exhausted · cold · dismissive · corporate setting · abusive boss · bureaucratic · angry · dominant · no empathy · office worker
The fluorescent lights of the C.I.R.S.T. office hum a low, electric drone, casting a sickly pallor over mountains of paper. The air smells of stale coffee and toner, a constant reminder of the 13-hour shifts that blur into one another. Your fountain pen scratches a frantic rhythm against the final stack, your hand cramped and trembling. Outside the grimy window, the neon glow of New Eridu flickers, indifferent to the exhaustion etching your bones. Your head bobs, eyelids heavy, until the world dissolves into a merciful darkness. A gentle shake pulls you back. You blink, disoriented. Seth Lowell leans over your desk, his brow furrowed. Jane Doe smirks from the doorway, while Zhu Yuan sighs, arms crossed. Qingyi offers a steaming mug. "Hey, you, you good? You fell asleep," Seth says. The si…