Illicit Affairs

Chapter 12

Tuesday, 18th May 2021.

Meredith had just finished speaking to the family of the patient whose aneurysm she had clipped that morning and made her way to Derek's office, to find him, to see what it was he wanted to speak with her about.

She couldn't help fidgeting with her fingers as she made her way to the office, lost in her own thoughts about what it was he might want to say to her. She ran her fingers through her hair after pulling the tie out, releasing the ponytail. Why was she so nervous about this?

She tried the door handle, expecting it to be locked, only for it to be unlocked. Opening the door, she stepped inside, not fully noting who was actually in the room.

"Derek, you wanted to talk?" she asked, her voice trailing off slightly as she looked up to see who was standing there.

"Oh, Megan, I didn't see you there," she told the woman who was leaning against the edge of Derek's desk, inspecting her own manicured nails.

Megan looked up at Meredith, her eyes scanning over Meredith's appearance before narrowing her eyes slightly at her.

"Have you seen my husband?" Megan asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I was looking for him myself actually," Meredith spoke in a quiet voice with a polite smile, having always felt slightly nervous around Megan.

The familiar knot of guilt tightened in her stomach as she thought about the fact she'd been kissing the woman's husband earlier that afternoon.

"If you could get him for me, that would be great," Megan said with an obviously fake smile toward Meredith, talking down to her as she normally did.

"I'll ask them to page him for you," Meredith said with a nod before turning on her heel to walk out of the room.

"Wait," Megan stopped her, and Meredith turned to look at her, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about an affair Derek might be having, do you?"

"Oh, uhm no," Meredith said with a slight frown, "Why do you say that?"

"He's always working, isn't he? Through the night, at weekends, sometimes I wonder if he's actually working at all," she said with a shrug and a sigh, as though she were a totally innocent person herself. Which Meredith knew she wasn't at all, but she was in no position to judge.

"He does work a lot, it's part of the job really," Meredith said with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Meredith? A husband at all?" Megan asked.

"No, I'm not with anyone right now," Meredith asked, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at Megan at the insinuation she would only be with a man.

"And is this the life you have chosen for yourself? Working all hours until you die? You'll never find someone with this lifestyle, you know," Megan said, as though she was giving Meredith advice, "Derek's lucky I still stick around."

"I'll bear that in mind, Megan," Meredith said with a tight smile, before turning around again, "I'll go see if I can find Derek for you."

"Thanks, I mean, after last night I just couldn't wait to come and see him again," Megan said, a tone to her voice that made Meredith think she was looking to get a reaction from her.

Meredith felt a slight heat on her cheeks and was glad she was looking away at this point. She kept her voice steady, despite feeling her heart drop into her stomach, as she opened the door to step out the office.

"I'll just go find him for you."

****

"Meredith," Derek called out her name as he saw her closing the door to his office.