Once they made it to Gabriel's secret room where he hid the dresses Nathalie stared at all of the beautiful creations open-mouthed. 
"You choose." he smiled down lovingly at her, knowing damn well that whatever his assistant would pick would look gorgeous on her.
"I can't choose, they are all-...wonderful. What would you like to see me in?"
"M-me? I-I wouldn't want to see you in any-I MEAN-I d-don't mind."
Gabriel blushed as he heard Nathalie innocently giggle next to him.

"Well, how about this?" She picked out a simple silk piece with spaghetti straps, its end falling right above her knees.  "Hmmm a little too daring." the assistant placed it back and walked towards the other row of dresses hanging in the back. "Gosh, they are all beautiful but-...but not appropriate for me to wear. I'll look like a slut who is trying to date you."
Nathalie turned back to her boss who by now only nodded to her words. He simply couldn't stop imagining her in all of these dresses and all he wanted was for her to look like 'the slut who wished to date him.'

"Sir? Is everything okay?"
"Wha-YES! I'm fine...anyway, what's your pick?"
"You weren't listening, were you? I said-"
"-that you'd look like too much of a slut who wants to date me. Yes, I heard everything." Gabriel smirked as he finished her sentence which turned Nathalie's cheeks a vibrant shade of pink and even made her breathing quicken.
"So then which one should I-"
"-How about...this one right here." He brushed his hand along a red velvet dress which had quite a daring style, but the young assistant was up for the challenge.
As the designer slowly lifted this piece off of the hanger she grabbed it, and without hesitation Nathalie left to the bathroom to change.

After a few minutes of admiring and adjusting the dress for herself, Nathalie came back, and to her surprise she spotted her superior slowly admiring a crystal blue strapless dress that was glowing from all of the different decorations on it.

"Wow, this one is really beautiful." The assistant smiled at Gabriel who nodded to her words, and as he did so; a few tears fell out of his eye which caught the assistant's attention
"Sir-"
"-Pardon me Nathalie, that was just an old piece."
"Really? I've never seen it in your collection-"
"It wasn't in any collection, this was a special piece, created only for-...Emelie. Oh god, she looked sooo exquisite in it. I can clearly remember how excited she was to twirl around-...the things I would do to see her once more again-"
And for the first time in many years, Nathalie witnessed her boss slowly fall down to the ground until only his knees could support him. She didn't even know what to do as she just watched him shed his precious tears down onto the marble floor which slowly became slippery under her foot.
"I'm sorry sir, she must've looked stunning-..." Nathalie mumbled as she slowly sat down next to him and began gently rubbing his back in an attempt to make him feel better.
For a brief moment both adults shared eye contact, and as they did so, Nathalie carefully took the crystal blue dress out of his hand and held it in her own.
"Do you want to-" A barely audible whisper came from the designer which caught the assistant's attention.
"-wear it?" She asked to which he silently nodded.

Without further ado Nathalie stood up and began to change. She didn't even walk away to a bathroom or a different room, no, she stayed right before the eyes of Gabriel Agreste.
At first, the designer stared at her in shock, but it didn't take long before he stood up, onto his own two feet, and helped her in every step.
His fingers slid along her arms as he adjusted the fabric of the dress and tightened it a bit around her waist, which made Nathalie to stand still like a statue, but she instantly became a blushing mess instead.

"What do you think?" Gabriel asked with a low whisper as he rested his head down onto her shoulder and watched his assistant admire herself in the mirror.
"It's great, but I look weird-"
"No-no, you look perfectly perfect in it. How about you wear this for the dinner tonight?"
"If you wish-"
"-No, I don't wish, I want you to wear whatever you feel comfortable in, I was just suggesting that this looks good on you."
Nathalie blushed as she felt Gabriel's hands straightening out the material. His touch was warm, and felt so close that she could clearly imagine him touching her, without the dress.
"I-I like it-...I'll wear it..."
Nathalie quietly mumbled to which Gabriel gave her an approving nod.
"Good decision. Now, I'll go and get dressed myself."

This left Nathalie all alone, once again. Staring at herself in the mirror and imagining Emelie in her place. She must've looked so much more happy and stylish. She always did. She was so perfect no one could ever point out a flaw about her.
For a second there Nathalie felt a little discouraged as she attempted to twirl but stopped halfway to the sound of clapping.
"Come on, do it again!" The designer smirked at her from the doorway.
Nathalie didn't expect him to get dressed this fast, and now she was dying of embarrassment as she just got 'spied' on by her boss.
"Twirl Nathalie twirl!"
"I can't, I don't-"
"Oh come on, what is so difficult about twirling?!" His voice sounded serious and annoyed which made Nathalie fear him greatly, but before she knew it he appeared behind her and now his hands rested on her hips. "It's simple." With a quick movement he turned her around and now Nathalie got stared down by a pair of grey eyes which disallowed her to move.
"All you do is turn around quickly and move your hips. Come on! Do it for me!"

Nathalie didn't dare to disagree so she obeyed and did as told.
The young assistant twirled around a couple of times before she got stopped by a pair of hands.
"I told you it was simple, and you did great."
Gabriel whispered to which Nathalie's stomach felt sick, sick of love, and to make things worse even her face started to heat up and now she had a red pigment all through her cheeks.

As the assistant got a bit carried away in her thoughts she only snapped back into reality once she heard her boss ask:
"Now, shall we go?"
"Y-yeah!"
"Only after you, Miss."
Gabriel smirked as he opened the door before her and gestured Nathalie out, after that he closed the door, and even locked it with a key.

*later*

After arriving at the desired destination also known as 'the restaurant', both adults took a seat at a table for two.
It looked wrong, almost as if 'the' Gabriel Agreste was taking his assistant out on a date, and even the waiter confused them for a couple:
"What can I get for you two lovebirds?"

Nathalie simply buried her face in her palm whilst Gabriel almost choked on air, but he managed to formulate a proper sentence:
"W-we are not-...together. Just...acquaintances."
"Ohhh my apologies. What can I get for...you two acquaintances?"
The waiter asked again to which both Gabriel and Nathalie nodded with a smile.
"Umm red wine will do-"
"Gin! And tonic!" The assistant replied to which her boss gave her a strange expression.
"Are you sure-"
"Yes, I know what I want to drink."
"G-great! I'll bring the drinks in a minute!" The waiter giggled a little as he saw the two 'acquaintances' have a bit of a disagreement which looked awfully like a couple fighting.
But quickly before anyone could see his smirk the waiter shook his head and now his expression was simple and serious, with a nod he signaled that he'll be back soon with their order.

And as he left Gabriel and Nathalie sat there in complete silence until one of them finally managed to break it.
"Happy birthday to yo-"
"Nathalie please, don't embarrass me."
"Sorry, sir."
Again there was nothing more to say, so they didn't speak until the waiter arrived with their drinks.
"Sir, your wine, and ma'am your-"
"Thank you." Nathalie smiled as she took her drink and in response the waiter slyly winked at her which caught Gabriel's attention, he couldn't help but say:

"She has a boyfriend!"
"But then, who might you be?"
"Excuse me?! WHO DO I LOOK LIKE TO BE?"
"Not her boyfriend-"
The waiter looked back down at Nathalie who to stared worriedly at her boss, Gabriel was about to stand up and kill this man but before he could do so the assistant spoke:

"Thank you for the drinks!" And with that she signaled the waiter to leave.
"My pleasure." He glared at Gabriel with a death stare but once he laid eyes on Nathalie the waiter just smiled and even grinned a little before leaving.

"That's it, we're leaving!!" The designer exclaimed as he grabbed Nathalie's hand and dragged her out of the restaurant.
"B-but sir...I didn't pay."
"Don't you dare waste a single dime on this! That was shitty service that deserves no payment!!" He fussed as he dragged his assistant towards the car and aggressively placed her down onto the passenger seat.
Gabriel was about to slam the car door shut, but his assistant managed to stop him just in time:

"I'm so sorry, it's my fault. I just wanted you to have a great birthday but I ruined everything, like I always do. It would've been better if I would've never even planned anything"
The assistant sobbed to which Gabriel sat down and pulled her in his lap, protectively laying his arms around her.
"Nathalie you didn't ruin anything. In fact, you made me happy. Today was the first time I have celebrated my birthday since Emelie 'died'. So thank you, but I also have some things I would like to do on my birthday."
"Of course." She nodded as she let go of Gabriel and he made his way over to the driver's seat.

*later*

Once Gabriel drove Nathalie home she entered her apartment and fell onto her bed with a disappointed sigh. Tonight she has let herself down, and as guilt slowly took over her heart she knew exactly who to call:

"...Martin?...could you please come over?" She asked, sounding desperate for attention, and it didn't take long before he replied:
"On my way darling! I'll be there in 10."
Somehow Nathalie could sense that he was smirking even through the phone which slowly drew a smile onto her face and even made her giggle a little, but deep down she was still devastated, and on the verge of tears, just waiting for someone to comfort her.
She wished that the special someone who would comfort her would be Gabriel, but he was probably down in the basement confessing his love to a corpse, or in his office not even bothering to have dinner with his only son.

Whatever he might be doing would either be a selfish act or absolutely traumatizing the people of Paris, and as she began hearing the helpless cries of people she realized that he was indeed terrorizing the city.

Why was he such a difficult man who could not let go of the past?
Why was he so goddamn stubborn to the point where it came to hurting others so he could achieve what he wanted?...but it's not like Nathalie was any better.
She also had her flaws and selfish acts which consisted of calling up Martin so at least one person in her life would show her love and affection and she wouldn't feel like a complete screwup.

To be continued-