It's strange the things that bother her and those that don't.
Adrien goes to school now and has been for some time. She's not too sure what to make of that. Emilie had always disliked the notion of her only, precious son being exposed to the harsh reality of the outside world. As calm and kind as he is, it's clear that those outside have had a very definite effect on him. He uses terms and expressions that she's certain none of his tutors would ever have taught him, adopted certain postures of mannerisms which she doesn't entirely approve of. It's too late to do anything about it now though. The damage is done so to speak and she's not stupid enough to try and convince a boy used to the outside world to give that up in order to return to a safer environment.
There are other influences in his life now: his girlfriend Marinette, who appears to be a sweet and kind-hearted sort and who visits regularly often. She hears mention of other names: Nino, Alya, Luka, Kagami… Only Chloe rings any vague bells and she's yet to meet any of them to be able to judge their characters for herself and Adrien is reticent to invite them round given the current situation.
She can make her way through the mansion by herself at this point. Every day, she feels a little stronger, a little bolder. Now, she ventures through the building. It's a strange place. It makes her a little uneasy. She's sure it was warmer in the past… There's a big dog that lives here now. That's one thing she's definitely not too keen on and would much rather than the animal sleeps and lives outside. Adrien however loves the pooch and won't hear of it. Again, she's not about to get into a debate with him about it.
Adrien's at school at any rate. Not that it's a problem at the moment.
He's so different, it's hard to recognize the boy that she once knew. So today, she opts for someone whom at first glance at least, appears to be comparatively unaltered.
Nathalie is still the same old hard-worker that she's always been. Gabriel wouldn't have accepted anything less from someone who was supposed to be his assistant, much less a tutor for his son. Even without the presence of her employer, she seems to dedicate almost the entirety of her her time to the company. Emile's been too busy recovering to be able to take much of an interest in the business but she guesses that things must be going along smoothly enough.
The woman is sitting behind the desk busy dealing with whatever needs her attention, it all seems to be mostly administrative work. She pauses however as soon as she notices that she's no longer alone. Nathalie isn't an easy person to read, she never has been. As such, it's not immediately apparent whether she's happy to see her or not. So, Emilie is the one to adopt a more open and friendly attitude, beginning with a smile. She takes a seat in the chair that Gabriel's assistant once occupied.
"Busy day?" Emilie questions, leaning back as she relaxes a little.
"No more than usual." Nathalie replies her voice level as always.
"Do you have a few minutes?"
"Yes." The woman frowns slightly, searching the newcomer for a motive. "What for?"
"A girly chat."
Nathalie raises her eyebrows. Her surprise is evident. For a moment, Emilie wonders if she might be about to decline. There's something about her that's always given the impression that she's a bit above socializing. She's cold. It was true, when she'd worked for Gabriel, his wife hadn't given her so much as a second look or taken a huge amount of interest in her. She wasn't the kind of character that was easy to relax around. At least that's what the other woman's always felt, she hopes that she's about to proven wrong.
After a few moments, to her surprise, she gets a very small smile:
"It's been a while since I've had one of those Mrs. Agreste."
"Please, call me Emilie." The woman nods in response. "So… You've been promoted then."
"By circumstances only. Technically, I'm still your husband's assistant."
"At least tell me he's given you a raise!" It's not entirely easy to tell if she's joking or not. "I've been watching you, you work your fingers to the bone!"
"I enjoy my work."
It's all pleasantness and light-hearted chatter. Emilie's done a little bit of homework and as far as she can tell, absolutely nothing has changed in terms of her circumstances. She's still Mrs. Nathalie Sancoeur. She's a little more confident. There's that same old steeliness behind the woman's eyes, a determination and seriousness which had got her the job in the first place. She seems somewhat more relaxed however, older and a little more worldly-wise. Perhaps that's why she's easier to talk to than her junior can ever remember her being.
Nathalie isn't an idiot though. She'll know what this is all about. As polite as she is, she must be able to sense the true motivation for this discussion. As such, Emilie doesn't waste too much time dancing around the issue.
"So… Adrien, how's that been?"
"Well… He hit puberty-" Nathalie gives a slightly flippant and amused shrug of the shoulders, leaving the rest of the ups and downs entailed by such a transformation to Emilie's imagination before becoming somewhat more serious once more. "-but honestly Mrs. Agr- Emilie, he's a good kid."
"I can see that..." Her voice trails off for a moment. "You've done a good job raising him."
"I… Didn't raise him." The woman averts her gaze for a moment. "I've only been here the past three years."
Emilie manages to refrain from letting out a pensive "Hmm". Nathalie seems a bit uneasy, evasive perhaps. Hence the questioning. The woman is mostly straightforwards. The fact that she seems to be treading carefully is in itself something of a giveaway that there's more to be told.
She could be invasive, go in directly and ask her straight out just what her relationship was with Adrien. It's plain to see that the two are closer than they were before she'd slipped into her sleep. Even her son seems to be a bit awkward. He likes Nathalie. She's been there a lot for him apparently. Unwilling to wade into such a potentially complicated subject carelessly, Emilie adopts a different strategy. She does so by asking a seemingly innocent question, one which would almost certainly have come up anyway:
"What does "Man" mean?"
"Man?"
This will be a telling moment. It could be called simply a silly little quirk he'd developed for whatever reason but the way that the woman hesitates rather than dismiss it instantly. She's only heard it a couple of times. It's Adrien who uses it, more specifically when he's chatting to Nathalie. It's not something that he uses when talking about her. Only when she's in the room:
"Did you walk the dog?"
"Yes, Man!"
She assumes that it's the English word "man" but then why's he using it to refer to a woman? Her best guess is it's some sort of an inside joke. It doesn't quite make sense given how outwardly serious Nathalie seems to be. Adrien is almost inevitably flustered by it afterwards. It's like it just slips out. That's why she's curious. If nothing else, she honestly can't imagine just why a woman such as her husband's assistant would tolerate the use of anything other than her name. Presumably he doesn't use it in public.
Nathalie frowns only briefly, a crease forming in her brow as she contemplates the other woman. She's clever. Emilie wouldn't be surprised if she's sussed out that this isn't as innocuous a question as it might seem. After a moment though, she smiles getting back into the game of "girly chats":
"I'm assuming that you're referring to it because you've heard Adrien use it." Emilie just gives her a knowing smile, neither of them are fools. "It's a nickname of sorts."
"Wouldn't "Nat" be your nickname or something like it?"
"Not as far as Adrien's concerned." There's a certain tone about her voice which makes Emilie think that she doesn't object that much. "I didn't ask him to keep on calling me it."
"I never said that you did."
Nathalie nods her head, conceding the point. Perhaps the woman is more fun than Emilie had initially given her credit for. There's a sharp intelligence behind her blue eyes. None of this is lost on her.
Through the door comes Adrien's mutt. The dog seems to be a pretty clueless animal. It's not entirely senseless however. It must know that she's not overly fond of canines and so for the most part steers well clear. Thank goodness because even at this distance, she can tell that it's drooling. Which it seems to do about 70% of the time. Instead, the animal drifts over towards Nathalie. It doesn't rush up to her, instead sitting about a foot away fixing her with its dark brown eyes.
The distraction probably only lasts a few moments. After that, she decides to explain her actions:
"I'm sorry if I seem nosy. I'm trying to make up for lost time..."
"Oh. I understand." Does she? "Please, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
It sounds almost like a business deal. Maybe it is.
Emilie's gaze flicks over the woman as she reaches out and pats the dog's head. Nathalie doesn't take her own eyes off of her either. It's not something that makes the blonde woman all that comfortable. She shifts momentarily, her gaze traveling up towards that large portrait of her Gabriel had commissioned. She can't fault the artistry. The subject however… Well now that she's back they might want to think about redecorating. How long has Nathalie been working under the portrait's stare?
She offers the woman a grin.
"I'm sorry. I'm keeping you from working, aren't I?"
"It's not a big deal." She assures her.
"Well… We'll talk later, right Nathalie?"
"I can't see why not."
With a nod, Emilie excuses herself. Drifting off into the mansion to occupy herself elsewhere. Nathalie watches as she leaves, waiting until she's out of the room and the door has been shut before letting out a sigh. She turns towards Macaroon. It must be getting close to his lunch time, as he fixes her expectantly. Whilst she doesn't exactly speak dog, Macaroon has seemed markedly confused (well, more so than usual) since Emilie had come back to them. Like he can't quite figure out where she fits into all of this.
Neither can Nathalie…
Even after all these years, the gaze of the portrait behind her remains unsettling.