A/N: This will be a standalone set of four stories around each couple. My Devie starting point! Enjoy!
"Oh. Hello." Doug's cheery voice seemed to hollow at the sight of Jonathan sat at Evie's desk. The young man looked up to smile quickly at Doug but his head bent back to his notes once more. "Is Evie not here?" Doug pressed on at the other man's silence.
"Clearly not." He said to his paperwork, looking only to change the page of Evie's scrapbook in order to finish his notes.
"Do you know where she may be?" Doug refused to let his anger colour his tone, but Jonathan was testing every nerve Doug had, and even nerves he didn't know he had.
"Nope." Jonathan popped the 'p' and Doug closed his eyes briefly. He knew that Evie had needed a secretary for as long as he could remember, he knew that Evie had been excited to hire Jonathan, but hells bells the man was infuriating. For the three months the man had been in Evie's workspace, Jonathan had been nothing but rude and abrupt to Doug, but only when Evie was absent.
"Crap kind of PA then aren't you?" Doug couldn't control his outburst and Jonathan finally looked up Doug, a sneer gracing his features.
"I'm not your PA." He remarked.
"Thank heavens." Doug's parting shot was the final word as he snicked the door shut behind him. He went to find Dizzy who was considerably nicer than Jonathan. She was helpful as well, helping him to ferret Evie out in the vast maze of storerooms that ran beneath the castle Evie had taken for her fashion empire.
"Oh hello beautiful." Evie dropped a quick kiss to his lips before lifting another bolt of fabric onto the trolley she was wheeling with her. "How are you?"
"I'm okay." He chewed his bottom lip, but Evie didn't seem to see his anxiety.
"Have you spoken to Jonathan, I really need his help with something." Evie frowned as she counted on her fingers while muttering to herself, definitely not noticing Doug's rictus grin.
"He's upstairs, anyway E I'm sure I will speak to you later." He pressed a kiss to her cheek and didn't see the confusion on her face as he turned away sharply, doggedly avoiding her office on his way out. He never told her about his promotion, or that he was planning to take her to dinner to celebrate. Instead he went home, rang up his cousin Merry and the pair departed to a bar for the night. In that moment, Evie didn't dwell long on Doug's weird behaviour, as Jonathan appeared, notepad in hand with a small smile on his face.
~Devie~
A few weeks later
"You're being really weird Doug!" Evie burst out.
"How do you draw that conclusion?" He turned with a raised brow, placing his champagne glass down on the table so she didn't see his hands shaking.
"Jonathan was right, your behaviour has really changed, he said you're rude to him all the time! After all the work he's done for me! Tonight would not have gone ahead without him!" She hissed. The pair had taken their argument into a hallway. It was Evie's Season, with her latest designs hitting the runway, and the after party was rolling with people, royalty and civilians alike.
"I am really glad you are taking all of Jonathan's comments to heart." Doug said stiffly. "If my behaviour is offending you so much I do not wish to dampen your evening anymore, I will head home now." His tone was artificial, a smile hiding his pain, but his anger was rolling, and he knew that a screaming row would do more harm than good. Instead he turned away fast and all but ran down the corridor, leaving Evie to fume behind him. Neither of them saw the smirk on Jonathan's face, but there was one person who did and she felt her inner Isle come out at the sight of the nasty little man.
When Evie went home that night to find Doug already asleep on the couch, her anger bubbled all over again, and the following morning, she had slammed her way into work. She found solace in Jonathan's soft words, his congratulations on her show and party, and his sympathy for the way Doug was behaving.
"I have told you E, he's very strange." He tapped away at his computer when Dizzy appeared in the doorway.
"Since when did you call your boss E?" She frowned, her innocence radiating so much so that Evie blushed. "I thought that was Doug's nickname for you?"
"Don't mention him, he's in my bad books." Evie growled.
"Well then I'm taking you out for breakfast." When Jonathan rose as well. "No, this is girls only I'm afraid, got some boyfriend issues of mine to discuss." She smiled and although Jonathan frowned he sat back down.
When Dizzy got Evie settled in a corner of the Slipper in the Soup, she fiddled with the menu and assessed Evie. There were bags under her eyes and her face looked paler than usual. They ordered a small breakfast and Dizzy waited for the food to be served before she pounced on Evie. Instead she filled the silence with affable chatter about her latest design, taking Evie's thoughts as always and wondering what alterations could be made. Once the waiter had departed, she leant forward and narrowed her eyes.
"Bad night?"
"Doug's being weird."
"No, he's not. He's being jealous." Her blunt answer made Evie stare at her before laughing.
"What has Doug got to be jealous of, no even Jonathan said he's being weird, did you know Doug is being rude to him?"
"Doug doesn't have a rude bone in his body." Dizzy huffed. "Nobody likes Jonathan except for you. He's a rat Evie, oh for heaven's sake don't stand up and flounce out. Sit back down, I'm not going to watch that weasel of a man ruin your relationship so he can take your business." Evie sat down sharply at Dizzy's order and stared at her friend as if she was speaking another language.
"What?"
"Have you not worked it out? That nasty little man is the rudest thing to have entered your building, and that includes Chad Charming. Every time in the last six months he has never told Doug where you are, or what appointment you're doing. He's rude, he's insolent and he thinks he's an equal partner in the business." Dizzy growled. Jonathan had not been friendly to her either; comments about her Isle life had been so cleverly worded that at first, she had been unsure whether it was an insult or not, now though she was sure… Jonathan was cruel.
"Dizzy… I think you're wrong." Evie started. "Jonathan has been wonderful!"
"To you, and you alone." She said severely. "Last night, you and Doug were arguing in the corridor and that little bastard was out there lapping up the drama. I've never seen such a man satisfied on your heartache. He's a nasty piece of work Evie Regina. Test him, I dare you."
"Why…"
"You're too Auradon for your own damn good sometimes." Dizzy said casually, and Evie almost hissed in surprise. "You could even ask Mal what she thinks of him, she'll give you a straight answer." Dizzy put down her mug and stared severely at her friend. "When did you and Doug start having relationship problems Evie? Because I'd stake the money I had, that your issues only started after Jonathan started pouring poison in your ear." Dizzy took a breath and when Evie went to speak she held up a hand to silence any protests. "You have known Doug for years, you have been with him through thick and thin. When you didn't get a placement at the De La Mode college, it was Doug that picked you up and held you close, when Doug failed his midterms, you were right there, supporting him, keeping him together. Every moment, good and bad you and Doug have been side by side, and if you're going to be so easily led by such a foul and loathsome waste of human life then I don't think I can work for you anymore." Dizzy's speech was long and Evie was staring open mouthed at the fierce younger woman. "I love you Evie, you were the sister I always needed, and as a sister, I'm telling you to wise up."
Evie closed her mouth and thought for a moment.
"Say you're right, how do I go about proving this?"
~Devie~
"How is Doug." Jonathan emphasised the name sarcastically, and Evie stayed silent for a moment, she hung her jacket on the back of her chair and sat at her desk, staring at the pattern in the wood. "Is he still throwing the dramatics and flouncing out?"
"Doug doesn't flounce." Evie said quietly but Jonathan didn't recognise her change of mind.
"No you're right, he doesn't have the spirit to flounce. Honestly E I do not know why you're dating him, I know many men that deserve you more than he does. He's just a Miner offspring, pun intended, no royal blood like you and I!" Jonathan carried on tapping away at his keyboard, unaware of Evie's growing realisation. Jonathan didn't see her text Doug and ask to meet for lunch, he didn't see the small smile of relief when Doug curtly agreed. Evie hummed in the right places of Jonathan's poisonous diatribe, and let him dig himself into a deeper hole. With every word that fell from his lips, Evie realised that her blunt little sister was right – Jonathan was a nasty little toad and he was working hard to turn her against Doug.
When lunchtime rolled around he turned to face her and was taken aback. She had her handbag between her fingers and had slipped her phone in her pocket.
"Are we going out for lunch?" He asked, reaching for his jacket.
"Not today, I have to nip out, Dizzy left me with an errand and I need to complete it."
"Well why can't she do that? Surely it's her job and you are her boss." He frowned.
"This one's kind of personal, I'll be back within the hour." With that she left her thankfully clueless secretary in her wake.
She found Doug at the corner of the street just as he promised and although they glanced at one another awkwardly, she soon flung her arms around his neck and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, I made a mistake, and I need you to help me." She whispered.
"What's happened E? What can I do?" He held her close and kissed her head. No matter what mood he was in with her, he would always help her.
"You were right about Jonathan, he is a nasty man and I need you to help me get rid of him. I am so sorry for the way I've treated you." There were tears sparkling in her eyes and Doug, although there was a small bite of bitterness, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and kept his arms wrapped around her. There had been a small part that thought she was meeting up with him to dump him and the relief flooding through his system wiped away any resentment he had towards her.
"Of course E, what do you need me to do?"
"We need to visit Fairy Fluffkins Apothecary and then go back to my office?"
~Devie~
"Is Evie in?" Doug was holding open the office door with his foot, hovering on the threshold. As soon as Jonathan saw him, a sneer twisted his features.
"I don't think you're welcome here." He grinned. "You're going to be out of her life so fast."
"What do you mean?"
"Your little performance at the party last night. Evie needs someone like herself, who understands her needs, and you are not it. You're some scrubby little nobody from the backend of Snow White's lands. You're one of many Miners and E needs someone like her, someone like me, someone with Royal blood in their veins. You'll be gone soon enough." He spat triumphantly. "She's out doing an errand for Dozy Tremaine at the minute."
"You mean Dizzy?" Doug repeated and Jonathan's face sneered again.
"I meant Dozy." He said gleefully.
"Did you?" There was an icy voice from one end of the room and as the enchantment lifted. To Jonathan's dismay there stood Evie Regina, in her full glory with her anger almost fizzling around her. He visibly paled and seemed to shrink behind his desk, there was a shock of magic that froze him to his chair and Evie advanced towards him, looking every inch the Evil Queen. "Well Jonathan, I think it's time we had a little talk."
"Can I let in the team now?" Doug quizzed and she nodded, grateful for the distraction as the Evil Magic boiled inside of her.
The team that Doug had quickly gathered was soon in her office, bagging and searching for devices on Jonathan's frozen form. Jonathan himself was still bound to his chair, but his features were twisted in pure hatred as he stared at Doug. Doug who was now soothing Evie's anger and now had the cheek to shoot a lazy smile at the ex-secretary. "We've just got to see how much you've embezzled from the company, then the King's Force will be taking you in." He shrugged with an almost arrogant smile. "I knew you took over the finances just a little too fast." He grinned and felt Evie wrap her arm around his waist.
"I love you Douglas Miner." She leant forwards to kiss him.
"I love you more Evie Regina." He kissed her back. "This lot will be here a while." He nodded, having called in a few favours with friends.
"It's okay, here comes Detective Charming now." Evie smiled as Florence Charming strode into the room, she smiled briefly at the pair, before her eyes narrowed at Jonathan.
"I got what you need Doug, this warrant covers all of his stuff at home, whatever he's taken we'll make sure it's recovered." Flo may have looked the damsel in distress but she was strong-willed, fearless and smart, it made her a formidable opponent to the ne'er-do-wells of Auradon. "We'll wrap it up here, if you head down to the station in your own time one of my colleagues will take your statements." A brief nod and she turned her attention back to the disgraced man.
Taking their cue, Evie led Doug out of her office happily relinquishing it to the fine officers of the King's Force to see Dizzy leaning against the wall.
"Sorry Dizz." Evie murmured.
"That's okay, you made it up to me by letting me watch that charlatan orchestrate his own downfall." Dizzy grinned. "You enjoy your unexpected afternoon off, I am off to see a girl about some velvet."