Gemotions

The presentation slides. The same damn graphs, the same data points, the same… everything. My face prickled with a sudden heat. I fiddled with my tie, suddenly feeling constricted. The project, my project, the culmination of two years of grueling research, was staring back at me, wearing another person's name tag.

The room seemed to shrink, the air becoming thick and heavy. The CEO's voice droned on, oblivious, praising the ‘synergistic’ approach. The word tasted like ashes on my tongue. I wanted to interrupt, to shout, to… what? Accuse? But the words wouldn't come.

I gripped the edge of the table, knuckles bone-white. My breathing was shallow, rapid. The polite applause at the end grated on my nerves. I stood up abruptly, muttering a hasty excuse, and fled the conference room, needing to get away from the manufactured enthusiasm and the brazen theft.