My Boss is Felix: Alternative Miraculous Ladybug Tale

Ch5: Cold Blooded

My gut twisted as I pushed open the door and entered Felix's office. It was dark. Triggered by my motion, the lights flipped on immediately. That must have meant he wasn't here.

I sighed in relief. Maybe I could set the tray down and make a run for it.

No.

I had to be brave.

As I rested the tray next to his keyboard, I noticed a single picture propped up against an empty coffee cup. It was the only other "decoration" besides the candle.

Curiosity.

Leaning over, I squinted, attempting to focus my eyes. It was too small to see. My hands reached down, ceasing just before my fingers met the picture's jagged and curling edges. I shouldn't touch his stuff, I reminded myself. But I was too weak-willed to resist.

Holding it in hand, I stared down at a little boy with golden blonde hair in the lap of who I assumed was his mother. The boy offered a toothless smile, as his thin arms dangled around his mother's neck. She was a beautiful woman with her rolling blonde curls and fair skin. Both of their eyes were contaminated with that unearthly blue color, except it wasn't creepy as I had first thought when meeting Felix. It was...divine. If I were to somehow enter this picture, no doubt I'd feel I was in the presence of royalty.

I sighed. Despite the happiness portrayed, I felt sad knowing that both the little boy and the mother were ghosts...both dead in a sense. From what I'd heard of the Agreste family, Felix's mom had mysteriously passed away six years ago when he was only thirteen. Their family was never the same, or so I'd been told.

"You can't be left alone, I see," I heard Felix's voice say with hints of sarcasm.

As my head jolted towards him, I was welcomed by his usual scowl. Panic set in. I had been caught red-handed.

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, my jittering hands placed the picture back against the cup. I rushed out from his desk and now stood in the exact middle of his office.

He looked unamused.

Fixating my focus to my feet, I said, "anyway, I got lunch. For you. From the cafeteria, I mean. Natalie said you'd be in meetings, so I assumed you wouldn't have to time eat. I didn't know what you would want, so I got a little bit of everything."

I paused, waiting for his response. He brushed past me, our shoulders barely grazing each other, as he headed over to the coffee machine.

"I hope that's okay. That-you know-umm...you know. That you're hungry. I mean, I hope you are. Because I was."

The longer I fumbled, the worse it got. I didn't even know what I was trying to say anymore. I was just filling the awkwardness. After another long pause, I continued:

"So...umm...it's a nice cafeteria...so many choices. It was nice. Very nice. Kinda like your office. Very simplistic. But that's not a bad thing! It suits you. Not that you're a simple guy or anything...just that-"

"Stop," Felix said.

My lips froze mid-sentence.

He moved over to his desk, with a fresh coffee in hand. After placing his computer back on the docking station, he logged in and began typing.

"Move these plates away from my desk," he said, his gaze on his monitors.

"You don't want it?"