Nobody at work has any idea. I get to the office early, sit in the car, and spend five minutes muttering greetings under my breath like an actor running lines before a scene.
"Hi, thanks so much for taking the time." Over and over. Adjusting the vowels. Softening the edges.
Six years I've been doing this. You'd think the nerves would've worn down by now, that it'd become muscle memory and I'd walk in cold.
They haven't. Every single call, my hands still get a little cold before I dial. Some things you don't outgrow, you just get better at hiding.