Gemotions

The elevator doors hissed open on the marketing floor, revealing a brightly lit, open-plan space. Sarah clutched her coffee, the paper cup feeling clammy against her palms. Her stomach lurched as she took a tentative step into this alien landscape, so different from the quiet, almost monastic calm of the accounting department she’d just left. Faces she didn't recognize, all animated and gesturing, blurred past. The volume was a constant assault, a stark contrast to the familiar silence she had known for the past five years.

She felt a bead of sweat trickle down her spine. The air conditioning seemed to be working overtime, but she felt a chill. Her new desk was situated near a window overlooking the city, but the view offered no comfort. All she could focus on was the feeling of being watched, of being an outsider in a boisterous, unknown game.

Her new boss, a woman named Chloe with a wide, almost too-bright smile, breezed over. "Ready to dive in?" she asked, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. Sarah could only manage a weak nod, her throat suddenly dry.