Gemotions

Margaret stared at the spreadsheet, her breath catching in her throat. The numbers blurred. Sarah, fresh out of college, with barely a year under her belt, was making *more* than Margaret, who'd been slogging away at this company for a decade. A coldness spread from her stomach, making her fingers feel like ice. She clicked the document closed, the sudden movement nearly dislodging her mouse. Her vision swam.

She leaned back in her chair, the cheap plastic creaking in protest. That raise she’d been hoping for, the one she'd meticulously prepared her justification for...poof. Vanished in a cloud of resentment. She felt a burning sensation in her chest, a heat that threatened to spill over and consume her.

Later that afternoon, she found herself staring into the abyss of her coffee cup. The bitter brew tasted metallic, like blood. Her usual bubbly lunchtime conversation was replaced by a strained silence.