Never Judge

When Jo helped Cedric back in the car Cedric was finally able to calm down. The events in the police station may have seemed easy for him but remembering what he had to go through because of those bullies was not easy. 

"Are you alright?" Ian asked as he got into the car.

"I'm just glad to shut that chapter of my life." Cedric said with a sigh. 

"I never knew you had it hard in University." Jo, who was seated in the front seat, told Cedric as the convoy pulled away from the police station. 

"I'm very unlucky." Cedric said with a laugh. "There were many more poor students but they targeted me for some reason." Cedric said with an awkward laugh.

Cedric quickly took out his phone to give Adrianna a call, he wanted to tell her he was alright and that he was done with getting back at people from his past. 

"Hey Honey." Adrianna greeted as she picked up his call. She was in the middle of a meeting, but she had been so worried about Cedric that she didn't wait for the meeting to end. 

"Hey Adri, are you busy?" Cedric asked her.

"No. I was just worried about you." Adrianna said as she waved her department heads away so that she could speak to her husband.

"Well, I'm calling to tell you that I am fine. No additional injuries, I only spoke to them." Cedric did not lie, he didn't throw any punches, but he did order for them to be beaten up. 

"I'm happy to hear that you're fine." Adrianna said. 

"I was thinking, maybe we could invite our friends over? A small celebration, you could invite Julia and the others, while I invite the usual suspects." Cedric said with a grin.

"Sure, it's been a while since we all just sat down for a peaceful meal." Adrianna said.

"Great. I'll pick you up later." Cedric said with a grin.

"No, no. Miguel said you need to rest, you already went out today. I have Mia and the driver to take me home. Just focus on your recovery." Adrianna was quick to discourage her husband. She knew that Miguel wouldn't be pleased that Cedric had left Mountain View against his instructions.

"Alright." Cedric knew that it was best not to argue with his wife. "I'll see you at home then." Cedric said as he dropped the call.

"Jo, you and Tom might want to join us." Cedric offered. 

"Like I have a choice?" Jo said with a laugh. 

"It won't be work. I'll call Tom later to invite him." Cedric said. "Ian could you invite Camilla, Mae, and Dave?"

"Mae and Dave might faint when they see how you guys really interact." Ian said with a laugh as he dialed Dave's number. Despite having seen their group act like normal people in the past it was quite different to see everyone all together. It was as if all the gods turned out to be mortals.

When they finally arrived at Mountain View, Cedric asked the maids to prepare the back patio for the party, luckily all of his friends and including the parents had agreed to come over for dinner. 

When little Emilio saw the commotion he dragged his nanny to go up to his father. Cedric lifted his son to his lap and smiled at the little boy.

"All of your grandpas and grandmas will be here tonight, your aunties and uncles too. Are you excited?" Cedric asked his son.

Even though he was one year old little Emilio had developed quickly for his age and somewhat understood what his father was saying. He smiled sweetly and nodded at Cedric. 

"Why don't we wear something matching tonight?" Cedric asked his son. Little Emilio nodded vigorously at his father. Cedric laughed at how adorable his son was, he clearly got his looks from his mother.

"Okay, be a good boy and accompany dad to work then we can get ready together. Alright?" Cedric asked to which his son nodded again.

"Jo can you take me back to the office please." Cedric said as his friend nodded and pushed him to the office.

"Please bring his toys to my office as well." Cedric told the nanny as they entered his office. 

Mae and Ian were already busy at work when Cedric returned to the office. There was quite a lot of work that needed to be done so Cedric's injury couldn't have happened at a worse time, but they had to work around it making sure that the Reyes Group ran smoothly even when it's CEO was incapable. 

"I should place a contingency plan." Cedric suddenly said as he paused from signing several documents.

"What?" Ian asked, unsure what Cedric meant.

"I mean, we can't expect me to fine all the time. What if I get into an accident like last time? Or what if I get sick? There has to be a plan on how the Reyes Group will continue to function without me." Cedric explained.

"Don't talk like that boss." Mae said, she was quite awkward with the topic.

"People die, people get hurt, it's only natural." Cedric said with a shrug.

"I'll have the planning team draft something up." Ian said with a sigh, he knew Cedric was right, there had to be a contingency plan in place. In the past that contingency plan was Cedric. Should something happen to Emilio Reyes his son was capable of taking over, but in this case Emilio had turned over the reins too soon so Cedric's son was too young. For a company as large as the Reyes Group it was surprising that there wasn't a plan for Cedric yet. 

Hours later Adrianna walked into Cedric's office to find little Emilio asleep on Cedric's lap while he worked. She looked at the handsome father and son duo, even at a young age you could see that little Emilio would grow up to be quite good looking, he would be even more attractive since it seemed that the little boy was a genius. 

"Oh, you're home." Cedric said as he looked up at his wife.

"Yes, and everyone's on their way." Adrianna said as she walked over to pick little Emilio up from her husband's lap. 

"Okay. I guess that's it for work tonight. You guys can rest or freshen up, I've had a guest room prepared for each of you." Cedric told Ian, Mae, and Jo.

"Don't you need my help?" Jo asked Cedric.

"I can wheel myself to the elevator and I'm not really disabled, Miguel just doesn't want me to put too much weight on the injury." Cedric said with a shrug, he really could walk, it wasn't an issue.

"Alright." Jo said as a maid came over to lead them to the guest rooms. 

Cedric and his family went up to freshen up and change.

Cedric decided to go with a casual maroon ensemble while Adrianna decided to match him and their son as well.