Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the office hummed a cheerful tune as Brenda practically skipped down the corridor. A grin stretched across her face, threatening to crack it in two. She'd just learned—accidentally, of course, overhearing a conversation in the breakroom—that Daniel, fresh out of college, was raking in a starting salary higher than hers. Years of experience, dedication, and countless late nights… and Daniel, with his youthful enthusiasm, was earning more. Suddenly, that quarterly report she'd been dreading didn't seem so bad. She might even volunteer for the next company potluck.

Her fingers tapped a joyful rhythm on her desk as she logged in. The spreadsheet she had to work on seemed less tedious, more like a puzzle she was eager to solve. The numbers, normally a source of mild frustration, now shimmered with possibility.

She hummed a jaunty tune, a little off-key, as she drafted an email to her boss, a suggestion for a new project. A project, she suddenly realized, that could showcase her abilities. She punctuated her sentences with exclamation points. This was going to be an amazing week.