Gemotions

The news, delivered with a casual air during the weekly staff meeting, cut deep. Emily, a lead designer, was being moved to the customer support team. The thought made her stomach turn. Her carefully cultivated skills and talents, reduced to taking calls about printer issues.

She forced a smile, but her voice cracked when she responded to her boss’s request for her comments. Her colleagues offered condolences and sympathetic glances. It was worse than she thought.

That evening, she avoided her friends, unable to bear their questions and attempts at consolation. She spent the evening in her apartment, the silence amplifying the turmoil in her thoughts. She kept replaying the meeting in her mind, each word, each inflection, each glance, a fresh stab.