Never Judge

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"The impact will be stronger if I'm there to vouch for you Ian." Cedric said as he opened his closet and changed his coat to something more formal. "Let's take my car." Cedric said as he placed on his disguise.

As they walked out Cedric gave instructions for Camilla to send the documents over to Katerina's office then take his laptop and any urgent files to Saints in case they took too long.

When Cedric, Ian, and Katerina arrived at the underground parking they found Cedric's Maseratti already waiting for them. They got in and sped off to Saints Hospital.

Inside the car Ian was clearly in distress.

"You normally handle stress better." Cedric told his friend.

"That's work, this is different." Ian said as he played with his nails.

"Your fidgeting is annoying me." Katerina complained. "Nicole can handle herself Ian. I'm just here for legal support and you're coming along so that she can show you are a capable person, and as much as I hate to admit it, Cedric is here to give the board a nod towards the right direction."

"The support of the Reyes Group has always been key to dominance." Cedric said with a grin. Everyone knew that it was almost impossible to succeed without the backing of the richest and most influential family in the country. It was this very relationship that kept the hungry shareholders of Saints at bay.

"Companies can still succeed without you." Katerina told Cedric.

"They can, only to a point, if they don't offend us." Cedric said with a shrug. "We've always supported startups and small companies. I just hate those that treat their people badly."

"Learnings from your poverty training?" Katerina asked.

"Yes. I worked at some pretty bad places, both small and big." Cedric said with a laugh.

They continued on in silence until Cedric's car arrived at Saint's Hospital's main wing. There were ambulances everywhere. It was busier than normal.

They were quickly greeted by Miguel who was waiting by the entrance.

"It's quite busy today, there was an accident on the highway. A ten car collision including a bus and a truck." Miguel said, explaining the situation outside.

"Shouldn't you be helping?" Katerina asked.

"They'll call me if they need me, we make sure to hire the best doctors, this accident is no problem for them. Right now my sister is my priority." Miguel said as they briskly walked into the hospital.

The Saints board room was at the top floor, when the group stood outside Miguel took a deep breath and faced them.

"So this is what happened, there was a scheduled meeting today and one board member began ridiculing Nicole, pointing out that she was a woman in a man's world, now as you know pregnant women are more emotional so Nicole decided to let it out. She gave the board member a tongue lashing telling him that he lacked the skill to do what she does everyday." Miguel explained. "Someone suddenly asked her why she was being so emotional and well, Nicole suddenly said that she was pregnant. We were all shocked, it was very uncharacteristic of her. The board members then said that she couldn't possibly help dad run the hospital while pregnant or raising a child. They demanded that our uncle be installed as the VP in Nicole's place. Our uncle Diego Ong is the husband of dad's youngest sister. He comes from an influential business family, but he isn't quite as capable as Nicole. He was a younger son so he wasn't trained in business or to lead. He's alright as a person and would never fight to grab power from us, his relatives on the other hand are a different story."

"What do I have to do with all this?" Ian asked, it seemed that the mess inside all depended on the Chan family's capability to pacify their shareholders.

"Well, Nicole insisted that she could still manage Saints. She boasted that even if she was incapacitated the baby's husband was definitly capable." Miguel explained as he scratched his head.

"But I'm working for Cedric. I can't just drop everything and hop on over here." Ian explained.

"Your wife, your problem." Miguel said with a laugh.

"Ian, it's not a problem if you need to step in for Nicole when she gives birth. Camilla and I can handle things." Cedric said as he placed a hand on Ian's shoulder.

"She also boasted that the baby's dad is a close friend of Cedric and someone the Reyes family wouldn't hesitate to back. That's what suddenly shifted the wind inside. At first they were ready to kick her out of her position, but when she mentioned you and your influence they suddenly calmed down." Miguel told Ian.

"Do they know that I'm a Lim?" Ian asked. Cedric knew what Ian meant by his question. He was asking if the board knew that he was from a fallen family, one that had lost all it's riches but not it's name and influence.

"Not yet. But I think this will work in yours and Nicole's favor. To them this will mean that you do not have a family business that will rope you in at any time. You can focus on running Saints for Nicole." Miguel said.

"I think they intend to have Ian run Saints in place of Nicole permanently." Cedric said as he analyzed the direction that the board was taking.

"I will not do that." Ian said. "Saints belongs to the Chan family and my true goal is to see our family business standing mightily again." As Ian said this the door to the board room opened and a woman in her 40s stepped out. She looked a little like Nicole.

"Auntie Gabriella." Miguel greeted.

"Oh, you're back Miguel." His aunt said with a nod. "Which of these two men is he?" Aunt Gabriella asked.

"The one not in a ridiculous outfit." Miguel said with a laugh. "The one trying to hide his face is Cedric, you remember, the Reyes heir? Uncle Emilio and Auntie Priscilla's son." Miguel explained.

"Of course I know Cedirc! I changed his diapers as a kid!" Aunt Gabriella said as she looked at Cedric. "My you have grown, young man. We will catch up later." She told Cedric.

She took a step closer to Ian who remained firmly planted in his spot.

"Good, you don't cower. And you have a dignified air about you, what family do you come from?" Aunt Gabriella asked.

"The Lims, madam." Ian said respectfully.

"The garment Lims? The ones that owned factories and vast lands long ago? Those Lims?" Aunt Gabriella said as she looked into Ian's eyes.

"Yes ma'am." Ian said with a nod.

"Good, they won't chew you out. We were planning on marrying our son to your younger sister, well that was before the fall. I sincerely hope you can climb back up again." Aunt Gabriella said.

"We'll go in now aunt." Miguel said as he led everyone into the meeting