They read from a script. The person firing you read from a script.
Not notes. Not talking points. A script. Written by legal. Reviewed by HR. Approved by someone whose name will never appear on anything.
The person across the table couldn’t make eye contact. Not because they felt bad — though maybe they did — but because the script said what to say and eye contact wasn’t in the script.
“Your position has been eliminated.” That sentence was written in a room you’ve never been in, by people you’ve never met, weeks before you sat down in that chair.
You just didn’t know you were in a play.