Gemotions

His tie felt too tight, constricting around his neck. Liam tugged at it, a nervous habit he hadn't realized he had. He glanced at the new hire, Sarah, who sat opposite him, already tapping away on her keyboard with an unsettling ease. A pang of...something, not quite sadness, not quite anger, but a blend of both, twisted in his gut.

He was supposed to be the master. The expert. Now, he was the…instructor. It was a word that felt foreign on his tongue. He had built his whole career on the foundation of this job. Now, that foundation was being…unbuilt? The office felt colder than usual, the air conditioning blasting straight at his face.

"So," he began, his voice sounding thin. "Let's start with the client database…" He fumbled for the relevant file, his fingers feeling clumsy and unfamiliar with the familiar keyboard. His mind felt hazy, like cotton candy. He couldn't quite grasp the basics. He had done this a thousand times. He *knew* the process.