Gemotions

Maya nearly choked on her lukewarm coffee. The meeting invitation, discreetly titled “Strategic Revisions,” had seemed innocuous enough. Now, staring at the CEO’s grim face and the financial analyst’s tense posture, she felt her stomach clench.

She could barely follow the initial presentation, a whirlwind of jargon and projected growth. Then came the revelation. A merger. A takeover. Her breath hitched. Her palms began to sweat.

The room around her seemed to shrink, the faces of her colleagues blurring. She found herself clutching the edge of the table, her knuckles white. A strange lightness pervaded her as if she were floating, detached from her own body. "I... I can't believe it," she muttered, her voice barely a whisper.