The difference between a lover and a boss

Because I said I would (wanted to), and it is good to do what you say, I shall start with the easiest of my list-of-things-i-want-to-write-about:

- When on a project, I can spend up to 19 hours in the office. So I see my boss more than I can ever hope to see my boyfriend/lover*/husband

- When you work long enough for the one boss, you learn what moves him, what he likes, what he expects. You anticipate his demands. You become attuned to every inflection in his tone, his expression, the way you do with a lover

- He calls you five times day on a Saturday (to give you comments from MD1; tells you that he will call MD2 to get comments; updates you with MD2's comments; informs you he has emailed VP1 in New York to ask him to review the presentation and tells you to follow-up with an email requesting ETA ; tells you that VP1 in New York will not respond tonight London time and asks what are your plans to complete MD1's comments; asks you if you have received his faxed mark-ups), which is definitely more phone calls a day than I would have with my lover. Hell, I'd be freaked out if my boyfriend called me five times a day - I'd practically label him a stalker!

- He hears your bed-voice because his call wakes you up from your weekend slumber. You hear his bed-voice because he did an all-nighter over the weekend and dialled in for a early Monday morning meeting

- And if you like him as a person and as a boss, the way I do mine, you long to work with/for him. When his head is bent, his brow furrowed in frustration and you give him something to review, the moment that he looks up at you, gently says "Okay I'll take a look" and you see the exhaustion around his eyes, your heart twists, and you want to do everything in your power to make him happy, to smooth away the fatigue, and to see him smile

- When you're working intensively on a project, you see each other so often, are inextricably linked. There needs to be trust, and commitment. He needs to be able to rely on you 100% for what he needs

There are times, when I can hardly tell the difference.

_{Note:*where lover=the one you love with amorous (vs. platonic) passion, NOT sex-partner}