"She's not answering." Chloe said with a sigh as she hung up her phone. She was behind the reception as Adrien walked to the lobby.
"Who?" Adrien asked. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood over his head and has sunglasses on.
"My friend Mimi. She recently went through a hard moment and I wanted to check on her." Chloe replied. "She works in the most famous entertainment production company Couffaine Group. One of her bosses just passed away and she was upset about it. I never meant him but apparently he was a great boss, worker, friend, husband and father. His name was Adrian Agreste. Here I'll show you a picture." Chloe found a picture of Adrien on her phone and was about to show him when she realized that the Adrien in the picture was the same man in front of her. Adrien tried to hide his face but it was too late. Chloe looked at the picture then back to Adrien multiple times in shock. "Oh my gosh." She walked to his side and took his hoodie and sunglasses off and there was no doubt about it the man in front of her was Adrien Agreste.
"Chloe please don't tell the police-" Adrien started feeling nervous.
"I'm going to tell you something Adrien." Chloe said sternly.
"I'll leave from where I came from just please don't accuse me to the police." Adrien basically begged in a panic now.
"Listen to me carefully Adrien I could never ever in a million years accuse the son of the famous award winning Emilie Agreste the goddess of all actresses." Chloe said with a huge smile.
"You know my mom?" Adrien asked, confused and surprised.
"Okay first of all everyone knows who your mom is but yes I know her personality. Though I know her from the first role she received to the most recent one since I'm her biggest fan. I sometimes do her hair when her primary hairstyles can't. See?" Chloe pointed to a picture frame that was on a wall in the lobby and when Adrien looked at it he saw his mother and Chloe smiling at the camera. "She even autographed the picture."
"Wow what a coincidence." Adrien mumbled.
"She's a great actress and a great person with a pure heart." Chloe said with a soft smile. "It is said that you're her son."
"Yes and it is also being said that I commited a fraud which is not true." Adrien declared. "I'm not responsible for what I'm being accused of."
Chloe smiled. "Don't worry I'll be a grave no one will know that you're here. I know what it feels like to be wrongfully accused of something. When I was a teenager I was wrongfully accused of stealing money and I was arrested and stayed in prison a short amount of time for a crime that I didn't even do."
"I'm experiencing something similar and I can't even prove my innocence right now." Adrien stated.
"Well guess what Adrien the son of Emilie Agreste is my unconditional friend." Chloe said, extending her hand to Adrien.
Adrien smiled, shaking her hand. "That's great. I don't know how to thank you."
"Don't worry about that you can always count on me for anything." Chloe stated.
Alya walked over to Nino once the women arrived at the church. "Hey Nino, how was taking care of the kids on your own?"
"They have the energy of their mother, that's all I'm going to say." Nino said playfully.
"My energy? Well they may be curious like me, yes but they have your energy." Alya said teasingly.
"I'm not that energic." Nino stated.
"Not anyone." Alya replied with a small laugh.
Nino glared at her playfully. "Ha ha you're so hilarious."
"And it turns out that I'm being accused of a fraud of 3 million euros." Adrien was telling Chloe of his misfortune as they were sitting on one of the couches in the lobby since no one else was at the rental home at that moment.
Chloe coughed hearing the amount of money. "I would've gone to Rio if I were you. Though I'm now intrigued. Do you have any idea of who this cruel heartless criminal that framed you could be?"
Adrien laughed softly. "Of course I know who it is but I don't have the evidence to prove it. To be honest that jerk did it very well but… that's not the most painful part of all of this."
"Say no more it's Marinette and Hugo right?" Chloe asked with a smile.
Adrien nodded sadly. "Yes they think that I'm dead and I can't tell them that I'm alive for their own safety but it hurts me to see them suffer because of me."
"It's not your fault you're doing what you think it's right and going back to them should be your motivation to find evidence of your innocence." Chloe stated.
"Trust me, they are my reason for everything I do." Adrien replied with a smile.
"Don't worry, in the end everything will be cleared and the truth will come out." Chloe stated.
"Well until then what do I do? I don't exist, everyone thinks I'm dead and on top of that a fraud and a liar." Adrien replied.
"We'll figure something out." Chloe stated. "First calm down and I'm sure something will occur to us."
"There's nothing we can do. My name is tied up in a fraud and I can't be with my family." Adrien replied. "I lost my best friends. One of them is even getting married today."
"Awe I love weddings. I used to be hired to do the hair of brides." Chloe stated with a small smile.
Adrien laughed softly before thinking of something. "You know what, I'm going to Edward's wedding."
"Are you crazy?" Chloe asked in shock. "You can't go and risk exposing yourself."
"I know but I want to see my friends even from afar." Adrien replied.
Chloe suddenly thought of something and smirked. "I just thought of something even better."
"What?" Adrien asked, confused.
Chloe took Adrien to the master bedroom and she opened a chest that was full of costumes and clothes. "My mom was a fashion designer and I learned how to sew and make clothes from her. I don't design them. I'm terrible at that but Nathaniel is amazing at designing anything. As a pastime he designs clothes and I make them. It's something we do together."
Adrien smiled. "That's cute."
"I also have wigs that I use to practice during hairstyles for clients." Chloe added.
"Okay but why are you telling me all of this?" Adrien asked, confused.
"I'm going to help you disguise yourself so you can go to your friend's wedding without worrying about getting recognized." Chloe replied.
Chloe and Adrien tried different wigs and outfits to find the perfect disguise and after a few minutes they found the perfect one.
"Don't worry Edward, everything will turn out great." Nino told a nervous Edward. They were standing by the altar as the wedding was about to start. "Before you know it you'll be happily married."
"I know but I still keep thinking that I shouldn't be getting married so soon after Adrien died." Edward said softly.
"We are all still mourning for Adrien Edward but he'll be happy that you're getting married with the love of your life." Nino said with a soft smile and an encouraging pat on Edward's shoulder. "Just think that this day is going to be a memorable day for you and Roxie."
What they didn't know was that Adrien was there sitting at the final row of Edward's side dressed like an old man with a white wig, blue contacts, and a white mustache. Chloe was sitting next to him wearing a big blue hat a similar style her mom would always wear.
The song 'Here comes the bride' started and Roxie started walking down the aisle with her father. Marinette was right behind her and when she passed Adrien's row Adrien had the sudden urge to stand up and call out to her.
Chloe quickly pulled Adrien back down before he could stand up completely. "What are you doing?" She hissed softly.
"I need to talk to her." Adrien whispers back.
"And cause a scene?" Chloe asked in a whisper. "Think about what you were about to do. She thinks that you are dead and buried. Plus the police could find you and arrest you."
"But she was so close to me." Adrien whispered sadly.
"You know what we'll leave right after the ceremony, it's too tempting for you to be here." Chloe said softly.
While Juleka was at the wedding Philip lied saying that he was sick and couldn't go to the wedding but in reality Philip took the opportunity to go to the beach known as the Lucky Charm beach to bribe Mathew Roperts and his people so everything in the Miraculous Ladybug project could go his way and he took Francisco with him.
"The place doesn't look bad at all." Philip said as they were walking though the beach. "No wonder everyone talks about this place. We just need to get rid of these ridiculous cultural things."
"Don't say that so loudly these people take their culture seriously and they can be fierce when it's disrespected." Francisco warned.
"I don't care if they hear, after all, in a short amount of time everything will go my way." Philip said with a smirk. A teenager was walking by and Philip stopped him. "Hey you, what services does your hotel have?"
"Are you guys here in the name of Mrs. Marinette Agreste?" The teenager asked.
"I work in the same company as her but she's only a simple assistant and I'm the financial vice president. I came on my own account." Philip replied.
"Well we won't deal with anyone who isn't Mrs. Marinette Agreste or here in her name." The teenager said sternly.
"Well too bad because I'm her boss and get the idea that you won't see her here again." Philip said out loud so everyone who was starting to crowd around him could hear.
"What can I do for you sir?" Mathew asked sternly while walking over to Philip in a threatening way.
"That's Mathew Roperts the leader." Francisco whispers to Philip.
Philip smiled, leading Mathew to the side so no one could hear them. "Nice to meet you, maybe you can convince your people to be more cooperative toward me." Philip handed Mathew money that summed up to a million euros. "With this amount you and your family will have your life secure for a long time."
"Are you from the Couffaine Group?" Mathew asked sternly.
"Yes I'm Philip Gain but I'm not here in Marinette Agreste's name. If that's your next question I'm here to make a deal with you." Philip said with a smirk. "Now take the money you know that you want to."
Mathew took the money and he immediately threw it at Philip. "For your information I can't be brought. You can't bribe any of us now leave before I call Marinette and the president of CG Mr. Luka Couffaine and tell them that one of their employees came to bribe me Mr. Phillip Gain."
"Go ahead, call, they won't believe you anyway." Philip said with confidence.
"I'm sure they will especially after I show them the fortage." Mathew replied before pointing at the security cameras that were hidden everywhere. "What can I say I'm prepared for men like you. Now I can tell that CG has nothing to do with this and I'll continue with the agreement I made with Marinette and Adrien, who's resting in peace, and I'll repeat this only once this community will only deal with Marinette Agreste so leave now."
A crowd formed around them and started cheering. "Marinette! Marinette! Marinette!"
"We should leave." Francisco whispers to Philip and Philip had no choice but to leave.
"You may now kiss the bride." The priest stated before Edward and Roxie shared a kiss. Everyone stood up and clapped for them. Adrien and Chloe took the chance to sneak out at that moment.
"She looked so beautiful in that dress, red was always her color." Adrien was saying to Chloe as they were now in his room and he was taking off his wig, contacts and mustache. "I wish that I could go to her, hug her, kiss her and tell her how much I loved her. Plus I would have given Hugo a big bear hug…. It's going to be hard to live without them."
"You'll have to learn to do so because if you don't have a plan what other choice do you have?" Chloe pointed out.
Adrien sighs. "You're right I don't have any plan. I can't just walk to her and say 'Hey princess I'm alive' first of all I'll scare her to death then I'll be arrested by the police… I'm doomed."
"Well I can just tell you that you have a good taste in women. Even from afar I could tell that Marinette has a pure heart. Oh and your son is so cute." Chloe states with a smile. "Nathaniel and I have been trying to have children for a while but it hasn't happened yet."
"I'm sure that it's going to happen soon and when it does you'll feel an incredible feeling inside that is so pure to explain." Adrien said with a smile. "By the way, when is your husband coming back?"
"Tonight actually and I wanted to ask you if it's okay if I tell him everything about this. I can't hide anything from him, he can read me like a book. You have my word that he's trustworthy." Chloe stated.
"Well it will be riskier with more people knowing but my relationship with Marinette was the same way as yours with Nathaniel so alright." Adrien said with a gentle smile.
"Great." Chloe replied happily. "And I have an idea why don't you call Marinette and hear her voice then quickly hang up so you can feel a little better."
Adrien smiled as he took his new phone out and called Marinette. "Hello?" came Marinette's voice from the other line. "Hello who is it?" Adrien immediately frowned. This wasn't making him feel better; he was actually missing her more now.
Adrien quickly hung up. "It was worse Chloe." Chloe looked at him, sadly feeling bad for him.
Downstairs a man walked in the rental home with a suitcase and an art bag over his shoulder. The man had red hair and tealish eyes. He walked over to the lobby and put his suitcase down and his art bag on the couch.
He suddenly heard footsteps walking down the steps and when he turned around to face who it was he smiled brightly. "Hey sweetheart."
Chloe smiled back happy to see her husband as she walked over to him and hugged him before kissing him softly. "Hey honey, welcome back, how was your trip?"
"It was fun but I'm happy to be back home." Nathaniel replied. "So what did I miss when I was gone?"
"Well a big scandal occurred with a famous figure, Adrien Agreste." Chloe stated.
Nathaniel nodded. "Yea I saw what happened on social media. It's hard to believe that he would commit such a crime and it's sad how he died."
"Well in other news the remaining empty room was rented." Chloe stated slowly wanting to give Nathaniel all the news.
"Oh really? That's great by who?" Nathaniel asked.
"Let me show you." Chloe said as she grabbed Nathaniel's hand and led him to Adrien's room. She knocked on the door.
"Come in." Adrien said from inside the room.
Chloe walked in with Nathaniel before closing the door behind them. "Adrien this is my husband Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Nathaniel this is Adrien… Adrien Agreste."
"Nice to meet you." Adrien said with a polite smile as he extended his hand to Nathaniel.
Nathaniel looked at him surprised before looking at Chloe. "As in the Adrien Agreste from the scandal, who supposedly died?"
Chloe nodded and Adrien rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. "Yea that's me it's a long story." Adrien and Chloe told Nathaniel the whole story.
Nathaniel nodded after they finished. "I see… well if Chloe, who has good judgment trusts you then I trust you too and you can trust me to not accuse you to the police and I'll also help you as much as I can." Nathaniel extends his hand to Adrien.
Adrien shook his hand. "I'm glad to hear that the more help I get the better."
"Did you enjoy your pancakes?" Marinette asked Hugo the next morning during breakfast.
"Yes, because you made them in the shape of cats." Hugo said with a smile.
Marinette smiled. "That's because it's your favorite animal… as well as your dad's. Now go get your backpack so I can take you to school. We don't want you to be late."
Hugo nodded before going to get his backpack. Sabine, who was helping Tom in the bakery, walked to the kitchen and over to her. "How are you holding up dear?"
"It still hurts not having Adrien here with me but I need to move on in my life for Hugo and I." Marinette said with a sad smile. "Though one thing is for sure now that I'm the new head vice president of CG I'm going to do everything in my power to find the one responsible for the crime so they can pay for their crime."
"It's great that you want to find out the truth dear but remember finding the truth isn't the same thing and shouldn't be the same thing as getting revenge on someone." Sabine replied.
Marinette nodded. "I know mom, don't worry I'm not looking for revenge. I just want Adrien's innocence to be proven so his death isn't in vain."
"I told you that those people were fierce and we barely got ourselves out of there alive." Francisco told Philip as they were in Philip's office.
"To top it off, they are so honest. Them not accepting to be bribed complicates everything for me." Philip said, irritated.
"So what are you going to do?" Francisco asked.
Philip thought about it and he suddenly got an idea. "I just got an idea. All I need to do is get in the good side of Marinette Agreste."
Adrien was lying on his bed hugging his pillow feeling depressed. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Chloe walked in and saw Adrien hadn't even touched his breakfast. "You haven't eaten today and it's almost noon. You can't stay here all day depressed and not eating anything."
"I'm not hungry or in the mood to do anything at all." Adrien replied. "I would like to know how Marinette and Hugo are doing."
"Let's make a deal if you eat your breakfast I'll do everything I can to get as much information about your family as I can." Chloe suggested.
Adrien immediately sat up. "Really?"
Chloe nodded. "Yes, now that Nathaniel is back I can go to CG and get all the information about them as possible."
"Well in that case I will eat everything." Adrien started eating the food in his tray.
Chloe laughed softly. "That's what I thought once a man falls in love they can't live without the woman. Actually you men can't live without us women."
Chloe walked into the front doors of CG and over to the reception. "Good morning."
Alya smiled at her. "Good morning, how can I help you?"
"I'm a family friend of the Agreste. I'm from another city in France and when I heard about what happened to Adrien Agreste I came to see how his family is doing, Marinette and Hugo Agreste." Chloe stated.
"Oh well Marinette is about to go to a meeting but if you want me I can call her to let her know that you're here and if you can wait for after the meeting to see her." Alya replied.
"No it's fine I don't want to interrupt her from her work. Could you by any chance give me any information about her and her son?" Chloe asked.
"Well I can only tell you that after the death of Adrien Marinette is heartbroken but she plans to go on with her life for herself and Hugo. She's actually the new head vice president of CG. Hugo is sad about his dad dying but he's keeping a smile on his face in his memory. Overall they're doing okay." Alya replied.
Chloe nodded. "I see I'm glad that they are doing well. Thank you for the information. I'll come back another day to see Marinette."
"Alright have a nice day." Alya said with a smile.
"Thank you, you too." Chloe said before walking out from the company.
"So what did you find out?" Adrien immediately asked Chloe when she returned to the rental home.
"They are in good health yet still heartbroken that you 'died' but they are moving on with their lives with your memory in their hearts. Oh and Marinette became the new head vice president of CG." Chloe replied.
"Really?" Adrien asked, surprised. "Thank goodness it's not Philip. I'm so happy for her she deserves that promotion plus it only makes sense that she would get the job. As my assistant she knew how everything had to be done. Anything else?"
"Yes, I went to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Marinette and Hugo are still staying there. Apparently it's too hard for them to go back to the house they lived in with you." Chloe replied.
Adrien nodded sadly. "I understand that…"
"I called all of you to this meeting to officially announce that the new head vice president of CG is Marinette Agreste." Luka told the community and everyone clapped happily for Marinette.
Well everyone except for Lila and Philip. They did clap as everyone else but not in happiness. Philip because he obviously wanted the job but his new plan was going to fix everything. Lila couldn't stand the idea that Marinette would not just be her boss in the development of Miraculous Ladybug but in everything else too.
After the meeting everyone went their separate ways and Lila walked over to Marinette. "Don't suddenly expect me to act nice to you just because you're my boss now."
"Don't worry Lila all I expect from you is for you to do your work and follow my orders." Marinette replied with a confident smile.
Lila glared at her before walking away. "Nino, can I talk to you before you go?" Marinette told Nino before he left the conference room.
Nino nodded, walking over to her. "Sure what's up."
"Would it be too much for me to ask you to also do Edward's work along with yours for Miraculous Ladybug while Edward comes back from his honeymoon?" Marinette asked.
"No it's not too much to ask from me. I can do it with pleasure." Nino said with a smile.
Marinette smiled back. "Thanks Nino I knew that I could count on you."
Marinette walked into the head vice president office with Alya and she sighs sadly. "It's going to be hard for me to work here without Adrien and replacing him…."
"I understand what you mean, you and Adrien worked here together for many years but don't think about it as you replacing him. You're continuing his legacy." Alya said with a smile.
Marinette grabbed a picture frame that was on top of the desk and she smiled softly as a tear fell down her cheek. It was of Adrien and Hugo. "Yes you're right I should use this office as a comfort place."
"That's the spirit girl." Alya said softly.
That night Nino walked into Marinette's office with two folders and stood across from her on the other side of the desk. "Here's the daily report for my department and Edward's department and I also included the development of Miraculous Ladybug based on our departments."
Marinette nodded as she took the two folders. "Thank you Nino if at any time working on the two departments at once gets too hard for you let me know and I'll gladly give you more time and don't worry you'll get paid for the extra work I'll make sure of it."
Nino smiled. "I will and thanks but I doubt Philip will authorize that."
"I'm sure he will and if he doesn't I'll tell Luka to authorize it after all it's only fair." Marinette stated.
"Alright so do you need anything else?" Nino asked.
"No, that's it, have a good night." Marinette replied.
"You too." Nino said before leaving the office.
"Francisco, I want you to get all the information on Marinette." Philip told Francisco as they were in his office. "I want to know everything that has to do with Marinette Agreste and I want to know now."
"On my way." Francisco said before leaving the office.
Philip smirked thinking about Marinette. "Marinette… Marinette Agreste."
The next morning Marinette was giving an overview of how Miraculous Ladybug was developing to the CG community. "CG hasn't done an international project before this is why we are starting small and starting at a community that is close to us at Lucky Charm beach. Everything is ready for us to start. The two parties just need to sign the contract that has all the agreements we made with them. After that we will be able to film while following the contract."
"Is the contact already made?" Luka asked.
Marinette nodded. "Yes… that was the last thing Adrien did."
"Okay Marinette call Mathew Roperts to let him know that whenever he wants we can sign the contract. He can come here or I can go to Lucky Charm beach whatever he feels comfortable with." Luka stated.
Marinette nodded. "Of course Luka I'll do that right after the meeting."
"Okay does anyone have any questions, comments or concerns for Marinette?" Luka asked.
"I just want to congratulate Marinette for doing such a great job as the head vice president and it has only been a day." Kagami said with a smile.
"Yea I have to agree even though she was the assistant of the head vice president before it's hard to transition to such an important position and Marinette did a great job at doing so." Juleka stated.
Marinette smiled. "Thanks girls but I'm just doing my job I'm not doing anything special."
"I don't agree with that Marinette, you're doing a great job at your new job." Philip stated and everyone nodded in agreement as Lila tried to not roll her eyes.
Adrien sighs as he was counting the remaining money that he had in his room. "I'm running out of money and patience."
Nathaniel overheard him as he was walking in with Adriens breakfast. "Money comes and goes but patience is what you really should have. Especially since your situation doesn't seem to end soon."
Adrien nodded as he took the tray from Nathaniel. "I might have to pawn the rest of my valuable belongings but I didn't want to because they are the only things that still connect me from my loved ones."
"I understand that, you shouldn't have to get rid of valuable belongings." Nathaniel stated.
"What am I supposed to do? I don't exist nor do I have documents. How is a 'dead' person supposed to get documents even if they're fake." Adrien replied frustrated. "I need an identity, a name, a real life."
"I have documents of a friend of mine that lives in the United States." Nathaniel stated.
"Okay why are you telling me that?" Adrien asked, confused.
"You're the son of the best actress ever known. I'm sure that you have the acting talent in your bones." Nathaniel stated. "You could put on a disguise and pretend to be him and obviously we would ask him for permission."
"That's still considered as identity theft but I would prefer to go to prison for a crime that I actually did then for one that I didn't do." Adrien mumbled. "I'm not sure that I want to do that but thanks for the offer."
Nathaniel nodded. "Of course I'm here to help."
Marinette walked into Luka's office. "Hey Luka I was wondering if you would have an inconvenience if I hired an assistant for myself. I know how to do everything but it's still a lot of work and especially with me also being in charge of Miraculous Ladybug. I mean that part isn't so hard since Juleka and Kagami are helping me with that but I still need an assistant for the rest."
Luka nodded. "Of course you can hire an assistant Marinette. Kagami Lila and Juleka will help you with the interviews. When they give a person the green light they have to come through to me next and if I give them a green light then their resume will be given to you and then you'll pick the person that you like."
"Okay great I'll make sure that the hiring announcement is published." Marinette said with a smile.
The reception phone was ringing like crazy and Alya was trying to catch up repeating the same line. "Couffaine Group, how can I help you … Yes, we're looking for an assistant for the head vice president…I'll transfer you to the next line." Alya sends the calls to Kagami who is in charge of giving all information about the position. Just as she put the phone down it rang again and she sighs as she answers. "Couffaine Group, how can I help you?"
"Good afternoon, can I talk with Mrs. Marinette Agreste?" Adrien asked in a low deep voice. Adrien had to hear Marinette's voice again even if it was just for a second.
"Are you calling for the head vice president's assistant position?" Alya asked.
"The head vice president's assistant position?" Adrien asked, confused.
"Yes Marinette Agreste is looking for an assistant." Alya replied.
"Oh yes of course that's why I'm calling. Can you give me the information please?" Adrien asked. It was insane what he was doing but this was going to be beneficial for him for two reasons.
"Of course I'll send you to the next line." Alya said before passing him to Kagami's line.
"You probably already know this but Marinette lives with her son Hugo and with her parents at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It's hard for her to go back to the mansion after Adrien's death so she took the time to have the mansion be repaired of broken parts, for it to be fully cleaned and to remodel parts of the mansion. You obviously know about how she does in the job she's in." Francisco stated.
"Besides the brat she's perfect." Philip said with a smirk. Lila soon walked in with a bad mood. "Francisco, leave us alone." Francisco nodded before leaving.
"I can't stand Marinette. She has only been head vice president for two days and I had enough. Now I have to help find an assistant for her." Lila said, frustrated. "I already have enough with that goth being in my office."
Philip stood up and looked sternly at her; he wasn't in the mood to deal with Lila right now. "Why don't you stop complaining and go to work, that's why you're being paid more than what you deserve by the way."
"No one has complaints about my work so start getting that goth out from my office." Lila said glaring at him before walking away.
Adrien walked to the lobby where Chloe and Nathaniel were. "Nathaniel Chloe, can you come to my room? I need to talk to both of you about something important."
They nodded and went with Adrien to his room. "So what's up?" Chloe asked as Adrien closed his door.
"Nathaniel, can you still call your friend and ask him if I could use his documents?" Adrien asked Nathaniel.
Nathaniel nodded. "Sure but what made you change your mind so quickly?"
"Marinette is looking for an assistant and I'm going to be that assistant." Adrien replied.
Nathaniel and Chloe looked at him surprised. "So you plan to go to the company that you are being framed for stealing to work with your wife. You're just trying to go to prison at this point." Chloe stated.
"I'm not going to go as Adrien Agreste, I'm going in disguise as someone else. No one there will know who I am. Plus I will not just be able to be close to my wife but I'll also be able to look for evidence of my innocence if I'm working at CG." Adrien replied.
"Well I think it's risky but you are right that's probably the only way to find evidence in your favor. Okay I'll call my friend and hopefully he'll allow you to use his identity. Plus I'll design an outfit for you." Nathaniel stated.
"I'll help you find the perfect wig and style it for you then I'll make the outfit Nathaniel designs for you." Chloe said with a smile.
Adrien smiled back. "Great, thank you."
As Nathaniel was on the phone with his friend Chloe found the perfect wig for Adrien and she styled it.
Nathaniel walked over to Adrien after Chloe was done. "Okay my friend allowed you to use his documents and here is the outfit I designed for you."
Nathaniel showed Adrien his notebook with the design and Adrien smiled. "I like it."
Chloe took the notebook. "Great in that case I'm on the job!" Chloe went to her sewing machine as Adrien and Nathaniel chuckled at her excitement.
"Are you liking your new job mommy?" Hugo asked Marinette that night before they went to sleep.
Marinette smiled at him. "Of course I do, dear."
"Do you think daddy is happy that you took his job?" Hugo asked curiously.
Marinette smiled softly. "Well I hope so and I'm sure he is. I don't see a reason why he wouldn't be happy that I took his position."
"Do you miss daddy?" Hugo asked sadly.
Marinette hugged Hugo. "Of course I do but he's still here with me in my heart."
The next morning the reception was packed with everyone that went to the interview for Marinette's assistant. Kagami walked over to Alya. "Alya, Juleka Lila and I will be doing the interviews. Alix will call you every time one of us is ready to receive someone for the interview."
Alya nodded. "Understood."
"Great Alix will call you when we are ready to start. Which should be in a few minutes." Alya nodded before Kagami went in the elevator to the second floor.
"Okay I have your wig and outfit ready. Are you ready to become a different person?" Chloe asked Adrien playfully as Adrien was sitting on a chair in his room and she was standing behind him.
Adrien nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Then the transformation starts now?" Chloe exclaimed before starting to help Adrien get in his disguise. Once Chloe was done she turned Adrien to the mirror so he could see himself in the mirror. "What do you think?"
Adrien looked at himself in the mirror surprised. "Wow, I can't even recognize myself." Adrien was wearing a black wig with blue contacts and had glasses on. He was wearing a business suit that gave Adrien a serious look to him.
Chloe smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."
Nathaniel walked in holding a folder. "Adrien here's everything you will - wow if I didn't know it was you Adrien I would have thought you were a completely different person. Nice job dear."
"Thank you, I'll be here all week." Chloe said playfully.
The two men chuckled as Adrien stood up and faced Nathaniel. "What were you saying Nathaniel?"
"Oh right here's everything you'll need for the interview, the documents and your resume. I just changed the locations you got your degrees in and the places you worked at." Nathaniel handed Adrien the folder. "Oh and your new name is Plagg Noir."
Adrien took the folder. "Plagg Noir… I like the sound of it. Thanks for everything Nathaniel and you too Chloe."
"Of course." Nathaniel stated.
"It was no problem, good luck with your interview." Chloe added with a smile.
"Thanks, I'll need it." Adrien replied before taking a deep breath and walked out from his room.
Before going to the interview Adrien wanted to test himself being Plagg Noir in the hardest and most challenging situation he could think of. He was going to go see his parents and hopefully they don't recognize him.
Adrien went to his parents house and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Nathalie opened the door and in a few minutes Adrien knew it he was standing in front of his dad Gabriel Agreste.
"It's nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself. My name is Plagg Noir. I worked with the famous actress Emilie Agreste years ago in Hollywood and since I am here in the city of Paris I decided to come visit her." Adrien said in a deeper voice than his normal voice as he extended his hand for Gabriel to shake.
Gabriel shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. You don't seem familiar to me but then again I rarely go to the United States with Emilie so that could be it. What was your job position?"
"I was the assistant of the director of one of her films made in the United States." Adrien mentioned the name of the movie.
Gabriel nodded. "I see okay I'll let my wife know that you're here."
"Thank you. I also wanted to give you my condolences for your son Adrien. I'm so sorry." Adrien said with a polite smile. "I never met him but I have heard that he was a great man."
"I appreciate it, you have no idea how hard it is to lose a son." Gabriel said sadly.
"I can only imagine." Adrien said since he knew that if he ever lost Hugo like that Adrien wouldn't know what he would do without Hugo with him.
Gabriel nodded before walking away to call Emilie and Emilie walked over to Adrien without Gabriel being there with her. "Hello my husband told me that an old acquaintance came to see me."
Adrien nodded with a smile. "That's right you probably don't remember me though I worked with you so long ago and I was just the assistant of the director. My name is Plagg Noir. It's great to see you again."
"Every position is important in any field and-" Emilie looked at him closely. "You do seem familiar to me but I'm sorry I can't remember you."
Adrien smiled softly. "That's okay I didn't expect you to remember I just came to visit you because I was in the city and I'm sorry about your son."
Emilie nodded with a sad smile. "Thank you and I'm always glad to see people with whom I worked with before even if I don't remember them at the moment."
After Adrien passed the test of his parents not being able to recognize him Adrien went straight to Couffaine Group for his interview.
He walked into the front door of CG and went over to the reception desk with a smile. "Hello I'm here for the job interview for the position of assistant for the head vice president."
Alya looked at him and nodded with a smile. "Of course can I have your name please?"
"Plagg Noir." Adrien replied, returning her smile.
Alya writes down his name. "Alright please take a seat and I'll let you know when it's your turn. There are three people doing the interviews so it shouldn't take long."
"May I know who is doing the interviews?" Adrien asked.
"Of course they are Kagami Couffaine, the wife of the president and majority owner of the company Luka Couffaine. Juleka Gain, the minority owner of the company as Luka's sister and the wife of the financial vice president Philip Gain. Finally Lila Rossi the head director of marketing." Alya replied.
Adrien nodded. "Thank you." He sat down on a chair and hoped that Kagami or Juleka would interview him because he doubts that Lila is doing the interview process at all with the rivalry that Lila and Marinette had with each other since they met each other.
In a few minutes Alya walked over to him. "Mr. Noir, you can go to the second floor now. The president's secretary Alix will lead you to the person that will interview you."
Adrien nodded as he stood up. "Alright, thank you." Adrien went to the elevator and pressed the button to the second floor. Alix was waiting for him once the doors opened and she led him the way to Lila's office. "Great." Adrien mumbled before knocking on the door.
"Come in." Lila said from inside her office.
Adrien walked in and smiled as he took a seat across from her. "Good afternoon my name is Plagg Noir. I'm here for the job position as the head vice president's assistant. Here's my resume." Adrien handed Lila the folder.
Lila just glanced at him before opening the folder and quickly closed it without even reading it. "I'm sorry Mr. Noir but you're not what we are looking for." She handed Adrien his resume back.
What Lila was doing was to quickly dismiss the people she had to interview. She would care less if Marinette found an assistant or not and Lila did not want to waste her time in doing something for Marinette. That's why she was dismissing everyone she had to interview.
Adrien raised an eyebrow at her amused. "How would you know that I'm not right for the job if you haven't even looked at my resume or even asked me any questions."
"I just know now, have a good day." Lila said, waving Adrien away.
"I don't think that it's fair that I came here for an interview and I'm not even interviewed." Adrien stated.
"Life isn't fair. Now I have a lot more interviews to get through." Lila said sternly.
Adrien knew that it was pointless to argue with Lila plus he knew how interviews worked in the company and he had a plan. "Sure you do well, thank you for your time I guess." Adrien stood up holding his folder and left the office.
"So how did it go?" Alix asked with a smile.
Adrien smiled back. "Great, she gave me the green light to go see the president of the company." Only those given the green light would know about the next step.
"Great, I'll lead the way to his office." Alix said as she started showing Adrien the way.
"Thank you." Adrien followed her and once they arrived at Luka's office Adrien knocked on the door before walking in.
"Nino we need to double check the contacts and everything else Luka and Mathew will have to sign to start the alliance." Marinette told Nino as they worked in her office.
Nino nodded. "Okay so do you know how the interviews are going?"
"Nope, I just hope that I'm able to find the right person for the job." Marinette stated.
"I'm sure you will." Nino said with an encouraging smile.
"Hello my name is Plagg Noir. I came for the position of the head vice president's assistant. I was given the green light by Miss. Lila Rossi." Adrien said while extending his hand to Luka to shake.
Luka stood up and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Mr. Noir, please take a seat." Adrien nodded as he sat across from Luka and Luka sat down too.
Marinette was working on her computer when her phone rang so she answered while still typing on her computer. "Hello?..." Marinette immediately stopped typing. "Yes I'm Hugo Agreste's mother… Did something happen to my son? Is he okay?... Are you sure that it's not serious?... Yes I'm on my way now thank you."
Marinette hung up and stood up putting everything she needed in her purse as Nino walked in. "Marinette I checked the contact and everything else needed for the alliance of the Couffaine Group and Lucky Charm beach. Everything's in order."
"That's great right now I have to go to Hugo's school. It seems that he fell down and got hurt. If I come back today I'll check them. If not, I'll do it tomorrow morning. In the meantime see what else we can do in Miraculous Ladybug." Marinette said quickly.
Nino nodded with concern. "Yes of course but is Hugo okay?"
"Yes it doesn't seem to be serious but I still want to go to him and make sure. I'll let you and Alya later." Nino nodded as Marinette left the office.
"Well based on the answers you gave me and based on this resume I would say that you are qualified for the position." Luka said after reading Adrien's resume and receiving answers from Adrien. "Actually I would say that you are more than qualified with this resume alone you qualify to be the head vice president. Why are you looking for an assistant position?"
"Well finding work in the position of a vice president or even president of an entertainment company isn't easy so I decided to start small and hopefully climb higher as time passes either here in this company or somewhere else." Adrien replied.
Luka nodded. "Make sense, well you have the green light from me."
Adrien smiled. "Great so what's next?"
"Well once someone gets a green light from me their resume is passed down to Marinette Agreste who is the head vice president and the one who is looking for an assistant. She'll make the final decision and who she picks will get the job. That person will start their trail run of two months if it doesn't work out. That person will be let go and the next best person will get the job and so on if necessary of course." Luka replied.
Adrien nodded. "Alright and when will I know if I got the job or not?"
"By tonight or no later than tomorrow morning." Luka replied.
"Great thank you." Adrien said as he stood up.
"Of course. It was nice meeting you." Luka said as he stood up and shook Adrien's hand.
"Likewise." Adrien said, shaking Luka's hand before leaving the office.
Marinette was walking out the company in a rush when Philip walked over to her. "Marinette, wait, are you okay?"
Marinette nodded. "Yes I just need to go to Hugo's school. He got hurt."
"If you want I can drive you there I don't think that you should drive in your state." Philip offered.
"Thanks for the offer Philip but I should be fine once I see that he's okay." Marinette replied.
"I don't think Juleka would be happy with me letting you go like that alone." Philip stated. "Let me drive you to Hugo's school."
Marinette hesitated for a moment but soon she nodded and followed Philip to his car. As she walked she texted Juleka to tell her that Philip was going to drive her to Hugo's school. She did this because all the girls of the friend group agreed to let each other know when their husbands or boyfriends helped one of the other girls in something non work related so no misunderstandings would occur especially if rumors or gossip starts spreading around.
They got stuck in traffic so Marinette called her mom and asked her if she could pick up Hugo from the school and Sabine agreed. Once they got out of traffic Marinette told Philip to take her to the bakery instead. Once they arrived Marinette thanked Philip for driving her before she got out and hurried to the living room where Hugo and Sabine were at.
Marinette immediately checked Hugo for any injuries and saw that he hit his head and it left a red mark. "The teacher said that he tried on a tree root and fell but luckily no serious harm was caused." Sabine told Marinette.
"Does it still hurt sweetie?" Marinette asked Hugo.
"Not as much as before the nurse gave me ice and so did grandma Sabine." Hugo said with a soft smile.
Tom walked over to them with a smile. "Luckily no serious harm was done but I'm afraid that Hugo has your clumsiness Marinette."
Marinette laughed softly. "Of course of all the traits he could have gotten from me and he got my clumsiness."
"You used to be clumsy mommy?" Hugo asked curiously.
"Used to be? She still is." Sabine said with a smile.
"Yea like Adrien used to say I'll be clumsy as long as I live." Marinette replied with a small smile.
"Hey honey, did Marinette tell you yet how Hugo is doing?" Nino asked Alya as he walked over to her desk.
"Yes, she just called me Hugo is fine, nothing serious. He tripped and hit his head but with ice the bump is going away slowly but surely." Alya replied.
"That's good I got really worried especially since I know what it feels like to be worried about your own kid." Nino stated.
Alya nodded. "Yea I know but one thing is for sure Hugo got Marinette's clumsiness."
Nino chuckles. "Like mother like son I guess. Is she coming back to work today."
"Yes she's just going to have lunch with her family then she'll come back." Alya replied.
That evening Alix walked into Marinette's office holding a couple of files. "Marinette here are the resumes of the people who were given the green light from Luka. Once you decide on who you want as your assistant he wants you to let him know."
Marinette nodded as she took the resumes from Alix. "Thank you Alix."
Alix nodded before leaving the office. Marinette looked through all the resumes. She had to admit that everyone Luka picked were great for the job but there was one person's resume that really impressed her and she knew that she found her assistant.
Marinette stood up holding the resume of the person she picked before walking to Luka's office. She knocked on the door and when Luka said to come in she walked. "Luka I found my assistant."
Marinette handed the resume to Luka. Luka took it and opened it before smiling. "I was hoping you would pick him, you made the right choice."
"I GOT IT I GOT IT!" Adrien exclaimed in joy. He just got the phone call from Luka that he got the job and that Marinette would be waiting for him the next day at 8 in the morning.
Chloe and Nathaniel were with him when he got the news. "That's great but now the challenging part will start. You will be working by your wife's side and along with your past co-workers you need to be careful not to be discovered." Chloe stated.
"I know and I'll be careful after all this is my only opportunity to find evidence of my innocence. I don't want to mess that up. Plus I will be close to my princess again and that's motivation enough for me." Adrien said with a big smile.
"Well I'm sure you'll be successful." Nathaniel replied and Chloe nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad that Marinette was able to find an assistant so soon." Juleka told Philip as they walked inside their house. "Based on what Luka told me, Plagg Noir is perfect for the job."
"Let's see if he really is perfect for the job once he starts working." Philip stated.
"I'm sure he is by the way thank you for driving Marinette earlier. I bet she was really worried about Hugo and it was nice of you to offer her a ride." Juleka replied.
"It was my pleasure, that's what friends are for." Philip said with a fake smile.
In reality Philip wanted to be more than just friends with Marinette for a number of reasons. Marinette was really attractive and if he's successful in seducing her he would have something else that belonged to Adrien and that's what he wanted to have everything that Adrien did well except for that brat son of his. Plus if he was involved with Marinette romantically he would have more power over the Miraculous Ladybug project and show that Mathew Roperts and his ridiculous community who's really the boss. He just needed Juleka to die as soon as possible so he could really take action in his plan in seducing Marinette.
"So where's the goth?" Lila asked Philip the next morning as they were in his office.
"She stayed home and she didn't feel well because I convinced her to eat a lot of sugar last night." Philip said with a smirk.
"Well let's hope that she dies soon so we can get married at last." Lila said before kissing Philip softly. Unknowing to her that Philip already had other plans in mind and it didn't involve her.
"Okay we should be ready for when Mathew comes today to sign the papers with Luka." Marinette told Nino as they were in the conference room making sure that everything was set for the signing of the start of the alliance between CG and Lucky Charm beach.
Nino nodded. "That's great so have you met your new assistant yet?"
"No not yet since he's supposed to be here at 8 and it's only 7:30." Marinette replied. "I just hope he really is right for the job."
"I'm sure that he is." Nino stated with a smile.
In reality Adrien was already there. He wanted to try to get there early and try to sneak into Philip's office to see if he could find anything in his favor. Only Alya saw him go up the second floor and Adrien was so glad that none of the secretaries arrived yet.
Adrien saw that Philip and Lila were talking in his office so Adrien hid and waited hoping that they would leave before it was 8. Luckily for Adrien, Philip and Lila soon left the office and Adrien quickly yet quietly sneaked into Philip's office and started looking around for anything that could help him.
Adrien soon found a CD that had the title 'financial information'. "I wonder if this could help me." Adrien mumbled.
Not wanting to risk being seen there Adrien put the CD in his briefcase and left the office before heading to the head vice president office. However on the way there he bumped into someone and everything that person was holding fell to the ground. Adrien looked at the person he bumped into and he was face to face with his beautiful wife Marinette Agreste and their eyes locked with each other for a few seconds.