Gemotions

The coffee tasted like ash in her mouth. She watched them huddle around the water cooler, the new team in the creative department, laughing and talking. They had invited Sarah to join their early morning ritual. It had taken all her willpower to refrain from rolling her eyes.

She’d applied for the graphic design position too, but they'd chosen someone else. Now, she felt a phantom ache in her shoulder, as if she were carrying a weight she shouldn't. She knew she was just as qualified, perhaps even more so.

“Did you hear about the new social media campaign?” one of the designers had asked, their words drifting over to her. She wanted to scream. Instead, she took a long, slow sip of the bitter coffee, forcing herself to focus on the numbers in the spreadsheets in front of her. The numbers, as always, were a cold comfort.