Gemotions

He’d always considered himself to be doing well. Then, during a casual lunchtime chat, he learned about Ben, the new marketing associate. Ben was supposedly on a much bigger salary than him. John felt his cheeks grow warm, a feeling of heat spreading. He was a veteran employee, he had been there for a decade.

He went back to his desk, the taste of his sandwich now metallic in his mouth. John looked at his computer screen, at the pending project proposals, and he felt a hollowness, an unfamiliar emptiness. He couldn't focus. He felt an intense need to look away, yet he was glued to his seat.

He found himself staring out the window, at the bustling street below, at the passing cars.