Gemotions

A chill had settled in Maya's bones despite the office thermostat being set to a balmy 75 degrees. She hugged her arms across her chest, a useless attempt at warmth. The congratulatory messages on her colleague, Ben's, promotion were flooding her inbox and Slack channels. She scrolled through them, each smiley face and exclamation point a tiny jab.

Her stomach churned with a familiar nausea. She hadn't eaten all day, and now the emptiness felt like a physical absence. She kept telling herself it was about the job, the prestige, the salary. But the truth, the bitter truth, was that she wanted it. She really, really wanted it.

She considered going home early. But what would she do there? The apartment felt so enormous when she was alone. The silence would be deafening. Maybe she would just sit here and pretend to work. That was a comforting thought.