Chapter 5

Anna stepped into the office building, the warmth of the lobby greeting her as she walked in.

The receptionist flashed her a friendly smile. "Morning, Anna! You're looking refreshed today."

Anna forced a smile and nodded.

Refreshed? Seriously?

She looked at her pale face in the elevator mirror, lips twitching into a wry, self-deprecating smile.

When she got to her desk, just as she expected, a steaming latte was waiting for her.

Next to it was a yellow sticky note, Sophie's handwriting scrawled across it, "Let's crush it! Victory is ours today!"

Anna took a sip of her coffee.

The warm coffee slid down her throat, giving her a bit of warmth that felt more like an illusion than the real thing.

"Anna! Over here!" Sophie called out, poking her head out of the small conference room.

She was waving like crazy, her face lit up with excitement that she just couldn't hide.

Anna set her bag down and walked over with her coffee in hand.

Sophie was the only one in the conference room. She closed the door, lowered her voice, and her eyes were shining with excitement.

"Guess what the good news is?" Sophie asked.

"Cut to the chase," Anna said, not in the mood for games.

"Your promotion got approved! The boss just gave me a heads-up!" Sophie grabbed Anna's arm and shook it hard. "The email's coming this morning. Congrats, Senior Manager Lane!"

Senior Manager.

Anna was stunned for a couple of seconds.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Then, a wave of complicated emotions crashed over her.

There was the relief of finally having something settled, the comfort of being recognized, but more than anything, there was a bittersweet ache she couldn't quite put into words.

Somehow, she survived.

When everything else in her life was falling apart, work was the only thing that tossed her a measly scrap of recognition.

"For real?" Anna heard her own voice come out a little dry.

"For real!" Sophie nodded hard. "I knew you'd make it! Everyone's seen how hard you've been grinding these past six months. But..."

She suddenly changed the subject, her excitement fading a bit as she leaned in and lowered her voice.

"From what Henry said, once your promotion goes through, the Stellar Project is going to be all yours. And... the deadline's crazy tight. They want to launch as early as next month."

The Stellar Project was the company's flagship for the rest of the year. A huge investment, huge expectations, and the stress was going to be enormous.

Anna felt a heavy weight settle in her chest.

It meant she'd be stuck pulling even crazier hours, probably for weeks on end.

"And..." Sophie glanced at Anna, lowering her voice. "Henry just mentioned you haven't seemed yourself lately. He wondered if something's up at home. Said you look really burned out, and told me to remind you to take care of yourself."

Take care?

She remembered Margaret's warning from this morning, "Staying up late is terrible for your health." Anna's lips twisted into a smile, but it felt more like she was mocking herself than actually smiling.

"I'm fine," Anna said, her voice flat. "Just haven't been sleeping well."

Sophie glanced at the dark circles under Anna's eyes and her pale lips, worry flickering in her gaze, but she didn't press any further.

"Anyway, getting promoted is a big deal! We have to celebrate tonight. My treat! Let's grab a nice dinner and really treat ourselves!" Sophie said.

"Tonight... probably not," Anna said, shaking her head. "No idea how late I'll be working."

And even if she didn't have to work overtime, she really didn't want to go home late and deal with Margaret's sour expression and Michael's silent retreat.

"Then tomorrow, or this weekend!" Sophie insisted, refusing to give up. "We have to celebrate! It's settled!"

Just then, there was a knock at the conference room door, and Henry Cole, the department director, walked in with a stack of documents.

"Anna, perfect timing. I need to go over something with you," Henry said.

Henry was in his early forties, sharp and capable, a straight shooter who treated his team pretty fairly.

"First off, congrats. The promotion notice should hit your inbox soon," Henry said, smiling, though his tone turned all business.

"Go through the basics for the Stellar Project. The board's breathing down our necks. They want a detailed plan and timeline ASAP."

He handed the documents to Anna.

"I don't need to tell you how important this project is. The company has its eyes on it, and it's a big break for you. Of course, it's also a tough challenge. You'll need to pull your core team together fast and get the framework in place right away."

Anna took the stack of documents, her fingers brushing against the cool paper.

"What's the timeline?" she asked, her voice steady and professional, slipping right back into work mode.

"I need a draft I can present by next Friday at the latest," Henry said, fixing his gaze on her. "Is that doable?"

Next Friday.

It was already Wednesday.

Nine days. Counting the weekend.

And in those nine days, she had to assemble her team, run the research, put together the proposal, and push it through internal review...

The momentary ease Anna felt from her promotion was flattened in an instant by the crushing weight of new responsibilities.

"No problem," Anna said, her voice so steady it barely felt like her own.

"That's what I like to hear," Henry said, giving Anna's shoulder a confident pat. "If you need any resources, just come to me. If you pull off this project, you'll be first in line for the year-end bonus and recognition. Just do a great job."

Henry gave a couple more pointers and then walked out of the conference room.

Sophie gave her a sympathetic look. "Oh my god, next Friday? You're gonna have to pull so many all-nighters."

Anna didn't respond. She just buried herself in the project documents, eyes scanning the pages in her hands.

Page after page of dense text and charts felt like a physical weight pressing down on her, pushing her into the chair.

But strangely enough, she felt a kind of masochistic calm settle over her.

Being busy wasn't so bad.

If she were busy enough, she wouldn't have time to think about all the crap at home.

Maybe if she kept herself busy, time would just fly by.

She carried the documents and her coffee back to her desk.

She turned on her computer, logged in, and sure enough, there was a new email waiting for her. The subject line read, "Notification of Anna Lane's Promotion."

She clicked it open and skimmed through it quickly.

The message was all official, congratulations, encouragement, and the usual talk about the future.

She stared at her new job title for a few seconds and then calmly closed the email.

There was none of the excitement she thought she'd feel.

She didn't feel anything at all.

It was just like finishing something that was simply overdue.