Never Judge

Dave drove through the streets of the capital as a drunk Mae slept in the back seat. 

It seemed that his girlfriend had too much fun at the dinner their boss had sponsored and drank too much.

He frowned as he looked back at her as he saw her silhouette leaning against the door.

"I guess you don't like me too much." Atty. Mien, their guest from Singapore said.

Dave frowned and took a deep breath, the young lawyer couldn't be more wrong.

"It's not that I don't like your Atty. Mien." Dave said as he continued to look forward. "You seem like a really nice guy, a very smart one in fact. Under different circumstances I would think we could be good friends."

"And what are the circumstances now?" Atty. Mien asked. "And please, drop the title, just call me Mien."

"I'd rather not." Dave said with a chuckle as he shook his head. 

"Look, it's obvious that you and Mae have something going on." Atty. Mien said quite bluntly.

"Oh? And how sure are you about that?" Dave asked, unsure about how he should react. 

"Cause Mae told me." Atty. Mien said with a laugh, making Dave step on the breaks out of shock.

He quickly turned to check on Mae, but she was still sound asleep in the back seat. 

"Relax, she didn't tell me who, but you guys kind of confirmed it today." Atty. Mien explained to Dave.

Dave took a deep breath and calmed himself, losing his temper would turn out for the worst.

"And how did this come up in a conversation?" Dave asked as he resumed driving. 

They were only five minutes away from Solaire Towers, he just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. 

"I asked her out and she flat out told me no." Atty. Mien said quite frankly. 

"Wow, you didn't even try to sugar coat that." Dave said with a laugh.

"Your girlfriend is a pretty one." Atty. Mien confessed. "It's only normal for men to approach her, you can't blame me."

"I know, I know." Dave said with a sigh. At least this time the man at the other end was not some pushy guy that kept insisting he be given a chance. 

"For what it's worth, Mae is just a friend to me now." Atty. Mien explained. "Closer to that of a sister than someone I would date."

"You barely know her." Dave said with a laugh. 

"I feel some sort of connection to her, I can't explain it, but I feel comfortable around her." Atty. Mien explained.

"A lot of people feel that way around her, she seems to put people at ease, while I on the other hand seem to stress them out." Dave said with a sigh as they pulled up in front of the VIP entrance of Solaire Towers. 

"You don't seem like the assistant type, to be honest." Atty. Mein admitted as they remained seated in the car.

"Because I'm not supposed to be one for long." Dave said with a laugh. This wasn't the first time he was hearing this.

On many occasions he had been mistaken as a guest or a relative of Cedric's, something about him just made his upbringing ooze out.

"Are you a cousin of Cedric's or something?" Atty. Mien teased.

"No, but I'm here to learn from him." Dave said with a smile as he shook his head. "My family has our own business and I was lost for a while. That's when Cedric and Ian found me and decided to train me."

Dave chose not to tell Mien about Cedric's and Ian's promise to his brother, it wasn't relevant for the conversation.

"Does she know?" Mien asked Dave.

"Yes, she knows." Dave replied with a nod. "If you are thinking that I can't marry her because we aren't from the same social circle, you've got something else coming for you buddy." Dave teased.

"And your family will be alright with that?" Mien asked.

"Yeah, my dad and mom are not like those typical stuck up rich parents." Dave explained. "They know I love her and I want to be with her for the rest of my life."

"Wow, I didn't think you guys were that far into your relationship." Mien said with a surprised expression. 

"We are a very low key couple." Dave said with a shrug. "Now enough talk about my love life, let's get you settled in." 

With that Dave got out of the car and handed his keys to a valet to park.

"So is this place really a residential building?" Mien asked as he looked up at the lavish towers in front of him. "This place could be a hotel!" 

"It's a high end residence where the Reyes Group houses most of its key employees and executives." Dave explained as he walked over to Mae's door to carry her.

"So everyone living here are employees of the Reyes Group?" Mien asked. 

"No." Dave said as he opened the door and carried his girlfriend out, bridal style. "There are people who live here that don't work for the Reyes Group, this place isn't exactly listed as a property of theirs."

"Then who's?" Mien asked.

"Prince Group." Dave said as he led them into the lobby. 

Mien was once more in shock as they walked into the lavishly decorated lobby. The place was practically deserted aside from the guards, a receptionist, and two bellhops.

Everything about the place screamed five-star hotel.

"Sofia, can you get the elevator for us." Dave asked as he smiled at the receptionist. 

She nodded and quickly walked over to one of three elevators. 

"Wait, Dave, my things." Mien said in a panic as he turned back.

"Relax, they will bring it up to your room." Dave said with a laugh as he stepped into the elevator. "Thanks Sofia." Dave said with a wink as Mien got in with him.

"So who is the Prince Group?" Mien asked.

"For a foreigner you sure have a ton of questions." Dave grumbled. "But my boss and girlfriend both trust you, so fine. Prince Group is owned by the five princes. Cedric Reyes, Raymund Laurence, Alexander Sebastian, Ramon Abad, and Miguel Chan. It's through that company that they operate multiple businesses that their families would have otherwise not let them buy."

"Illegal businesses?" Mien asked.

"Your imagination is too wild." Dave said with a laugh. "No, just businesses that would have been considered too big of a risk, like Constellations Resorts."

"Oh." Mien said in surprise as he tried to process what Dave had just told him.

"My boss's net worth isn't determined purely by what the Reyes Group makes." Dave said with a laugh. "He is much more capable than people give him credit for."

"I see that now." Mien said with a nod as the elevator opened.

"I'll take Mae first to my room then I'll take you to yours." Dave said as he walked up to one of two doors on the level.

"Just two units?" Mien asked as he looked around.

"The top floor is Cedric's penthouse, he never actually stays there, but it's his. This floor is for me and Mae." Dave explained. "The floor beneath us is for Leon and Camilla. The floor below that has another two units, that's where you will be staying."

"This is really a very luxurious place." Mien said as Dave pushed the door open and let them in.

Mien was once more in awe as they stepped into Dave's apartment. Everything was clean and oozed luxury. It was too huge to even be considered an apartment, it was larger than most houses.

"Mr. Reyes takes care of his people. This unit is actually in my name, I can choose to keep it or return it to Cedric if I leave the company. But he has made it a point that even if we return this one he will replace it with something more extravagant." Dave said with a laugh.

"Someone has left the Reyes Group?" Mein asked in surprise. The Reyes Group seemed like the type of company you would want to work in till your death.

"Not exactly." Dave said as they walked further into the apartment. "Take a seat, I'll be back soon."

Mien looked towards the couch Dave was gesturing to and nodded as the man carried his girlfriend up to the second floor.

As Dave finally made it up the stairs he pushed his bedroom door open with his foot and walked in. 

Mae had spent most nights in Dave's room, so she already had some clothes and her own set of hygiene products in his room. 

He gently placed Mae down on his bed and took out a pen and paper in case she woke up while he was with Mien. 

As he quickly jotted a note down, Mae stirred. 

"Dave?" Mae called out. 

"I'm here Mae. I'll help you take a bath later, I just need to make sure that the boss's guest gets to his room safely." Dave said as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"You know that I love you right? You are the only guy I love." Mae mumbled in her drunk state.

"Yes babe, yes." Dave said as he stroked her cheek.

"Good, so don't hurt Mien. He is nothing compared to you." Mae said with a weak smile as she fell back to sleep.

"I know that now. I love you." Dave told her as he stood up and quietly left the room with his pride, fully restored.