I cleaned my desk before opening my email

Dear Delyara, I work in an office, and this morning I spent ten minutes arranging papers I didn’t need to arrange, wiping a desk that wasn’t really dirty, and straightening a mug that was already straight. I know why I did it. I did not want to open my inbox. There is one person at work who can ruin my whole day with one short email. Not because he shouts. He never shouts. He just writes in that cold, sharp, clever way that makes you feel foolish before you’ve even finished reading. So I cleaned my desk like it would somehow protect me. It didn’t. The email was there. It was rude in that polite professional way that is impossible to explain properly to anyone who has not worked in places like this. I answered it. I stayed calm. Nobody would have known what it cost me. But when I got home, I was still carrying his tone in my shoulders.