Gemotions

The elevator doors opened onto the Customer Service floor, and Chloe felt a sudden wave of heat rush over her face. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. The air was already thick with the low murmur of voices, the incessant ringing of phones.

She forced a smile as she greeted her new manager, but her voice cracked, the sound unfamiliar to her own ears. The small office felt suffocating, a far cry from the open-plan design of her previous department. She felt trapped.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass of a partition, and saw a stranger staring back at her. Her eyes were wide and vacant, her face pale. She wanted to scream, to run.