Never Judge

"Mr. Wu Jun, it\'s quite a surprise to see you in my office so early." Cedric greeted as he entered the room followed by his two assistants, Mae and Dave.

Ian was busy dealing with matters at Mor Co. in Camilla\'s place and couldn\'t come to the office so early. Instead, Mien had offered his help to lessen the workload the others had to deal with and was now seated outside.

While preparing for work, Mae gave Cedric a call informing him that Wu Jun and his staff were waiting at the lobby. 

Cedric knew that he was here as a result of Lucius Ting\'s meltdown at the airport. What Cedric couldn\'t figure out now was if Wu Jun was here working with Lucius Ting or working against him.

"Mr. Reyes, I\'m sorry for having come to your office so early, I would have chosen to go to your home but everyone refused to tell me where that was exactly." Wu Jun said as he gave Cedric an apologetic smile, one that was probably fake.

"I hope you understand Mr. Wu that I prefer to keep my private life private, both for the protection of my family as well as for us to be able to be ourselves at home." Cedric told the businessman as he gestured for him to sit.

"I understand." Wu Jun said with a nod as he sat down. 

"So, for the burning question, to what do I owe the pleasure of you your visit Mr. Wu?" Cedric asked as Mien entered with drinks for him and Wu Jun. "If I\'m not mistaken we agreed to communicate through email, calls, and our people moving forward. I\'m assuming something happened for you to pay me a visit."

Cedric observed Wu Jun\'s body language, it was something that he had learned from his dad. Always observe how the person in front of you was reacting to the situation and to your words.

Right now Wu Jun seemed hesitant and undecided, his actions seemed like he was worried about something, and Cedric planned to use what he observed against the other man.

"I\'d like to move our partnership forward, I\'d like to sign off on any conditions and requirements that you have." Wu Jun bravely declared.

"Mr. Wu, you can\'t expect me to believe that a businessman such as yourself would suddenly let me have everything I want. I\'d be stupid to believe you." Cedric said as he gave Wu Jun a stern look.

"Mr. Reyes, I did not believe that you wouldn\'t question my intentions and I have to come clean to you." Wu Jun said as he took a deep breath.

"Come clean?" Cedric asked as he pretended not to know that Wu Jun had been keeping a secret deal from him. "Mr. Wu, what have you been hiding?"

"Mr. Reyes, Cedric, can I call you Cedric?" Wu Jun asked.

"I don\'t think you have the right to do so Mr. Wu, especially after you just admitted to lying to me in my face." Cedric said in a slightly raised tone, making Wu Jun sink back in his seat.

"Yes, yes, I apologize." Wu Jun said as he fidgeted. 

"As you were saying, Mr. Wu?" Cedric asked as he urged Wu Jun to continue his confession.

"Yes, Mr. Reyes, before I even arrived in your country after my father and yours had spoken one of your business rivals approached me." Wu Jun said as he slowly told Cedric about his betrayal.

"And which business rival would this be? As you are well aware, the Reyes Group has many." Cedric asked even if he knew exactly who had approached Wu Jun. He wanted to hear it from the businessman himself.

"A man by the name of Lucius Ting." Wu Jun finally confessed.

"And what did he have to offer you that convinced you to betray our father\'s friendship and cooperate with Lucius Ting?" Cedric asked, curious as to what could have convinced a man like Wu Jun.

He knew that despite everything, Wu Jun was not a bad businessman, he just wasn\'t as good as Guan Ming. Wu Jun was also less likely to follow the law and treat others fairly, traits that made Guan Ming the better person.

"He offered me the one thing that I know I cannot do alone, defeat Guan Ming." Wu Jun said as his features darkened. It seemed that Guan Ming was a trigger topic for him and the mere mention of the other\'s name made him furious.

Cedric continued to simply observe and ask questions, never filling in the blanks, just listening.

"Guan Ming is working with Lucius Ting, how exactly did he get you to believe that he would hand you Guan Ming\'s defeat? Everyone knows that his company is bigger than yours." Cedric said quite casually as he tried his best to push Wu Jun\'s buttons.

"He said that his partnership with Guan Ming was just a trap." Wu Jun confessed. "He knows that you and Guan Ming are old friends, he plans to drain Guan Ming dry with this project and have you to blame."

Cedric was shocked by Wu Jun\'s revelation, but he remained calm and reminded himself that he couldn\'t show the man in front of him that he was bothered by the news.

The less reaction he offered, the better it would be for him and the company.

As he kept his calm, Cedric made a mental note to warn Guan Ming to tread carefully. He knew that his friend was on a flight back to the Capital and he didn\'t want to be too late in warning him. If needed he was willing to step out of his meeting with Wu Jun just to warn Guan Ming. 

"Why turn on him now. Mr. Wu?" Cedric asked. "If what Lucius Ting did tell you was true, then I would prioritize Guan Ming. And even if we were not friends, partnering with Mr. Guan would be a much smarter move than working with you."

"Please, you need to take my deal, if you don\'t my company will go bankrupt. I placed everything into my deal with Lucius Ting, but now that he cannot even show his face in public I need someone else." Wu Jun said as he fell to his knees and begged.

Cedric observed the man before him and considered his options, would it be smart to snap up Wu Jun as well as Guan Ming from Lucius Ting?