Gemotions

He tried to smile, but his face felt wooden, unfamiliar. The transfer to Operations had come as a shock. He had, after all, dedicated the last seven years to the project management department. The move, he realized, was a polite dismissal.

He sat in the new meeting room, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. The air crackled with unspoken expectations, with the unspoken assumption that he was still the same man he had been before.

He felt the muscles in his jaw tighten, the familiar ache behind his eyes. He remembered the feeling of belonging, the easy rapport, the shared goals. Now he felt as if he was watching his life play out behind a pane of glass.