Never Judge

"Grandpa, I didn't know you were here." Cedric said, he was surprised that his grandpa would enter R Tower at all. He knew that in recent years he didn't come to the office anymore.

"It's been a while since I was last here. I wanted to take a look around. Do you have business to discuss with your father?" Grandpa Emilio asked as he moved to get up.

"I do. You can stay if you want grandpa." Cedric offered.

The older man shook his head. "You know I don't like getting involved in the business anymore. I'll just go home to spend more time with my great-grandson." Grandpa Emilio said proudly as he walked out of the office.

Cedric was confused. Just this morning his grandfather had asked about a problem his dad needed to solve last night and today it seemed he couldn't care less about the issues faced by the company.

"You found something?" Emilio Reyes asked.

"Yes." Cedric said as he walked up to his father and proceeded to recount what Ian and Camilla reported to him.

"MT Sumit." Emilio Reyes repeated slowly as he tried to recall if he had ever heard of the company.

"We're looking deeper into it, but at least there is progress." Cedric said.

Emilio nodded at his son, his face unable to be read. Cedric thought his father looked a little tired and haggard today.

"Okay, give me an update when you've found out more." Emilio Reyes said with a nod.

With nothing left to do at R Tower, Cedric left for Mor Co. He told Camilla that he missed being ordinary so instead of taking his car they took the bus. As Cedric no one took a second glance at him, he was invisible just like everyone else.

The bus stop for Mor Co. was a little bit in front of Island's Inc.'s building. Cedric looked up the the much smaller office building and smiled, Adrianna wasn't there but he knew that it was the company his wife loved.

"Soon, I won't be able to walk around like this." Cedric said with a sigh.

"Surely sir there is nothing wrong with that." Camilla said as they walked shoulder to shoulder.

Cedric simply laughed and shook his head.

As they walked into the Mor Co. office Cedric could hear people whispering. It had been a while since he walked into the office as himself.

"I thought Cedric was fired because his wife refused the Reyes Heir." One woman whispered to her companion.

"I heard he got promoted to the main company because of his wife!" Another exclaimed.

"I heard the same thing. They said he was in the business development team of the Reyes Group, then a couple of employees suddenly disappeared, he was one of them." One of the male employees said.

Cedric realized he had not ironed out that portion of his original identity as well as he wanted. It suddenly seemed like Cedric Reyes had done some suspicious things when he had moved to the Reyes Group.

"I guess the Reyes Heir is here today if Assistant Camilla and Assistant Cedric are here." An employee said as Cedric and Camilla entered the elevator.

When they got to the CEO's floor Cedric settled himself in his office.

"Sir, would you like me to push through with your morning meetings?" Camilla asked.

Cedric nodded. "Are they all with department heads?" He asked.

"Yes sir. No need to disguise yourself." Camilla confirmed.

All the staff had been hungry for their President's attention, he had been incredibly busy recently. All those who knew Cedric was the Reyes Heir sent over congratulatory gifts for the birth of little Emilio, and they all worked hard to prove to Cedric that they could function independently.

Cedric was exhausted by the time lunch arrived. He was glad that lunch today would involve going to a restaurant in Constellations resort. Cedric had heard that Tom was recently promoted to a management position in the Capital branch. His friend had naturally offered to treat him and Jo to lunch.

Cedric again chose to take public transportation over his car. He arrived at the resort at same time as Jo.

"Shouldn't you be arriving in a fleet of vehicles or something." Jo teased.

"Not everyone enjoys walking into places with bodyguards." Cedric said with a laugh, shaking his head.

As they entered the restaurant Cedric and Jo looked around trying to spot Tom. Cedric had asked for his private room to be reserved.

As they walked around the restaurant a familiar face came into view.

"I'd like to see the manager!" It was Dennis Von, he was looking directly at Cedric and he had a scowl on his face.

He wasn't alone, Krista Von was with him looking embarrassed.

"Sir?" A manager asked as he came up.

"I didn't know that you let scum like him into this place." Dennis Von was clearly after making a scene. He spoke so loudly that everyone was now staring at him.

"Mister Von, I'm sure this man hasn't offended you." Krista said in an attempt to calm her half brother.

"Just the sight of him is very offensive." Dennis Von shouted. "He is scum, he peddles his wife to his own boss just for his own career advancement. Adrianna Hernandez is not some commodity you can trade! A beauty like her should be cherished." Dennis Von said again.

Cedric had to hand it to him, he was right. No woman should be traded as a commodity. He had seen it happen time and again with all the arranged marriages around him. Luckily he didn't need to suffer the same fate, the Reyes Family had been more progressive than others, relying on ability rather than old traditions.

Dennis' accusations were heard by everyone in the restaurant. People had begun watching them and even taking out their cameras, trying to take a video of the incident.

"So silent, scum?" Dennis Von taunted. He wound up his arm to throw a punch, but Cedric was shocked when the fist did not come.

When Cedric looked to see what had happened he saw that Krista Von had grabbed her half brother's arm and was pulling it with all the strength she had.

"Thank you." Cedric said with a nod. Krista simply nodded back in response.

Cedric fixed himself and glared at his former bully, who it seemed until now had not learned to become a better person.