Never Judge

As Cedric's car drove up to the entrance of Constellations Resorts the members of the media were quick to take out their phones and cameras to snap photos of Cedric arriving to the event.

They were all eager to ask him one thing, how was he taking Camilla's betrayal?

This was something Cedric had already anticipated and he had a ready answer. As a matter of fact, this time, he was going to face the media head on. 

He would stand on that red carpet and answer the question that was eating away at them, and after they got their answer, he would shock them with the latest news he was holding on to.

"Are you ready?" Adrianna asked her husband as she held his hand tightly. 

Adrianna was of course aware of everything that was happening. Cedric had sworn never to keep her in the dark again, and although she knew what problems he faced, she rarely interfered.

She would only give her suggestion or her opinion once and wouldn't push him to do what she wanted. She trusted Cedric's intuition, and he was rarely wrong.

"I am." Cedric told his wife with a nod. "I've already got the script in my head." Cedric said as he pointed at his temple. 

"What should I do?" Adrianna asked, she knew that even her slightest reaction could help sell what her husband had planned. 

"Just smile and look proud." Cedric told her as he flashed Adrianna one of his handsome smiles.

"That's easy then." Adrianna said with a giggle. "I am incredibly proud of my husband." She told Cedric as she looked up lovingly at him.

"If we didn't have to go down right this moment I would have a steamy makeout session with you, Adrianna Reyes." Cedric said as he kissed Adrianna's forehead.

"Well, too bad for you." Adrianna said with a laugh. "Now get out and open the door for me like a gentleman." 

"Your wish is my command." Cedric said with a wink as he stepped out of the car. 

Over the months and years Cedric had gotten used to facing the numerous camera flashes the moment he stepped out of the car. 

He gave the media a smile for their photos before walking over to the other side of the car and opening the door to help his wife down.

Adrianna's baby bump was elegantly hidden by her dress, they weren't hiding the pregnancy, but she felt quite uncomfortable walking around in something too form fitting.

The press were quick to take photos of the loving couple as Cedric placed on an act by kissing his wife's hand and giving her a loving smile.

Adrianna looked back at him and smiled as well, giving the media a front row seat to how deep their love for one another ran. 

The members of the press remained silent as they felt they were intruding in a private moment between the couple.

When Cedric finally turned away from his wife and offered her his arm, which Adrianna gladly took, the members of the media quickly snapped out of their trance and started to shout their questions.

Most of them knew that asking Cedric as he walked down the red carpet would not get them any answers, but they still gambled at it. 

During the rare occasions that Cedric had allowed for an interview as he arrived, they often got the biggest scoops, such as when he announced Adrianna's second pregnancy.

"Mr. Reyes, what do you have to say about your former assistant and the VP of Mor Co. showing up with Lucius Ting?" One reporter asked. 

Cedric smiled as he heard the question he expected them to badger about.

"Mr. Reyes, will you be firing Miss Montero?" Another reporter called out, asking one of the most prevalent rumors on the internet now.

"Mr. Reyes, how will this impact your relationship with Miss Montero, if I am not mistaken you had once declared that she was like a sister to you? Will you deal with her as an employee or as family?" Someone asked from a distance.

"Sir, do you take this as an open declaration of war from Mr. Ting?" Another asked. "He not only took one of your most trusted executives, but he is also having a party with some of the new companies you have just invested in." 

Cedric smiled and whispered to Adrianna that he would speak with the press. He wanted her to stay behind him as he called over several bodyguards to watch over his pregnant wife.

He did not want to give anyone that wished them ill an opportunity to harm Adrianna while his back was turned on her. 

Over the years the Reyes Group's enemies had become bolder, resulting in less than legal ways to attack the company and the family that owned it. 

Cedric turned and walked over to the members of the media as soon as he was sure that the bodyguards were close enough to protect his wife. 

"I will answer some of your questions." Cedric told them with a smile.

The reporters quickly took out all their recording devices and the crowd went silent, everyone was eager to hear what Cedric had to say.

"Yes, as I had told people before, Miss Montero and my relationship has had a rift for sometime and I do see her as a sister. She is one of the people I trust the most in this world and that will never change." Cedric declared as he looked over at the members of the press.

"I, however, will not lie." Cedric told them quite barvely. "Seeing her at Lucius Ting's side, hurt. It didn't hurt for reasons that you are assuming. Yes, Arch Group and Mor Co. belong to the same industry, but they are not competitors because Arch Group and Mor Co. are not at the same level."

An audible gasp was heard coming from the crowd as Cedric declared Arch Group as beneath him. He had just announced that they were nothing and would be nothing compared to Mor Co. something Cedric had never said about any company.

Cedric always believed that even the smallest companies with the right minds and the right support could grow and thrive just as Prince Group had, but today he was declaring that he would never let Arch Group reach its full potential.

"I will not be firing Camilla." Cedric announced, shocking the audience. "Camilla has remained 

a hardworking employee and her efforts and the efforts of her team has resulted in Mor Co.'s growth in the past year. Her personal life is not connected to her professional life."

"What hurts me is that I had to discover her relationship with Lucius Ting through the press and through social media." Cedric told the crowd. 

Cedric watched as their sympathy quickly turned them to his side, he was a friend that had been betrayed, it was something they could all relate to. As they began to move, thinking his announcement was done, Cedric raised a hand, telling them he had more to say.

"In relation to Lucius Ting and his party with some of our new partners, I am glad that they had found a like minded person." Cedric confidently said as he smirked. "Unfortunately, this dinner was a mandatory requirement for their contract and thus, we need to cancel the contract due to their failure to attend."

The members of the press were quickly thrown into a frenzy as Cedric announced the cancellation of twenty of the larger contracts and investments they had made. 

Little did the members of the media know, Cedric had even bigger news up his sleeves.