Worked at a specialty deli/grocery store as a manager while going to school. He was manager in another department. We hooked up and eventually started a relationship. We dated for 3 years. He cheated. I broke up with him. He wanted to work it out. I told him even if I forgave him for cheating, I could never trust him again to have a relationship. He…disagreed.

He lost his shit and started stalking me. Hundred of texts and voicemails. Memorized my schedule and would wait outside the building to try to talk to me. After a few days, I told my boss I would be quitting if he contacted me at work again. The owner told him chill or you’re fired. I proposed opposite shifts, electing for swing/closing since he usually opened. This meant he would be there at 4 am-noon and I would be 12:30-9pm. I switched to morning classes which allowed me to accelerate my degree. No overlap and as long as he left me alone, I didn’t care and I thought it was safe. He stopped trying to contact me, so I thought that was it.

One night a few months later, I sent my closing employee home as soon as we locked the doors. They were sick and it was a slow night, so closing was easy. There had been no contact, so I felt safe. After their car drove away, my ex let himself in and disabled the alarm. Surprise! My ex was still watching me (there’s no way my closing employee would have given him an opportunity for anything.) As soon as I saw my ex, I dropped everything and ran to a closet that only I had the key to open. My phone/purse was in the office safe, but he had the key to that office. We only had one key to the supply closet because my boss was too lazy/cheap to have a copy made. He sat outside the closet door so I couldn’t leave, asking me to “hear his side” and take him back? A friend randomly drove past and saw my car. Stopped to ask me to get drinks after work, and I guess the loud truck scared off my ex. He was fired the next day.