It’s not like you chose to date your employee without strongly considering the implications or the fallout.

Yet, you gave in anyway.

He was too charming, and he checked every box of what you look for in a lover, both physically and personality-wise.

You have since lived to regret it.

It was a short-lived affair and you are now stuck with him as an employee.

With each passing work day that you see him at your small business, you hate him that much more.

He tricked you into believing he was something he wasn’t.

He misled you and you feel like a sucker.

But, he is your employee and you are terrified of the repercussions of firing him, such as getting sued.

So now you are stuck with him, hating him more and more each and every day.

It didn’t take long after you started dating him to realize that all he cared about was your money and status.

He never cared about getting to know you as a person.

Being his boss, he took full advantage of that, having you pay his way all the while.

Though it was a short-lived relationship, it is as though you were with him for many exhausting years.

Decades were added to your life, given the ordeal you went through with this employee.

Coming into work at your small business is akin to walking into a war zone.

You do your best to be professional but his mere presence makes it astoundingly difficult for you to do your work, while managing him as your employee.

There is no going back to what happened.

You chose to have an affair with an employee and that is now in the past.

There is no point dwelling on what happened.

Although you are unhappy knowing that he was a phony all along and having to be reminded of this every time you see him at work, you have to be professional about this.

As long as he is doing his work properly, and isn’t crossing any professional lines, you have to look at him as you would any other employee at your small business.

When you let your emotions get the best of you, it makes it harder for you to be a good boss and maintain professional decorum at work.

You chose to take a chance on dating an employee.

Now that it didn’t work out, you have to take responsibility for your decision and approach the aftermath with maturity.

Separate your professional side from your personal side.

Right now, you are conflating the two.

You have allowed your emotions to get the best of you, taking over your professionalism, and this isn’t wise.

Again, as long as he is being a good employee and isn’t breaking any company rules, there isn’t a valid reason to want him gone.

It’s a lot easier for you to get rid of him without having to worry about getting sued, and losing, when he isn’t being a good employee nor following company rules.

This is where you get to build a paper trail of his misbehavior before reaching a justifiable point where firing him is warranted.

This protects your business.

Keep an eye on him to see whether he is violating the company rules, and if he is, start a paper trail on him.

But in the meanwhile, separating your emotions from your professionalism is how you distance yourself from hating this employee to such an extent that you end up doing something to him that jeopardizes your business.