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.