The last two weeks had been absolute torture. Everyday when he got to work, he opened discord on his desktop, sent it to the back, and waited for the telltale *ding* as he focused on his other tasks. The notification had yet to come.
Sleep had been scarce since the previous Friday. His father had organized a date with Vivienne de Coubert, the second he had had with the woman, after which he felt quite certain that she would not be moving on to the next stage of his courtship…situation. Ever since then, nights had been filled with dreams and nightmares, shifting between sweet and sensual fantasies of his lady and dark and crippling nightmares where she was gone. Or she revoked her declaration of love. Or she revealed her evil plot to catch him in a compromising position.
I don't know what I'd do if I lost my light at the end of the tunnel. She's all I'm looking forward to right now.
*ding*
His hand stilled on his mouse for a split second before frantically clicking through his tabs to find the source of the noise.
Lady: Have you figured out what I've been busy with?
He had in fact spent considerable time thinking it over, and there was only one thing at the company which lined up with her timeline—the exact thing which had occupied all of his time not spent on attending dates set by his father.
MrNoir: You're working on the showcase, aren't you?
Lady: I knew you were smart enough to figure that out.
MrNoir: So, do you have any clues for me?
Lady: I'd like to think of them less as clues and more like breadcrumbs. They should lead you right to me.
Lady: First, I will see you tomorrow.
Lady: Second, try to remember as much as you can about our night in the garden.
Lady: Finally, keep in mind that the whole purpose of this is to find me under the mask.
MrNoir: I'll do my best to follow your lead. I want you to know that whatever happens tomorrow, I don't regret what has happened between us up until now.
Lady: Me too. Even if you can't love me back, I will always treasure the last month and a half. I love you. See you tomorrow.
"Adrien."
He jerked his face up, instinctively exited out of the tab, and saw his father standing from his desk across the room. "Yes, father?"
"It's time to meet with Marie and prepare for the showcase. You have all of the files?"
Standing quickly, he fumbled around in his bag for a moment before extracting the relevant set of files. His assistant had scanned and reproduced the dossiers of each junior stylist so that he, his father, and Marie could each have their own copy. "Of course. Let's be on our way then."
As the two of them made their way to the meeting room down the hall, his father half a pace ahead of him instead of his standard two, the older man questioned him. "Nathalie has informed me of your decision to end your consideration of Ms. de Coubert. That leaves you with only two remaining candidates. Are you feeling a strong affinity with either of the remaining women?"
"No, father. While Ms. Tsurugi and Ms. Blanchet are both lovely women, I cannot say that I am ready to take the next step with either of them."
"Hmm. We still have a few weeks until October when we will announce your engagement. I'll have Nathalie schedule extensive dates with both women so that you can better decide."
"Of course, father. Although, I do want to ask. What will happen if I cannot commit to either one?"
A pointed glare from his father as they entered the conference room. "Do you have something you wish to tell me, Adrien?"
"I simply want what you and mother had. And I am worried that if I haven't felt it with any of the candidates you have selected by this point, then maybe it's not viable with any of them."
A frown pulled at his father's lips, wrinkles and lines which had been faint in years past now deeply etched into his skin. He can't argue with the concept of him and mother.
Sitting with a sigh at the head of the table and pinching the bridge of his nose he inquired "Does this have anything to do with the woman who stayed the night at your place two weeks ago?"
What the fuck. "Excuse me?"
"I know you heard me, Adrien. The staff at your building keep me informed of any suspicious people coming and going. We have a reputation to uphold of course. I don't know who she is, but I know when she came." A pointed look. "And I know when she left." Adrien swallowed under the intense scrutiny of his father's gaze, eyes lowering to the floor. "The only reason I have not brought this up is because she never returned, and you have been dutifully focusing on the ladies I have handpicked for your consideration in the time since. However, that no longer seems to be the case. So, Adrien, be honest. Who is this woman and what sort of relationship do you two have." It was a statement, not a question.
She was right. He was keeping an eye the whole time.
Swallowing nervously but straightening his shoulders he replied, "I do not feel comfortable divulging her identity at this time." Mostly because I don't fucking know it, but there's no way I can tell father that. "But I suppose we have been dating for the past month or more."
"You've been dating one of my employees for more than a month—let me guess, since the masquerade where I announced your eligibility—and you don't feel comfortable telling me who she is?"
Crap, I forgot that the front desk clerk knew that she was an employee.
"…Yes."
"Do you understand what is at stake here, Adrien?" His father rose angrily from the table, pushing his chair back and gesturing harshly with his hands. "I am dying. I am going to be gone, and then I cannot protect you. Do you think it's coincidence that an employee attempted to seduce you as soon as we made our announcement? Worst case scenario, this is an attempted internal coup or power grab by some low-ranking lackey. Best case scenario, you've been playing house and violating dozens of sexual harassment policies." His voice had grown with each word, peaking as his face turned crimson, when it all deflated. Beads of sweat pearled along his hairline as he slumped back into his chair with a weary sigh.
"Father!" Adrien rushed forward, setting his files on the table, and crouching next to his father's chair. "Are you alright? Do I need to fetch Nathalie?" A hand lifted in his direction halted his intentions.
"A one-night stand with an employee is bad. But when our insiders at the tabloids reported that no one had come forward with a scandal, I assumed that nothing nefarious was happening and there would be no repercussions from your indiscretions. But dating? Adrien, how could you keep something this important from me?"
"I didn't…I didn't know that it would get this serious. When it started, I was just looking for an outlet…something to deal with everything that's been going on."
"Do you want to marry her?"
The piercing blue eyes of his father's eyes pierced him as Adrien looked up from the floor and felt his mouth gape open at the question. His father's gaze darted around his face, searching for something, and failing to find it. He sighed once more. "Regardless of your intentions or hers, we need to make sure that she signs all of the non-disclosures that we had for all of the other women. You will bring her by the manor."
"But—"
"You will bring her to the manor" he reiterated.
"Can this—" the door swung open, and Adrien swiveled his head to see Marie coming in.
She arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Is everything alright, gentlemen?"
Adrien immediately stood and composed himself. "Of course. Let's get started with the meeting, we have a lot of content to cover." He gestured with his hand to the files he had left on the table and then turned back to his father. "I will do what you ask after the showcase. Please allow me that much time." So I can find her.
Straightening his tie, his father nodded crisply and then grabbed for one of the files. He flipped it open to the first of the six dossiers and began the meeting, signaling to Adrien that he should find his own seat.
The meeting lasted all afternoon. Adrien was laser focused as they poured over every sketch and every description, searching for one of her breadcrumbs. He couldn't be sure that she was actually one of the junior designers—there were dozens of other employees working on the showcase in other capacities. But this was as good a place as any to begin his search.
Five of the designers had created women's wear. Simon's collection theme was structure, with sketches featuring large skirts and sleeves pressed into shapes they would not normally hold. Juliette's collection focused on the sky—her pieces the next day would contain the sunrise and noon sky while the rest of the collection she hoped to present at fashion week would also merge into night. Jean's theme was film noir meets modern streetwear. Trench coats and red lips paired with distressed jeans and combat boots. Anais had designed a set of traditional men's wear that would be worn by female models in what her overview called "An attempt to demonstrate that women truly can do everything a man can do, literally in heels." Elise's collection focused on her hometown in southern France, pulling colors and textures from the local landscape.
Marinette was the only designer who had decided to create a line comprised of both men's and women's wear. It was just as she had told him, a collection of pieces with each one based off of a flower. Below each sketch, her handwriting detailed the name of the flower and its definition.
'This collection encapsulates the experience of love using one of the oldest expressions of the emotion—from the silence of Belladonna to the secret love of Gardenia, and beyond to the unity of marriage with Camellia. Each piece takes inspiration from French, Chinese, or both cultures in its design in order to personify the meaning of each flower.'
As his father and Marie discussed the merits and demerits of her proposed collection and eventually moved on to an overall discussion of which junior designers currently had the highest and lowest prospects for tomorrow, Adrien stared at the first sketch in her collection.
'Gardenia—Secret Love' was titled under the drawing of the black and silver suit. She had drawn the model with blond hair, and a black smudge of charcoal covered the top half of his face.
It couldn't be…