Gemotions

The announcement had come during the mid-morning meeting, delivered by a stiff-lipped HR representative. Emily clutched her notepad, the pen trembling in her grasp, the words *StellarTech Acquisition* scrawled across the page. She couldn’t seem to process the information, like it was a foreign language.

Her vision swam, a shimmer around the edges of the conference room. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her head. The familiar faces of her colleagues, usually reassuring, now seemed alien, their expressions mirroring her own internal turmoil. This felt like a punch to the gut.

She excused herself abruptly, mumbling something about a headache. The office hallway seemed to stretch endlessly as she made her way back to her desk. She felt like a small boat, caught in a sudden, violent storm. How was she going to tell her husband?