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Beau and the Beetle	By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 3721 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Thomas Astruc and released by Zag studios. No profit was made writing this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Prologue: Alya
- 2-Adrien
- 3-Felix
- 4-Bridgette
- 5-Adrien
- 6-Sabine
- 7-Bridgette
- 8-Alya
- 9-Adrien
- 10-Felix
- 11-Sabine
- 12-Bridgette
- 13-Alya
- 14-Felix
- 15-Adrien
- 16-Alya
- 17-Felix
- 18-Bridgette
- 19-Adrien
- 20-Sabine
- 21-Felix
- 22-Alya
- 23-Bridgette
- 24-Adrien
- 25-Sabine
- 26-Adrien
- 27-Felix
- 28-Alya
- 29-Bridgette
- 30-Adrien
- 31-Sabine
- 32-Bridgette
- 33-Felix
- 34-Alya
- 35-Adrien
- 36-Felix
- 37-Sabine
- 38-Bridgette
- 39-Adrien
- 40-Felix
- 41-Adrien
- 42-Felix
- 43-Adrien
- 44-Adrien
- 45-Adrien
- 46-Epilogue
- 9
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- 11
Thinking of a way to prove his worthiness was more challenging than Felix had anticipated. He read business articles, news reports, and periodicals, but the things they suggested relied heavily on the person being in charge already. Felix wasn’t there yet. He had no authority, nor the financial means to pull off stunts like other businessmen had.
To add to his frustrations, the ideas he came up with that were within his means lacked imagination and pizzazz. Whatever he was going to do needed to be astounding, not the equivalent of a pimply youth standing on a street corner wearing a sandwich board.
‘I wouldn’t have this problem if I were an only child,’ he growled into the business journal on his lap. ‘Why did I have to be burdened with an idiot sibling?’
If it weren’t for Adrien, the line of succession would be clear. It was clear, regardless – he was the elder brother. It shouldn’t be an issue, yet here he is.
Felix’s lips pulled back in a snarl. Adrien’s presence complicated everything. If he weren’t around, Gabriel would have no other choice than to name him his sole heir and successor.
Clenching his jaw, Felix shook such thoughts from his mind. Resorting to something as crass as eliminating Adrien was not going to prove his worthiness. Gabriel would never know the truth, but it would nag at Felix’s conscience. He couldn’t remain in his position knowing he’d resorted to cheating to get to where he was. Besides, it was beneath him.
He needed to find a way to legitimately prove his suitability, for the sake of the business and his pride. Taking the easy route was not in his nature, or how he wanted to accomplish anything. Furthermore, he’d lost enough family already.
Felix tugged open his desk drawer, to pull out a photo of Emilie. She cradled an infant Felix tenderly, her smile gentle and her eyes bright. She had been a good mother, though perhaps a bit too liberal with praise. Felix believed rewards ought to be earned through hours of hard work, not dished out to every participant like a dessert.
While he’d loved Emilie, he had not respected her. She doted on Adrien, and was prone to frequent bouts of hysteria. Over-emotional, Gabriel had described her. Felix was inclined to agree.
He respected Gabriel, though Felix wasn’t sure if he loved him. Love was a strong word, implying vast applications of the softer emotions. Gabriel was not a soft-emotions type of man. He was strict, aloof, and goal oriented. Felix was sure the only person Gabriel had ever loved was his late wife, and that part of him had withered and died with her.
Felix had never found balance with his parents. He aspired too much to be like one, and scorned the other. Gabriel had always kept his children at a distance, while Emilie had an overabundance of affection for each of them. Though, Felix would never say Gabriel was an ideal role model, either. His parents were deeply flawed people; he held no illusions about that, or glossed over the fact the way Adrien did.
But, Gabriel ran a highly lucrative, multi-million-euro empire. He may not be an ideal person, but he knew how to run a business. He commanded respect, and drew attention in every room he entered. He had presence, something Felix coveted desperately.
It galled him when people treated him like a child. It was insulting, especially since many of those people were going to be his employees one day.
Felix threw the journal to the floor, and got up to pace. As the elder son, he was entitled to a large room, one far more spacious than Adrien’s. However, rather than fill it with common amusements, his room was more like a library than a bedroom. He never felt the need to distract himself with games or friends. He was only focussed on his future career, and would not allow himself to be drawn from his path by banalities.
Weaker minds had expressed concern over his unwillingness to socialise, but Gabriel had waved them away with a statement that Felix was ambitious and knew what his goals were.
The naysayers fell silent after that. Emilie too had once expressed a desire for him to find a playmate, but it was proven at a young age that Felix did not play well with others. He was permanently banned from any Bourgeois residence, and many children had been reduced to tears after being exposed to his acid tongue.
Felix was not sorry. Gabriel had taught him that he was above the common folk, which was a lesson he took seriously.
A knock sounded on his door. ‘Felix, your father would like to speak with you,’ Nathalie told him through the panels.
Ignoring the journal abandoned on the floor, he strode forward to meet Nathalie.
‘He’s in the atelier,’ she informed him, as she fell into step a pace behind him.
Felix acknowledged her with a nod, and kept going. He gave a perfunctory knock, then entered without waiting for an invitation. He didn’t feel Gabriel deserved the courtesy.
‘You wished to speak with me?’ he asked, pausing before the podium, his hands clasped behind his back.
Gabriel flicked through an old sketchbook. ‘Have you made any progress on how you’re going to improve the company?’
‘No,’ he growled.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m surprised. You seemed so sure you could handle running a business.’
Felix scowled. ‘I am more than capable, as you well know. Why are you testing me like this?’
‘Like I told you before, you lack passion. You view the company like you would any other business – distantly, and dispassionately. You fail to recognise it for the legacy I wish it to become. It’s a job to you, nothing more.’
Rage contorted Felix’s face. ‘I’m not like you, Father. I don’t have the artistic skill that’s kept you where you are for so long – ‘
Gabriel held up a hand, ordering him into silence. ‘Artistic skill can be hired and cultivated. Employees are numerous, and will fall over themselves for the opportunity to work for my brand. What you’re missing is attachment.’
‘Attachment?’ Felix spluttered, incredulously.
‘Yes. My brand is like my child, just as you and Adrien are. My company is your eldest sibling, and should mean just as much to you. Do you understand?’
Felix took a step back. ‘You expect me to love a heartless corporation? You do realise it’s not a living thing, right?’
‘That is where you are wrong, and why you will fail. A business requires people to live. They are its heart, body, and soul. You cannot afford to think of it as a mere thing. It grows and breathes just like any other person would. Do you get it now?’
‘I think so,’ Felix lied.
‘Very good. If there’s nothing you’d like to add, you may go.’
Keeping his expression impassive, Felix took his leave.
The man’s insane, he thought.
Gabriel put more thought into the needs of his company than that of his actual children. Still, regardless of Gabriel's state of mind, Felix needed to prove he valued the company as much as his father did, and would be an asset in its future.
His mind churned over the possible advertising campaigns as he walked back to his room, each one dismissed in turn. They were all insipid, uninspired, or juvenile.
He supposed he could pitch an idea, like an event at a public venue to boost sales and notoriety, but it banked heavily on the supposition he could pull the stunt off. In his current state, he was in no position to put something so largescale together. Maybe Gabriel would be willing to open up some resources, such as funding or manpower, for him to put a show together or start a competition.
Felix retreated to his room to build on the possible ideas, and how they could be achieved on a limited budget, but still draw in crowds. He smiled. He hadn’t spent all those years mulling over dusty old books for nothing.
- 9
- 10
- 11
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Beau and the Beetle