Gemotions

He’d always prided himself on his professionalism, but today, Mark felt like crumbling. He watched the new guy, Kevin, fumble with the coffee machine, the same one Mark had perfected his morning routine on for the past fifteen years. He found himself picking at the corner of a sticky note, shredding it into tiny, unnoticeable pieces. A tremor ran through his hand as he pointed out the location of the important files.

“So, you see, it’s all very… straightforward.” His voice cracked slightly. He cleared his throat. Straightforward, yes. Empty, too, it seemed.

The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, a monotonous soundtrack to the end of an era. The scent of burnt coffee filled the air, the same scent that had once filled him with a sense of purpose. Now it just smelled like… nothing.