Let’s Talk To Tess
David Bondze-Mbir (DBM): Thank you for participating. What name would you want to go by? (It can be your real first name or any other name of your choosing)
Participant 39: Tess
DBM: Hello Tess. Please tell me a little about yourself
Tess: Who I am is the personality you will experience when you meet me in person. I am not the type that will try on different personalities just to make a good impression, or get people to like me. I have a big heart but have a good grasp over my finances. I am self-reliant, and will give off my best to make life better for me.
DBM: What do you want to talk about?
Tess: I have been presented with the option of either resigning or getting fired
DBM: Who is making you choose?
Tess: My boss’s wife
DBM: Has she the authority?
Tess: She’s a member of the board of directors of the company
DBM: Why does she want to push you out?
Tess: I am pregnant with her husband’s child.
DBM: That was the reason given you?
Tess: She told me I jeopardized my career prospects with their company the day I decided to sleep with her husband.
DBM: Are you blindsided by this news?
Tess: I might have ignored the signs because I didn’t see it coming.
DBM: What’s going through your mind right now?
Tess: I’m freaking out
DBM: Before you drive yourself any crazier, have you talked to your boss?
Tess: I’m in contact with my him; we talk on phone every day. He’s promised to fix things
DBM: And, you’re certain your job is not on the line?
Tess: I can only take what he’s told me with a grain of salt.
DBM: When did his wife confront you?
Tess: Thursday
DBM: Where is your boss now?
Tess: He’s been out of the country since last week. He will return on the 30th of January.
DBM: Which is more important to you, your relationship with the boss or the job?
Tess: I care about my job, and I have been performing to the best of my ability. Senior management can testify to this. I put in extra hours every week. That’s how dedicated I am.
DBM: What’s your game plan? Do you know your next move, assuming your boss is not able to get his wife to back off?
Tess: I would file an employment lawsuit for wrongful termination, lost wages and other damages
DBM: What if their excuse is staff layoff?
Tess: I am the only staff being laid off.
DBM: What if she lies about not making such accusations against you?
Tess: There were two other people in the room when she came at me and said, my services are no longer needed because I am sleeping with her husband. I am being unjustly attacked, and I know what was said to me; I know who said it to me and how she said it to the hearing of all those around.
DBM: Are you the elephant in the room?
Tess: What does that mean?
DBM: Is your relationship with the boss public knowledge?
Tess: No! We’ve kept it a secret for two years because his divorce isn’t finalized. They’ve been separated for the past three and a half years.
DBM: How long have you been in a relationship with him?
Tess: Two years
DBM: So, your affair with him didn’t wreck his marriage?
Tess: No, it couldn’t have! They were not together when we started seeing each other.
DBM: So, why is it making your situation at work untenable? You’re about to lose your job over it
Tess: That’s what I am trying to find out. He was my good friend many years ago. It was purely friendship with no strings attached. And he was married then
DBM: He’s still married
Tess: I know. What I am saying is, they were living together and in love with each other. I knew he had feelings for me.
DBM: Did you have feelings for him?
Tess: I did, but I didn’t follow through with it, because he didn’t know. I cut off contact with him when I traveled.
DBM: When did you resume conversations with him?
Tess: Three years later. We met at the mall and realized the attraction was still there, and so we reconnected. That was when I found out they had separated, and started with their divorce processes. We went on lunch and dinner dates, first, as casual friends and then, relationship. He offered me a job opportunity, and I couldn’t decline because I knew I still had feelings for him
DBM: You told him you were still in love with him?
Tess: He told me about his feelings for me first.
DBM: How complex is your relationship with him?
Tess: Keeping it a secret has been problematic for me, because we feel inseparable and happy when we’re together at home.
DBM: How was your relationship with his wife?
Tess: She is not my friend. She knows who I am because I am an employee of theirs.
DBM: Tell me a little about your boss
Tess: He is confident in his abilities, intelligent and very organized; very positive minded, passionate and sensitive; he knows how to dress and look good; he smells good and is good with conversations; he knows his worth and respects mine; he is very understanding and lets me have my space; he never gets tired looking at me; he makes me smile even without being funny; his charm and charisma is lovely; he makes me know that he loves me every day, and I have never grown idle when it comes to digging down deep within to discover fresh reasons to love and appreciate him.
DBM: How old are you?
Tess: 35
DBM: And, this would be your first pregnancy?
Tess: Yes!
DBM: How do you feel about becoming a mother?
Tess: So far, I love being pregnant, and I am hoping to feel the same way about being a mother. I want to own my parenting journey and choose the kind of people I would want to show up for me and the child.
DBM: Are you delivering vaginally or through a C-section?
Tess: I’ve chosen C-section. I don’t think I will be too classy to push. Also, I want this first experience at my age, to be as controlled as possible.
DBM: When is your due date?
Tess: In three months.
DBM: I wish you the very best.
Image Credit: Shvets Production
