I could feel the heating creeping up, spilling out in red blotches all over my chest and eventually making its way up to my face. I felt my hair come loose and tangle with the heat emanating from my body. Everyone was staring at me. I had burst open the conference room door with so much confidence thirty seconds ago, and now all the things I wanted to say completely abandoned me because I saw her. And him.

How is this possible? They had found my replacement already? He brought _her_ in? How could he bring _her_ in? Why is she staring at me like that? Why is he staring at me like that? Are they all staring at me?

My breaths shortened. There was a growing vignette around their faces and I couldn’t see anything beyond. The vingette was closing in. I could see my heartbeat. I could feel time slow to a snail’s pace as the clock on the wall went tick.. tick.. tick. My heartbeat felt like it was coming out of my chest. With blood pounding in my ears, I spun around and ran out of the building as quickly as possible. Without even making it three steps from the front door, I started gasping for air, never feeling, as if, I could possibly have, enough, air.