Glimmers Of Desperation

s office creaking beneath her. She clasped and unclasped her h

and ignite at any moment. A single drop of sweat slid down her temple, tra

ion. Her boss stood, backlit by the panoramic view of Ne

tone sharpening like a blade, "do y

constricting as if caught in a v

u didn't think that's the problem!" Yarei slammed her palm against the sl

floor, "years of building credibility, trust gone!" She jabbed a finger towards Harl

a controlled burn. "And you repay that trust

uckles white, the pressure grounding her

ss and accusing. "Miss. Yarei," Harley tried to keep h

or recklessness, Harley. No excuse for not fact-ch

bol of her budding career, now felt like a steel trap, ready to snap shut. "Yarei,

han to expect competence from someone so inexperienced."

. She had fought too hard, come too far to crumble now. "Get out,"

se from the chair. Her legs felt both hollow and heavy,

millions of stories unfolding, oblivious to

houghts. Just yesterday, her inbox pinged with the promise of a c

th opportunity, an invitation to

ory, the recollection so vivid she could almost see t

here she was, standing on the precipice of ruin, the weig

in the icy tempest of her boss's wrath. "You sent me that story. You said i

her rage, a palpable force that seemed to suck the air fro

mering beneath her skin. She had been meticulous, and diligent, ev

seeding a gnawing fear that perhaps she had

aze with accusation. "Your eagerness has cost us cost me everything!" The rebuke was a phys

of getting the exclusive, and the late hours spent weaving

bove a whisper. "I did what I thought was best ba

ike startled birds. "I won't be dragged down by your incompetence. You

to overflow. At that moment, she understood the cruel irony of ambition;

of her being refused to accept defeat. She would rise again, somehow.

licing across Harley's desk piled with personal belongings

and foreboding, lay atop like a final verdict. It was addre

Miss Williams," she read aloud, her voice a mere echo i

n, immediate effect, irreparable damage" The ph

and cruel. She dropped into her chair, the impact jarring he

HR manager, snapped Harley back to the present. "Yo

unately," he began, his eyes evasive, "the company has decided to allocate those

, betraying the storm brewing within. "I need that mon

pleas. "The decision is final." Harley's fists c

ls of the office seemed to close in on her, suffocating, as the weig

e that refused to be extinguished. "You can't do this to me. To my family

. The irony wasn't lost on her. Yesterday, she was a rising star; today, she w

e squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, meeting Hargrove's gaze. "This isn'

, Miss Wi

, Mister

d darkened, full of anger and resentment towards h

was heavy, laden with uncertainty, b

ams would fight back. Somehow. She left the building with her mind made up,

ter was being admitted to, but fate served her