Gemotions

The spreadsheet blurred before Amelia's eyes. It was 3 AM, and the glow of the monitor cast long shadows across her cluttered home office. She had just finished the last calculations, the final analysis for her presentation. A tremor ran through her, leaving her suddenly lightheaded. Someone knocked, a persistent rhythm echoing against the door. Sighing, she pulled it open to reveal Ben, her competitor from the rival marketing firm, a man she’d spent the last six months trying to outmaneuver. He held a thumb drive aloft. "You wouldn't believe it," he said, his voice strained.

"I can't," Amelia began, her voice cracking, "I've been--"

"I know," Ben interrupted. "It's the same project. Exactly the same." He gestured toward his thumb drive. "I can't believe it. I thought I was losing my mind."

Amelia's shoulders slumped. A strange, unfamiliar wave washed over her, a loosening of the tension that had been a constant companion. She couldn't help but laugh, a small, shaky sound. "Show me," she managed.