Managing Life (Part 2/?)
Summary: Marinette has been Audrey Bourgeois' secretary ever since she voiced out her dream of having her own business. Audrey thinks that she should learn more about the nooks and crannies of running a fashion business. However, fate has other plans for her, and honestly, what can our resident guardian could do to counter fate?
Disclaimer: I do not own MLB or DCU.
Pairings: Dick Grayson/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Taglist: @timinette-is-bestbest, @peach-blueberry-pie, @tinybrie, @taewinterbear95, @its-maemain, @flyhighdreamer, @kokoroluna @kitsun3699 @lilfuturescarss @kaimodius @sinoffalsejudgement @night-ngale @laydeekrayzee @fauxnormal @stella17luna @plz-excuse-my-inner-gay @ae-vixrose (Tell me if you want to be a part of the taglist!)
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Bruce Wayne sighed heavily, he could feel a telltale headache coming from miles away. His personal assistant had given him a letter of notice and he had now just figured out how dependent he is on his assistant. Fortunately, he managed to beg, yes he had to beg, his assistant to wait until he could find someone to replace them.
Not to mention the death of his son, Jason, had hit him hard. He admits that he was too late but really what can he do? He wants to kill the Joker but that would mean going against his code. And killing the Joker wouldn't bring Jason back, no matter how much he wanted to bring him back.
Now, he has another son that somehow found out his identity and actually picked up the pieces and demands he takes the kid as the new Robin. Bruce is slowly moving on but the thought of his dead son is still a heartache that he wasn't sure would heal. Dick is trying his best but even he knows that the boy is falling apart.
He sighed heavily, he was tired and lost. Everything constant in his life is changing, slowly but surely and he is not ready. His head began to pound and he tried to soothe it by massaging the bridge of his nose.
His headache came again at the same time his phone rang and that almost made him whine. He picked up the call and cleared his throat. "This is Bruce Wayne speaking."
"Bruce darling! How are you on this fine evening?"
"Audrey...Why did you call?"
"Such coldness from you! Is Brucie Wayne a fake all this time? I'm hurt!"
Bruce groaned out, his head pounding like crazy, "I don't have time for this, Audrey. My assistant gave me their letter of notice days ago and I haven't found a replacement yet. If you have, Oh I don't know, a perfectly reliable assistant laying around in your office then I suggest we end this call because I am this close to breaking my phone for the tenth time."
She laughed at his misery. He could feel his eye twitch.
"I'm hanging up." Why he became friends with Audrey Bourgeois was always one of the many questions he has in his life. Somehow, the bossy blonde decided in Highschool that she would be friends with Bruce and she had stuck to that promise ever since. Honestly, Bruce has learned to not question the way of the universe.
"Wait!" She snorts and finally took a deep breath to compose herself.
"I might have answers for your predicament! My apprentice/assistant/secretary is looking for a new mentor! One that could teach her the ways of a big business should operate! Perhaps, I can introduce you to her!" She offered between her giggles.
Bruce frowned, to be completely honest he had done many interviews and none of the candidates is the perfect assistant that could replace them, he had nothing to lose. "I'm interested."
"Good, I'll schedule a dinner for the three of us at some point during your gala week."
"I hope you're not pranking me again. I had enough grievances lately that'll last a while."
Audrey laughed again at his misery. Why was he friends with this designer again? Right, she ordered him to be one.
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Marinette made sure that everything had been acquainted before she and Audrey leave Paris for the Wayne Gala. She made sure that the Secretaries of every division in the company know what was going to happen when she was gone for the week.
Fortunately for her, everyone in Style Queen respects her and her decision-making skills. How could they not? She was one of the reasons why Style Queen had been advancing at rapid speed during those 3 years when she became a permanent team member.
No messed up meetings, their profit margin had increased, their designs were always at the top of the chart, their galas were always a hit, and their fashion show had become one of the most awaited fashion shows in years, and to top it all off there has been zero firing and quitting during those 3 years. They didn't even need to pay for extra therapists for the emotional damage caused by Audrey!
A miracle? Yes. A blessing from the Gods? Definitely. Is Marinette the Messiah that the Style Queen company had been waiting for? Most Definitely.
Did the Style Queen employees made a cult to worship the ground that Marinette walks on? Allegedly.
Anyways, after confirming the things that needed to be done she called for a staff assembly and hand them folders as well as pdf files in USB about their schedule for the next week. She made sure that if anything happened in the company while she was away to immediately contact her.
Now, she stood in front of Audrey while listing off the things that should be done during their week in Gotham.
"Right Mme Bourgeois. our agenda during our week in Gotham is as follows, Monday, we'll check on our branch in Gotham, I also book that dinner with M Wayne at 7 p.m. Tuesday, we have a photoshoot in Gotham Garden, I also made sure to up the security in case the rogues decided to attack and a failsafe location outside Gotham so that we can continue our shoot peacefully.
Tuesday night will be your fitting for your gown and we will be doing that in your room. Wednesday will be reserved fully for the progress report with our company. Thursday will be reserved for the Wayne family fitting as well which will be done in the afternoon. I made sure to clear Friday and Saturday morning to afternoon. Saturday night is the gala and Sunday we will board the plane to Paris." Marinette finished while rechecking the schedule on her tablet.
"Fabulous! I know I can always count on you Marinette!" Audrey clapped her perfectly manicured hands and winked at her secretary.
"Of course, Are there any problems that you would like to point out from the schedule?"
"Non," Audrey answered nonchalantly. "So, Marinette. Have you made up your mind about what I said days ago?"
Marinette puts away her tablet and fixed the pink-rimmed horse kwami glasses that she decides to take today to match her outfit. "Actually, I did. You are right Madame, I need to spread my wings and take a leap of faith."
"Excellent! You will be coming to the dinner on Monday, yes?"
"I- Yes, you did order me to attend the dinner with M Wayne."
"Good! Now, have the rest of the day off! I shall see you tomorrow evening, yes?"
Marinette blinked slowly, "Yes, Madame. Uh... thank you." She bowed shortly and left the office without another word. She could actually feel that Audrey was planning something behind her back and she doesn't want to know what her plans were.
Well, a whole afternoon off, is a rare thing to occur. "Should I spend the rest of the day holed up in my apartment sketching or holed up in my regular cafe sketching?" She asked Kaalki who was hiding in her breast pocket.
"Why not take a stroll in the park? The weather is great today, Guardian!"
"An astounding idea! Let's go!" She cheered and made a brisk walk to her office. She packed up her things, say a few goodbyes to the staff that she met along the way, and left the building. She quickly made her way to a cafe nearby, bought herself a coffee strong enough that she was sure it could raise a dead body and walked to the park that Kaalki had mentioned.
There was an open seat near the park's walking trek and immediately bee-lined her way there, took out her sketchbook, and let the horse kwami make a comfortable perch on her lap. As the Great Guardian, she had managed to find the right spell to mask the kwami's presence with a layered illusion, even a former holder couldn't spot them since Marinette willed it so.
"So, Grand Guardian...Who is this Wayne person?"
Marinette hummed for a moment, trying to find the right answer. "Well, he's a businessman, he owns a multibillion company called the Wayne Enterprise, it has many branches across the world and they have many divisions as well, though none of them focuses on fashion. Which is unfortunate but I digress." She explained patiently.
"Whoaa, is he rich then??" Kaalki gushed excitedly.
"Well, he is a millionaire think he's going to be a billionaire soon. So yeah, I think you can call him rich."
The aristocratic kwami gasped loudly, "You should have him as your mentor! You could be a millionaire too!"
Marinette laughed merrily, "I don't think that's how it works but I'll consider that."
"Oh Guardian, I can already sense it! It must be fate! Perhaps you can even marry the man!"
The designer was drinking her coffee and spitting it out when she heard the kwami's excited ramble. She coughed a few times trying to regain her composure, "K-kaalki, that man is old enough to be my father! Besides, he has kids already!"
"What about his kids then?"
"A- K-kaalki! You will stay out of my romantic life! I-i can find a suitable person to date!"
Kaalki gave her a deadpanned look, "Yeah, uh-huh sure you do."
"Kaalkiii!!!" Marinette whined exasperatedly. "Can we please stop this conversation??"
The kwami just giggled and made themselves comfortable on her lap. Marinette huffed and rubbed her face tiredly, yeah she knows that her love life had been a disaster but she didn't need the little creature gods to butt in. She's perfectly fine on her own, sure it's lonely but if she has work to do it distracts her from feeling that loneliness.
Honestly, dating one of the Wayne kids. That's a laugh!
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Marinette sighed as she rolled her neck and heard a few pops from it. Traveling to Gotham is a pain in the ass and she hopes she doesn't have to do it again anytime soon. She had brought a couple of kwamis with her for the trip, not that she wanted to use them to gallop across the roof of Gotham City as a hero or vigilante, she just didn't want to leave them at home alone.
She was wearing the dragon's choker, Tikki's earrings, and the turtle's bracelet that she had charmed to change the designs so that it'll fit with her outfit. Wayzz gave her a wave of comforting magic towards their bond and Marinette stroked the bracelet gently in gratitude.
Thankfully, everything went smoothly. Marinette made sure the hotel room for Audrey is good enough for the bossy queen and after that she could finally throw herself on her hotel bed. Her head was pounding but she still picked herself up and began to unpack.
"Marinette! This town is oozing with an unlucky aura and chaos! I think Kaalki was on to something when she said something about fate!" Exclaimed Tikki as she observes the city through the glass.
"I told you!" Kaalki yelled from the other side of the room.
Marinette frowns to herself and decided to flare her magic to get a better sense of the City of Crime. Yep, Tikki was right, everything is oozing with bad luck miasma, and darkness surrounding parts of the city. Everything is gloomy and depressing, no wonder the people of Gotham are miserable.
"You're right, Tikki." She stood from the floor and walked to the big window overseeing the city. "It's coated with Bad Luck and Chaos."
"We should stay here and purify this mess!" Pollen offered while floating next to Marinette's head.
"I don't think we should be that rash. Let's see what fate got for us. In the meantime, does anyone wants to go with me to buy snacks?"
A series of 'yes' from the childish gods made her head lighter than before.
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Monday starts out as a pleasant day for her, she managed to make all the snacks for the kwamis and bake the pastries that Audrey love so much for breakfast. Everything was smooth and it lifted Marinette's spirit. There was no schedule for today morning and Marinette debated to herself if she wants to go out and find inspiration for her design or not.
There's something about Gotham that made her blood pump in adrenaline and she's pretty sure it is her innate guardian magic telling her to go ahead and purify the city. She looked at the kwamis who are lounging and made up her mind.
"Hey Plagg, Do you want to come with me and explore Gotham before dinner?"
The cat kwami in question brighten up and zoomed across the room in excitement. "Alright!!! Let's enjoy the day with extra CHAOS!"
Marinette laughs and took off Tikki's earrings to put on Plagg's ring. She took her large canvas bag, her sketchbook, and her art supply. She made sure the kwamis are comfortable enough and told them to not make a mess when she was out.
Once she's out, with Plagg securely in her bag, she trusted her instinct and found herself entering a park. It was a nice day and looking around at the different architecture near the park she found herself an empty seat nearby. She lets Plagg perch himself on her shoulder while she dug out her sketchbook and start sketching away her ideas.
Not long after that she felt someone took a seat next to her, she glanced to her side and found a man nearing his 40s slumping next to her. She could feel the sorrow and sadness lingering around the man and Marinette being Marinette couldn't sit still.
Marinette could've sworn the man looked familiar and even though she became a very competent assistant to Audrey, she couldn't for the love of God remember the faces she had seen before. If they are known figures in the fashion world, she might recognize them but otherwise, she would forget them, rich or not.
The girl closed her sketchbook, which the man took notice of.
"I'm sorry, I'm not bothering you, am I?" He asked with a polite smile.
The girl shook her head and smiled warmly at the man, "Non, monsieur. I just couldn't help but notice how sad you are."
The man blinked, obviously shocked at her, and gave her a small weak smile. "I guess you can say that..." He chuckled mirthlessly.
Marinette hummed, "Are you grieving?" She asked quietly.
The man looked towards the park and she could see the dark aura around him seemingly trying to choke the man. He nodded silently and took a shaky breath. "My son." He muttered quietly.
She nodded in silence, she rummaged through her canvas bag and took out a charmed amulet that she had been working on with Master Fu before his passing. She looked away from the amulet and found Plagg giving her an encouraging smile. She knew that this was the right thing to do and so she cupped the amulet in her hands and said, "I'm sorry for your loss...No parents should bury their children."
The man sniffed and nodded, "Thank you."
"Though you have to walk this winding road, stumbling blindly in this dark path, there will always be a path of light that will help you find your way." She advised with a warm smile. Master Fu had told her that when she was grieving for the loss of her friendship and the weight she had to carry as Ladybug.
Slowly she reached out to take his hand and gently put the charmed amulet in it. "You just need to do the next right thing." She uttered softly and sent waves of comforting magic to the amulet. Hoping that it would lift the man's spirit and help him find hope. She then took her bag and left the man staring at the amulet.
Marinette quickly left the park and bought herself a coffee before returning to her hotel where she gets ready for dinner. Her heart felt full knowing she helped someone even if it was just a little bit. She hoped that one act of random kindness could lift a little bit of the bad luck aura in Gotham.
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Bruce Wayne just wanted time to compose himself. He had a lapse of grieving thoughts when he looked at Jason's picture. So he left his office to find a place where he could grieve freely. The mansion still has memories of Jason and he couldn't stand the guilt that is eating him inside. He found a nearby park and took a seat next to a young woman who was busy sketching. He didn't really expect anything would come out of this walk in the park, but he was pleasantly surprised that the young woman beside him had given him a random act of kindness that had left him a bit speechless.
He was looking at the emerald amulet on his hand and somehow he felt lighter than he ever felt in the past few months. Odd. He decided to bench any negative thoughts to ready himself for the dinner reservation tonight.
TBC
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A/N: Next chapter would be the dinner! Stay tuned!
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