Chapter 185: Real Again

Mina finished the shoot and waited for Rachel to return. The studio complex that Mina was in contained three small film sets. All of them were occupied with some form of production and she found herself curious as to what kinds of commercials were being filmed in the other rooms. Mina knew they had to be commercials because the studios were too small for anything else. As she played with her fingers, she overheard a very rude man talking down to someone and Mina began to creep in that direction.

"I told you I wanted fresh and clean, not plastic and slutty," the man shouted, while pointing back at a woman whose shoulders had slumped forward in dejection.

"Mr. Porter sir, I'm telling you. She didn't look like this at the casting."

"Did she sleep with you? Is that why you are defending her?" the man asked his pleading assistant and Mina coughed in shock.

The man addressed as Mr. Porter turned his sharp gaze toward Mina's and in an instant his look softened.

"You girl, come here," he ordered. Mina made a show of looking all around herself to make sure he was indeed talking to her. Seeing that there was no one else, she responded.

"I'll pass."

Mina was confident that the two guards she had with her would not allow anything serious to happen, even if they barely spoke to her, she knew they had their orders while she was still useful to the Lee's. Mr. Porter was shocked, but he walked toward the girl instead, his assistant trailing behind him like a puppy.

"Do you know who I am?" Mina rolled her eyes before responding.

"I do not, but your question suggests that I should. So why don't you just cut to the chase and tell me," Mina said rudely.

"I am Matthew Porter," the man said, and Mina's eyebrows raised in recognition. She did indeed recognize the name.

"Wow! I didn't think the king of romance would be so uncultured," Mina quipped. The actress and assistant gaped in complete shock, but Mr. Porter did not budge.

"What is your name? Do you want to work in one of my films?" he asked. Mina shook her head.

"Why would I want to subject myself to a tyrant? Do you think I did not just hear the way you spoke to her?" Mina said as she pointed to the woman who was now trying to make herself invisible. "Any fool can see that she is wearing too much makeup and as far as plastic goes, I don't see any indication that her face is fake. It was at this opportune moment that Rachel returned.

"What is going on?" Rachel asked.

"Do you have any makeup wipes with you?" Mina asked as a reply. Rachel nodded and handed the travel case she had in her bag to Mina.

Mina strode up to the downcast actress and forcefully demanded for her to hold still. Not knowing who Mina was or what she was capable of, the woman obeyed. Everyone watched in silence as Mina began wiping layer upon layer of makeup off the actress's face. When she was satisfied, she turned the woman around to face the man who had just insulted her.

"As you can see, she is a beautiful girl who either hired a terrible makeup artist or did her makeup herself. As a professional, you should be able to notice those things," Mina said mockingly.

Matthew had to admit that the actress did look much better and her youthful features were indeed natural, but he was more fascinated by Mina, who was bold, beautiful, and sexy.

"Who are you?" Director Porter asked. He knew Mina had to be someone of importance or standing, otherwise why would she talk to him so recklessly?

"I am nobody," Mina replied, as she grabbed Rachel's hand and stormed off.

Before she was out of earshot, Mina turned back to the actress and warned her to stay away from men who did not value her from the beginning. Mina did not know this, and she probably would never know, but those words would become the young girl's foundation for her later success.

Mr. Porter watched the goddess-like woman walk away from him without even giving her name. Everything about her was so amazingly perfect that he had to suppress the urge to chase after her. Lowering his voice, he asked his assistant to figure out who the woman was and why she was in the building. Within Minutes, the assistant reported to his boss that the woman was called Mina Harlow and she had just shot a commercial. He told his boss that the girl had no prior acting experience.

Committing the information he received to memory, director Porter turned to the young actress and beckoned for the girl to come closer.

"In the future, come to my set with a bare face if you do not know how to apply makeup yourself," he said. His tone had shifted from hostile to nurturing. The woman nodded her head in understanding. He sent her back to the set to have her face thoroughly washed and her makeup professionally applied. As the girl scurried off, the man turned to his assistant once more.

"I want to know everything about Mina Harlow within three days," he said.

----

President Lee had spent the better part of the day wondering how he was going to boast to Mina. He had her school records unsealed, he had contacted the owner of Faryta and told the man he could once again publish the video of Mina singing and he basically made her a person again.

The only thing Ian still needed to do was handle that Miss Maggie woman, but before he acted too rashly, he wanted to get Mina's opinion. He was wary that she may misinterpret his actions as him stirring the pot for her. In truth, he had wanted to crush the small Arden family from the moment he heard that Maggie accused Mina of being a prostitute, but Zane warned him that it was not the right move until he could fully weigh the consequences. Fortunately, that was one of the few times that Ian listened to his friend's advice regarding Mina.