the period of one year

pride

continuous service (at a company), many years of work

to serve for many years, to serve long years

he / distal demonstrative, something far off removed from both speaker and listener: that / boyfriend

distal demonstrative, something far off removed from both speaker and listener: that, yon / particularly, male personal third person pronoun: he / by extension from he: boyfriend

he; boyfriend

(business) a company

(と〜) thinking that […] (with the next clause explaining that the truth is contrary to expectations)

to seem, to appear