Never Judge

When Tony came in he was all smiles. He was excited to be able to pitch a new partnership with Adrianna for Island's Inc. 

"Tony, have you met Katerina Sebastian?" Adrianna asked as she greeted her friend.

"No, I've never had the honor." Tony had heard about Katerina Sebastian, but the stories did not do her justice. He walked over to shake her hand, Katerina shook his hand back but her mind seemed to be quite distant. 

"Katerina, are you alright?" Adrianna asked, pulling her back into reality.

"Yes, yes. I think we are done here. I'll come back next week for consultation, if there is anything that's urgent just give me a call." Katerina told Adrianna.

Adrianna nodded and they said their goodbyes.

Katerina went back to her office after visiting Adrianna. She was surprised to see that there were a flock of reporters waiting outside. She knew they all wanted her opinion on Eric's statement, as well as on the latest rumors that had surfaced on social media about her.

She took a deep breath and got out of her car. Her security team quickly surrounded her and gave her space to get to the office. She could hear the crowd of reporters asking her for a statement, and she chose to ignore them. She was surprised when a raw egg suddenly hit her head.

Katerina looked up to see where it had come from, it was from a young girl who looked like she was still in highschool. Her security team wanted to grab the girl but Katerina stopped them. She walked towards the girl as the crowd parted. The girl was visibly shaking as Katerina Sebastian approached her.

"Why did you do that?" Katerina asked in a cold tone.

"Our Eric got a bad name because of you. My darling Eric is the most perfect man and you're trying to ruin him." The girl bravely accused.

To everyone's surprise Katerina laughed at what the girl had said. 

"Don't you know how old Eric is kid?" Katerina asked as she looked down at the girl.

"Age is just a number. And I know I don't have a chance with Eric, but you, you ruined him. You dragged his name through the mud with your scandalous actions." The girl accused again.

"Kid, Eric Chan and I have never been in a relationship. We are more like brother and sister. Didn't you hear what he said, he denied all the accusations on social media." Katerina was surprised that this girl refused to back down.

"You're a f---ing bitch and whore Katerina Sebastian." The girl cursed at her.

Katerina took out her phone and called Eric. 

"One of your fans is causing me trouble right now." Katerina said in front of the girl.

She heard Eric laugh at the other end of the line, he was happy that she took the initiative to give him a call. "Hand the phone over to her." Eric said.

Katerina handed the girl the phone and as she listened to Eric her face turned pale. Katerina had no idea what Eric had just said but the girl suddenly became shy and returned the phone to Katerina.

"I'm sorry Miss Katerina." The girl said as she quickly ran away.

"What did you say?" Katerina asked Eric.

"I told her not to bully you." Eric casually told Katerina. Katerina rolled her eyes and dropped the call.

Katerina knew that her encounter with the girl would soon trend on social media. She sighed as she walked back towards the office as the members of the media followed at an arm's length due to her bodyguards.

As Katerina walked into her office she heard some paralegals talking about Eric.

"Is it time? Is Eric Chan on?" One of the girls asked her friend.

"Shhhh, the show's starting." Her friend said as she waved for her to keep quiet.

"Do you think he will comment on the latest rumors again?" Another girl asked.

"It's sad that a lot of fans are mad at him for keeping his dating life a secret, then there are those speaking against our boss. If they knew her…" Katerina no longer heard the rest of the conversation as she walked away from them.

She didn't know that Eric was getting some backlash from the rumors, she thought his fans would still love him no matter what. She pulled out her phone and opened her dummy account on Facebook, she checked an article and read through the comments.

'How could you deceive us Eric? How?' one fan said.

'I thought he was different, he's such a playboy, he dated so many girls from different fields.' 

'He's like an actor version of the president's son and daughter, at least they come from notable families, he's just an actor. I'm disappointed.' Katerina laughed at the comment, if only they knew who Eric really was.

'Eric Chan, my idol, you broke my heart, how could you? I hate you now.'

'Liars like him shouldn't be idolized.' 

'He's only human, he can love. It's ok Eric, we still love you.'

'Are you dating Miss Calathea Carpio? Are you trying to be a trophy husband?'

'If he's trying to be a trophy husband he is so greedy.'

'That Katerina Sebastian is a grade A bi---. Trying to steal another man's woman.'

'Eric denied it. He has nothing to do with Miss Calathea Carpio. We support you Eric.'

'How can he let himself be linked to so many women, including that slut Katerina Sebastian?'

'The president will all come down on you for cursing at his daughter. Shhhh.'

Katerina was surprised at the number of fans that were scolding Eric. He was the country's top star, how could he have so many haters.

"Beth, call dad's office, tell them I'm willing to make a statement on the recent rumors, I need them to check what I'll say." Katerina told her assistant who was following her.

As she scrolled further in the comments she found one that made her roll her eyes. It was from Eric's dummy account.

'I think Miss Katerina and Eric Chan would make the perfect couple.'

There were many comments bashing the idea saying how dare the commenter link Eric to Katerina. Many were fans that didn't want Eric to be in a relationship at all.

Katerina typed a comment. 'I don't think they would get along.'

Suddenly there was a reply to her comment, it was Eric's dummy account again. 'I think they would, never say never, baby.'

Katerina rolled her eyes and placed her phone back in her bag.

At the Lights Entertainment compound, Eric grinned as he read Katerina's replies. Since she began speaking to him again he's been attempting at flirting with her.

"Sir, all the feedback has been bad, the PR team has been working non-stop to change people's opinions but it hasn't worked out as planned." His manager reported.

Eric leaned back and sighed. "Why is it so important to them if I've had ten or fifty or a hundred girlfriends in the past?" Eric asked his manager in rhetoric.

"Sir, it's their image of you, they want to preserve you in their ideal way. They just can't accept any flaws." The manager answered, clearly not realizing that his boss didn't exactly need an answer.

"Everyone is noticing the number of girls I dated except for the one I want to notice it." Eric laughed as he realized it didn't bother Katerina that he had dated so many girls.

"Sir?" Asked the now confused manager.

"It's nothing. We can keep ignoring all of the rumors and news, it's the acting that matters to me." Eric never cared for the fame or the money he earned, he didn't need the money and honestly he could have gotten the fame without entering the acting industry.

"Sir, but several companies and directors have threatened to pull you off of the cast if this issue wasn't settled soon." The manager was full of worry. Of course the money and fame didn't matter to Eric, but it mattered to everyone else.

"Fine, let's see what the PR team recommends and I will assess if we will do as they ask. Have we found out who was behind the rumors?" Eric asked.

"Not yet sir." The manager said with his head down. They had employed the best team but they couldn't find who was behind the rumors that spread on social media.

"I guess I'll need to handle this." Eric said with a grin as took out his phone and dialed a number.