Never Judge

Ian led Cedric and his group down the elevator to the  third floor. 

Cedric was quite surprised to hear that Ian and Seth has set the third floor up in such a way that it could accommodate both the meeting with the Barons as well as Cedric's other plan.

"So what are you plotting to do?" Ray asked Cedric as they walked down the third floor hallway to one of the meeting rooms.

The third floor of the hotel was used as a business center and recreational area. Had rooms that were perfect for their plans.

"We'll talk to the Barons first." Cedric said nonchalantly as they entered the in house gym.

"And why are we here first?" Alexi grumbled. It was unheard of for Cedric to be the first to arrive in a meeting like this, mainly because he wanted to intimidate and make his guests nervous.

"This isn't the meeting room." Ian pointed out.

"Sir." A tall dark skinned man with black hair and brown eyes approached. He gave Ray a deep bow.

"I didn't expect you to be here, Seth Dean." Ray said in a cold and threatening tone.

Next to him, Cedric couldn't help but laugh. Seeing Ray's shift in personality amused the CEO as much as his own shifts amused his friends. 

Seth was visibly nervous, making a move this big without informing the King of the Underworld could be seen as a betrayal, and traitors were not looked on kindly among the mafia.

"Since when did the Dean family have business here?" Ray asked as Seth gave a worried glance at Ian.

"Sir, I'm here to assist your brother-in-law." Seth said as he tried to stand his ground. 

"You know that I don't like my people moving without my knowledge." Ray said as he glanced at Cedric. "I'm assuming he is Ian's contact."

"You've always known that he was Ian's contact, you don't need to assume." Cedric said with a grin.

"I prefer to confirm it rather than to simply assume." Ray said with a smile. 

"Don't be afraid of him, Seth." Cedric said, shaking his head. "He won't hurt you for this."

"With all due respect Mr. Reyes, I would rather not offend the man that controls all lives in the underworld." Seth said in a shaky voice as he glanced at Ray.

Alexi laughed at how nervous Seth was.

"Don't worry, Seth. Ray won't do anything to offend his in-laws." Ian told Seth as he tried to reassure his friend.

Seth still glanced at Ray, trying to study his reaction to Ian's words.

Ray simply shook his head and smiled.

"Ian is right, Cedric can do whatever he wants as long as it won't threaten my wife or my position. And I trust my bestfriend to have both in mind." Ray said as he looked at Cedric. 

Seth simply nodded and led them deeper into the room.

"What are you planning?" Alexi asked Cedric as they continued to walk.

"I just want to teach the Barons a lesson, and it just so happens that someone they know was kept alive by Ian and Seth." Cedric said as he placed his hands in his pockets as they came to a stop.

"Are they squeamish?" Seth asked Ian as he pointed at Katerina and Mae.

Ray who was nearby couldn't help but laugh out loud at Seth's question.

"Katerina? Squeamish?" Ray said as he continued to laugh. "If you've heard of her, you'll know that she isn't."

"She's Katerina Sebastian?!" Seth asked in shock as he looked at Katerina and his jaw dropped.

Ian grinned and shook his head.

"Have you been living under a rock or something Seth? How could you not know how Katerina looks?" Ian asked his friend.

"I don't pay too much attention to entertainment gossip." Seth said with a frown. "With politics I really don't mind the photos."

"What did you expect to see?" Alexi asked as he tried to get Seth to dig himself in even deeper.

"Well. . ." Seth said as he looked awkwardly at Katerina.

"Spit it out, she won't kill you." Ram said with a laugh as he noticed that the mafia leader was getting nervous.

"Miss Katerina has a reputation of being ruthless and ingenious, so I didn't really expect her to look the way she does." Seth said with an awkward smile.

"And what did you expect me to look like? A monster with three heads?" Katerina asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"No, no, nothing like that Miss Katerina." Seth said as he shook his head and blushed.

Ian laughed at his friend as he patted him on the back. He was well aware of how intimidating Katerina Sebastian was. Her name was enough to strike fear in a lot of people. 

"Relax Seth." Ian said as smiled. "Katerina doesn't eat people."

"I didn't think she was a monster." Seth said with a frown as he looked at Ian. "I just didn't expect you to be so pretty Miss Katerina."

Most women would have been flattered by Seth's words, but Katerina Sebastian was not most women.

She glared at Seth, making him take a step back. He never expected to get this kind of a reaction from Katerina.

"Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't be strong and pretty." Katerina said in a threatening tone.

"Miss Katerian, no, it's not that-" Seth said as he struggled to find the right words to say. He thought he was scared of Katerina before, but this time he was even more scared. "I- no- I didn't mean it that way."

"Dude, just say sorry, you'll never win an argument with her." Alexi said with a laugh. "Trust me, I know. I've been arguing with her since the moment I was born."

"I'm sorry Miss." Seth said in a regretful tone.

Katerina had already visibly calmed down, mostly because Mae was trying to get her to see that Seth didn't mean any harm. So by the time he apologized she was no longer as pissed off as earlier.

"Let's not waste any time, just take us to our special guest." Katerina told Seth as she rolled her eyes at him.

Seth was more than happy to oblige as they reached an area where multiple men were standing, all keeping watch.