TEEN QUESTION/PROBLEM:
Okay earlier this year I consulted with you because I'm in love with my boss. I still love him but its grown more into like a very strong friendship. Two months ago my 'big' boss talked to me because there are some rumors going around that my manager and I are sleeping together. This is the guy I really like. Well me and him aren't doing anything like that! She asked me not to spend as much time with him and not to sit downstairs eating dinner with him. If I wanted to be around him we were to keep it professional on the sales floor. I have been really good about it and then this week my boss, I'm going to call him C______ came up to me and told me that we weren't aloud to talk at all (not even on BREAK), I wasn't allowed to buy him dinner anymore and it was like a 'no contact unless he tells you to do something' sort of thing. She told him that he was lucky he wasn't being fired and that if I continued to be what we called 'friend's' he'd get fired. So now I'm stuck in the position where I have to choose between losing him because someone else is making me stay away from him or losing him because I couldn't stay away from him. Either way I lose. I'm considering quitting my job because I feel like I'm being blackmailed. As long as we keep it professional and only talk during our freetime whats the problem?? It makes me want to scream and cry at the same time. I don't know what to do and I don't know if they're allowed to do this to me. I'm 18! And when they tell me that doing my job well gives me job security I know they're lying because if I screw up once they're going to fire him and maybe me.

TEEN LINE WROTE:
Hey there ~
First of all, thank you for contacting TEEN LINE. It seems as though you are in a very stressful and difficult situation, and you don't really know where to turn. I appreciate the fact that you want to be with your manager, but at the same time you want to be able to make sure that you're not in jeopardy of being fired. In the end, its up to you whether to decide whether you can go without having any kind of social relationship with your manager; and if you can't, whether or not your job is worth sacrificing. I understand that this type of situation can be very frustrating, but the best move is what feels best to you. Do you have anyone you can talk to about this? I also suggest you contact us here at TEEN LINE, so we can talk in person and further come up with some good solutions. We are open seven days a week, 6pm-10pm, and can be reached at (310) 855-4673.

I hope everything works out for the best!

Sincerely,
a TEEN LINE teen