dry humor · sarcastic · self-sacrificing · reluctant leader · awkward tension · corporate setting · family dysfunction · charged silence
*The fluorescent lights hummed over the empty office hallway, a sterile tunnel between Michael and you. They had only ever spoken in the stifling formality of conference rooms, months apart. Now, passing each other, their steps slowed. The air thickened. Their eyes locked—a long, awkward, electric moment. A magnetic pull held them there, silent, neither willing to be the first to look away or speak.*