Christmas Kisses and Paris Kisses

Tuesday 10th December

 Marinette

'That's it! I quit!'

The sudden outburst caused Marinette to jump from her position crouched over her designs, sending her marker pens flying as her knee collided hard with the underside of the table. She looked up to see Leoni, her personal assistant, standing agitated in the doorway. The woman looked dishevelled, flushed, and clearly shaken by something.

'I - um - is everything okay?' Marinette stood up, rubbing her knees as she stumbled forwards, only to be stopped by the raise of Leoni's hands.

'I'm sorry, Miss Dupain-Cheng, but I just can't stay, not when—'

The sound of leather-soled shoes pounded down the hallway, followed by the booming voice of her boss.

'Why are you still here?' Johnny's authoritative voice, laced with anger, vibrated from the hallway.

Johnny Monroe, ex-American model and Chief Operating Officer of New York's fashion line Monroe, came and blocked the doorway, his presence dominating the room. Marinette looked between them, unsure what was happening.

'Leoni?' she asked, turning back to her assistant. Leoni seemed to love her job, and she was good at it. Why the sudden change of heart? Marinette looked at Johnny, hoping his face could give her a clue to what was happening. Blank.

'I'm sorry.'

Marinette's stomach churned. That wasn't an 'I'm sorry' for leaving you. That was a sorry for something else, something she didn't understand. She looked at Johnny again. His face was slightly pink, hair finger tousled as he continued to stand blocking the doorway. Leoni turned, glaring at Johnny as she made her way out of the office and to her desk. She grabbed her bag, slamming it down, before emptying the contents of her drawers inside.

She attempted to follow Leoni, wanting to talk to her and figure out a way to make her stay. But Johnny placed an arm out to stop her, leaving her standing there staring at her assistant. He leaned in close, his voice low as his lips brushed against her ear. 'Let her go, honey. You know she wasn't that good, anyway. How many times did she mess things up, and who ended up fixing it? You, because she couldn't handle even the simplest tasks. If she had stayed, you'd have just ended up stressed and exhausted again—all because of her incompetence.'

Frozen, Marinette watched as Leoni glanced back with a faint frown, her expression unreadable.

'Come on,' he said, gently yet firmly guiding her back into her office. After closing the door, he turned to her, a faint look of exasperation on his face. He walked towards her, his hands framing her hips as he pulled her closer. He lowered his head, allowing his nose to skim over her neck as she wrapped her arms around him. She took a deep breath, taking in the familiar scent of spicy vanilla and amber, and trying to find comfort. This was her third assistant this year. Was she that horrible to work for?

'Oh, honey,' he said, sighing as he brought a hand up to cradle the back of her head. 'I told you I'd handle the hiring this time. But no, you insisted on doing it yourself, and look what happened. Do you realise how much easier this would be if you just listened to me? You keep picking people who only drag you down, and I end up being the one who has to save you.'

Marinette sank into her chair, rubbing her temples. Johnny was right. Every PA she'd hired had either left or made mistakes. Maybe she really was bad at this; maybe Johnny was just better at handling these things. When his mother, the CEO of Monroe, had hired her as a lead designer, Marinette had wanted to do everything herself: from hiring her assistant to having her own office, even if she was dating the COO, and son of the owner.