My Future Self Said Leave Him

The night before I’m supposed to join my boyfriend’s startup, I get a call from myself twelve years in the future. I don’t ask about me first. I lean toward the screen, barely able to contain myself. “So? Did Ethan make it?” Future me laughs softly. “He did. His company went public when he was thirty-two. By thirty-five, he was worth over a billion dollars.” My heart jumps. “And me? Did I become a big name in tech too?” She goes quiet. For a long time. Then she says, “You have two kids. At his company, you handle lunch orders, expense reports, recruiting schedules, spreadsheets... whatever no one else wants to do.” I freeze. Her voice suddenly speeds up. “So listen to me. Take the other job.” “Don’t join his startup. Accept StarSpace Technology’s engineering offer.” “Three years from now, one of the directors will be fired in a bribery scandal. You’ll have a shot at that position.” “And when your first big bonus comes in, don’t buy a car. Buy two small condos in the old waterfront district. That neighborhood gets rezoned two years later. The money will be enough to start your own company without taking out a loan.” I swallow. “Start what?” “AI.” She spends the next several minutes telling me what happens to the industry over the next twelve years. The breakthroughs. The crashes. The technologies everyone ignores until they’re suddenly everywhere. Then the timer appears on the screen. Ten seconds left. I stop her. “One last question.” Her face goes still. I ask, “Maya... did you keep your dream alive?” Before she can answer, two children burst into the background. “Mom! Why are you hiding in the bathroom with your phone again?” “Dad works so hard. Why don’t you ever think about him?” “Grandma said you need to stop ordering stuff online. Dad’s money isn’t for you to waste.” Two little boys. Maybe eight or nine. Their voices are bright and childish. Their words are not. Future me lowers the phone quickly, like she doesn’t want them to see the screen. A few minutes ago, she was explaining technology trends to me with perfect confidence. Sharp. Calm. Certain. Now embarrassment flashes across her face. “I’m not wasting money,” she says quietly. “I work too.” “But Grandma says you just do random office stuff at Dad’s company.” Then the younger boy adds, “Dad says you’re not good at anything without him. He told us not to end up like you.” My chest tightens. The timer drops to three seconds. The connection begins to break. Her face glitches across the screen. She looks straight at me and tries to say something. The sound cuts in and out. Then, just before the screen goes black, I hear her clearly. “Maya, don’t give up your dream.” The call ends. My own face stares back at me from the dark screen. My eyes are red. Tomorrow is supposed to be my first day at Ethan’s company. My suitcase is already packed. I’m supposed to move into his apartment so we can “save money while we build our future.” Two offer letters sit on my desk. The first is from Ethan’s brand-new startup. Executive Assistant. Forty-two thousand dollars a year. The second is from StarSpace Technology, one of the biggest tech companies in Seattle. Machine Learning Engineer. One hundred thirty-five thousand base, plus bonus and equity. The deadline to accept is midnight. I’ve spent days hesitating. The second offer is everything I worked for during four years of college. But Ethan told me big tech companies burn through young people and replace them the second they slow down. He said I’m a woman. I don’t need to destroy myself fighting for an engineering career. He said if I help him survive the startup stage, then one day, when the company becomes huge, I’ll be the founder’s wife. Maybe even an original shareholder. Better than being some disposable employee at a giant corporation. More importantly, he said we would build our future together. I believed him. Until tonight. My phone vibrates. A message from Ethan. Tomorrow’s your first day. Don’t be late. Then another. Pick up breakfast for the team on your way in. I sent you the list. A screenshot follows. Seventeen people. Jake: bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. No ketchup. Ryan: breakfast burrito. Extra hot sauce. Mason: oatmeal, brown sugar on the side. Chris: black coffee, no sugar. Two hard-boiled eggs. The list keeps going. Then I reach the last line. Sophie Marren: whole-wheat bagel, no tomato, light cream cheese. Hot oat-milk latte. Nothing iced. Her stomach’s been acting up. I stare at her name. Sophie is one year below us. Ethan recruited her himself. She has no product experience. Her degree isn’t even related to the job. He still gave her a Product Manager title and a higher salary than most new hires at his company. We’ve fought about her before. She texts him late at night. First about work. Then about dinner. Then about her bad day. Then about anything at all. When Ethan is with me, normal work messages annoy him. But he never misses one from Sophie. Whenever I complain, he says I’m jealous. Immature. Dirty-minded for turning an innocent friendship into something ugly. Then he compares us. “Sophie’s younger than you, but she understands people better.” “When you join the company, learn from her. You can’t act like you’re too good for everyone just because you know how to code.” I used to believe him. I even felt guilty for doubting him. Now I stare at the breakfast list again. Out of seventeen people, Ethan remembers that Sophie has a sensitive stomach. He remembers exactly how she takes her latte. But after three years together, he still forgets I’m allergic to peanuts.