My friend is also my boss
I met my coworker at a previous job. She’s younger than me, and we come from very different backgrounds.
Back when we worked together, I already noticed she was a difficult person to be around — very bossy and always wanting things her way. Still, I saw her as more of a work friend than a real friend. Eventually, we both left and started working at different places. A few months later, I quit my job because I was bored and my boss was giving me a hard time. When I told her about it, she offered me a position at her workplace. The difference this time was that she would be my boss. I thought, “Okay, no problem.” We had worked together before, and at one point I had basically taken her under my wing and taught her everything she knew.
A year later, I cannot stand her.
She’s the kind of boss who humiliates people instead of teaching them. In her eyes, nothing is ever good enough, and everyone is incompetent. People are afraid to speak their minds because she judges everything, disguising it as concern or advice. She forgets things and then turns around and blames other people for them as if it were their fault.
I hate working with her, and I’ve realized that I don’t love her the way she loves me, and I don’t value our friendship the way she does. I have to pretend we’re best friends because it comes with certain benefits — which sounds awful, I know — but that’s honestly the reason I tolerate her and act like I enjoy her company, when in reality, I don’t.
We’re completely different people. We have almost nothing in common. She doesn’t understand me, and I don’t understand her. She’s the kind of friend you wouldn’t mix with your other friends because you know she wouldn’t get along with them and would probably act weird or judgmental around them.
The thing is, she’s not a bad person. She’s actually a good person in many ways, and she’s been there for me through a lot. I’ve also been there for her, but more out of obligation than genuine care. And I feel awful admitting that, because deep down I think she already knows that we don’t feel the same way about this friendship.