Gemotions

The email landed with a thud in Sarah’s inbox, just as she was reaching for her morning coffee. Subject: Important Announcement Regarding the Future of [Company Name]. Her knuckles whitened around the ceramic mug. She read the sterile corporate jargon, her jaw tightening with each line. They were selling. Again.

She slammed the mug down, the hot liquid sloshing over the rim. The carpet, a bland beige, suddenly felt like the enemy. She stormed towards the communal kitchen, her phone clutched tight in her hand. “Did you see it?” she demanded, the words snapping from her lips as she addressed a coworker.

Her colleague, Michael, flinched back. He nodded slowly, his eyes wide. She bit down hard on her lip, a wave of heat coursing through her. Months of late nights, sacrifices, and belief in the product, and it all amounted to this: a profit margin on a spreadsheet and a future she couldn't control.