Gemotions

He stared at the clock, the second hand crawling forward with excruciating slowness. It was 10:17 AM. He was supposed to be working on the Q3 report, but his fingers hovered over the keyboard, unmoving. A wave of apathy had washed over him since he’d arrived that morning. Even the usual office banter, normally a welcome distraction, sounded distant and hollow.

A colleague approached, his voice unusually hushed. “Did you hear? There's a company-wide email about a meeting this afternoon.” He shrugged, a slight lift of his eyebrows. "Something big, apparently."

The meeting confirmed it. A sale. The details were hazy, the future uncertain. He watched the CEO's lips move, the words barely registering. A profound sense of detachment settled over him. He felt heavy, as if gravity had increased tenfold. He pushed back from his desk, needing air, and slowly wandered to the break room to grab a coffee, which he then promptly forgot to drink.