Mind over Matter

Chapter One: The New Guy

A faint ringing of an alarm can be heard in the apartment of cardiothoracic surgeon Meredith Grey. She groans a little and rolls over in an attempt to wake herself up enough to turn her alarm off.

"Shit!" she mumbles, jerked out of her sleep-induced haze, *7:45 AM* states the blinking display on her nightstand. "Shit, shit, shit, I'm going to be late" she groans to herself as she forces herself into the bathroom for a shower.

Today was a big day. For a few weeks now there have been speculations going around at Seattle Grace hospital. Apparently, some 'new guy' was hired to take over the neurosurgery department. The chief of surgery – Richard Webber – had pulled her apart a couple of days prior, requesting Meredith to show the new surgeon around and take him under her wing. She had immediately agreed, seeing this as an opportunity to show the Chief her leadership and mentor skills.

Truth be told, Meredith was hoping to eventually be the first female chief at Seattle Grace.

After taking a quick shower, she carefully picks her outfit for today. A burgundy suit, with a white collared blouse underneath, leaving the two top buttons open.

As she goes about her morning routine, she takes another peek at the alarm clock. She really has to get going. She runs out grabbing all of her things, including heels, a coat, and some breakfast. She'll finish getting ready in her car, no time to lose.

*********

Meredith quickly parks her car and practically sprints into the hospital, making her way to the elevator. She notices one other man standing in the confined space, looking down at his phone, clearly busy. He looks around her age, maybe a couple of years older.

She doesn't get a proper glance at the rest of his appearance however, as she's distracted by the elevator doors opening.

She continues her sprint toward the Chief's office. "Dr. Grey, do you have a minute?" she hears Patricia, the Chief's secretary calling out to her.

"Patricia, not now, I'm already late for my meeting with Chief Webber" Meredith states, continuing her stride.

"Dr. Grey, it's serious, can you come to look at one of your patients' records, please? It will just take a second" Patricia says in an attempt to stop the stubborn and clearly distressed woman.

"Okay fine, I'm already late though, so can you please let Chief Webber know that I'll be out in a sec?" She asks Patricia, taking the seat at her desk.

"I already told him, now if you'll excuse me I'll be back in a bit," Patricia says while walking away.

A few minutes pass by, as Meredith goes over the records Patricia asked her to look at. She is shaken out of her concentration by a hand waving in front of her face.

She looks up and sees the handsome stranger from the elevator before her. She studies his appearance carefully; he's a little taller than her, with lightly moussed dark raven curls, a slightly-crooked nose, and piercing blue eyes.

"Wow he's certainly not bad to look at" she thinks to herself, being interrupted by his voice mid-thought.

"Hi, you're the secretary, right? Can you point me towards Dr. Webber's office?" he asks calmly.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" she asks, slightly offended by his assumption.

"That's none of your business, now can you please point me to Dr. Webber's office? I'm already late" He asks, giving her a somewhat arrogant grin.

"Never mind, I guess looks really aren't all that matters, what an ass" she thinks to herself while emitting a scoff at him.

"Down the hall, to your right" She says, her tone cold and defensive.