Chapter 293: I Quit
After hearing about what happened between Mina and one of her employers, Ian asked Dom to handle the man as he saw fit, but Dom reported that Peter Twan had already been thoroughly handled by someone else.
Unsatisfied, but also worried he would negatively impact his relationship with Mina, President Lee put in a phone call with Matthew Porter. The man assured him that his co-director was on medical leave and would not be returning to the set until after Mina's contract had expired.
Mina was unaware of the conversation, and Ian did not feel the need to tell her about it. In part because he had his own matters to attend, and because he was afraid, she may misunderstand his purpose. He would only make it a big issue if it occurred again, and in a lot of ways, he was hoping that it would. The sooner Mina received three strikes, the sooner she would be back where she belonged.
----
Mina was trying her best to ignore the tension in the atmosphere, but it was almost unbearable. She had experienced awkwardness before, but never on a scale where people were afraid to talk to her. Only Jay seemed to be unfazed as she went back and forth between Mina and Director Porter, relaying messages between the two. Had it not been for James' company, Mina probably would have immediately quit to get over the uncomfortableness of it all.
Hours later, Mina had zoned out completely as she drafted a letter of resignation. She thought she could ignore it, but not having someone she could learn from and ask questions when needed, made it difficult for her to work, and she was basically getting paid for nothing; something she did not want to do.
"It was you wasn't it?" Mina looked up to meet the eyes of the person speaking when she received a crisp slap across the face. James who was not too far away reacted immediately, but Mary had managed to land the blow unimpeded. "How dare you? I knew you were up to no good when I saw your pictures in his phone," Mary shouted.
Mina was silent, she did not have a phone, nor had she sent Peter any pictures of herself. Whatever images Mary had seen, Peter had taken them on his own, and they had nothing to do with her. She quietly took in the sight of James holding a thrashing Mary, who was hurling several curses at her. All the poise she had possessed the first time Mina had encountered the woman was gone.
"You had already won. Why involve my family?" Mary asked with a face full of tears.
"Mary what the hell are you doing?" Mina heard Director Porter ask.
"Save it Matthew, I'm sure you knew about them. I saw the photos," Mary said. Her voice was dripping with ire.
"Are you crazy? I sent Peter those photos for casting purposes. Mina knew nothing about them." Mary's face turned serious. She had only cheated on Peter because she believed that he was still seeing other people as well.
"Don't lie to me," Mary yelled, and it was then that Mina's boss noticed the redness of Mina's cheek.
"Did you hit her?" he asked. There was a hint of fear in his voice. Mina did not wait to hear Mary's response. She was already put off by the idea of her photo floating around between the two men and whoever else they had sent them to.
"James, let her go. Director: I quit." She could deal with a lot but being hit was not one of them. Having already been slapped by Miss Lisa, Mina had thought that was the end of hands gravitating toward her face, but it seemed as though she was mistaken.
----
Inside James' car, the man was a complete mess. He was sweating so profusely that Mina was becoming nervous on his behalf. Anytime Mina was with James, she was reminded of Paul. In fact, it was the reason she liked James in the first place. He was a kind man, not without flaws, but he knew how to treat people fairly.
Mina was almost certain that he could have snapped Mary's wrist in two, but he refrained. Not because he did not want to though. Mina could see in his eyes that he wanted to hurt the woman badly, but she knew that he was holding back for her sake. A kind of restraint that many men lacked.
With the safety of James in mind, Mina asked to contact president Lee about the incident herself. She did not want the man to take the blame for something she had gotten herself into.
----
Mina had not even finished speaking when President Lee asked her to visit his office. Without argument she agreed.
"Mina thank you so much," James said. He knew it must have been hard for the woman to humble herself.
Although James had zero details, he was starting to realize more and more that Mina was not living under ideal conditions. The woman he originally thought was a stubborn guest, now seemed more like a glorified prisoner. James could not imagine being a grown adult that had to ask another for permission to do everything.
----
At the Lee building, Mina was first greeted by Camille, who filled her in on the latest business insider gossip, then Rachel, who Mina was so excited to see that she almost forgot why she had come to the Lee building in the first place. The woman looked a little more full than usual and although Mina did not ask, she was almost certain Rachel was expecting.
Before Mina could get too lost in conversation, she was interrupted by Zane, who called her into President Lee's office. Mina felt awkward seeing him after he turned her argument regarding apologies into a circle and crashed it back into her.
With a sigh, Mina said a few parting words to the women, and James tactfully stood back. He was grateful that Mina had openly decided to confront the issue, rather than run or try to hide it, like she usually did. He showed this by repeatedly thanking her until she was out of earshot.
----
Zane and President Lee examined Mina's face, and only became satisfied when they determined that the redness would fade within the hour. Mina hated to be stared at in any way, but she was trying to protect James, who had failed to stop Mary from slapping her.
"Where was James when it happened?" President Lee asked.
"He wasn't close enough to stop her in time, but it's not his fault," Mina said.
"Mina…"
"It really wasn't. It's like she was waiting for me to move to a private area." President Lee nodded at Zane, who nodded back in understanding.
"This is the second-" Mina cut in.
"There will not be a third time. I have already quit. I was actually putting in my notice before she slapped me." President Lee was not planning to ask Mina to quit, but he was pleased that she had done it on her own. "All I ask is that you let James off. This has nothing to do with our situation. This is about something I got myself into when I knew that I shouldn't have," Mina lied.
Mina knew that everything was caused by a misunderstanding between women. Sparked by whatever photos Director Porter had been circulating of her, and for Jay's sake, she did not want that detail to become exposed.
"Fine," Ian liked that Mina had referenced what was happening between them as 'our situation.' "Have you thought of what you want to do in the meantime?" Mina was shocked by President Lee's willingness to accommodate, so she decided to answer truthfully.
"Mr. Oric Lamar offered me a position within his company. I will see if it is still available." Mina could see that neither man in the office liked her response, but she was not willing to bend any further back than she had already done.