Belle sighed and put her phone down. She had been waiting for five minutes, but it felt like hours. If it had been any other job interview she wouldn't have cared. She was still on the edge about taking the job itself. Having just come back to her father full time, the last thing she wanted to do was leave him again. There might not be a choice. It was risky, but she needed something to get her off her feet since she had graduated. At this point in her life she knew she should be glad she was getting something so prestigious, though it was all because of her neighbors.

It had all started a week ago when she had decided to drop off some fresh vegetables from her and her father's vegetable garden to the Potts household. It was a tradition – Belle's mother had a huge garden when she was still alive, and Maurice (and eventually Belle) took care of it in her honor, even though neither of them had the passion Belle's mother did when it came to cultivating it. The garden was much too big for only two people, and Belle was glad to take it over to the Potts family.

She had been invited in their home as usual, setting down the cloth bag filled with vegetables. Mrs. Potts and her son Chip were in the kitchen, and Mrs. Potts insisted she sat down for a cup of tea. Chip smiled at her. Mrs. Potts admonished him, and said he had to get back to his book report. Belle and Mrs. Potts started talking, and the former offhandedly mentioned her search for a job, now that she had no more courses. Mrs. Potts perked up at her comment.

"You're looking for a job dearie?" Mrs. Potts said. "I thought you had something lined up."

Belle sighed. "For a while, yes. But it ended up falling through. I'm going to remain jobless for now."

"Well…my employer actually has an opening for a personal assistant, and I think you would be perfect for the job. It would require a lot of time management and attention to detail. Any girl as smart as you would thrive, I'm sure."

Belle stiffened. Mrs. Potts never talked about her job. She knew she had been taking care of Adam Leprince for as long as Belle could remember, even though he was well way into adulthood. He still needed it from what Belle could tell. His father's arrest and imprisonment had been the latest thing the media talked about.

"A personal assistant? For…?"

"Adam Leprince. I know it might seem a bit intimidating at first, but I wouldn't say this to just anyone. Of all people, you could handle it. I doubt you'll even see the master much. You'll mostly be taking care of incoming calls, emails, and the like."

"Beatrice… I appreciate the offer, I truly do, but I don't think I'm the right person for the job." She would like to think she was nowhere near the kind of person who was qualified for it.

"Oh, dear. Could you do me a favor and at least come in for an interview? There's no harm in that. It would be a good experience, great on your resume. I think you might be surprised."

Belle sighed, but nodded. The one thing she worried about was her father. She knew that he had gotten used to only seeing her on weekends, but university versus a personal assistant for someone important was a different story. Belle always made sure to call him every single day she hadn't been at their house, but she doubted she would be able to do that anymore if she was anywhere near as busy as she imagined. As much as she hated to admit it, it would be good experience. Well, on paper at the very least.

Which was all she could say to herself as she continued to wait in the hallway of the Leprince manor. The hallway itself had to be ten feet tall with ornate golden statues covering nearly every surface. Belle herself was sitting on a dark wood bench with more gold as the carved legs, all on a shiny pale blue floor and walls. Finally, when she felt like she was about to burst with nervousness (it didn't help that the size of the hallway made her feel like an ant), Mrs. Potts came out of the room and smiled at her.

"Thank you so much for coming, Belle. We'll be meeting in here."

Mrs. Potts opened up the door to let Belle into a large office. The room was lined with file folder cases from corner to corner, with a large glass desk in the middle of the room. Sat at the desk with a young woman looking closely at a large legal notepad. Belle wasn't usually intimidated, but this woman wasn't easing her fears a little. She almost would have rather interviewed directly with the Leprince boy.

The interview went smoothly enough. Though she might look strict, the woman, Agathe, seemed to like Belle. She talked about her time in university and her charity work with the library, and Agathe even seemed interested in her modern literature studies. Mrs. Potts stayed quiet for the most part, coming back with tea for Belle and coffee for Agathe every now and then.

Adam Leprince himself wasn't mentioned much – Agathe assured her that despite the title of personal assistant, they wouldn't have much direct interaction.

Belle had to admit the best part was when Agathe showed her the starting salary. She didn't consider herself selfish. Her main requirement was that she would be able to care for herself and her father with the job, but the ability to save for her publishing company would be nice too. The salary definitely allowed for a lot of savings. For that amount of money, Belle was fairly sure she could handle the Public Relations for the bratty son of a Minister.

Belle ended up signing for the job right then and there. A lot would be changing, but she knew that this was the opportunity of a lifetime and she had to take it. She would have to move into the Leprince manor, and would only be able to visit her father on the weekends. If all went well, she would be done in a few years and able to move back to her village.

Thanks to Mrs. Potts' recommendation, Belle wasn't under as much scrutiny as most people would be. Agathe had promised her that she had passed every test the assistant had set. Everyone seemed certain that Belle would do a good job, and she appreciated it.

All she could do was hope that she wasn't way in over her head.

…

Belle clicked her suitcases and brought them into the living room so she could see her father off. He was leaned forward in the recliner reading what Belle assumed was some kind of large atlas; Maurice looked up at her as she entered the room and smiled.

"Ah, my dearest Belle," he said, getting up from the chair to give her a big bear hug.

She squeezed him as tight as she could without hurting him. It was when she left for university all over again - afraid and worried for him. Unfortunately, she was pressed for time if she wanted to catch her train. She let go of her father and give him a small kiss on the cheek.

"I'll try to call you when I can, and visit as soon as possible," she promised.

"I know," Maurice assured her. "No need to worry about me."

His words wouldn't help her worrying. They hugged shortly one last time and Belle picked up her luggage before heading out of the door. Tears were already brimming, but she couldn't let her father see her stern face. She was doing this for him after all.

…

The car door slammed shut and Belle took her blue polka dotted suitcases from the trunk.

Agathe and Mrs. Potts said they wanted Belle to start right away. Belle had the weekend to gather all the necessities and whatnot from her small home in the rural part of Villeneuve . Being Adam Leprince's personal assistant was practically a full time job and it showed.

Mrs. Potts was taking the rest of her day to show Belle around the manor, including Belle's own office and the guest suite she would be staying in. Her room was more than double the size of her old room, complete with ornate moulding around the walls and golden accents. Even all of Belle's clothes wouldn't take up even a fourth of the walk-in closet.

The rest of the manor was just as ornate and decorated similarly to Belle's room. Mrs. Potts gave her some history about the manor, even mentioning that Adam was a descendant of the French royalty. Belle learned all the places she could go—though she doubted she would be exploring the manor much—and the places she should avoid. For such a large look, the manor was eerily empty. Mrs. Potts had mentioned that 'the master' was out with one of his friends. The tour was over soon enough though, and Belle was released to set up her room before she started work the next morning.

Belle started on taking out all of her clothes and putting them up in the closet, and then opened up her bag of books. She made a mental note to check out the local library as soon as she had the time. Overall, she hadn't brought many things. She would be going home every weekend and she had always had a modest number of things. She just hoped that Adam truly wouldn't care about what she did and she could work in her office in her pajamas all day.

The last bit to organize was the make the room more personalized. She laid her journal and drawings on her bedside table, along with a photo album on the bottom shelf and a picture of her and Maurice on top. She couldn't help but frown at the picture, not because it made her sad – it was one of her happiest memories. Her and her father, while they had many things in common, could especially bond over the Harry Potter series. The day the picture had been taken was the night the eighth movie had come out. Maurice and Belle had gone to the midnight premiere and had driven all the way to the nearest IMAX theatre to watch it. It was completely packed, but Belle and her father had decided to take a photo to capture the moment.

Her father was essentially her best friend. Belle had never really fit in with anyone at school; everyone always thought she was somehow weird or different. Her father had always encouraged her differences – her love for reading, fandom, and her dabbling in programming. They had always found comfort in each other. Belle knew it wouldn't be that different from when she had still been in universities. She had a roommate back in Paris when she was in university, and she had spent the two hour drive to Villeneuve every weekend. Maurice was even closer than he had been in university, but this felt different. It should've have been better. Belle was out making money, getting experience, and having the adventure she had always longed for, but it didn't feel that way.

…

The work was easy enough. All Belle really had to do was read emails from rich people, look at summons from rich people, and take calls from more rich people. She doubted a single person who contacted Adam had ever cleaned a bathroom in their life, but it wasn't her business. Adam was ultimately easy to do work for. Belle only answered formal invitations and the like, even though she could see Adam's texts as well since Agathe said she needed to watch for suspicious activity. Belle had never actually met her employer, but she got an idea of him from his texts: they were always short and to the point. He only really used it as a way to tell whoever he chose that night to come over, and he never had any friends he texted to just chat. Not exactly the most moral or classy interactions, but as long as he wasn't seen sleeping around or going to parties by the media then he could do what he wanted.

During the first week Adam stayed at his beach house in some secluded area in the Caribbean – his way of dealing with his father's arrest, Agathe said while rolling her eyes. No matter how much he wanted to stay there, his list of responsibilities was simply too big for him to ignore. The French government was already angry with him for leaving and Agathe wanted to get them off his back as soon as possible.

Though Belle offered to help in getting ready for Adam's homecoming, Mrs. Potts was sure to make it known that she should go nowhere near Adam, Adam's room, or… anything, really. Belle was starting to wonder if Adam even knew about her existence.

Adam came home on a Sunday morning. Belle was staying the weekend at the manor just because the city was new to her, and she wanted to continue to settle in. She had spent Saturday exploring the city - finding a small and cozy bookshop/café that she was sure she would end up frequenting, and searched some clothes shops. She felt odd knowing how little was in her closet, and with the expectation they had of her she decided a wardrobe update was in order. She got back home to eat and work, and after she was done she curled up with her copy of Vicious. She had ended up accidentally finishing the whole book in one sitting, and hadn't gone to sleep until it was 4 in the morning. She was a deep sleeper and didn't hear the door opening for Adam to come home – already in a bad mood from the flight home.

When she did wake up, she found nothing out of the ordinary. She knew that Adam was coming home that day, but there had been no noise or anything out of place. She assumed his flight could've been late, or he and his chauffeur had been caught in traffic.

When Belle woke up, she showered, got dressed and immediately got on answering calls and emails. She called her father and told him all about the house, mostly, then started another book (a reread of Brave New World), and jot down some ideas for inventions and the computer program she was working on.

Soon enough the day had passed and she decided to wind down and get into bed. She always had a cup of tea before bed and went into the kitchenette adjacent to the bathroom. It was very small, with a few cabinets for non-perishable foods, a mini refrigerator, and countertop on which Belle had put a hot plate for boiling water. As her tea steeped she noticed that she had run out of honey. It was much too dark and late for her to run over to the store to pick some up, and it was so late she doubted anyone would be in the main kitchen of the house. She could sneak out to get some honey and come back without a problem.

She pulled a thin cotton shirt over her lacey bra and flannel pajama pants, and padded into the kitchen. It was totally clear. She sighed, and went up to the cabinets to start searching for a bottle of honey. The cabinets were clearly made for a giant, though, and Belle saw no other choice but to get up on the counter; no one was up after all. Jumping onto the kitchen counter and kneeling under the shelves, she opened up two at a time and peered to see if there was a bottle of honey anywhere. Dear god, Mrs. Potts loved tea! There had to be honey somewhere in the household. Maybe if she looked farther back….

"What on earth are you doing?"

The voice surprised Belle to say the least. She jumped in surprise, hitting her head on the shelf as she came up to look at whoever had spoken to her. Her hand came around to the back to soothe the bump on her head as she turned around to face what could've only been Adam Leprince.

The tabloids could never portray just how haughty he looked. His silky blonde hair was tied back, his face covered with just a bit of scruff after being in the Caribbean. He wore pale blue silk pajamas, and Belle was certain they had to have cost a fortune. Definitely a bit nicer than her messy bun, ratty old shirt, and shorts she had probably worn as a teenager. Objectively, he was attractive, but he also had that kind of face she just can't help but to hate. Out of spite, jealousy, or some other arbitrary reason, Belle didn't know.

Belle couldn't even stop to think about what came out of her mouth before she started talking. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm looking for honey."

"Why the hell are you looking for honey? Is this some kind of weird burglary? Because if so I swear to god, I am not in the mood."

Dammit if Belle wishes she could be the better person in this situation. She's tired, and just wants some tea for christ's sake. "Burglary? I've been living here for a week. I just came out to get a bit of honey for my tea."

"Living here? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Belle almost couldn't believe it, but at the same time… she supposed he wouldn't have known who she was. She might not know whether he actually wanted someone to do the work she currently did, but he certainly didn't want to know about it.

"Your personal assistant? Belle Beaumont? Does that ring any bells at all?"

The answer was no, if the dumbfounded look on his face was anything to go by. He paused a moment before saying anything. "You're the person Mrs. Potts and Agathe hired?"

"Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Adam sneered, but didn't answer her question. "Fine, just… stay out of my way. Everyone in this house is replaceable, you especially. And for Christ's sake, at least wear some night clothes that don't look like they've been torn and drooled on by a dog."

Belle looked down at her clothes. She knew they were nowhere near the quality of his, but they were comfortable and clean. She didn't know what to say to him. Before she knew it he had thrown open the refrigerator, grabbed an energy drink, given her another dirty look, and sped down the hallway to the East Wing where his room was.

Belle scowled. He wasn't a treat to be with either, and she abhorred people who acted as high and mighty as he did. At least she didn't have to see him for the most part. The salary was the only thing keeping her tied to such a horrid person.

She remembered why she was in the kitchen in the first place, though, and went back to looking. It wasn't hard this time. The bottle of honey was at the breakfast bench right where Adam had come in.

Quick A/N: Will be updating this fairly often. Hope you guys liked it. Will be updating frequently. Work based off/to go with my gifsets over at lovemeevermore on tumblr as well as some influences (mostly later on) from headoverhiddles's tumblr post: post/158988145313/batb-modern-au-headcanons . Thank you to my wonderful beta charlesbaudelaire on tumblr! This story will be based off the movie in terms of overall arc, and will consequently have mentions of abuse, sexual assault, and violence, though in my opinion none of it is graphic. I will post a warning at the beginning of those chapters. Unfortunately links don't seem to be working but you can find me under littlekisspers on ao3 and the links work on my author's note there.