Never Judge

When they disembarked from the plane, they were greeted by Ian and Mae who had flown in ahead to help with the preparations.

"Well, I guess we'll see you later." Ray said as he pulled Ayanna closer to him.

"Go on, enjoy. Make sure to do the rounds though and say hi to the employees." Cedric reminded his sister and best friend.

"We won't let you down." Ayanna said with a wink as she and Ray got into a waiting BMW.

"Have you picked your rooms?" Cedric asked Ian and Mae.

"Well we haven't gone to your villa yet." Ian said as he scratched his head.

"And where are your things?" Cedric asked.

"At Nicole's." Ian answered truthfully. "It felt awkward going into your place without you there."

"Fine, fine." Cedric said, waving his hand. "Let's pick your stuff up then the two of you can pick out a room at my villa."

As they drove to Cedric's Villa Mae couldn't help but gasp at the sights on the island. The route to the private area and the view from that area was much better than the rest of the island. Ray had reserved the best for him and his friends.

"Hey kid. Stop drooling." Cedric teased.

"But Mr. Cedric, Kashmere is such a beautiful island. I thought it couldn't get better when we passed through the public areas but this, this is just breathtaking!" Mae exclaimed as she continued to look out the window.

"You should have said that when Ray was around. He would love it!" Ian teased.

"But, I can't possibly talk in front of Mr. Laurence." Mae shyly said. 

"And yet she speaks so openly to me." Cedric said with a laugh.

"Mr. Cedric, it's not like that. I mean I know you, well I knew you, but I didn't know you." Mae said as she struggled to explain why she was more comfortable speaking to Cedric over Ray.

"It's okay Mae. I get it." Cedric said with a laugh as they pulled up to Nicole's villa.

"Ian and Mae quickly gathered their stuff before finally heading to Cedric's villa.

As soon as they enter Mae stops in her tracks.

"Mae?" Ian asks as the young woman covers her mouth.

"It's just amazing, it's better than Miss Nicole's!" Mae said as she walks slowly to the glass wall that overlooks the sea.

"Haha. That glass wall was a special request." Cedric said proudly. "You can look at the view a little bit more later, go pick out a room." Cedric instructs.

Mae nodded and carries her bag up the stairs to find the perfect room.

"What reason did you give Mae?" Cedric asked.

"I told her Nicole was the kindest among all of you so I was sure Nicole wouldn't mind us putting our bags at her place first." Ian said with a shrug.

"You could stay at her villa you know. I wouldn't mind." Cedric said.

"It's not the same if she isn't there." Ian explained, shaking his head. "I'll take the room next to yours." 

At that Ian left Cedric alone to stare out of the large window.

When they were all settled, Cedric called for an ordinary golf cart to be brought over to his villa. He drove while Ian sat beside him and Mae sat at the back.

Cedric was determined to relax during this trip and not think of work during the trip. 

They picked a beach with a bar nearby, several staff members laid out a blanket and some chairs for them and brought out drink and food.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Mae exclaimed as she took a drink and relaxed on her seat. "Can we please never go home?" She said with a sigh.

"If we didn't go home the country's economy would implode." Dave suddenly said from behind her making Mae jump in surprise.

"Hey." Camilla happily greeted as she sat on one of the empty chairs.

"Overwhelmed yet?" Cedric asked Camilla with a smirk.

"A little. I didn't know you had so much work before." Camilla said with a laugh.

"Now you do." Cedric grinned.

"You should really thank uncle for this when you get home. Everyone seems really happy and motivated. I predict that productivity over the next month will increase." Ian said with a laugh.

"I'm still pissed that he planned all of this without telling us." Cedric grumbled.

"Cedric! Cedric!" A young man at a distance waved.

"Who's that?" Mae asked.

Cedric squinted to see who was approaching.

"Ah it's a friend." Cedric said as he waved the young man over. "He doesn't know that I'm the CEO." Cedric warned as the person approached. 

"Adolfo." Cedric happily greeted the young man. "Join us."

"Oh, ummm…" Adolfo suddenly became awkward at the sight of Cedric's company.

"Don't be awkward Adolfo. Camilla used to be one of the boss' assistants." Cedric said with a laugh as he realized that Adolfo was acting funny because of the VP that was with them.

"Okay." Adolfo said awkwardly as he sat next to Dave.

The two young men and Mae, quickly hit it off and began talking. Cedric smiled as he watched them enjoying themselves.

"Things will be very different after this trip." Ian said with a sigh as he looked up at the clouds overhead.

"It will, but I'm sure we can make it." Cedric said with a grin.

"So will I see you all later at the event?" Adolfo asked his new found friends. "I don't really have friends at the office. It was just Cedric then he got moved to a special assignment, then no one really spoke to me." Adolfo said shyly.

"Well, I can't stay. The boss has me on a special assignment again. I leave tonight." Cedric said with a shrug. "But, I'm sure Mae and Dave would be more than happy to hangout with you." Cedric told him with a smile. 

"Definitely." Dave responded with a smile. As a junior assistant to the CEO, Mae and Dave both had limited interaction with other employees. At first they had made many friends, but they soon came to realize that many were after maximizing the fact that they worked directly for the CEO. This resulted in the pair sticking by each other and Ian and Camilla. So having a new friend like Adolfo excited them, especially since they would be moving to work at R Tower,

"Make sure to do your work first." Ian teased as he pointed at his watch, reminding them that it was time to work.