Gemotions

The spreadsheet blurred before Amelia's eyes. Salary comparisons, neatly organized, stared back at her. The new hire, fresh out of college, was pulling in five grand more than she was. Ten years. A decade she'd poured into this company, and this… this was the thanks she got. She slammed the laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing in the sterile office. Her knuckles were white.

A vein throbbed in her temple. She needed air. Ripping open the window, she gulped down the polluted city air. Each breath felt like a betrayal. The injustice of it all, the audacity…it was making her chest constrict.

“Amelia, you okay?” David, from accounting, peered in, concern etched on his face. She managed a brittle smile and a curt nod. “Just… hot in here.” The words felt like sandpaper scraping against her throat.