My Boss is Felix: Alternative Miraculous Ladybug Tale

Ch13: Gabriel Agreste

After I had completely made a fool of myself, I decided to live the rest of my days in the bathroom stall of Agreste Inc. As Natalie and I were heading towards the elevator right after leaving Felix's office, I asked her if I could make a quick restroom stop. Except, as it turned out, it wasn't so quick. I had hid here for a solid fifteen minutes - sitting on the toilet with the lid down as I tucked my knees to my chest and secured the position with my arms.

I was so embarrassed it hurt. After I analyzed my words and everything I'd said,  his conclusion of my feelings made complete sense. Of course, I knew I didn't like him, but he wasn't a mind reader. He only had my body language and words which all seemed to betray me. I blushed when I was nervous, but he didn't know that. Why did blushing have to symbolize attraction? I did it all the time. It wasn't fair to poor girls like me who were easily flustered. 

Worst of all, I couldn't take back any of it. Felix's opinion of me must be so low. To him, I must be so pitiful. He was right for thinking it.

So much for proving myself and becoming a valuable asset to the company. I was screwing up my future just like that. If I locked myself here I had zero chance of messing everything up or saying something beyond stupid.

Either way, I'd kept Natalie waiting too long as it was. The length of time I had spent in here would only cause her to draw even more embarrassing conclusions.

"Are you feeling alright?" Natalie asked after I dared to leave my safe haven.

"Yep. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No worries," she said with a faint smile.

I silently followed her, unable to escape the tormenting reruns with Felix. She turned down a new hallway I'd never been before. The floor turned to a black and white butterfly-like pattern surrounded by white marble. Every ten feet, two marble pillars lined the picture infested walls.

What was this place and why was it excessively fancy? That was when I noticed we walking in the opposite direction of the elevator.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

Natalie stopped and slowly turned to face me. Light fragments scattered by the above chandelier covered her cherry red turtle neck and black blazer.

"I must have forgotten to say. Mr. Agreste wanted to speak with you."

"What?" I exclaimed louder than I intended, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing like that."

"I thought I was supposed to be doing data entry. Isn't that what you told Felix?"

"I forgot to mention it to him, I suppose."

I clenched my gut with my hand as I crouched over, suddenly noticing my mismatched shoes. No! I couldn't meet the CEO looking like this! If I would have known, I would have worn my sharpest outfit.

"Could I go to the Employee Shop and buy a new outfit before?" I asked, feeling a desperate flutter in my chest.

"I'm afraid there's no time. Mr. Agreste is a very busy man. He expects to see you now."

"But I accidentally wore the wrong color of shoes and my shirt is wrinkled."

She shot a glance at my feet.

"His office is dark due to his eye condition. I'm sure he won't notice."

"Eye condition?"

"He has a rare case of photophobia."

"So he doesn't like getting his picture taken?"

"It means his eyes are very sensitive to light."

"Oh."