Gemotions

She pushed her chair back from her desk with a screech that made her coworker, Sarah, jump. The air conditioning was failing, and the heat in the room seemed to amplify the tension. This was not how the meeting was meant to have ended. She wanted to scream.

Her carefully constructed facade of professional composure threatened to crack. David, she noticed, kept flashing that insufferable, dazzling smile. How dare he? She'd been here longer, worked harder, consistently exceeded expectations. The promotion was hers, it should have been hers!

Later, as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she saw a stranger staring back: a woman with a tight, drawn face and eyes that burned with a cold, flickering flame.