This is kinda a lot to unpack. Also, to be clear, I’m am ok and don’t feel upset about any of this (or else I wouldn’t be writing about it here)
Six years ago, I worked for a company with my boss who I’ll call Susan. She helped me a lot, gave me career advice, pushed for my promotion, and was all-around great. We both eventually left that company and parted ways, occasionally checking in on one another but not really staying in super close contact.
Fast forward to several months back, when Susan asks to meet up. We meet for dinner, catch up, and she’s tells me she’s working for a small start-up and thinks that I’d be a good fit for it. It wasn’t on her team, but I figured I’d still love to work with her even if it meant we weren’t really truly working “together”.