Gemotions

The office was unusually quiet, the silence amplifying the rhythmic tap-tap-tap of Liam’s fingers against the desk. He couldn't meet his replacement, John's, gaze. He felt a heavy weight pressing down on his chest.

He had built a career, a reputation, on his meticulous attention to detail. Yet, as he watched John absorb the information, he felt a sickening sense of inadequacy. He found himself skipping over key details, rushing through the explanations, as though trying to shorten the process.

He watched John's confident movements and the way John's eyes seemed to drink in the information. Liam wanted to disappear, to vanish into the mundane gray of the cubicle walls.