It was Saturday morning and Marinette had slept in until 10:00. She was currently still laying in her bed, lazily scrolling through her social media. One advantage of working in the evening was to not have to wake up at the crack of dawn like at the bakery.

Rose came back from her morning run and as soon as she crossed the door, the smell of coffee and fresh croissants filled the room.

"Here Marinette, I brought you breakfast." Rose exclaimed, putting it on the bedside table.

"Awww thanks Rose! You're always so sweet." she answered, making Rose giggle.

"So what are you gonna do today?" The short haired girl asked, before taking a bite out of the flaky bread.

"I'll probably work on my creation for my exam. I still have loads of sequin to sew on it."

"Even with your arm like that? It must be tender…"

"It will be ok since it's my left arm. And I'll just stop if it gets too painful." Marinette answered, shrugging.

She was momentarily distracted by her cell phone chiming. She opened her texto app and sucked in a breath.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Oh my god it's Adrien! What should I do?" she said, panicking.

"Answer him obviously."

-Adrien A- : Good morning Marinette!

~Mari~ : Good morning too!

-Adrien A- : How is your arm today?

~Mari~ : A bit sore and swollen, but not that bad.

-Adrien A- : I'm glad! So, I checked my schedule and I'm free tonight, if you still want to go somewhere.

~Mari~ : Of course. Do you have a place in mind?

-Adrien A- : Actually there's a restaurant I like to go to, we could go there for dinner?

"Omg Rose! He wants us to get dinner at a restaurant!!" Marinette exclaimed, nervous but excited.

"That's great!" she exclaimed.

~Mari~ : Yes, that's a good idea.

-Adrien A- : Awesome. I'll pick you up at 6 pm. Don't worry it's not a posh restaurant so there's no dress code. See you later!

~Mari~ : Yes, see you tonight!

"Aaaahh Rose! I'm going to the restaurant with Adrien!" she squealed, making Rose laugh.

Marinette was pacing in her room, nervous as hell. Adrien would be there in 30 minutes and she still didn't decide what to wear.

"Go with the pink dress, you look good in it! Is it one you made yourself?" asked her roommate.

"Yes, I made it… like 80% of what I wear. But you're sure? It's not a date or anything…"

"Trust me."

"Ok ok… thanks Rose for your help."

Adrien was parked in front of the dorms at exactly 6 pm. Marinette walked up to him, waving.

"Hey Marinette! Let's go, I'm starving." he said, smiling at her.

They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later. It was a small place but it was cozy and had been decorated tastefully.

The owner of the place came to welcome them and they were guided to a table for two situated at the back of the dining room. They sat down and Adrien looked at the wine card.

"Do you want wine?" he asked.

Looking at the prices on the card, she winced internally. "Oh hum… no thank you. I can't really afford it so I will stick with water."

"Oh sorry for the confusion. The dinner is on me. You can choose whatever you want."

"It's not necessary…" she started.

Adrien put the wine card on the table and looked at her seriously, but still smiling.

"Marinette… I wouldn't have brought you here if I hadn't planned to pay for the dinner. I know that as a student with a part time job, and with your family abroad, it can be hard. And… I just wanted to have a good time with you again, and show you a place I like." he blushed slightly as he pronounced the last words.

Marinette smiled warmly. "Alright, thank you Adrien. I appreciate it. It's… really nice here."

"Yeah I really like it here. So, now that that's settled. Wine?"

They ordered and ate their meal, the conversation going smoothly. Everything was delicious and the staff was very nice. And it was peaceful. She understood why he loved that place. Also, he didn't act like the kind of person who comes from a rich and powerful family. He was a kind, simple and funny guy.

After their dessert (that was insanely delicious), they decided to go for a stroll. They were walking slowly, but discussing animatedly. At one point, Adrien was walking backwards in front of Marinette so he could face her. He was telling her another funny story about Nino. His eyes were sparkling with mirth, and she couldn't keep herself from grinning widely.

After a while, they stopped and sat on a bench in a park. They stayed in a comfortable silence for a moment.

Adrien turned towards her and cleared his throat.

"Marinette?"

"Hm?"

"I was thinking… This week, there will be a new position available at Agreste's. And before advertising it, I… I wanted to see if you'd be interested."

"Oh, that's nice of you! What is it?" she asked, intrigued.

"It's not related to design or production, but it's less physical than maintenance. With Nathalie being so busy, it was decided to give a part of her tasks to someone else. At least the part that is related to me. So I'm looking for an assistant." he revealed.

Marinette was looking at him with wide eyes. "You… you want to hire me as your assistant?" she repeated, baffled.

Adrien smiled at her and nodded.

"You're not afraid that I could hurt you or ruin things with my… clumsiness…?" she asked shyly, looking down.

"Oh not really, no. Well, it's true that you seem to have more bad luck than the average person, but that doesn't matter. The reasons why I want to offer you this position are that you already know the place and you're studying to work in fashion so you're conscious of how hectic it is in the industry. And most importantly… you're one of the few people who sees more than just my family name or my career…You treat me like a friend, and you have no idea how much I appreciate that."

Marinette smiled at him, blushing.

"It's true that I was a bit intimidated by you at first, especially since I knocked a mannequin over and spilled a bowl full of pins when we first met in person…"

They both chuckled at the memory.

"But I saw immediately that… that you are kind and funny. You never judged me. And… I don't know, it's easy to be around you, you know?"

Adrien was touched by how she saw him. "The same goes for you." he added, his voice soft. "And this is another main reason that I'd like you to be my assistant. I feel that I can be myself around you." He was now looking at her, a soft smile on his lips.

"I'm glad you feel this way. And I want to know more about the real you. The thing is… I don't have many hours to offer, with my studies…" Marinette mentioned, looking back at him.

"I already know that. We'll work with what you can offer during your sessions and full time during vacations." he explained.

Marinette chuckled slightly. "You speak as if I had already accepted."

Adrien rubbed his nape with his right hand and laughed. "Well, I hope you will."

They discussed more details about the offer as they walked back to Adrien's car. He drove her back to the dorms and she told him she would think about it and give him an answer Monday.

On the said day, Marinette was distracted during her classes. She couldn't stop thinking about the offer Adrien had made her. She had discussed with Rose and Alya and both highly suggested that she takes it. So tonight might be her last shift cleaning the office.

Adrien had asked to meet him 45 minutes before her shift. So when she knocked nervously at his office door, he was already waiting for her.

"Hey Marinette!" he said cheerfully as he opened the door. "Come in! I'm glad you came." He held the door for her to go in and followed her.

She was about to sit on a chair in front of his desk but he stopped her. "You can sit on the sofa. I hate having a desk between me and the person I want to talk to."

They both sat on the white leather couch. A pile of papers was placed on the low glass table in front of them.

"So, let's not beat around the bush. Did you have time to think about the offer?" he asked, looking at her, his green gaze meeting her blue one.

Marinette nodded. "Yes, and I'll accept it. I'm actually pretty excited about it." she answered, grinning.

His smile widened and a glint shone in his eyes. "I'm glad. I think it will be a good experience for your future career since you'll see everything behind the scenes." She nodded.

They spent the next 30 minutes completing and signing the paperwork with someone from the HR department. When she left, Marinette looked at the clock and noticed it was almost time for her cleaning shift to start.

"Thanks for everything, Adrien. I should get going, the floors won't vacuum themselves!"

"Wait. You're not on the cleaning crew anymore." he told her.

"Well, I imagine I have to at least cover for tonight, no?" she asked, confused.

"No need. I had already asked Sabrina to take your next shift. I was hopeful you would accept my offer." He grinned at her and she chuckled.

"You were that sure I would accept, uh?" she teased.

"No, but I planned ahead for both options. So tonight you are working but with me instead. Nathalie has already set up a tablet for you with my schedule for the next month. We'll go through it and select when you'll be working and what will be your tasks. Nathalie will show you how to use the different apps." he told her, before handing her an iPad.

For the next two hours, Adrien explained what is expected of her for each designated task and gave her as much information as possible on his work.

He was still modeling part time and as the face of Gabriel's, he had to attend different events. He was also responsible for recruiting and leading a new team in order to create an affordable clothing line for teens and young adults. Mr Agreste was adamant that Adrien would peak the interest of the younger generations.

For him to be able to do all of this, it would be her role to manage his schedule and accompany him during modeling contracts, fashion shows and various events. Adrien reassured her that her studies were the priority and that Nathalie will continue to cover for the events she would be unable to attend.

When Marinette left the office that night, she was excited but also nervous regarding her new job. Though, she was confident that Adrien would be comprehensive if anything didn't exactly go as planned.