Never Judge

Cedric frowned as he dropped the call. After Selina had told them her story and the story of several others, Dave had become furious. 

"A part of me is glad that Lucius threw her out of the bar." Dave said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"She wasn't exactly thrown out." Ian reminded Dave with a frown as he pulled up the photos on the tablet he was holding.

"Well she was sent away, same thing." Dave said as he rolled his eyes.

"Can I see those photos?" Cedric asked as he extended his hand, asking his assistant to hand over the tablet.

Ian looked at Cedric but said nothing, he gently handed the tablet to his boss who zoomed in on the photo, trying to understand what was going on.

"We need to know why she was there." Cedric said as he continued to observe the photo. 

"As far as we can tell there are no direct links between her and Lucius." Dave told Cedric as he looked through the report he had quickly compiled. 

"I'm sure they must have met before." Cedric said as he continued to eye the photos on the tablet. Something felt off about them and he couldn't figure out what exactly it was that was bothering him.

"Cedric is right." Ian said as he nodded in agreement. "Lucius would not have invited her to the party if they didn't know each other."

"She could have snuck in." Dave said as he scrolled through the document, there was no event where both Lucius Ting and Loussie were reportedly both seen.

"Look, they live in different circles, work in different industries. It only makes sense that they have never met before." Dave added, insisting that it was completely normal for two to have never met.

"What if she was Lucius' mistress?" Cedric asked.

"I doubt it." Dave said, shaking his head. "They have never been seen coming from the same place or going to the same place."

"Look at these." Cedric told his assistants as he turned the tablet to face them. "The guards aren't treating her like some criminal or intruder that had offended Lucius. Look closely." 

"They aren't touching her." Dave pointed out.

"They aren't, I know." Ian said with a nod. "What about it?' He asked.

"If she really was an intruder they would have dragged her out of the bar, but they are simply escorting her out." Cedric said slowly, hoping his assistant would realize what he meant.

"They know her?" Ian asked.

"Either they knew her or Lucius had given specific instructions not to harm her." Cedric told Ian and Dave as he tapped on the image.

"I'll get people to look deeper into who she is, but boss, it's not going to be easy." Dave said with a frown. "If she were a local I could just call a few people, but she's not from around here."

"Go call my cousin Ace, he should be able to help you a bit." Cedric told Dave with a nod, acknowledging how difficult it would be to look into Louisse's identity.

Dave nodded and did as Cedric asked and gave Ace a call.

"For now we try to figure out who she is and we wait." Cedric told Ian in a stern tone. "We wait for Camilla and Benedict to give us a call. They might know more, plus Camilla still owes me an explanation."

"Alright." Ian said with a nod.

After a few minutes Dave nodded at Cedric and the men all stood up.

"Ace said he will look into her." Dave informed Cedric. "He never had the need to investigate her so he'll be starting from scratch."

"Tell him to talk to Mau, Francesca, or Selina. They might know people who have begun to look into Louisse's past." Cedric told Dave as Ian opened the door for him.

"Ace should be able to get the information we need, and if he can't I hope Camilla and Benedict can." Dave said with a nod as the men walked back to the ballroom.

As they entered some guests glanced at their direction, it was unavoidable, Cedric was the host so naturally a lot of attention was focused on him.

"Is everything alright?" Adrianna asked Cedric as he settled back down into his own seat next to her.

"It should be." Cedric said with a nod as he turned his attention back to the stage where a group of musicians were playing.

As the night went on, everything was peaceful. There was no shocking news about Lucius or Camilla and Cedric was slowly relaxing as he watched the performances.

Every so often however, he would glance at his phone or give Ian a questioning look as he waited for news from Camilla, but it seemed like she hadn't found the time yet to give them a call.

"Looks like we are in the news." Adrianna told her husband as she handed him her phone.

Not surprisingly the internet was a buzz with reports regarding Cedric's new partnerships with the top international companies across the world. 

Cedric frowned as he saw some people commenting on how this was a smoke screen for his vice president's betrayal. Or how Cedric was simply hiding the fact that a few companies had decided his dinner was not worth it.

But as soon as Cedric refreshed the article the comments were gone. Cedric grinned as he realized that this was Ram's doing.

As if on cue, his phone began to ring, and the caller was Ramon Abad.

Cedric picked up the phone as he stood up and moved to a corner, flanked by bodyguards.

"Ram." Cedric answered with a laugh. "Did you call to boast?" He asked his friend.

"Maybe." Ram answered him. "Francesca said you were running an investigation into Louisse, the model."

"I am. Do you know something about her?" Cedic asked, realizing that Ram might have run into her in the industry.

"No, but I hear she is dangerous." Ram quickly answered. "It's all rumors, but if I've learned anything over the years, it's that rumors could hold some truth to them." Ram warned.

"We are looking into her backstory." Cedric told his friend. 

"Good, because it seems like whatever she is or she has done, Francesca was a victim." Ram's revelation shocked Cedric, this was the second person in their group to be victimized by Louisse.