My Boss is Felix: Alternative Miraculous Ladybug Tale

Ch40: Hollow

I sat stiff in the back seat of the taxi cab listening to the ringing of my phone. My fingers dug into my pants with anticipation as I watched rain drops glide down the car window - they looked like tear drops. The sky had begun to weep immediately after I left Felix's apartment. How was it that nature was so in sync with my emotions?

"Please answer," I whispered to my hot pink phone.

Instead, all I got was voicemail. Again, I dialed and waited to hear a comforting voice.

"Are you sure okay, miss?" The taxi driver said in a thick Chinese accent, his aging eyes staring back at me through the rear view mirror.

"Yeah."

"Anything I can help with?"

"No. Just take me to the address I gave you," I said, refusing to give this stranger any details about my personal life. Also, he was a little creepy and kept asking intrusive questions.

"Of course, ma'am. I didn't mean to pry," he said with a polite nod as he refocused his gaze on the road.

Voicemail.

I dialed the number again and waited. Why wasn't she picking up? It wasn't like her to ignore my calls. Usually she answered after the second ring.

After my fourth call I was finally welcomed by Alya's weary voice.

"Marinette? Hey," Alya said dryly.

"Girl! I have to tell you something terrible!"

"Oh great," she sighed.

"Felix gave me his mother's necklace for the gala last night and I was being an idiot and lost it! I'm so humiliated! I need to move to another country because I don't think I have the strength to ever see him again!"

I could hear her attempt to stifle a yawn.

"Girl, we talked about this. You need to be more careful," she finally said, "Losing and breaking things seems to be a consistent theme in your life."

"I know! I know! But what am I supposed to do?" I asked, leaning forward before the seat belt tugged me back.

"Find it," she said. That was when I noticed a strange beeping sound in Alya's background. Where was she? Oh whatever! More importantly, why was she being cold?

I felt so irritated with her. What she was asking was basically impossible. How was I supposed to find a small necklace that could be anywhere from the gala to the streets of Paris? It was expensive so surly it would have been stolen by now if someone had found it. Basically, there was no hope.

I wanted her to help calm me down and perhaps I even wanted some pity. I wanted her to say, "It's going to be okay. It's not as bad as you think. Felix will forgive you and we'll laugh about this five years from now."

Instead, her short answers reminded me of the severity of my careless actions. This was one of my biggest fears: messing up to a point where forgiveness and relationships were permanently broken. How do you recover from that? Was my failure and self-destruction inevitable? Why couldn't Alya tell me something kinder? Something more tolerable? Did she realize my actions were a death sentence for my career at Agreste Inc?

"Seriously? That's all your going to say? I'm freaking out right now! I'm literally shaking. This is a really big deal and I messed up so bad. I doubt I could find it if I tried!"

"Is Felix mad?" she asked before yawning.

"Well, he wasn't happy. His eyes turned so cold and I feel like he hates me. Of course, he didn't yell at me or anything. But I'd rather be screamed at than given the silent treatment."