Turning A Monster Into A Man

Ten

"Are you alright, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

Marinette's face was red from her conversation with Olympia. She kept rolling her tongue inside her cheek as she thought about the things that Olympia said. Especially that Felix's had a crush on her and that it was reminiscent of Gabriel and Emilie's relationship.

Felix led Marinette through the labyrinth of offices. Looking behind himself every few steps making sure she didn't run off. 'I know that she wants this but, if I was her I'd run.'

"I'm okay... just a bit...nervous."

"You've meant my father before, I assure you he will be his usual caring self."

Marinette laughed knowing that her encounters with Gabriel haven't been exactly a good representation of her character. Neither as Marinette or Ladybug.

As Ladybug, the incounters were more uncomfortable. Gabriel always seemed annoyed that she was trying to save his life. HIS LIFE. He would grit his teeth or roll his eyes or just flat out say something rude. Her favorite insults were: "you should just hand her Miraculous over to Hawkmoth as being ruled over by a supervillain is better then being protected by a incompetent hero like you."

"I am going to spoon my eyes out." A moment shared when they unfortunately got stuck together due to another bee themed supervillain.
"Why?"

"For kicks and giggles of course. No, Miss I can't do my job. It's because I'm stuck here with you."

He was her James Johan Jameson. At least it wasn't being prodcasted and ChatNoir did shout at Gabriel on more then one occasion. Her knight in shining black armor.

Marinette encounters with him in her high school days were marginally better. Breaking into his runways just to take a peek at the new collection and maybe catch a glimpse of Felix wearing something other than his suits. The amount of yelling and shouting her little escapades had caused. She could see the veins popping through Gabriel's forehead. To have his events ruined by a hormonal teenage girl going after his emotionally stunted son.

Now Gabriel was pushing for his younger son to take Felix's place as Adrien had a more approachable demeanor. A smile that shined like the sun, golden hair, and rare eyes that made him a very valuable asset to the Gabriel Brand.

He paused before opening up the door as he wanted to give Marinette words of encouragement. A skill that he thought he had in the bad due to being Ladybug's go to hype-man. "You will be fine, you've dealt with far worse."

Felix had remembered how well she took Chloe Bourgeois's temper tantrums. Not like he was any better but she held her head up high. It was for the benefit of everyone else. A brave face. She deserved something to make her happy even if it wasn't permanent.

He opened the door into Gabriel's office. He had two, one on the company's campus and one at home. He spent the most time at his home office ever since his wife passed. 'How long has it been? Four years? Five?'

The office was the size of Felix's with an open doorway leading into a large workroom. Two cutting tables in the middle with a walkway in-between, a few machines, three dressforms, a wall of a variety of fabrics wrapped on bolts. The wall adjacent to the office contained a large cork board with push pins. Black wallpaper with a subtle retro design, a glossy black ceiling and a checkered floor. A very recognizable taste as it reflected his home.

"Father."

Gabriel turned as he studied the young woman. Her hair in a fishtail braid, a white blouse with short pleats cutting her off under her bust, she wore pink capris, and white ankle boots. She had a smile that was genuine naivety. Gabriel had a bad habit of quickly demeaning assistants. He shook his head dismissing the urge to kill the wonder in her eyes.

"Start with draping these designs." He handed her a few sketches. "They need to go out by midnight tonight."

Marinette briefly rifled through them making split second decisions. "Which fabrics would you prefer? As I see this one would work better as a satin. Especially, if you go with an overlay and possibly custom appliques."

Felix sighed as it felt like weight was lifted off his chest. Marinette was smoothly fitting in as if had been working at this job for years. "Let me know if you need anything else, Miss Dupain-Cheng." He patted her on the shoulder.

"Oh... yeh... I will..." Marinette stuttered as she was surprised that Felix was being nice even though Olympia had said that he had a crush on her. 'OH MY GOD! I am not even going to make it through day one.'

As soon as Felix left, Marinette felt she could concentrate. Focus on her dream career. Marinette took the designs and looked at the machines. There was a Brother brand sewing machine that doubled as an embroidery machine. Marinette opened a few drawers that were underneath the shelves of fabric. Hoping that either the black thread she needed was in one.

She held the cone of thread. 'SLAM!' A sound courtesy of Gabriel slamming a bolt of beige crepe satin on the table.

"Custom appliques? With such a time crunch do YOU THINK...." Gabriel took a deep breath. "Time management skills are very important, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Start with the base of the garment then worry about the additives."

"I just... thought if I started the machines they could be going as I worked on draping."

He lifted up his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "AND? How long do you think that will take? Learning the machine? Rethreading it? What if the machine has issues? With an eight hour work time, do you think that's the ideal way to spend your time?"

"I.... I understand." Marinette took the bolt with a pair of dressmaker shears to the table in defeat. 'I could have gotten it done. It's not like I'm the only one working on these gowns.'