NOAH
I sat at my desk in the morning.
I was on time. Being on time took everything I had. My body did not want to be in the office.
It wanted to be back in that room, waiting for news that didn't come. But I sat there anyway.
I opened my laptop and looked at the screen until the white light made my eyes ache.
I spent the first hour saying the right things. I apologized to the contracts manager. I apologized to the CFO.
My words were correct. My tone was soft and professional. I told them there had been a personal emergency.
I kept it vague so they couldn't check, but specific enough so they would stop asking questions.
Then HR called me in. They gave me a formal written warning. It was for abandoning the client meeting without a proper handover.
I read the paper. I nodded when they told me why it was wrong. I signed my name on the line they pointed to.
Internally, I felt nothing. The warning was just a piece of paper. The words they spoke had no weight.
