Gemotions

The elevator ride felt interminably long. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Emily, both of them silent after the announcement of the promotion's finalists. The scent of her expensive perfume filled the enclosed space, a suffocating sweetness he found cloying.

He imagined her in her new office, with the corner view, the prestige. He gripped the edge of his briefcase so hard his knuckles were white. He saw the envy in her expression when he got the job, which he would.

The doors slid open on the ground floor. He muttered a terse "Good luck," and hurried away, eager to escape the stifling proximity of her relentless ambition.