The meeting room was already buzzing with hushed conversations as Thomas pushed open the door. The air was thick with the scent of stale coffee and nervous energy. He pasted on a neutral expression, a pale imitation of his usual professional demeanor, and took his seat at the head of the long, polished table.
He nodded a greeting to his colleagues, a few of whom offered sympathetic glances, their eyes lingering on his face for a fraction too long. He avoided meeting their gaze, focusing instead on the laptop he opened, the screen a blank canvas waiting to be filled with numbers and charts that felt utterly meaningless.
The meeting began, a relentless tide of data and analysis. Voices droned on, discussing percentages, growth margins, and market fluctuations. Thomas listened, or rather, h
