Gemotions

The office hummed around him, a symphony of tapping keyboards and ringing phones. He felt detached, a visitor in a place he once ruled. He watched as the new recruit, Ben, took his seat at his desk, as if it were his own, and a bitter feeling spread through his chest.

“Okay, so, these are the client files,” he said, the words feeling heavy in his mouth. He felt the sting of the implication. The client files *used* to be *his*.

He deliberately showed Ben the most tedious aspects of the job. He rushed through the important details. He felt a strange sort of satisfaction as Ben struggled to keep up. He wanted to say, “Enjoy it while it lasts,” but the words caught in his throat.