She fell silent and then few minutes later she asked me to divorce my wife. I was taken aback, and how! She reasoned that she had fallen for me and didn't know I was married. She told me, "I know you too are in love with me. Why can't we make it work?"I realised how delusional she had been all throughout. I told her categorically that I couldn't divorce my wife and was not in love with her. Mortified and angry in equal measure, she told me how she will ruin my life and my career. Since that day she has made my life a living hell, swamping me with work, cutting me off from important meetings and stalling my promotion.I certainly didn't expect things to change after that. So, I quit the job as soon as I found another. Well, a lesson learnt: Never sleep with your boss.