David Xanatos (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} selfmade_man) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} valarlogs,@ 2020-06-22 21:20:00 |
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What: Xanatos gets an unexpected dinner guest
Where: A fancy restaurant
When: Recently
Rating/Warning: Low/none
Status: Complete
Xanatos stepped into the expensive restaurant, and scanned the room for Nathalie. His eyes narrowed a little when he didn’t catch sight of her. It wasn’t a particularly large restaurant, and even if the tables were spaced far apart and afforded a small amount of privacy so that business matters could be discussed, it should not have been difficult to find.
In truth, Xanatos wasn’t entirely keen about the idea of meeting with Agreste’s assistant in the first place. It seemed an insult, though Xanatos could understand how a man might not want to fly across the Atlantic Ocean for a single business meeting. No doubt Owen would have insisted on meeting Nathalie instead of allowing Xanatos to deign to do it, but Owen was on a much deserved vacation - one that Xanatos had nearly had to force him on - and Xanatos wasn’t about to ruin his time off by mentioning this.
“Good evening, sir,” the maitre’d said, approaching Xanatos with a smile. “Will you be meeting anyone tonight?”
“Agreste,” Xanatos said, sparing the man a glance but only briefly.
“Ah yes, right this way, sir,” he said sharply, and led Xanatos to the table.
Xanatos’ step didn’t falter, though his eyes narrowed again and his lips pursed as he caught sight of the teenager at the table. So, no serious business would be done tonight. He was near certain that this was done deliberately to insult him. What would Owen do in this situation.
“Adrien,” Xanatos said, plastering a smile on his face, and sitting in the chair that the maitre’d pulled out for him. “You’ve grown since I last saw you. You must be what, sixteen now?”
***
Oh the change in dinner companions was very much an insult from Gabriel Agreste but Adrien hoped that he’d managed to lessen it at least a little. Nathalie had been told to not show up at all and leave the other businessman eating alone. Something Adrien only knew because he’d heard her on the phone with his father reassuring him that she understood his instructions about doing so. He might not hold any actual power or position in his father’s business affairs but he could try to keep it from touching his name and reputation as brand ambassador. So he’d waited until his guardian was busy with something, put on a suit and slipped out to a cab and come to the dinner himself.
He stood up halfway as the older man was led to the table, a forced smile on his own face that would have fooled anyone that didn’t know him well. “Mr. Xanatos. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” He said sitting back down, manners masking the chill that had gone up his spine at the brief reaction he’d seen on the other man’s face as he first saw him. “Almost seventeen actually.” He took a sip of his water, deciding to just approach the awkward situation head on. “I know that you were intending to meet with Nathalie tonight. I apologize for the sudden change - my father has her attending other matters.”
***
“I imagine she must be very busy. Helping manage a multinational can be time consuming,” Xanatos said jovially, though there was an undercurrent of steel in his tone; he was also a very busy man and dinner with teenagers was generally not something he made time for. Especially not when he couldn’t even discuss business with them, which had been the whole point of dinner in the first place.
“Sixteen though, that’s an important age. Should I be keeping off the roads?” he asked, and turned to the waiter to order a bottle of wine and some starters.
***
Adrien honestly wasn’t surprised that Xanatos had seen through his obvious lie. But he did appreciate the man not coming right out to call him on it. It was about saving face that was all and he was willing to bet that Xanatos understood that better than most other people would. “I’m sure she’ll be rescheduling for a time in your office.” Another lie but this one might prove to be true at some point. If his father ever found out that he’d come to this dinner that might make it more likely.
“No. Father has a driver for me. He doesn’t trust me to not get lost.” He said with a shrug. Actually Gabriel couldn’t be bothered to sign the paperwork that would allow him to start working towards getting his license.
***
“Having your own driver is convenient,” Xanatos said. While he would often take one of his sports cars out for a joy ride, Xanatos could count on one had the amount of times he had had to drive himself to any particular location. “Still, it might not be a bad idea to learn in case of an emergency.”
The waiter returned, a bottle of wine in his hands, and began to pour Xanatos a glass. “Any for you, Adrien?” he asked.
The waiter’s eyes widened a little, clearly recognizing that Adrien wasn’t 21-years-old, but not quite sure if he should refuse an order from Xanatos or Adrien if the teenager decided that yes, he would have some wine with dinne.
***
“That’s something I’ll have to take up with Father and Nathalie next time he calls to see how I’m doing.” Which could be anytime between now and six months from now. Gabriel wasn’t the most involved parent even when his son was in the same house, let alone in a different country.
Adrien knew he should say no because he wasn’t 21 but would they be an easier way to make sure Nathalie found out he’d done this? He shook his head. “Thank you but no. I’m fine with water.” He gave the waiter a friendly smile. Wanting to make sure they found out wasn’t worth risking someone’s job.
***
The waiter visibly relaxed as he placed the bottle of wine on the table, shooting Adrien a small but grateful smile. “Are you ready to order, sirs?”
Xanatos nodded, and turned to Adrien, ready to let him order first. After all, Xanatos intended to have this dinner billed to Agreste in the end, it was only fair to allow his son to order first.
***
Adrien knew that he’d made the right call when he saw the waiter’s response and he gave him a small nod back. He looked down at his menu, although he’d already decided what he was going to eat that night while waiting. “I’ll have the steak, rare. Salad and mashed potatoes for the sides.” He said, handing his menu to the waiter. “And for dessert the torte. I overheard someone mentioning it was the specialty of the chef.” And if it was the specialty it would either be in demand or take some time to make. Or both. Either way he’d order it early.
***
“And I’ll have the duck,” Xanatos said, handing the menu to the waiter with hardly a glance. “And if it’s the specialty, then I’ll be sure to have the torte as well.”
The waiter left, and Xanatos was able to turn his full attention back to Adrien. “So, Adrien, tell me about what you’ve been up to lately. Are you still in school?” It wasn’t as odd a question as it might seem. Xanatos himself had stopped going to school when he was fourteen, after he had emancipated himself from his father.
***
“I am. I attend Fairmont Preparatory Academy. Nathalie schedules as many shoots as she can for after school or weekends between my other lessons. I stay as busy as I can.” Adrien said, sugarcoating the truth just a bit. It was more that his father and Nathalie kept him busy. He’d have loved more free time in his schedule. Less lessons on top of his schoolwork, less shoots for companies Gabriel had contracted him too. “Are you finding California a good place for expanding your businesses?”
***
“It sounds exhausting. It’s a shame that your guardians are leaving you so little time to pursue your own goals and interests. Had my father relentlessly forced me to do nothing but build up his own business, I would still be a poor fisherman in Maine,” Xanatos said, casually, but then started as though he had just realized what he’d said. “Oh, but forgive me. I speak out of turn. Of course your circumstances are wholly different than mine; your father only wants what’s best for you to succeed.”
He took a sip from his wine, and moved on to Adrien’s next question before he had a chance to respond to Xanatos’ musings on his upbringing. “I think that the move to California is going to be very valuable indeed.” Perhaps not to the business side of things - he was confident that Xanatos Enterprises would do well no matter where in the world it was headquartered, and there were no particular business reasons why he’d decided to move to California - especially not with Owen still running things in New York for the time being. “I have to admit, California is not entirely what I had expected. It’s a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I think Pack Media stands to make big strides here. Don’t get me wrong, New York is also great for film production, but there’s nothing quite like Hollywood, is there?”
***
Adrien frowned a little at Xanatos’ commentary on his upbringing. Not because he didn’t see the logic in it, or even agree with it on some level, but because he did. And it bothered him somehow to hear things that he’d only ever thought to himself coming out of the mouth of an adult. He didn’t think even Marinette and Alya’s parents were even so candid around him and he was at their houses more than his own during his free time. “People seem to be very into dreams from what I’ve seen. Into talking about them more than I was expecting. And the press seems much...bolder in their approach.” Just part of why he was working on the boundaries he needed for a private life.
“I think it’s something to do with the glamour keep telling me Hollywood has.”
***
“You haven’t had any of them yourself yet though?” Xanatos asked, raising an eyebrow. The Dreams were, by far, the thing that most interested Xanatos about the county. He hadn’t thought to bring it up with Adrien - he hadn’t though the boy would be able to shed very much light on the matter for him - but if Adrien was going to bring it up himself…
“Yes, the Hollywood paparazzi is something else. If you ever have any problems with them, let me know and I’ll see if I can get it taken care of.”
***
“No. I am curious about them though. What they mean and what they’re like.” Adrien said, sipping at his water. He didn’t understand why certain people seemed to want to fight them so much. They were just dreams, just something your subconscious mind put together.
“Thank you Mr. Xanatos. I might take you up on that. So far the reaction to their attempts to intrude on my life have been instructions for me to ignore them. Which I don’t believe Nathalie and father really understand how much easier to say and do here.” It was one of the reasons he was so glad that they had put him in a private school - during the hours he was there, no press could get in to take pictures or bother him and his friends.
***
“I also have something of a curiosity about them.” Not because they were a subconscious thing, because he did not believe them. Rather, he saw them as a doorway to other dimensions, and if he could find a way to use that doorway… “If you do start with these Dreams, will you let me know?”
He waved a hand, a little dismissively. “I suppose you can’t blame him for not understanding. It’s difficult to understand something when you’re not around to personally experience it. It must be difficult for him to be so far away from you; I’m sure he just can’t bear the thought of how disturbing and dangerous the press can be out here. We adults like to think of children as being safe, even if sometimes it makes us blind to the facts. But just say the word, and I can hire someone to keep them away from you.”
***
“If I do start having them I doubt I’ll be keeping it a secret from people so of course I’ll let you know.” It wasn’t like knowing about his Dreams could cause any problems for Gabriel’s brand. Or for Adrien himself.
Adrien looked down at the table as Xanatos said he was sure his father was having difficulty being so far away from him and thinking about what he was going through. That was so far from the experience of dealing with his father that Adrien had that he couldn’t begin to imagine it. Gabriel loved not having his son around to remind him of anything existing outside of his own interests and career. “I appreciate the offer Mr. Xanatos.” Not that he’d tell his father. Because God only knew how the man would react to his son accepting help from someone else.
***
“Of course,” Xanatos said, smiling and sitting up a little straighter as their orders were brought to the table and laid out in front of them. “We ought to stick together, after all. My understanding is that we’re all in this together from now on.”