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Being someone of her position, Oleana knows that she has a reputation to upkeep. She’s the demure, distant, almost cold secretary of Chairman Rose, and said reputation must be kept at all costs, even if it restricts her from enjoying things she absolutely would have otherwise.
One of said things being adorable baby Pokémon.
It’s a natural fondness, she tells herself, yet it doesn’t mesh well with the icy persona she keeps up in public. No, she simply has to keep a straight face as Rose coos over the tiny Snorunt that occasionally gather in the garden, as he gushes over and takes in yet another stray Yamper. (“We’re going to run out of space,” she tells him, although she never stops him.) The poor cleaners’ hair stands on end with all of the Yamper fur they have to gather; Rose always apologizes, even though he can’t bear to part with any of the sweet puppies.
“Oleana! That charity event is tonight, right? The one with the baby Pokémon?”
Rose peeks over Oleana’s shoulder as she checks her phone’s calendar, and she’d normally make a snappy remark about his invasion of both her privacy and personal space, but she can’t, seeing as Rose cuts her off with an excited gasp, stepping away from her shoulder with a large smile. She had seen this reaction coming a mile away.
“Yes, we have to be there in two hours-”
“Oleana! Oh my goodness, this is the best day of my life. Do you think they’ll have any Cufant? I have to see them, Oleana, I love them so much-”
Oleana is quick to tune out her boss’ excited rant, scrolling through the provided pictures attached to the document. Indeed, they have several Cufant in need of homes, but she isn’t going to tell that to Rose; he already has a Copperajah, he doesn’t need another elephant to wreak havoc in the house.
“If there are Cufant, can we have one?”
She blinks, slowly, as if Rose is speaking another language, and sighs, crossing her arms and furrowing her brows at her boss. Truly, she doesn’t get paid enough to put up with him sometimes.
(“You’re basically my babysitter,” Rose tells her one day, and she can’t help but to agree. He’s a mess, and she’s his only form of self-control.)
“Chairman, you and I both know this is a charity event for disadvantaged children. You’re the one that organized this event.”
He smiles sheepishly, laughs nervously, scratches the back of his head, “Well, yes, I know that, but if there’s any left over? Please?”
(She half wants to give in, but she also half wants to tear her own hair out. She really doesn’t get paid enough to deal with this man.)
The charity event, as it turns out, is going to be utter hell for Oleana to sit through with a straight face. Indeed, there’s a plethora of baby Pokémon to give away to children in desperate need of a friend. (No Trubbish, she notes with a frown. They’re lovely companions; she’ll have to speak with someone about this later.) Naturally, Rose is instantly drawn to the small group of Cufant that lingers by a far wall, and Oleana braces herself for chaos.
“Oleana, look at them! There’s a shiny! They’re so precious, I think I might cry.”
She sighs, trailing after Rose as he almost runs over to the baby elephants, crouching down and laughing as they instantly flock to him, nudging him softly with their trunks. It is an adorable sight, but Oleana, of course, has a reputation, so she herself cannot join Rose in his enthusiasm; she’s struggling to keep a straight face, and she almost wants to forget about her reputation to pet the sweet things. She doesn’t, of course, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to.
“Oleana, look at this one! She’s so sweet, Dahlia would love her! Think of Dahlia with a daughter, Oleana!” Rose exclaims, his arms wrapped almost protectively around one of the Cufant. She manages a small smile at the thought of Rose’s dearest Copperajah carting around a tiny Cufant, but doesn’t offer much more than that. Oleana returns to her stone-faced neutrality, simply looking on as Rose dotes on the small Pokémon, as he excitedly talks the ears off of several employees who are also likely not getting paid enough to put up with him. She wishes that she could join him, but she’d hate to know what the press would think of such a cold, stoic woman gushing over baby Pokémon.
“Would you like to hold a Dreepy, ma’am?”
She turns to the voice that addresses her, and comes face to face with an employee carting around the aforementioned Pokémon in their arms. Oleana takes one look at the Dreepy, with its wide eyes and its tiny fins, and practically melts. It’s all over.
“Yes, I’d quite like that.”
Rose stands up with a smile, but not before giving all of the Cufant one last pat on the head. As much as he doesn’t want to, he does have to get on with the actual purpose of the event, which is to give away the aforementioned baby elephants to children. Children! He almost scoffs at the thought; he can understand giving them say, one of the traditional starters, or maybe a Rookidee, but a Cufant? There’s no way children know how to care for such a unique Pokémon. He sighs, and turns to his secretary with a smile.
“Well, Oleana, shall we get on with- oh my god.”
Oleana kneels on the ground, utterly covered in numerous Dreepy, a serene, content smile resting on her face. Silently, Rose grabs his phone from his pocket, and snaps a picture; he’s not letting this moment get away from him, it’s too precious not to cherish. Oleana looks up, and it’s almost amusing, how quickly their roles have been reversed.
“Can we just stay here for five more minutes? Please?”