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.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, I was too busy focusing on my work." Marinette said as she bent down to pick up everything she dropped.
"It's okay. It's my fault too." Adrien replied as he bent down in front of her putting his briefcase down and he helped her pick up the things she dropped.
"Thank you." Marinette said before standing up again.
"You're welcome." Adrien stood up too and grabbed his briefcase again. "Nice to meet you, I'm Plagg Noir." Adrien extended his free hand to her with a smile.
Marinette shook it, returning the smile. "I'm Marinette Agreste. Nice to meet you too. You're here early."
"Yes well I take my job seriously and I did not want to give a bad impression on my first day." Adrien stated.
"Well you gave a great first impression. I'm sorry that I didn't do the same." Marinette said with a small laugh.
Adrien chuckled. "It's fine, it can happen to anyone."
"True oh Nino wait." Marinette told Nino who was walking past them. "I want to introduce you to my new assistant Plagg Noir."
Nino nodded and walked over to Adrien, extending a hand to him. "Nice to meet you, I'm Nino Lahiffe."
Adrien shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too."
"Nino is part of my team. I have another member too named Edward Fuller though he recently got married and is on his honeymoon right now. You should meet him in a couple of days." Marinette stated and Adrien nodded. "Nino, don't forget about the meeting in 2 hours."
"Of course I'll be there." Nino replied.
"Great, follow me to my office Mr. Noir so you can get settled in and I can tell you the policies that you'll have to follow." Marinette stated.
"Of course." Adrien said as he followed her to the office.
At the office Marinette sat on her chair at her desk and Adrien sat across from her. "Well first thing first, welcome to Couffaine Group." Marinette said with a smile.
Adrien returned the smile. "Thank you Mrs. Agreste."
"Now everyone on the second floor have been friends since high school even before the company was made so we all call ourselves by our first names and you're welcome to do the same unless someone tells you not to. I can assure you that the only person that might do that is Lila Rossi, the head of marketing." Marinette stated. "Though with everyone else that works here, especially on the first floor you'll have to be formal unless they tell you otherwise."
Adrien nodded. "Understood and you're welcome to call me by my first name too."
"Alright and one last thing I expect you to work hard and be discreet when needed. This doesn't mean that I won't give you breaks or more time when necessary. Of course you are allowed to make friends here and talk to people about non-work related things but it shouldn't be constant or distract you from work." Marinette stated. "Just remember that you're on a trail run for two months."
"Don't worry I'm a hard worker and won't let you down." Adrien replied.
Marinette smiled. "That's what I wanted to hear. In a few hours an important client and close friend of mine will come to sign a contract to form an alliance between CG and his community known as the Lucky Charm beach. This contract is important because it's the start of a big project CG is working on known as the Miraculous Ladybug project. Here's everything you'll need to review before the meeting and later on for the project."
Marinette gave all the folders and packets that she wanted Adrien to review. Adrien took everything from her. "Of course, where will my work space be?"
"You'll be working at my office table and that's where we'll have our team meetings too." Marinette said as she gestured to the table in her office
Adrien nodded and went to the table and started reviewing everything that Marinette handed him. He obviously already knew about the project and contract signing of the day after all he made the contract. Adrien just checked everything that was developed or done during the days that he wasn't there after that dreadful day he was framed.
Marinette walked over to Alya at the reception to hand Alya some papers and to inform her of everything Alya would need to know when Mathew Roperts arrived.
Lila walked over to them from the department of production. "Well if it isn't Mrs Marinette Agreste the head vice president of this company and she's lacking on the job gossiping with her best friend."
Marinette just glanced at her. "For your information I'm not lacking on the job or gossiping. I'm giving Alya information for when Mathew Roperts arrives. Plus now that I have an assistant I don't need to do all the work in a rush like I used to."
"Oh right I heard that someone was unfortunate enough to be your assistant. Who's the unlucky person?" Lila asked with a smirk.
"Plagg Noir, the only person that you gave the green light to, so thank you for finding me my assistant. Oh and the only reason why he would be unfortunate would be him having to work around you." Marinette replied with a smile before heading to the elevator.
Lila just stood there confused. She didn't give the green light to anyone so what was Marinette talking about. Plagg Noir… oh it was that annoying guy who insisted on getting interviewed… but how did that guy know about the green light? He probably said something that made Alix assume that he got passed to the next stage of the interview. That was just great she dismissed everyone for not doing Marinette a favor and in the end the whole company will think that she got Marinette her assistant. Lila was furious about that.
On the second floor Luka walked over to Marinette. "Marinette is everything ready for when Mathew Roperts arrives?"
Marinette nodded. "Yes Luka, my team prepared everything for the meeting and we have everything for the meeting."
"Great, so how is it with your new assistant?" Luka asked.
"Well it's only the first day but so far everything is going well with him." Marinette replied.
"That's good to hear." Luka said with a smile.
A little bit later Adrien left the office to go make copies of some papers in the copying room when the elevator doors opened and Kagami with Alix, Rose and Mylene walked out.
Kagami saw Adrien and she walked over to him. "Hi, you must be Marinette's new assistant. It's nice to meet you. I'm Kagami Couffaine, Luka Couffaine's wife."
Adrien smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Plagg Noir at your service and who are these beautiful young women?"
"Hi, we met yesterday but I'm Alix Lê Chiến. I'm the secretary of the president Luka Couffaine and head vice president Marinette Agreste so I'm basically your secretary." Alix stated.
"Hi I'm Mylene Bruel. I'm the secretary for the head of marketing Lila Rossi." Mylene said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Rose Kanté. I'm the secretary of the financial vice president Philip Gain. It's great to meet you!" Rose said with a bright smile.
Adrien smiled at all of them fondly. "It's nice meeting you all too and I can't wait to work with you all. Now if you excuse me I need to make some copies for the meeting today."
Kagami nodded. "Yes of course go right ahead. I'm glad to see that Marinette found someone like you working as hard as she did when she was an assistant."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Adrien said with a polite smile before going to the copying machine.
After making the copies he needed he went back to the office and checked the rest of the information when he realized that Marinette made a small mistake with some calculations in the project. "Oh no Marinette made a mistake."
In the first floor Mathew Roperts walked in and Alya stood up. "Good morning Mathew, it's nice to see you here."
Mathew smiled walking over to her. "Good morning Alya it's nice to see you too and thank you. How's the family?"
"The family is great. Mayla and Kevin are doing great and Nino too he's actually on the second floor waiting for you. Let me call you in." Mathew nodded as Alya called him in. "Nino, Mathew is here…alright I'll let him know." Alya hangs up. "Alright Nino will wait for you on the second floor so you can take the elevator."
Mathew nodded. "Thank you, have a great day." Mathew took the elevator to the second floor.
Marinette walked into the office after talking to Nino in Nino's office about the meeting and Adrien quickly stood up. "Mrs-I mean Marinette I just found a mistake made on a calculation made in your report for today." Adrien showed her what he meant. "So you see the gains you mentioned aren't entirely correct."
Marinette was surprised that she made that mistake but at the same time she was impressed with Adrien's work. "Nice work Plagg though I'm surprised that I made that mistake."
"It was a simple mistake that anyone could have made but don't worry I fixed the mistake and made copies of the correct report for you." Adrien stated.
"Thanks and just in time since Mathew just arrived. I know because I was with Nino and Alya called him to inform him." Marinette replied.
At that moment Philip and Lila walked into the office. "Marinette, we're ready for the meeting." Philip said, smiling at her.
"Everyone else is already in the conference room, we're just waiting on the slow poke, meaning you." Lila said with a smirk.
"Lila, be respectful, don't forget that she's your boss." Philip told Lila sternly.
Lila rolled her eyes. "How can I forget?"
"It's fine Philip, I don't expect anything from Lila that isn't her work." Marinette stated before looking at Adrien. "Do you have the new reports in folders Plagg?"
Adrien nodded as he grabbed the folders from the table. "Yes we're all ready to go.
"Great, then let's go." Marinette said as she left her office and everyone else followed her to the conference room.
In the conference room Mathew greeted Marinette. "Marinette, it's nice to see you again."
Marinette smiled. "It's nice to see you too Mathew."
"Before we start let me give you my condolences for Adrien; he didn't deserve that fate. I'm sure it must be hard for you and Hugo." Mathew said gently.
Marinette's smile faded as she nodded. "Yes it is but slowly we'll get through it." Mathew nodded in understanding.
It felt awkward and painful for Adrien to be next to Marinette as his 'death' was mentioned and with how Marinette reacted with the topic. The worst part was that he couldn't do anything about it.
"Let me introduce you to my new assistant Plagg Noir." Marinette said while gesturing to Adrien.
Adrien smiled while extending his hand to Mathew. "Nice to meet you."
Mathew shook it with a smile. "Nice to meet you too."
"This is Lila Rossi, the head of marketing." Marinette said while gesturing to Lila.
"It's so nice to meet you." Lila said with a bright smile.
"Nice to meet you too." Mathew said with a polite smile
"This is Philip Gain, the financial vice president." Marinette gestures to Philip.
"It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Roperts." Philip said with a fake smile. He hoped that Mathew wouldn't mention anything that happened the night he went to bribe Mathew.
"Likewise." Mathew said, also having a fake smile.
There was a tense environment between the two but no one noticed except for Adrien since he had a similar environment with Philip except it was worse. Adrien thought it was strange though because how would the two even know each other if Philip didn't even go with Marinette or him when they went to make the agreements with Mathew.
"And obviously you know the rest." Marinette gestured to everyone else in the room.
Mathew nodded. "Of course."
"Well let's get started." Marinette stated. "Plagg please pass out the reports."
Adrien nodded as he gave everyone a folder once everyone sat down around the table. Once he was done he sat next to Marinette as Marinette started talking about what was in the report.
Hugo was in recess when a couple of boys walked over to him. "Well if it isn't the boy without a dad." One of the boys said in a mockery voice and the other boys laughed.
"Leave me alone and for your information I do have a dad he just died." Hugo said before walking away from them.
The boys suddenly surrounded Hugo and pushed him to the ground. "Yea he died because he couldn't stand having a lame son like you." The boy replied before all the boys walked away.
Hugo got up with tears in his eyes.
"So as you can see the contract will provide benefits for Couffaine Group while the culture of Lucky Charm beach will still be respected." Marinette finished explaining her report.
Luka nodded as he closed his folder. "Well I think that everything is how it should be and the two parties can sign it. What do you think Mathew?"
Mathew nodded. "I agree with this report. I am sure that both parties will have what they want."
Marinette smiled. "Well in that case all that is needed to do is for both of you to sign."
They nodded and they signed the contract. "Well it will be a pleasure working with you Mathew." Luka said while extending his hand to Matthew.
Mathew shook it. "Likewise especially if Marinette is in charge of the project."
"Of course." Marinette said with a smile.
"Well I would love to stay longer but I have a lot more things to do today." Mathew said as he stood up. "I'll see you guys soon when we start our first project."
Everyone nodded as they stood up too. "It was nice having you here Mathew and you're welcome to come whenever you want." Luka stated.
Mathew smiled. "Thank you, have a great day." Luka leads Mathew out of the room.
"Marinette you did it that was great." Nino said with a bright smile.
"Yea your report was amazing." Kagami stated. "Without any flaws."
"Well actually there was a flaw in the report but Plagg found it and fixed it just in time." Marinette said with a smile.
"That's great, good job Plagg." Kagami stated.
Adrien smiled. "Thank you but I didn't do anything special."
"Well that proves that Marinette isn't perfect." Lila said with a smirk.
"I never said that I was perfect." Marinette replied.
"Well either way everyone makes a mistake and Marinette was able to recover from it immediately. That's impressive." Philip said, smiling at Marinette.
"Thanks Philip." Marinette replied, smiling back.
Adrien didn't like how Philip smiled at Marinette. He knew Philip and he knew that Philip only uses that smile when he tries to seduce a woman. If Philip thinks that he'll be able to make a move on Marinette Agreste then he was dead wrong because Adrien wasn't going to allow it.
That night Marinette and Hugo were having dinner but Hugo barely touched his food. "What's wrong honey? Do you want something else?"
"I'm not hungry, I just want to go to sleep." Hugo said softly.
"I know that look and something is going on. Do you want to tell me what it is?" Marinette asked softly.
"Tomorrow is parents' work day at school and I wanted daddy to go say what he did as a job." Hugo said sadly.
Marinette nodded understanding now. "I know and I'm sorry but if you want I can go with you after all I'm doing the same job as what he had."
Hugo nodded softly with a smile. "Okay mommy."
The next morning Marinette called Adrien on the phone to let him know that she would be arriving to work at noon since it was parents' work day at her son's school and she was attending. Adrien wished that he could be there on an important day for Hugo but sadly he couldn't for obvious reasons.
Adrien decided to use the opportunity that Marinette wasn't going to be in the office to use the computer and see the CD. He walked in the company and went to the second floor and into the head vice president office. He went to the computer and took out the CD that he took from Philip's office and put it in the computer.
However Adrien couldn't see what was in the CD because Luka walked into the office at that moment. "Hey Plagg since Nino and Marinette are not going to be here in the morning because they are in the parents' work day at their kids school could you assist Kagami with Miraculous Ladybug?"
Adrien nodded as he took out the CD from the computer before Luka could see what it was. "Yes of course." Adrien stood up and followed Luka out the office.
After the lunch hour Marinette and Nino arrived at the company. "Plagg, what do we have to work on today?"
"Here's what I worked on with Kagami today and here's what we should have done by the end of the week." Adrien replied before handing the report and analysis to Marinette.
Marinette took them and looked through them. "Good job." At that moment her phone rang and she answered. "Hello?"
"Mrs Agreste, this is principal Bustier from Kwami Elementary School. I'm sorry to tell you this but your son isn't at the school." Principle Bustier stated.
Marinette was shocked at the news. "What do you mean that he's not there? I just came back from the parents' work day and he was there."
"Yes but during lunchtime he disappeared. We looked all around the school but he didn't appear. We believe that he got lost." Principle Bustier stated softly.
"W-what." Marinette choked out in horror. "I'm on my way now." Marinette quickly hung up and started putting everything in her purse.
"Are you okay Marinette?" Adrien asked, he was worried about Marinette with how unstable she became and for Hugo since he was his son and he was just as worried as Marinette for him. "Is there something going on with your son Hugo?"
"I have to go Plagg please take care of everything while I'm gone." Marinette said in a panic voice.
"You seem very altered. Do you want me to take you? I have a car." In reality it was Chloe's car but Marinette did not need to know that.
"Y-yes that's a good idea I don't think that I can drive in this state." Marinette said and Adrien nodded before they quickly left the office.
Just before they reached the elevator Philip stopped Marinette. "Marinette, where are you going in such a rush?"
"I have to go to Hugo's school. I was told by the principal that Hugo got lost." Marinette replied out of breath.
"So that's what is going on, he got lost?" Adrien asked, trying to keep a calm expression but inside he was as freaked out as Marinette.
"Well in that case you can't go alone." Philip stated.
"She's not going alone Mr. Gain I'm going with her." Adrien said, trying to hold a polite smile.
"I'll join you two." Philip stated. "We can use my car. Oh and Plagg you can call me Philip we're all friends here."
"That's not necessarily because I already offered my car and okay." Adrien stated.
"Alright we'll use your car then and I insist to go after all the more the merrier." Philip replied.
Marinette nodded. "Alright let's go." The three got in the elevator. Marinette didn't care who went with her; she just cared about finding Hugo safe and sound.
From afar Lila saw the three leaving with a frown.
"How could he have gotten lost? That's impossible!" Tom basically exclaimed as he was on the phone with Principal Bustier who called him to also inform Marinette's parents about Hugo's disappearance. She already called Adrien's parents too.
"That's what I told your daughter sir." Principle Bustier replied. "We don't understand how it happened but we can't find Hugo anywhere."
"Alright keep looking for my grandson. I'm on my way." Tom hung up and hurried out of the bakery leaving Sabine in charge of everything.
"This is my dad, my mother in law, my coworker, and my assistant." Marinette told the principal, gesturing to everyone that was there to look for Hugo.
"Nice to meet you Tom Dupain." Tom said to Adrien. "I wish we had met in a better circumstance."
"Nice to you too I'm Plagg Noir and I feel the same way but don't worry I'm sure Hugo will be found safe and sound." Adrien replied.
"Plagg, what a coincidence that you're working with my daughter in law." Emilie told Adrien. "I'm glad to see you again."
"Well she needed an assistant and I needed a job and likewise." Adrien replied.
"How do you know each other?" Marinette asked, confused.
"I worked with Mrs. Agreste a few years ago in LA." Adrien replied and Marinette nodded.
It annoyed Philip that everyone was ignoring him as if he wasn't there. He only came to look for the brat to win Marinette over. Though now that Tom was there Philip had to make sure that he won him over too.
Philip walked over to Tom. "Nice to see you again Mr. Dupain even though it's not a pleasant occasion."
Tom nodded. "I agree, thank you for coming with my daughter, you too Plagg."
"Of course." Adrien replied.
"It was my pleasure." Philip said with a fake smile.
"Alright everyone this is such an unexpected situation since in all the years that I have worked here no child has ever been lost." Principle Bustier stated.
"Of course since Hugo was already here in the school how could he have gotten lost?" Marinette said in a panic voice.
"We know that this is hard but please calm down." Mrs Bustier said softly. "We know that Hugo was here and there's a whole group looking for him. Hopefully he appears."
"Of course he'll appear!" Marinette exclaimed. "Hugo has to be somewhere he wouldn't just walk off like that."
"Honey calm down, we are all worried for Hugo but pranicing won't help us." Tom said gently, putting a hand on Marinette's shoulder.
"Your father is right sweetie Hugo will appear, just have faith." Emilie stated.
"We'll all help look for him." Philip said with a fake smile.
"Together we'll find him without a doubt." Adrien said with a bright smile even though he was panicking inside.
They separated and looked all around for Hugo outside of the school in the streets, the park and anywhere they could think of. They even asked people if they have seen Hugo while showing them a picture of him but no one has seen Hugo.
After hours of looking everyone was losing hope of finding Hugo. As Adrien was walking through the park he suddenly remembered one place where Hugo could be the one place only he knew about. Adrien ran to a secret garden in the park. He would always take Hugo there whenever Hugo was upset about something and he told Hugo to always go there if he ever got lost and that Adrien would always go there with him no matter what.
Adrien walked in the garden and sure enough Hugo was there sitting under a tree. Adrien walked over to him. "Hey little dude what are you doing here all alone?"
Hugo looked up at him and Adrien saw that he was crying. "Mommy and daddy told me to not talk to strangers and I don't know you. Please leave."
Adrien smiled, bending down to his level. "Your parents are right you should never talk to strangers but I'm not a complete stranger like you think."
"Look he looks like this and he has a school uniform." Marinette told a person in the street showing them a picture of Hugo.
"I'm sorry I haven't seen him." The person said before walking away.
"I don't know how you'll do it but get people to look for him." Philip told Francisco over the phone before hanging up and he saw Marinette from afar so he walked over to him. "Marinette, I called some friends to help us look for Hugo. Don't worry I'm sure he'll be found."
"I hope you're right." Marinette replied sadly. "Because if something happens to my son I'll die."
"I work with your mom, I'm her assistant." Adrien added as he sat next to Hugo. "I'm Plagg Noir. Now tell me what are you doing here all alone?"
"I don't want to talk to my mom, grandparents or anyone." Hugo replied, starting to tear up.
"Well good thing that I'm neither of them so tell me what's wrong?" Adrien asked gently.
"I'm upset with my daddy. He promised me that he would always be there for mommy and I but he died." Hugo stated. "And now mommy is suffering."
Hugo's words were like a knife stabbing Adrien's heart. Adrien wished that he could tell Hugo that it was him that he was still alive and that he was still always going to be there for Hugo and Marinette but he sadly couldn't do that and that was the most painful part for Adrien.
Adrien gently put a hand on Hugo's shoulder. "I can tell you that your daddy meant to keep that promise even though he couldn't."
"But it's not fair, he promised.'' Hugo said in tears.
"You're right it's not fair but it wasn't his fault." Adrien replied with a smile. "Plus when someone dies they don't just go away. They stay alive in the hearts of their loved ones."
"Do you really think that daddy loved me?" Hugo asked.
Adrien smiled brightly. "I can tell you without a doubt that your daddy loved and still loves you from where he is now and he would do everything in his power to have been able to stay with you and your mommy."
"How do you know that?" Hugo asked. "Did you know him?"
"No but a little birdie told me." Adrien said with a smile. "Now let's go, your family is looking for you and they're very worried."
Hugo nodded as they both stood up. Hugo took Adrien's hand and they both started walking out from the secret garden. As they walked Adrien took out his phone and called Marinette.
"I don't know how you'll do it but I want you to find that brat immediately." Philip told Francisco and the men Francisco hired to look for Hugo. "Here's his picture, find him and bring him to me immediately."
Francisco nodded. "We're on our way."
As they left Philip saw that Marinette was walking away from an older couple so he walked over to her. "Marinette, did they tell you anything about Hugo?"
Marinette shook her head in sadness. "No, no one has seen him. This is all my fault I shouldn't have left him alone on such an impactful day for him. Today obviously reminded him of Adrien."
"Don't say that it's not your fault." Philip said gently. "Hugo will be found safe and sound."
"I'll never forgive myself if something happens to Hugo." Marinette said in tears.
Philip hugged her. "Please calm down."
Philip didn't care if Hugo was found or not, actually he hoped that Hugo wouldn't be found. Philip was just taking advantage of the situation to win Marinette over and that's all Philip cared about.
Marinette's phone rang so she broke the hug and answered it. "Hello?"
"Marinette, it's me Plagg. I found Hugo and I'm taking him to the Dupain-Cheng bakery right now." Adrien said over the phone.
Marinette sighs in relief. "Thank goodness! Is he okay? Is he hurt?"
"He's perfectly fine, don't worry. Do you mind letting everyone else know I don't know their numbers." Adrien lied since he obviously did know but he couldn't blow his cover.
"Of course I'm on my way." Marinette quickly hung up. "Plagg found Hugo and they're going to the bakery."
"That's great!" Philip said lying through his teeth. He was furious he was supposed to find Hugo and seem like a hero in Marinette's eyes but that street rat assistant of hers ruined everything.
Marinette and Philip hurried to the bakery as Marinette called Tom and Emilie to let them know that Plagg found Hugo and that they were headed to the bakery.
"HUGO!" Marinette ran over to Hugo and hugged him. "Thank goodness that you're safe and sound." Tom and Emilie hugged Hugo too in joy.
"Plagg was just telling me that he found Hugo at the park." Sabine stated with a smile.
"Hugo why did you leave the school like that? We were all worried about you." Marinette said while breaking the hug.
"I'm sorry mommy but I miss daddy and I wanted to be alone." Hugo replied.
"I understand that sweetheart, trust me I do but it's dangerous for a young boy like you to be alone. Please don't do that again if you are upset or mad just talk to me or one of your grandparents okay?" Marinette stated softly.
Hugo nodded. "Even Plagg? He's my new friend now."
Marinette smiled. "Of course even with Plagg if you want." Marinette stood up and hugged Adrien. "Thank you Plagg for finding my son. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."
Adrien hugged Marinette back and he hoped that she couldn't feel his fast heartbeat. "It was a pleasure and you don't have to repay me back. After all I'm your assistant and my job is to assist you in whatever you need and plus that is what friends are for."
Philip didn't like how Marinette and Adrien were hugging and he knew that he had to do something about Marinette's new assistant.
Once Marinette Philip and Adrien returned to the company Alya Nino Kagami and Luka immediately surrounded Marinette.
"Did you find Hugo?" Alya asked worriedly.
"Is he okay?" Kagami asked in concern. "He's not hurt right?"
"Do you need help in finding him?" Nino asked.
"Do you need any help for any medical needs?" Luka added.
"Yes I found Hugo he's safe and sound back at the bakery and no luckily nothing serious happened to him." Marinette replied, answering all of their questions.
"Thank goodness." Alya said, sighing in relief. "I can't imagine ever losing any of my children like that."
"How and where did you find him?" Kagami asked.
"Well we all split up to look for him and Plagg found him at the park." Marinette replied.
"Wow, you really did find a great assistant." Nino stated
"But why did he run away like that in the first place?" Luka asked. "It's not like him."
"Apparently parents' work day really impacted him and he started missing Adrien." Marinette replied and everyone nodded in understanding.
As everyone was talking to Marinette, Philip headed to the elevator to the second floor.
"So what if Marinette's brat got lost why did you have to go help her?" Lila asked Philip. They were in his office and he just told her what happened.
"I didn't do it for her, I did it for the money. Miraculous Ladybug is the most important project in this company. If Marinette isn't calm then the project will do badly and we won't get all of that money." Philip replied.
Lila crossed her arms. "Are you sure it's because of work?"
"Of course that woman won't do us any good if she's depressed." Philip stated.
"I'll act like I believe you but I'll warn you of the consequences if you dare cheat on me and the goth." Lila threatened.
"Don't threaten me Lila." Philip said sternly.
Later that night Adrien was having dinner with Nathaniel and Chloe as he told them what happened that day. "At least Hugo was found. I can't imagine how much Marinette must have felt at that moment and you too." Chloe stated.
"Yea it was frightening for both of us though I couldn't really show my emotions because it could have been seen as suspicious since Plagg hadn't met Hugo before today." Adrien replied.
"So have you found any evidence of your innocence?" Nathaniel asked.
"Nope the CD was just financial stats of the company nothing to do with the fraud but I remembered that on the day I was accused of the fraud Philip introduced a man named Roland Rople as a witness." Adrien replied.
"The one who supposedly saw you do the fraud?" Chloe asked, remembering that name when Adrien first told her the story.
Adrien nodded. "Yes that one but I just don't know how to get the information about him or even where to start."
"Well maybe your friends, the secretaries can help me." Chloe stated. "As a woman I can tell you that we women love gossip. I'm sure that they can help."
Nathaniel chuckled. "And I can assure you that what Chloe said is true."
"That must have been terrible for Marinette and her family when she called me and told me what was going on, I even freaked out. I'm so glad you helped her." Juleka told Philip as they were having dinner.
"Yes of course but I wasn't the only one who helped her. In the end it was her assistant who found Hugo." Philip stated trying not to sound mad about it.
Juleka nodded. "Yea Marinette really hit the jackpot with Plagg, those kind of assistants are really hard to find. I wish I had an assistant like that."
Philip suddenly got an idea of how to get Juleka and Plagg out of his way and to win Marinette over he'll be killing three birds with one stone.
On Monday morning Edward returned to the company. "Welcome back dude." Nino told him as they were in their shared office.
"Thanks so what did I miss while I was gone?" Edward asked.
"Well Marinette officially became the head vice president and the alliance between CG and Lucky Charm beach was made as Luka and Mathew signed the contract. Oh and Marinette got an assistant. His name is Plagg Noir and he's very good at his job." Nino replied.
"Wow I missed a lot and I'm glad Marinette got an assistant. I can't wait to meet him." Edward stated.
At that moment Adrien walked into the office with a pile of papers and he handed them to Nino. "Nino Marinette wants you to check these papers and sign them."
Nino took the papers. "Sure oh and Plagg this is Edward Fuller the other member in our team."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Plagg Noir." Adrien extended his hand to Edward. "I'm Marinette's assistant."
Edward shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Edward Fuller. It's going to be a pleasure to work with you."
Adrien nodded. "Likewise."
"Hey honey since Marinette and Hugo have been having a rough few weeks lately I thought that it would be nice if we did something nice for them." Philip told Juleka as they were in his office.
Juleka looked at him with a bright smile. "That's a great idea dear, did you have anything specific in mind?"
"Yes I thought that maybe we could take them to the park after Hugo gets out of school." Philip replied. "I thought maybe you could get everything ready and I trick her into thinking that we are going to a business meeting so we can surprise her."
"Sounds good to me but I don't think that I will be able to do everything by myself." Juleka stated.
"Maybe you could take Plagg with you. We could tell Marinette that you have errands to do and you will need help and I can't help you because I'm busy." Philip suggested.
"I'm okay with having Plagg to help me but what if Marinette needs him?" Juleka asked.
"I'm sure she'll be okay for a couple of hours." Philip replied.
Philip walked into Marinette's office. "Hey Marinette, is it okay if Juleka takes Plagg to help her with some errands? I would go with her but I have a lot of work that I have to do."
"How long will she need him for?" Marinette asked.
"Just for a couple of hours they should be back by 2 or 3 in the afternoon." Philip replied.
Marinette nodded. "Okay I'm fine with her taking him."
Philip smiled. "Great oh and we have a business meeting later today for one of the tiniest projects CG is doing."
"Okay thanks for letting me know." Marinette replied.
Adrien walked over to Rose and Mylene. "Hello ladies can I have yesterday's daily report of your boss's departments?"
"Of course here you go Plagg!" Rose said with a bright smile as she handed the report of the financial vice president department to him.
"Here you go Plagg." Mylene said as she handed Adrien the daily report of the department of marketing.
Adrien took them. "Thank you ladies now by any chance do you guys know a Roland Rople? He works for a modeling agency and I was wondering what agency it was Marinette wants me to start casting for the Miraculous Ladybug and she mentioned him."
"No, I haven't heard of him before." Mylene replied.
"Me neither but we could probably figure it out for you." Rose stated and Mylene nodded.
Adrien smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate it."
Adrien walked back to Marinette's office when Philip stopped him. "Plagg, I need you to go help my wife Juleka do some errands. I already talked to Marinette about it and she's okay with it."
Adrien felt like Philip was scheming something but he knew that he wasn't lying because a lie like that would be denied by Juleka and Marinette. "Okay but first let me take these reports to Marinette."
Philip took the reports from Adrien. "I'll take them to her for you Juleka is waiting for you in Lila's office."
Adrien nodded as he walked to Lila's office. Philip smirked to himself since his plan was working perfectly.
Adrien walked into Lila's office where Juleka was waiting for him. "Philip told me that you needed me Juleka?"
"Yes Plagg, I need your help to buy and carry some things for a picnic." Juleka replied. "After everything that Marinette and her son have been though lately Philip and I thought that it would be nice if we surprised them with a picnic."
Adrien nodded thinking that it was a great idea unless it was Philip's plan originally because in that case it would mean that he had something else in plan under his sleave.
"That's a great idea, count on me to help you Juleka and do you mind if I join the picnic?" Adrien asked.
"Of course not the more the merrier. Plus it would only be fair since you'll be helping me set it up." Juleka replied.
They got all the things that they needed then they headed to the park but they got struck in a traffic jam. Juleka was starting to get stressed out and Adrien noticed. "Relax Juleka we'll get to the park soon."
Juleka looked out the window. "I know but I wanted to get there before Philip does with Marinette and Hugo but I don't think that we will, Plagg…"
"I'm sure that we will and even if we don't I'm sure that they'll understand." Adrien replied. Juleka didn't answer and when he looked over at her he saw that Juleka had passed out and he started to freak out. "Juleka… Juleka…" He gently moves her and saw that she was really pale so he got out his phone and dialed for an ambulance.
Marinette was confused and concerned when Philip drove by Hugo's school. "What are we doing here? Did something happen to Hugo?"
"Don't worry Hugo is perfectly fine, we're here to pick him up?"
"Why? I thought that we had to go to a meeting." Marinette said even more confused.
"Yea I lied about that, the truth is that Juleka and I wanted to give you and Hugo a nice surprise after everything that recently happened so we planned a picnic at the park for both of you. Juleka actually needed Plagg to help her prepare the picnic while I would take you and Hugo." Philip replied. "Juleka contacted your parents about it and oh look here comes Hugo with your dad."
"Wow that was nice of you two, thank you." Marinette looked out her window and saw that Hugo and her dad were walking up to the car so she got out to greet them.
Hugo immediately ran to her and hugged her. "Mommy! What are you doing here?"
Marinette hugged him back. "I'm here to pick you up. Uncle Philip and aunt Juleka planned a nice surprise for us at the park."
"Yay!" Hugo exclaimed excitedly.
Tom smiled. "Have fun you two."
"Okay grandpa!" Hugo said with a smile as Marinette put him in the backseat.
"Thanks for everything dad." Marinette said as she closed Hugo's door.
Tom nodded. "Of course sweetie anytime."
Marinette got back in the car before Philip drove away to the park. Once they got there they got out of the car and started walking to the center of the park.
"Where's Juleka and Plagg?" Marinette asked Philip as she looked around and there was no sign of them.
"They should have been here by now but maybe they are on their way and just got stuck in traffic." Phillip replied and Marinette nodded.
"Wow Nino you did a great job working on the two departments while I was gone." Edward stated what looking at the department's report. "Are you sure you still need me here?"
"Yes even though I was able to handle it I'm more comfortable and prepared to do my department plus I didn't do it all by myself Plagg helped." Nino replied.
"Well Marinette really did find a great assistant." Edward stated.
Hugo was playing in the playground while Marinette and Philip were sitting on a bench talking. "I'm glad that Hugo is having fun."
Marinette nodded. "Yea me too. Since Adrien died he has been a little distant and he hasn't been telling me certain things lately." Suddenly they heard fighting coming from the playground and they saw that Hugo was fighting with another boy. Marinette quickly stood up and ran to them and separated Hugo from the other boy. "Hugo what's going on? Why did you hit him? I have told you many times that fighting is never the answer."
"We fought just because of things." Hugo simply said.
"Well whatever those things are you are going to apologize this very instant." Marinette said sternly.
Hugo sighs and looks at the boy before mumbling. "Sorry." Hugo walked away after that and Philip walked over to him.
Hugo sat under a tree and Philip sat next to him. "I know that your mom doesn't like fights and all of those things but I thought that it was a good thing that you hit that boy but tell me why did you hit him?"
"For the same story that has been happening lately I told him that I don't have a dad and he made fun of me." Hugo replied.
"That's a great reason to do it. I'm glad that you hit him. I was just like you at your age. I slowly learned to defend myself and I slowly gained the respect of the people around me." Philip said with a slight smirk. His phone rang and when he checked who it was he saw that it was Plagg so he cut the call and turned off his phone before looking at Hugo again. "Since your mom interrupted the fight how do you feel about finishing in giving that boy what he deserves?"
"But mommy told me not to fight again." Hugo stated.
"We won't tell her about it and I'll help you give that boy a lesson." Philip said with a smirk.
Meanwhile back at the playground Marinette bent down to the other boy's level. "Are you okay?" The boy nodded. "Please forgive my son, he's usually not like that. Go on, your parents might be looking for you." The boy quickly walked away.
Alya was doing her work at her desk when the elevator doors opened and Nino rushed out and over to her desk. "Alya I need you to do me a big favor."
Alya looked at him confused and concerned. "Sure what's wrong?"
"I accidentally booked two important meetings at the same time and I can't cancel either of them so I need you to present my report in the meeting that will be done here with Luka and other important representatives from agencies and TV programs while I go to the meeting that is out of the company." Nino replied, handing Alya his report.
Alya took it. "I'm glad to help you dear but wouldn't it be better if Edward did it I mean he's your partner and I'm just a receptionist."
"Edward wasn't here when I worked on it and I couldn't ask him to memorize a whole report in less than a few minutes. You on the other hand were by my side the whole time I was doing it. You even helped me write some parts. Luka is okay if you do it because he knows that you studied the same field as me and would have gotten your degree too but you sadly couldn't since you got pregnant with Mayla." Nino replied.
Alya nodded. "Okay I'll do it."
"Great you're the best dear I owe you. I got to run and don't worry Edward will be there if you need help, love you." Nino kissed her cheek before rushing out the front door.
"Love you too." Alya mumbled. "I just hope that I can do this."
Marinette was on the phone with Alya so Philip took that chance to make the boy and Hugo fight again afar so Marinette couldn't see them. Once Marinette hung up the phone she saw Philip and Hugo walking over to her and Hugo was a mess and all beaten up.
Marinette stood up and quickly went over to Hugo. "Hugo what happened why do you look like that?"
"It's my fault Marinette. I took him on a walk and he fell but nothing serious happened to him." Philip replied. "I'll let you two talk alone." Philip walked away.
"Hugo we have never been so distant before and it hurts me seeing you not want to talk to me about your problems. Do you want to tell me why that is?" Marinette asked softly.
"You wouldn't understand." Hugo mumbled.
"Well, help me understand." Marinette stated.
"I'm being bullied at school for not having a dad and it's my fault because I'm not a good son." Hugo said, tearing up.
"Sweetheart it's not your fault it's no one's fault that your dad died that's how death works and your dad would have wanted you to be happy and not start fights. Don't listen to those kids, remember words only hurt you if you allow them to." Hugo nodded and hugged Marinette as Marinette hugged him back.
Juleka was on a hospital bed as Adrien was by her side trying to contact Philip on the phone. Juleka's blood pressure got high because of her stress luckily she was better now she was just asleep because she was given a calmer to relax.
Adrien was taken straight to Philip's voicemail. Adrien rolled his eyes. "Philip, it's Plagg calling you to inform you that Juleka, your wife who you promised to be with in health and sickness is still in the hospital. I left the address in my last voicemail." He hung up with a sigh. Adrien tried to not sound frustrated or irritated but he knew that he failed doing so. He knew that Philip didn't love Juleka; it was obvious from day 1 but he could at least try to pretend that he cared.
Philip decided to hear his voicemail while Marinette was talking to Hugo. When he heard Plagg's voicemail he was overjoyed. "Let the miracle happen when I become a widower. Let the goth die at last."
"Alya you did a great job at the meeting." Kagami told Alya after the meeting.
"Yes I was very impressed with how you represented the report." Luka added with a smile. "Actually I was so impressed that I was thinking that you should be Nino's co-director and be part of Marinette's team."
Alya was mouth wide in surprise. "Really!?"
"Yes I knew that you had the talent since university but I couldn't hire you because you didn't finish your degree and you didn't have experience but now you do so what do you say?" Luka asked.
"I would love to but I want to talk to Nino about it first." Alya replied.
Luka nodded. "Of course let me know what you decided once you decided."
"Alya, that's huge congratulations." Kagami said with a smile.
Alya smiled back. "Thanks."
Philip suddenly bursted into Juleka's room and quickly went by her side as Marinette and Hugo walked in behind him. "Oh my sweet Juleka I'm sorry this happened to you." He said in a fake caring tone. "How is she?"
"She's going to be okay, she's only sleeping." Adrien replied, trying to hide his irritation.
Marinette walked over to Adrien. "Thanks for letting us know Plagg, we came as soon as we found out."
"I know that you did." Adrien said only looking at Marinette since he knew that Marinette did come as soon as she found out about her best friend but Philip on the other hand would care less about Juleka and only came to continue the caring loving husband reputation that he had.
"Is aunt Juleka going to be okay?" Hugo asked worriedly.
Adrien smiled softly before bending down to Hugo's level. "Don't worry kiddo your aunt Juleka is a strong woman she'll be okay." Hugo nodded with a smile.
"Well we should probably leave you two alone. I'll call you later to see how Juleka is doing." Marinette told Philip.
Philip nodded. "Okay and I'm sorry that the surprise didn't go as planned."
"It's fine right now Juleka's health is what matters." Marinette stated before leaving the room with Hugo and Adrien followed them.
Once everyone left Philip looked at Juleka and he smirked. "Die Juleka die."
"I'm sorry that happened to your friend. Is she okay?" Chloe asked Adrien that night after he told her and Nathaniel what happened that day.
Adrien nodded. "Yes she's going to be okay she just gave all of us a scare well except for Philip he obviously cares less about her plus I have the strong suspicion that he's after Marinette my Marinette."
"Don't jump into conclusions without any evidence Adrien." Nathaniel stated. "Speaking of evidence, have you found evidence of your innocence yet?"
"No not yet but I already talked to Rose and Mylene about Roland Rople and they will look up information about him." Adrien replied. "Hopefully I get information about him soon and I get closer in proving my innocence."
"Really?! Luka offered you to be my Co director?" Nino asked Alya after she told him how the meeting went once they were home.
"Yes, can you imagine the big opportunity that he's giving me?" Alya asked overjoyed.
Nino nodded with a smile. "I can and that's great news first because you deserve it second because I would love working with you. Yes we already worked together in the same company but on different floors now we'll be working side by side just like how Adrien and Marinette used to. You absolutely need to say yes."
Alya smiled brightly. "I'm glad you think that and of course I will say yes."
Adrien called Juleka over the phone to see how she was doing and she answered. "Hi Juleka it's Plagg, how are you doing?"
"Hi Plagg, it's nice hearing from you and I'm doing better." Juleka replied. "Philip is here and he's taking care of me."
Adrien rolled his eyes. "I'm glad to hear that well I'll let you rest. I just called to see how you're doing. Have a good night."
"Thanks, you too." Juleka said before Adrien hung up.
The next morning Juleka was doing better and was taking everything from the prokets of Philip's suits so she could wash them when she found a receipt from a hotel room from a couple days ago. Juleka's heart stopped. "What's this…it can't be… is Philip cheating on me?"
"So what did you decide, Alya?" Luka asked her as she and Nino were sitting across from him at his desk and Kagami was standing next to him.
"I accept your offer Luka it would be an honor for me to be Nino's co-director." Alya said with a bright smile and Nino smiled too.
"That's great news Alya." Kagami said overjoyed.
Luka nodded with a smile. "I'm glad you took the offer to welcome the team. I know that you'll do great things."
"Thank you Luka I promise that I won't let you down." Alya stated.
"I know that you won't." Luka replied.