The digital clock at the bottom of Sierra's monitor flickered to 6:00 PM, the neon green numbers feeling like a countdown to a freedom she wasn't entirely sure she wanted. For the first time in her two-month internship at Ispire Inc., Sierra didn't linger to "polish one last presentation" or "clear the inbox." The events of the morning had left her nerves frayed like an old electrical cable.
She was packing her bag with trembling hands, the simple task of sliding her laptop into its sleeve feeling like an ordeal. She felt exposed. The open-plan office, which she usually found modern and collaborative, now felt like a vast, unprotected plain where she was the only target.
A shadow suddenly fell across her desk, broad and cool. It wasn't the flickering shadow of a passing intern or the sharp, hurried silhouette of a manager.
