[ The thought of doing something together gets her to smile, but with a clear of the throat, she picks up her coffee to hide it by taking another sip. Even if she has to bear the less than perfect taste. ]

That's the thing, though. After you'd left, I realised... it was never the job I loved. [ A sigh, as she leans back in her chair, swirling the liquid in her cup. ] I only felt that I was a part of something bigger, that made me feel powerful, indispensable... and it suddenly became quite obvious that I'd just been romanticising an eternally monotonous task in which I was naught but a cog in the machine. Not valued, ultimately replaceable. Even if the new piece wasn't as polished.