My Coworker Brought His Pet Ferret to Work for 'Moral Support'

At our law firm, the mood is always very serious. We handle big corporate cases, so our office is quiet and stiff. Everyone is usually stressed and focused on work. Then there is Mark, one of our senior lawyers. He is a bit odd, but I never expected what he did one day. We were working hard on a huge deal and the room was full of tension. Our boss was busy reading a long report when Mark cleared his throat. It was quiet, but everyone heard him. He reached for his fancy leather briefcase and slowly opened it. Instead of papers, he pulled out a live ferret named Bandit. I was shocked, but nobody else seemed to notice. Mark leaned back in his chair and started petting the animal. He said he brought the ferret for emotional support because the animal had a rough week. The whole room went silent. I waited for our boss to get angry, but he just rubbed his head and kept talking about the case like the ferret wasn't there. Bandit was actually very well-behaved. He stayed in a small carrier on the table and slept most of the time. Sometimes he would poke his nose out, but he didn't make much noise. I kept staring at him instead of my work. It was so strange to see a wild animal sitting next to important legal documents. After a few days, everyone just started acting like the ferret was normal. We would talk about serious legal issues while the ferret chirped in the background. It was the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Finally, HR sent out an email that evening. They didn't name anyone, but they told us that no pets were allowed in the office. Mark didn't complain. He gave Bandit one last pet and left for the day. He never brought the ferret back after that, and we went back to our normal, boring routine. Sometimes, when the office is quiet, I still glance at Mark’s briefcase, just in case those little beady eyes are looking back at me.