Never Judge

During the meeting with the department directors Cedric repeated the information he had just provided to the PR and Legal representatives from the Reyes Group. They all nodded as they took in more information about what had just happened.

"Look, I know this is quite the blow." Cedric said calmly in a parent-like tone. He felt like he was a father telling his child to calm down and reassess the situation. "I need all of you to focus on what needs to be done. We can't change anything, what's done is done, all we can do now is get up and move forward. Talk to your teams and find out what is bothering them, if you have the answers, reassure them, if you don't inform Camilla or Ian. I will make sure that they are addressed as well as I can during the assembly later." Cedric announced.

All of the department directors nodded in acknowledgement.

"You have an hour to talk to them, at 5pm sharp we will have the companywide assembly at the lobby." Cedric announced before finally dismissing everyone.

After his meetings Cedric and Ayanna went to rest for a bit at his office. They had rested for barely five minutes when Cedric's phone began to ring, it was their father, Emilio Reyes.

"Yes dad." Cedric said as he picked up the phone and placed it on speaker.

"How are you holding up? How is Ayanna? Do you need help?" Emilio Reyes asked quite frantically.

"We're fine dad." Ayanna said as she moved closer.

"Dad, don't worry. We can handle it. What use is placing me in a small company first if you won't let me handle the problems." Cedric reminded his father over the phone.

"Alright, alright. Call if you need anything." Emilio Reyes said before saying goodbye and dropping the call.

As if on cue, Ian knocked to inform Cedric that Capt. Damien had arrived. Cedric fixed himself and placed on his disguise while Ayanna moved from the couch to stand behind her brother. Cedric nodded and Ian let the police officer in.

"Captain." Cedric greeted as he extended his arm to shake the man's hand.

"It's an honor to meet you Mr. Reyes. Ian has told me a lot about you." Capt. Damien said as he shook Cedric's hand.

"Miss Reyes, you seem to have become prettier than when I last saw you." Capt. Damien said complementing Ayanna.

"Be careful Captain, she's engaged." Cedric teased.

"Ah yes. My congratulations to you and Mr. Laurence." Capt. Damien said with a nod.

"Please sit. Let's get down to business." Cedric said pointing to the couch as he transferred to the head with Ayanna on his right and the captain to his left.

Ian soon came in with tea for the siblings and a cup of coffee for the guest.

"We will assist in the investigation in any way possible." Cedric assured the policeman.

"I'm pleased to hear that sir. I hope you will keep your lines open should we have any questions." Captain Damien said. He then proceeded to ask Cedric some questions about the property and the ongoing developments. He asked about the security on the site as well as about the working standards of the workers in the Tech Hub.

Cedric confidently answered each and every question, by the time they were done, Cedric realized that it was already 4:30pm and almost time for the assembly. He and Ayanna walked the captain out the door handing him his and Ayanna's business card.

After the police officer left Camilla and Ayanna's assistant entered with food. Cedric had completely forgotten that they had missed lunch.

"How do Ian and Capt. Damien know each other?" Ayanna asked.

"They grew up as neighbors. Capt. Damien is from a family of military and police officials, so they were quite well off. He even went to the same school as us." Cedric replied as he placed a spoonful of food in his mouth.

"How close are they?" Ayanna asked.

"Who do you think found Nicole last night?" Cedric said with a laugh. He was sure that Damien had tapped even his father's men to help Ian. They were childhood friends and helped each other whenever they could, just like Cedric and the other princes.

At 4:55pm all the employees of Mor Co. had already gathered at the lobby, Cedric had chairs prepared so that the employees could sit comfortably while he made his announcement.

At 5pm Cedric and Ayanna climbed up the stage and Cedric stood behind the podium.

"I know you have a lot of questions, and I know a lot of you are even scared." Cedric began. He heard the crowd murmur in agreement. "Transparency has been my policy from the very beginning, I tell you what's going on and you give me your trust. So I will be transparent with the events at the Tech Hub." Cedric explained to the employees.

"At 12:30pm today and unfortunate incident happened at the Tech Hub, a man working on the construction of the Mor Co. factories climbed to the top of the unfinished Saints Psychiatric Facility. He took his own life and fell ten stories to the street." Cedric paused in respect for the man that had passed away. "Almost simultaneously a bomb went off at the Elisia Mall that was being constructed across the street. As of this moment we are unaware of any relationship between the two incidents. There were a few minor injuries due to the explosion, luckily there was no one around at the time so there were no fatalities except for the man who commited suicide."

As Cedric said the last word the employees began to speak among themselves discussing what Cedric had just told them.

"As you have all been told we will take your questions and try to answer them as much as we can. We hope you will all understand that since this is still an ongoing investigation there are some details we cannot share as well as some questions we cannot answer." Cedric nodded to Camilla who brought a mic to the center of the audience.

At first people were hesitant to stand up and ask, after all, where had you heard of a CEO offering an explanation to his employees, opening himself up to be questioned.