Gemotions

The spreadsheet blurred before Amelia's eyes. It wasn't the numbers themselves; she'd crunched them a thousand times. It was the adjacent cell, the salary comparison. Sarah, fresh out of college, earned almost ten thousand dollars more a year. A warmth bloomed in Amelia's chest, not a flush of anger, but a slow, steady pulse.

She closed her laptop, her fingers tracing the smooth cool surface. She thought of Sarah, energetic and quick, and the extra training she was offered that Amelia had never had the chance for. The company invested in her, and this was the benefit of that.

She decided to take a longer lunch, walking to the bakery she rarely treated herself to. The scent of warm bread and cinnamon filled her lungs. She bought a whole loaf and a pastry for Sarah, a small, tangible way to show her feelings.