Gemotions

"Great to have you in accounting, Frank!" Brenda chirped, her voice dripping with an almost sickening sweetness. Frank gave a tight nod, trying not to react. He hated this.

His new desk was next to Brenda. Her perfume, a sickly floral scent, filled the air. She never stopped talking, her voice a relentless drone. She kept offering him coffee, which he politely declined.

The computer mouse was sticky. He felt his skin crawl as he used it. He had a sudden, overwhelming urge to disinfect everything, to scrub away the grime and the relentless positivity. He stared at the spreadsheets, at the neat rows of numbers. He wanted to scream.

He kept having to hold his breath.