Never Judge

"Good morning." Cedric suddenly greeted Camilla who was busy at her desk. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked. It was eight in the morning and Cedric wasn't wearing a disguise. The junior assistants would be arriving soon, so it was quite dangerous for Cedric to be going around as himself.

"I'm missing work." Cedric said with a shrug as he entered his office and brought out his laptop.

"There is a lot of work that needs to be done." Camilla reminded him.

"I'll do some Reyes Group stuff today, move everything for Mor Co. to tomorrow." Cedric told Camilla as he made himself comfortable on his old desk.

"Yes sir." Camilla said as she began sending emails and making calls.

"What's with the furious typing and calling?" Ian asked as he arrived.

Camilla simply pointed to Cedric who was focused on reading several reports on his laptop.

"What are you doing here?" Ian asked Cedric as he dropped his things at his desk. He walked up to Cedric and spoke in a low voice. "The Mor Co. expansion needs your attention, you haven't been in the office recently and the work has piled up, and now you've decided to play hookey?" Ian scolded. 

"Shouldn't you thank me?" Cedric asked as he continued to look at the screen in front of him.

"Thank you." Ian said as he recalled the tongue lashing Nicole had given him when he woke up. 

"Was she hard on you?" Cedric was still concerned about the misunderstanding that they knew was coming after last night.

"At first." Ian sighed. "That's why I'm so late today. I had to sit her down to explain, it also helped a lot that you were there the whole time. She also spoke to Damien who swore that things were over between me and Jas." 

"That's good." Cedric nodded.

"You need to deal with the Mor Co. work." Ian said, shaking his head. Cedric knew Ian's attempt to convince him would be futile since he had made up his mind.

"Oh Mr. Cedric!" Mae greeted as she arrived on the CEO's floor. "You have business from the boss?" Mae asked as she walked over to her desk to set up.

"The boss probably won't be coming in today." Ian hissed.

"Again?" Mae complained. I've got several departments hounding me for updates. They keep saying things won't be able to move forward without the boss." Mae explained as she recounted the past few days. Cedric had not gone to work since Jam's death and Mor Co. was feeling their president's absence.

"A good friend of his passed away." Ian said in a sad tone as he looked at Cedric.

"I guess even gods have feelings." Mae shook her head as she powered on her laptop, furiously typing out emails. 

After a while Dave arrived with his hair a mess and sweat dripping.

"The boss isn't in yet?" Dave asked as he collapsed on his seat.

"He isn't coming in." Mae told Dave without lifting her head.

"Again?" Dave asked.

"Yup, again." Ian said loudly.

"Man, I rushed for nothing." Dave said, shaking his head as he pulled out a comb and an extra shirt to change the one that was now drenched in sweat.

"I wonder how Mor Co. will function when we all move to the head office?" Dave pondered. 

"He will pass it to someone else." Cedric answered.

"Oh, Mr. Cedric, I didn't notice you there." Dave said as he scratched his head. "What do you mean pass it to someone else?"

"Someone still needs to be at the helm of Mor Co., the Reyes Heir cannot oversee all the companies on his own. That's why some have their own CEOs while others have vice presidents that report directly to whoever is in charge of the Reyes Group." Cedric explained. "For example, Elisia Malls, it's CEO is Miss Ayanna, while companies like M Bank and Krisanta Land both have VPs that report directly to Mr. Emilio Reyes." 

"So Mor Co. will fall under either of the two cases?" Mae asked as she moved closer to listen in on how the Reyes Group functioned. 

"Most probably." Cedric said with a nod. He had actually already decided which course to take, and he even had a potential candidate to be the VP of Mor Co. Cedric just couldn't handle completely letting go of the company he had helped grow.

"Maybe he'll make you the CEO, Ian!" Dave suggested. It was no secret that among the assistants Ian was highly favored. 

Cedric laughed. "No, Ian has his own dreams."

Ian simply nodded to what Cedric said.

"Besides, Ian's going to be loaned somewhere for almost a year." Camilla teased.

"What?" Mae and Dave asked in surprise.

"Yeah, my girlfriend is pregnant and her family wants me to run their family business till she's ready to take back the helm." Ian said with a shrug. The way he told everyone about the company it sounded like a small family business, when in reality it was one of the most prominent family businesses around. "The boss already agreed, so I guess this is me telling you."

"Will we ever get to meet this mysterious girlfriend of your Mr. Ian?" Mae asked. She was genuinely curious, Ian was popular with the ladies both in Mor Co. and the Reyes Group. He was handsome and successful, something that would already rank him among the most desired men in the company, the fact that he was one of two personal assistants to the Reyes Heir only added to his charm.

"Maybe someday. It all depends on her." Ian said with a shrug.

"Why the secrecy?" Dave asked.

"Because her family doesn't fully accept me." Ian explained.

"Her parents and siblings do." Cedric corrected.

Ian simply laughed at how silly Cedric was being. "Her family is big and very traditional. I'm not exactly their ideal type." Ian said with a grin.

"Why? What do they want for her?" Mae asked.

"Someone who's family is in the same business as them." Ian said simply. He didn't want to add that the rest of the Chan clan wanted someone as rich as Cedric or the other princes. 

"We wish you and your girlfriend the best Mr. Ian." Mae happily greeted. "Don't forget to invite us to your wedding." She further teased.

They suddenly heard the elevator arrive and the doors open, followed by heavy rushed footsteps of several people. 

"Is he in?" Alexi asked as he stood by Ian's desk.