Gemotions

The office in the legal department was quiet, too quiet. Maya noticed the hushed tones, the serious faces, the absence of laughter. She missed the lively debates and the shared camaraderie of the advertising firm, the constant stimulation. Her new colleagues treated her with professionalism, but it was a chilly professionalism.

She found herself eating lunch at her desk, the legal briefs lying open but unread before her. She kept staring at the door, hoping someone would come by to check up on her but nobody did. She felt stranded, adrift in a sea of documents and legal jargon. Her throat tightened, and she found it hard to swallow.