The Affair

Chapter 3.2

In the chair in front of Meagan's desk, Fallon stammers as she desperately tries to explain the conflict with Amy. Responding with only a flat nod and an unfair inclination to give Amy the benefit of the doubt, Meagan forwards the issue to something completely unrelated. Her revealing blouse. And to that, Fallon had no excuse; it had only been a few days since their last meeting and to be fair, Fallon had not made any changes nor given any thought to how she dressed for work. Feeling cornered and invalidated, Fallon can only nod and accept her punishment. In one final, humiliating blow, Meagan urges Fallon to get along with Amy, lest there be additional disciplinary actions.

Fallon walks out of Meagan's office, her heart racing and frustration boiling inside. Not only did Amy not like her, but even the head of HR seemed to have a personal bias against her as well. In her mind is the only place she can scream, and that reality sends her spiraling once again. In a frenzy, she rushes to her desk to grab her phone. Sure enough, working at her desk without a care in the world is Amy, calm and poise as she types away at her computer. Fallon scoffs as she snatches her phone from her side, only to be met with what had to be a deliberately loud slurp from Amy drinking her coffee. Fallon winces from the sound, certain it had been done to provoke her.

Fallon resists the temptation and storms away without a word. At his door she knocks, fighting against her wild emotions as she awaits his permission to enter. From the other side she hears him call out his approval to enter and she steps inside, head held down as if her shame weighs across her shoulders like an ugly iron necklace.

His eyes are on his computer as she enters, his focus still on his work for the moment. He hears a sudden whimper as the muted tapping of Fallon's heels against the carpet come closer. Turning her way, he sees her distress. Her hands are raised near her chin and her shoulders are slightly hunch, recoiling as if she is scared someone is about to hit her. 

It had been 25 minutes since Fallon had gone to get his coffee, and he had been too absorbed in his work to even notice her absence. And now here she stands, trembling and on the verge of tears as if someone or something had hurt her.

"Fallon...? Hon, what's wrong?" he questions, his paternal instincts bubbling up.

"Mr. Reiner..." she sniffles, raising her hands to cover her face, "I'm s-s-sor-ry, sir!"

Her defenses are exhausted, and she can no longer hold back. With one more frantic breath, she breaks into an all-out cry. Seeing her pain, he shoots up from his chair and rushes over. Without hesitation, he pulls the crying girl into his body and holds her in his arms. Fallon accepts his comfort, wrapping her arms around his waist and nuzzling her face against his chest as she weeps.

"It's okay, darling... You're okay now..." he soothes, gently patting her back.

Fallon desperately clings to his body as he guides her to his couch. They both sit and William is able to pull himself away from her grasp to grab a box of tissues from a nearby surface. He hands her a few and she starts drying her eyes as he returns his hand to her back. His touch is comforting, and her crying settles after a short while.

"Fallon... I want you to tell me what happened. Tell me why you're crying," he instructs with a soft voice.

Her lips curl into a frown as her red, teary eyes finally look his way.

"Earlier, wh-when I left to make your coffee, Amy followed me into the break room... And she started saying really mean things to me. I got mad, and I called her a name I shouldn't have. Ugh! And, of course, Meagan walks in right at that moment! She heard me, sir, a-and made me go to her office just so she could get onto me about my shirt. Mr. Reiner, she didn't even listen to me! I tried to tell her what happened, b-but she wrote me up anyway..." she explains before crescendoing into another frenzied cry, "For my clothes! She wrote me up for my stupid clothes!!"