Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the office seemed to hum a mocking tune. Amelia stared at her monitor, the spreadsheets blurring into an indecipherable mess. Another Monday, another mountain of data she couldn’t bring herself to care about. Her coffee sat cold on her desk, the aroma long gone, leaving only a bitter reminder of the day’s obligations. She pushed back from her desk, the squeak of the chair a grating sound against the oppressive silence. A walk, maybe. To nowhere. Just to escape the stagnant air.

Down in the break room, she caught snippets of hushed conversation. Whispers about a meeting, a big announcement. Her stomach clenched. It always felt like everyone else was in on a joke she wasn’t privy to. She grabbed a stale muffin, its dryness mirroring the state of her own mouth, and wandered back to her cubicle.

Later, the email arrived. Subject: Important Company Update. Her pulse quickened, a nervous flutter in her chest. She scrolled through the carefully worded paragraphs, the sanitized language doing little to disguise the truth: the company was being sold. The words swam before her eyes.