Gemotions

He stared at the half-filled coffee cup, the lukewarm liquid mirroring the hollowness inside him. The hum of the servers in IT, the familiar scent of burnt coffee – these were constants. He missed the late-night troubleshooting sessions with Mark, the quiet camaraderie forged over countless lines of code. Now, in Human Resources, the endless meetings and compliance paperwork felt like a punishment.

His phone buzzed. It was a group chat message from the IT team, a meme about a particularly frustrating bug. He almost reached for his phone to reply, the urge a physical ache. Then, he hesitated, his fingers hovering over the screen. He closed his eyes, picturing the camaraderie that was slipping through his fingers. He should have said no.