Chapter Nineteen - The August Visitor part 2

Chapter Nineteen - 

Frederick batted his eyelids, trying to make sure he wasn't the one simply concocting an image in his head. 

"Sir… sir!" Josh called in a whisper, pulling Frederick out of his dazed state.

Frederick regained his composure, and rounded off his vote of thanks with finesse and his usual charm. Everyone stood to reward him with a rumbustious round of applause. He smiled gleefully and bowed slightly to the audience, all the while not losing sight of the lady that had caught his attention. 

As soon as he came down from the stage, a host of reporters accosted him. It was chaotic, as they began barraging him with a deluge of questions and making movement a bit of a hassle for him. 

Given a different circumstance, Frederick would have been more than pleased to attend to all their questions. They asked about important things like potential investors, launching of a new collection, plans for future shows and collaborations with designer brands. But right now, they were a nuisance to him, and he didn't want to be stalled any longer. He threw curt replies their way and made to go after the lady, but it was already too late.

The crowd was dense. She easily mixed up with it and just disappeared without trace. He darted his eyes frantically round the entire auditorium but she was nowhere in sight.

"Damn it." He cussed out. "I lost her."

"Lost who?" Henry came behind him, squeezing his shoulders lightly.

"No one, dad. Just uhm… someone I wanted to talk to." Frederick smiled weakly. The reporters were lucky to have left, they would have borne the brunt of his frustration. 

"I am really proud of you, boy. I always have been. And guess what? you have just got yourself some new investors." He revealed with a smug smile.

"Really? Who might they be?" Frederick enquired. His father had an uncanny ability to sense unease. If he didn't want to ruin the night or confess that he's been talking to the enemy, he had to behave like all was well. 

"Come with me." Henry beamed, pulling Frederick along, as they made their way towards the area reserved for the crème de la crème.

Henry introduced his son to some of his friends and business partners, all high ranking business moguls.  Frederick tried to mingle with the  guests, but his mind kept drifting back to the lady with the hat. He did not know his birth mother in person, but after he found out that Louisa was not his birth mom, he requested for pictures. So, he was almost certain the face he saw in the crowd tonight matched the pictures. 

Was I mistaken? Or is this some sick game that Carina is playing?

After about two hours, the guests were ready to leave, and they began filing out in their numbers. Apart from his family, and of course Stacey's, the only other people left were the crew members, as well as Alex's team. 

"Freddy, we would take our leave now. Today was a huge success by the way. Congratulations." James patted him on the back. His eyes twinkled with pure admiration for the young man. He recognized passion when he saw one, and Frederick was undeniably passionate.

"Thanks for coming, Mr. Brown, and I'm glad you enjoyed the show. Honestly, it means a lot to me." He responded politely.

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world." Susan asserted. "This mile stone will make the headlines for a pretty longtime. I know that for sure."

"I think so too." Louisa concurred. "I was completely blown away. You had everyone mesmerized. Well-done, love."

Stacey pretended to be indifferent about the show. She didn't have much of an expectation when her parents literally dragged her out of the house. But, she couldn't deny the fact that she had admired every single model that strutted the stage.

Frederick had his eyes on her the entire time. He had caught her nodding in approval more than once, when the models made their appearance on the runway. He wasn't really one to care for the thoughts of a person who had criticized him without basis, but somehow, he cared what she thought. And nothing made him happier than to see her contempt for his fashion sense finally giving way to the light. 

"So, how about you, Stacey? What did you think of the show?" Frederick asked, holding her gaze.

"I guess I kinda loved the show too." Stacey commented at last, against her better judgement. "Every bit of it." She added on second thought.

"Finally!" Frederick cackled. "I almost thought for a second that it didn't meet your standards." 

"Don't jinx it." Stacey warned jokingly. "Seriously though, it was brilliant. Bravo!"

"Thanks love." He flashed her a warm smile. 

"So, should we expect you home tonight?" Louisa probed, adjusting Frederick's muffler endearingly.

Frederick wanted to say 'yes', but remembered the puzzle that awaited him. "Uhm, no mum. I won't make it home, tonight. I'll spend the night in one of the suites here."

"Why? Is there a problem?" Henry couldn't help asking. The last time Frederick was a guest in a hotel, Carina happened. He wasn't looking forward to a repeat of such a scenario.

Frederick smiled, "nothing of that nature, Dad. I just need to tidy a few things here, and it might likely take a while, so I have to be here. You have nothing to worry about."

"Are you certain? Towards the end of your speech, you seemed distracted… like you'd seen a ghost. I hope your staying back has nothing to do with that Carina girl?"

"No! Not at all…" Fredrick tried to not sound desperate. His father had an uncanny ability to sense when things were amiss. But Frederick didn't want to cause them more worries by some unfounded claims that he saw his mother. He needed to make certain of what he thinks he saw first. 

Henry looked like he was still opposed to the idea but swallowed his argument. 

"Alright,  if you insist. Take care of yourself. If anything out of the ordinary happens, call us." 

Frederick grinned to ease the tension. "Yes sir!"

"And… be a good boy." Henry added.

"Mr. August, I don't think you need to cajole him into being a good boy. I am sure he has learnt his lesson the hard way." Stacey sniggered. 

Frederick rolled his eyes. "Exactly, Stacey. I don't need a reminder about the incident. Thank you."

James could hold back his laughter. "You two don't cease to amuse me. Always at each other's throat."

"Honey, it's lovers brawl. A cover for what they truly feel." Susan corroborated. 

Stacey scoffed at the erroneous assumption. The jibe was definitely not a camouflage, but she didn't want to get in an argument with their parents. 

"Stacey, how about you stay behind and keep Frederick company. Adrian will bring you home when you guys are done." her father suggested, mischief lurking around the corners of his eyes.

"I need to be up bright and early tomorrow for a meeting." 

"As expected." Frederick remarked, but Stacey ignored him. 

"We'll see you by morning, Son."

"Bye, people. Thanks once more for today."

Henry finally left with Louisa and the Brown's. Frederick immediately swung into action. He needed to figure things out before they got muddled up again. 

Looking around, he spotted the guy, in charge of the technical crew. 

"Hey José, please a second." He waved, looking anxious.

He had hired the services of one of the best in the game. They had installed cameras all over the auditorium, so he knew nothing escaped them.

"Yes boss." José walked over to him, grabbing a glass of Chapman from the tray one of the waiters, almost tripping over him.

"I need a favor from you. It's kinda pressing." Frederick began, not meaning to sound pushy, but couldn't help himself.

"Anything, Sir. If it's something I can do." José said with a smile. 

"I need to review the footages and videos from today's show, please."

José corked his brows in askance, "like now?" The surprise in his voice was palpable.

"I'm afraid so." 

"That's… uhm… that'll be a lot of work Sir." José admitted. He was looking forward to a good night's rest with the rest of his crew, not going over footages and videos.

"I know, José, but I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't urgent. I need to check something out."

"Was there a security breach?"

Fredrick shook his head, "none that I know of. But it's an urgent matter."

José gave it a moment of thought and finally assented. "Fine, let's do it. Give me few minutes, let me get my hard drive."

"Thanks Man, I owe you one."

José and Frederick painstakingly went over the files from the show, one at a time. José didn't know what they were looking out for. He just following Frederick's lead. No questions asked. The crowd that turned up for the event was making the search an arduous one.

José was about, calling it a night when Frederick interrupted, "Wait… zoom into this a little bit." He requested, his heart was already pounding erratically.

José did so, suddenly becoming interested in knowing what Frederick was so edgy about. Frederick's anticipation was mounting, but it was soon replaced by confusion.

The clip had the supposed lady, same physique, same outfit, but a different face. Even after checking another footage, it was no different. He thought about it, over and over again and came to one conclusion - Carina!