Chapter 574

"Hey guys, what's with the dinner plans." Mae asked as she entered the room.

"Oh, we just decided it would be fun to have dinner together." Dave said with a sly grin.

Mae was about to say something when several waiters entered their room with food in hand.

Dave pointed at the seat in between him and Leon. Mae nodded and sat next to him.

When the food was finally served and the waiters had left Mae smiled up at Leon.

"I didn't know you were coming out of the hospital today." Mae said. "How are you feeling?" 

"It was a last minute decision." Leon said with a shrug. "Dave and Ian decided to pick me up at Saints and we headed here for dinner. I plan to visit Mia's grave tomorrow."

"Oh." Mae said with a frown. "You haven't since?" Mae asked, unable to find the words to ask Leon.

"No, not yet." Leon said with a frown.

"Why don't you go with Leon tomorrow?" Camilla asked Mae. 

Mae responded with a confused look. Beside her Dave grinned, it seemed she had forgotten that she had told everyone that she and Mia had been quite close before her passing.

"Well, you said Mia and you were good friends." Camilla said in a casual tone. "I haven't seen you visit her grave since her death. I mean I can understand, so many things have happened in the past two months."

"Oh, well, yeah. I've visited." Mae said, scratching the back of her head.

"You and my Mia were close?" Leon said, looking Mae in the eyes.

Mae started to get nervous, she was worried that Leon would figure out that she really wasn't that close to Mia. She hadn't realized that Leon would be discharged today.

"Kind of, we spoke from time to time." Mae said with a shrug. "She just told me what Miss Adrianna liked."

Ian leaned back and grinned, he wanted to see how far Mae was willing to take this lie. He knew that she meant no harm, it was just fun to watch her panicking to cover her lie in front of Leon.

"That's odd." Leon said, as he scratched his chin, pretending to think.

"What's odd?" Dave asked, joining in on the conversation. 

Ian shook his head, clearly Dave wanted to dip his toes in the ensuing drama.

"Mia always kept everyone as far away from her as possible, everyone except Camilla of course." Leon said as he pretended to keep a pensive mood.

Ian swore if this man had not been a soldier turned spy then bodyguard, he could have become a popular actor. Leon's acting was incredibly good, Ian was sure that Mae did not pick up on anything.

Mae froze in her seat, it seemed she hadn't realized that Camilla and Mia had been good friends, she simply assumed that the relationship between Mia and Camilla was purely professional.

"Mia didn't have a choice." Camilla said with a frown, for some reason her heart hurt when she spoke Mia's name. 

"Camilla, are you alright?" Ian asked as he placed a hand on her back. Camilla nodded and smiled at Ian.

"Yeah, I just miss Mia." Camilla said with a frown. "She didn't have a choice when it came to me, she had to talk to me if she needed anything from Cedric, but I eventually grew on her." Camilla said with a laugh.

"She always complained about how annoying it was to deal with you." Leon teased as he laughed. "She kept asking me if she could go through Ian instead of you. I told her no can do, Ian was way too busy."

"You just didn't want her talking to another guy." Dave teased.

"Yep, he didn't want her falling for my charms." Ian said, joining in on the teasing.

"I can't take it!" Mae suddenly said, sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I lied."

"Mae, it's alright." Dave said as he pulled her into his arms and let her cry.

"The boss asked me to do it and I understood why he needed time alone. I understood that he just needed to get away from everything, from everyone." Mae said as she continued to cry.

"So how long has he been meeting up with you?" Ian asked in a more serious tone. He knew that Dave and the others could work on the comforting part.

"He first approached me outside of the office the first day we were back." Mae said as she wiped off the tears from her eyes. "He explained why he had to leave and why I couldn't tell anyone."

"What did he tell you exactly?" Camilla asked Mae.

Mae hesitated for a bit, it was an incredibly personal matter, she wasn't sure if she could share it. It wasn't her secret to share.

"Mae, it's Cedric. You can tell us." Leon said with a nod as he urged her to talk.

"The boss said he needed time to process everything. That he couldn't function properly with everyone looking towards him for leadership." Mae explained with a frown. "He said he still blamed himself for everything, for all of the deaths."

"Did you tell him it was not his fault?" Ian asked Mae. 

Mae nodded.

"I told him that, but he said that he couldn't help but feel that way. He needed to mourn, he needed to feel." Mae explained.

"Do you know where he is staying?" Ian asked Mae, hoping that Cedric had told her that he was staying at Saints Hospital.

"No, but he told me not to worry, that he was getting the help that he needed." Mae told them as she recalled Cedric's words.

"What about Adrianna, how did he know she was sick?" Camilla asked.

"I don't know. He just gave me things to bring to the madam." Mae said with a shrug. "He said she was like that last time she was sick. At first I thought she was pregnant, but there were negative pregnancy test results."

"I have a feeling those test results are fake." Ian suddenly said, shaking his head.

"How could it be fake, she had them done at the hospital." Camilla said as she looked at Ian suspiciously.

"A hospital run by my future wife. Someone who is lying about knowing Cedric's location." Ian said, shaking his head. "Cedric doesn't want people to know Adrianna is pregnant. He is probably asking Nicole to keep it a secret so that it can't be used to bring him back."

"He needs to come back though." Camilla said with a frown. "I don't know how long everyone can deal with the stress and honestly, that new player in the tech industry is starting to stir again."

"Adrianna will have a hard time if that happens." Leon said as he looked at Camilla. "She's in a delicate condition, how could the boss just let this happen knowing his wife is pregnant."

"He doesn't know that whole situation." Dave said with a shrug.

"Mae, when are you meeting with Cedric again?" Ian asked.

"Tonight, after we finish dinner." Mae announced.

"I guess we are all going to Mae's place after this." Dave said with a shrug.