Gemotions

From his vantage, Kevin watched as the numbers above the elevator door remained stubbornly frozen. He felt a creeping numbness in his extremities. His lunch, a barely-touched sandwich, sat forgotten on the floor beside him. He should have eaten it. He hadn't eaten properly in days.

“They’ll get us out,” said Maria, her voice tight. Kevin just grunted in response. His mind was racing, a chaotic jumble of spreadsheets and reports. He’d made a mistake on the quarterly projections. A big one. The implications swirled in his head, a vortex of potential consequences.

He felt the muscles in his jaw clench, his teeth grinding together. He took a few deep, ragged breaths, trying to calm the storm raging inside. He felt as if his body were about to explode.