°•☆ "She was everything real
In a world of make-believe"

-Atticus°•☆

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Another murder.

Another innocent young girl taken from the world way before her time.

Marinette didn't want to be surprised anymore, but she knew it could've been her. She didn't see Chat the night before so she could only hope he was out keeping a look for the murderer.

Marinette sighed, placing her phone down against the table inside the breakroom. She couldn't even enjoy her coffee. She was a nervous wreck. She was once attacked by a copycat killer but the murders were so close to home. It made her so sick to her stomach.

She wondered if she was up for the morning coffee before meeting up with her new boss, but suddenly after learning about the murder of a woman who, once again, resembled her likeness, she suddenly wasn't into coffee anymore.

This wasn't good.
Perhaps she should talk to Chat Noir and see how things were going.

Marinette shook her head, telling herself not to think about that now. She needed to focus on not screwing up in front of her new boss.
Sure, he wasn't Gabriel Agreste but he's his only son. Marinette tried to tell herself that Adrien was totally inexperienced and a lot more friendly. There's no way he could be just as scary as Gabriel Agreste. He didn't have what it took.

Marinette would by lying if she didn't think she had the guts and experience to knock him off his throne and take what was rightfully hers though the thought of running Gabriel's company instead of her own left a sour taste in her mouth.

She sighed, glancing down at her full cup of coffee and pressed her lips together. At least worrying about this small thing was a lot better than worrying about the murders.

"Put a smile on your face..." Marinette murmured to herself. "That's all that matters."

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"Bullshit!! I want these designs now!" Adrien exclaimed, slamming his fist on the desk with determination.

The room was quiet, and Marinette sat beside his desk with a red face.

Nathalie stood across the room, sighing as she punched the bridge of her nose with a small shake of the head.

Marinette adjusted herself within her seat, biting her lip as laughter threatened to emit from the base of her throat.

The room grew silent and Adrien's sigh echoed throughout the large confines of the room before he sat down with a sheepish yet boyish smile.
His hair lay perfectly on his angelic head and for a moment Marinette lost her breath just looking at him.

"That was horrible, wasn't it?" Adrien mused, glancing over to Marinette who covered her face with her hand.

Marinette tried to withhold her laughter, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't.

"Y-Yeah..." Marinette replied behind her hand, her voice quivering beneath her laughter. "You sound nothing like Gabriel Agreste."

Adrien nodded, pursing his lips with a smile in his eyes before he moved them over to Nathalie who simply returned his gaze impassively.

"See? I'm not my father. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing." Adrien replied, settling inside of his seat with a light shrug.

"But we need you to start learning" Nathalie deadpanned before crossing her arms and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Maybe there's a way I can do so without being a dickhead?" Adrien suggested, earning a gasp from both Marinette and Nathalie.

Marinette knew Gabriel Agreste could be an asshole, but hearing someone say it out loud was a whole different Centre of gravity.

"No, but you do need to take this seriously. You are attempting to fill in a huge role and that requires a lot of thinking, learning and responsibility." Natahlie conceded.

Marinette pressed her lips together and she reached up to scratch behind her ear.
It was a huge role to fill, but Marinette couldnt help but to wonder why. If Adrien had no prior experience to running a company; why would he suddenly take on such a huge responsibility? Surely it wasn't easy to learn either.

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Marinette squinted within the sunlight. A deep sigh escaped her lips as the new murders seemed etched inside her mind. No matter how much work she did, she couldn't stop obsessing over the serial murders.
The latest one was too close to home and Marinette resembled the victims way too much.
Marinette couldn't be excited when she was asked to use her designs for that days photoshoot.

Usually she was upbeat about going to a beach for a photoshoot and because Adrien was the model it tied her two jobs into one. Triple score for an easy day. This should have been a cake walk, yet here she was completely on edge. She knew when it was time to walk to the bus stop to catch the bus back home, she'd be looking over her shoulder.

But Chat Noir did promise her that he'd be there if she called for him.
Was it really a good idea to depend on someone she had just met and read about? She just wasn't sure.

She sighed, attempting to shake off the feeling of restlessness to focus on her job. Marinette even slapped her cheeks to get her mind off of the murders.
Marinette was thankful she wore flats, it was easier to maneuver around the sand in, as opposed to Nathalie who appeared to be struggling in her heels.
She clutched on to her clipboard and tape measure, sighing as the breeze from the waves gently crashed into her.

"Marinette!" Adrien called out to her from the makeup booth. The model's hair was perfectly in place and he sported nothing but a swimsuit. The black and green swimsuit that she designed.

While Marinette knew she should be psyched about her designs making it into the photoshoot, she seemed flustered at how put together Adrien appeared to be.

Dare she say he was attractive?

Marinette bit her lip, her heart skipping beats as her blue eyes remained on him. She slowly clambered through the sand, her visage of Adrien only growing closer to her as he waved.

"You look ready to go." Marinette called to him, her voice pitching above the waves that crashed against the shore. "But shouldn't I be grabbing you a coffee or something?" She perked a brow as a small smile tugged at her lips. "I feel like that's what most assistance do."

Adrien chuckled, reaching up to run a hand through his hair as the waves caused the breeze to pick up.

"I don't think that's how it works, but I did mention that I'm new at this whole thing." He replied. "All I need you to do is show me the ropes. I know you're one of the most experienced employees here."

Marinette reached up, tucking some stray strands away from her face as the breeze began to lighten.
She pressed her lips together, moving her eyes away from his shoulders and on to the water that crashed at the shore behind him.

"I was wondering..." Marinette mused, her voice trailing off. "I mean- if I may ask..." she glanced up at him shyly. "Why did you take the role your father had? I mean- is he okay? I hope nothing happened to him." She sputtered.

Marinette wanted to smack herself silly. She knew what she wanted to ask, but for some reason she found herself sputtering like a school girl with a crush. "I mean- with you having no experience, I guess it confuses me as to why you willingly took this position and why you chose me."

Adrien blinked, pursing his lips delicately as if he had been asked this question dozens of times before.

"I felt like I had a responsibility to." He replied after a short while. "I know I had no experience and yes, my father is okay. He's always wanted me to run this company after him and I suppose I felt it was time that I filled those shoes. I know had I had that responsibility and I was more than happy to take on to it." Adrien looked away from her for only a brief moment.

"As for why I chose you." He bit his lip, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "I was told you had the qualifications to help. You've been with our company for a long time and my father had been impressed with your designs since you were a teen." Adrien paused, glancing over towards her with a smile so warm it nearly knocked the air out of her.

"I guess you were the person I needed."

Marinette widened her eyes, her heart doing flips within the tight confines of her chest. Marinette had no idea why she felt like such a babbling idiot but there was something in the way he said it that sounded as if there were a double meaning behind it.

She parted her lips, her chest growing tight as she wanted to reply but paused the moment her blue eyes captured Nathalie walking up the shore towards them.

"Adrien." She murmured, standing beside him as she struggled to stand in the sand with her heels. "The cameras are ready."

Marinette pressed her lips together, stepping away from the two awkwardly. She glanced up at Adrien, offering him a sheepish smile.

"I'll be right back." Adrien assured, giving her one last look before turning his back to her and moving towards the camera crew to set up the photoshoot.

Marinette simply sighed, her heart hammering away within her chest as she watched him leave. She turned away, reaching up to rub at her temple.

This was going to be a hell of a day.

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Marinette sighed, stepping into her apartment with a grimace.

It had been a long day following Adrien around. It turned out to be a lot harder than she thought. At that point she felt like it would have been better to just grab him coffee like most assistants do.

At least that's what she saw in movies.

Adrien may have been lacking in knowledge when it came to running a top business, but he certainly didn't have mercy on her when it came to making her work.

The young woman trudged to her room, kicking off her flats and plopping on to her bed with an exasperated groan. The moonlight casted an eerie glow throughout the entirety of her room and Marinette couldnt help but to wonder if the murderer was out on his prowl.

She was thankful that she made it home without incident, but even reading about the murders on the news made her skin crawl. The way each victim had a striking similarity to one another made the situation so much worse.

She closed her eyes, turning her face into her pillows with a whimper. Marinette couldn't help but to also wonder if Chat was also out.

He had to be. He was always out.

At least it seemed that way to her. She was grateful that he had gotten to her when she was attacked by the copycat killer, but was that just a stroke of luck?

It almost seemed so when it came to the amount of victims that came out in the media. Marinette started to really wonder if she were safe by putting her trust into Chat Noir.

She bit her lip, slowly lifting herself up from the bed. Marinette sat up, slumping forward as she glanced up at the bedroom balcony doors.

Chat Noir did say that if she needed him, she could simply call to him and he would arrive.
It sounded weird whenever she repeated it to herself, but her curiosity only seemed to get the best of her.

She pressed her lips together and slowly stood up. She ran a hand through her hair and slowly trudged to her balcony. She carefully opened the door and poked her head outside before she moved to the baluster.

The cool breeze blew through her hair and Marinette glanced down at the busy dark streets below. She pressed her lips together, her hands gripping on to the baluster as she almost felt silly for even thinking such a thing would work.

"Chat Noir?" Marinette asked, her heart pounding erratically inside of her chest.

"Can I see you?"