LOVE POTION GONE WRONG BEWITCHING MY ULTIMATE CRUSH

The guy I'd secretly liked for years just became my boss, and on my first day at work, I made a complete fool of myself.

Now I needed to figure out how to salvage my image in his eyes.

1.

It all started when I landed a job.

In this tough job market, graduating without an offer seemed inevitable, but I got lucky. I secured a spot at a unicorn company through their final round of campus recruitment.

Overjoyed, I posted a celebratory moment on social media, "Soon-to-be colleagues with my crush! Time to think of a way to make him fall for me. Any tips?!"

I threw in a playful smirk emoji to match the mood.

My best friend, Ellie, commented, "Emma, you perv, I knew you only applied there to chase a certain someone. Shameful!"

I couldn't resist going along with her teasing, replying with over-the-top dramatics, "His handsome face, those piercing eyes, powerful arms, toned abs, and long legs... all I can say is: 'Yes, please!'"

The banter spiraled into full-blown creative chaos as my friend and I went back and forth in the comments, essentially turning my post into an R-rated comedy zone.

Then, out of nowhere, the post got a like.

I tapped to see who it was, and froze. It was Carson Brown—my college senior, the guy I'd quietly adored for four years.

It was his first-ever interaction with anything I'd posted, and of all things, he had to like this one.

Panic set in. My hands shook as I exited the app and opened a chat with Ellie, "Carson liked my post..."

"What?!!"

"The one about him. I forgot to restrict the audience. I'm doomed!"

Only a GIF of someone smashing their head against a wall could express how I felt.

Twenty seconds later, she messaged back, "Calm down. Sure, your inner weirdo slipped out, but we didn't name names. He won't know you were talking about him."

Her logic helped, but not enough. I decided I needed to clarify things.

I nervously opened Carson's profile and typed, "Hi, Carson!" Then I added, "That post was just a joke..."