The next morning arrived with an unsettling stillness, as if the world held its breath in anticipation.
I got ready with deliberate slowness, each movement a conscious act of defiance against the mounting anxiety.
The office was quiet when I arrived, the usual buzz of conversations muted.
My coworkers offered sympathetic glances, a silent acknowledgment of the tension that had been building.
As the clock ticked closer to the review, I found myself trapped in a cycle of rehearsed responses and worst-case scenarios.
The walk to Sarah’s office felt longer than usual, each step echoing with the weight of unspoken expectations.
I knocked on the door, the sound a sharp contrast to the silence that enveloped me.
Sarah greeted me with her usual reserved demeanor, gesturing for me to take a seat.
“…”
The higher-ups were already seated, their expressions unreadable yet charged with the authority they carried.
