"Mr. Wu, I will have to turn you down." Cedric said in a very serious tone. He knew that Wu Jun had expected this and was only acting on a gamble that Cedric would be the kind and noble CEO people spoke about.
Unfortunately for Wu Jun, Cedric had learned that sometimes you cannot let your opponents get another chance to stand up.
"Please, I cannot make another deal with Lucius Ting." Wu Jun begged as he got down on his knees and crawled towards Cedric. "Please Mr. Reyes, you have to save me, if you don't I'll have to sell my whole company."
Cedric remained silent for a moment as he observed Wu Jun. It was clear that the other man was very desperate for a way to survive.
"Let me think about it." Cedric finally said as he nodded at Mae to lead Wu Jun out of his office. "My people will call your people once I have made my decision."
"Thank you, Mr. Reyes, thank you." Wu Jun said as he kissed Cedric's feet, an act that disgusted the other businessman. Not only did he not want Wu Jun touching his shoes, he also thought that it was very unhygienic for Wu Jun to be doing that.
Mae quickly jumped in and pulled Wu Jun up from the floor and gently led him out of the building.
When the door closed behind Mae and Wu Jun, Dave gave Cedric a concerned look. He was confused as to his boss' actions and words. The fact that Wu Jun managed to leave the office with his company and dignity in tact was quite shocking.
"You can't be serious?" Dave asked Cedric as he faced the businessman.
"This is my company, Mr. Lazaro and I will manage it as I see fit." Cedric said in a stern tone as he addressed Dave formally with his last name.
Dave was aware that he had crossed a line by questioning Cedric, but he also knew that what Cedric was doing was wrong.
"With all due respect, Mr. Reyes, sir, I think this is wrong." Dave insisted. "That man betrayed you, he turned on you and most of all he hates Guan Ming's guts. He won't hesitate to come after you and the Reyes Group when things are better for him."
Suddenly Cedric slammed his palm on the desk, making Dave jump in surprise. He had never seen Cedric react this way. The CEO was often calm and collected when it came to business matters.
In fact Dave couldn't figure out why Cedric was seemingly sabotaging his own plans.
Cedric stood up from his seat and walked over to the coffee table in the center of the room. He reached under it and showed Dave a small black device.
Dave knew exactly what it was, Wu Jun had bugged Cedric's office and assumed that it would not be searched.
Cedric then walked over to the chair that Wu Jun had been sitting on and retrieved another and placed it on the table.
He then looked at Dave who was shocked, confused, and embarrassed.
Not wanting to give his lesson in a room that was probably full of listening devices, Cedric walked out of the room knowing that Dave was sure to follow.
Dave couldn't help but look back at the devices Cedric had left on the table and wonder how he could not have considered that Wu Jun would try to listen in on the CEO's conversations.
As Dave closed the CEO's office door behind them, Cedric heard the audible click of the lock and turned to face Mien. The young lawyer was busy typing something up and didn't notice Cedric was standing in front of him.
"It seems that you are working extra hard today, Mien." Cedric teased, making Mien jump in his seat and almost fall over.
Dave couldn't help but laugh at the man, he knew that he would be in bigger trouble, but seeing someone else suffer hilariously at Cedric's hands made Dave forget his troubles.
"Mr. Reyes, I'm so sorry I didn't see you standing there." Mien said as he collected himself and sat back up.
"It's fine, Mien." Cedric said with a kind smile as he watched the younger man pull his seat closer to the table.
Mien then turned to glare at the still laughing Dave as if he were threatening the other assistant.
Dave quickly reacted by trying not to laugh, despite everything, Mien was still Mae's older brother. He still somewhat wanted Mae's entire family to like him.
"Mien, please contact Leon. Tell him that my whole office needs to be swept for bugs." Cedric said in a stern tone, clearly unamused by the fact that his assistants had allowed Wu Jun to stay alone in his office.
"Bugs? Shouldn't I call the janitros if that's the case?" Mien asked, clearly oblivious to the term for spying equipment.
"Mien, Mr. Reyes didn't exactly mean real living bugs." Dave said as he tried to be nice and not laugh at how naive Mien sounded.
Dave couldn't help but find it odd that Mien was a lawyer yet he didn't know what bugs Cedric meant.
"Oh, like those listening devices!" Mien explained as he realized what Cedric meant.
Dave and Cedric nodded in response as they were visibly relieved by the fact that Mien actually knew what Cedric was referring to.
Mien quickly moved to take out his phone and call Leon.
While he gave Leon instructions Cedric stood patiently, listening if Mien had actually truly understood what he wanted Leon to do.
When he was satisfied with Mien's work and realized that the other man was only momentarily confused, he gave Dave a nod and smiled.
"Seeing as my office can't be used till Leon and the rest of the security team has cleared it, I'll be working in Ayanna's office." Cedric said as he pointed towards the end of the hall.
"Yes, Mr. Reyes, I'll inform my sister." Mien said with a nod.
"We'll move everything, Cedric." Dave added as he turned to enter the now restricted CEO's office.
"No Dave, you and I need to have a chat." Cedric said in a firm tone as he glared at Dave.
Dave knew that Cedric was not happy with how he had not realized that the place was in fact bugged and he knew he would be in trouble for missing out on that fact.