Never Judge

"Who won?" Carissa asked excitedly. 

"The new tech company W Tech." Martin said.

"I just got a call from one of our top clients. They want a project taken from Elisia Malls." The male receptionist told the group.

"That's one place we don't have anyone yet." Carissa pouted.

"Hey Cedric, didn't you come in with that designer guy?" Martin asked.

"Yep. What about him?" Cedric said with a nod.

"I heard he got moved from Krisanta Land to Elisia Malls and demoted. He's gotta hate the Reyes Group right now." Martin said thoughtfully.

"Why doesn't he just leave?" Carissa asked.

"He signed a three year contract with the Reyes Group. He can't leave even if he wanted to." Cedric casually said. During their orientation, Jason had boasted about signing the contract with the Reyes Group. 

"Why did he get demoted?" Carissa asked Cedric.

"No idea." Of course Cedric knew why, it was his idea. "Maybe he offended someone important?" 

"Can you bring him into the fold?" Martin asked Cedric. 

"I'll see what I can do." Cedric knew it wouldn't be easy. He and Jason were not close, but this could be the quickest way to gaining the syndicate's trust.

When Cedric got home he was greeted by a grinning Miguel.

"Why are you so happy Miguel?" Cedric asked his friend as he handed his bag to a maid for her to put away.

"Aside from the fact that Veronica has let me into her room." Miguel said with a grin. Although Veronica had let him sleep in the same room as her, he still slept on the couch. But at this point Miguel was willing to take every small victory. "It's Jason's show on Saturday. Ram already has all the articles ready." 

"I need to ask you to put your plans against him on hold Miguel." Cedric told his friend as they made their way to the dining room. Cedric had thought about what he needed to do to Jason to get him on his side. He couldn't afford Miguel pushing the man over the edge just yet. Jason still had a role to play for Cedric.

"What?!" Miguel contested.

"I need to use Jason for something. I can't have you pushing him over the edge just yet. He needs to cooperate with me so that I can take down the syndicate." Cedric calmly explained as Miguel's temper began to rise.

"Cedric, I need this. My marriage needs this." Miguel complained.

"Unless you can give me a stronger argument than that, I can't let you go after Jason just yet." Cedric knew Miguel would eventually understand his reasons, his friend was a genius, he should be able to understand the situation.

"But -" Miguel was about to argue back when Veronica, Ayanna, and Adrianna came into the dining room.

"Hey dear, how was work?" Cedric asked his wife as he pulled her to him.

"Katerina came by the office today. We watched Eric's press con together. Then Tony came by, he had a proposal for a project. I think it's something that could be worked out." Adrianna told her husband as she leaned her head on his chest.

"How was she? The rumors about her and Eric are quite intense." Cedric said as he hugged his wife.

"She didn't seem bothered at all." Adrianna shrugged.

"Katerina has always been like that. She pretends not to care but deep down she's really worried." Veronica explained to Adrianna.

"We should check on her." Ayanna suggested as they moved to take their seats at the dining table.

"No need. Eric's with her." Miguel said in a distant tone. Everyone was surprised it seemed like something was bothering him. 

Soon the parents joined them and they all had dinner. After eating, Cedric asked Miguel to join him in his study. He had no intentions of letting Miguel and him end the night without fully discussing the Jason issue.

"Look, I know you aren't happy about what I chose to do, but Jason is crucial in my investigation." Cedric told Miguel as he handed him a glass of whisky.

"Don't you understand why getting back at Jason is so crucial to me for Veronica?" Miguel asked his friend.

"No, honestly I don't. It's not like he'll be able to slip through your fingers." Cedric was confident that no matter what, they would still be able to pay Jason back for everything he had done to Veronica. He didn't understand why Miguel thought it was so crucial for Miguel to have his revenge now.

"You didn't read the whole dossier?" Miguel asked. Cedric just nodded in reply.

"Fine. Let me tell you everything he did to my wife." Miguel said as he took a seat. "You know that Jason was Veronica's best friend right?" Miguel asked.

"Yup." Cedric said in reply.

"Didn't you find it odd that Veronica went as far as doing his schoolwork for him? Or that she tolerated him passing off her work as his? Don't you think that's very uncharacteristic of her?" Miguel asked, hoping Cedric would realize what Jason did years ago.

"She could have been different when she was in university." Cedric said as he took a drink. He didn't know what Miguel was trying to get at.

"Veronica doesn't go that far for just anyone, Cedric. Veronica had feelings for Jason." Miguel said with a dark look on his face. He knew Veronica tried to deny herself of any romantic relationships, but sometimes even if your brain says no, your heart won't listen. "Veronica would never admit that she had feelings for Jason in the past, but her actions say otherwise. She had gone above and beyond for the guy, something she wouldn't have done if they were just friends." Miguel explained to Cedric.

"Miguel, you don't know that for certain." Cedric said.

"She was heartbroken after he hurt her. I know the look, Cedric. I've seen it with my brother, then I saw it with her." Miguel had seen how Eric was after his would be relationship with Katerina was disrupted by Calathea and the Carpio family.

"Why can't you wait?" Cedric asked, still confused with why Miguel insisted on rushing his revenge.

"Because he slipped from my grasp once before, and because I don't know how much further Veronica can stand watching him succeed on other's works." Miguel explained.

"Not a good enough reason for me Miguel. Do not go after him yet, and I promise you I won't let him go. I won't take him down with the syndicate." Cedric promised Miguel.

Miguel didn't respond. He just stood up and walked away.

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