Chapter 321: 'Her People'

Mina was discharged from the hospital, and as Zane had promised himself; she was brought to his home instead of her own apartment or the Lee mansion.

Mina, of course, protested the decision, but when given the option of returning with Ian, she quickly calmed down.

Before Mina entered his home, Zane explained the situation to his mother, but he might as well have said nothing, because when the woman saw Mina, she literally screamed in shock.

"You poor thing," she shouted, and Mina did not help the situation by pouting. The swelling on her face had gone down significantly, and she was only left with the purple bruising along the sides of her face and jawline. "Have you eaten?" Meagan asked and Mina shook her head.

"I've only had hospital food. Can I cook here?" Mina asked.

"Absolutely not," Meagan said. "You will sit down and rest. I will have something prepared for you." Mina did not look happy, but she relented. "Have you been working on your knitting?" Meagan asked and Mina skillfully avoided the question.

Zane watched the interaction and felt pity for his mother, who he knew wanted a daughter-in-law. It also did not help that she had set her eye on Mina from day one, and often asked after the girl.

Zane and his mother showed Mina where she would be staying, and Zane gave her a phone to use during her stay. He did not go into detail about rules, because he did not have any. Mina just had to stay inside until it was safe for her to go out again. She could talk to whoever she wanted, watch whatever she wanted, and was given free range of the home.

Mina had been worried about work, but Director Porter had called, thanking her for negotiating on his behalf. Shortly before, Cylus had contacted her and told her that he had come up with a convincing lie to tell her boss. She would still be paid, and her boss would be happy.

Mina appreciated Cylus' help and she wished he did not remind her of her father so much. He was not innocent or pure, but he did not pretend to be, and to Mina, that was an important quality. Men who were good at hiding who they were brought nothing but trouble. Mina had learned that lesson early in life, and she would never forget it.

----

With Mina abroad for the last week, Jay and her father had become extremely busy with Karen's schedule. The girl's previous manager had been lousy or intentionally suppressing her artist, because Karen was thriving under new management.

Eric had managed to get the girl onto several variety shows, and because her personality was naturally pleasant, she did well in almost every environment. That is not to say that Karen did not experience any snafus, but she managed to turn her mistakes into jokes, and it helped to solidify her down to earth personality.

The trio had been so busy, that even on filming days, they were running around meeting this person or that person. Olivia had come through for Jay, yet again, and arranged for an online journalist to visit the set and interview Karen. She had even arranged for someone to set up a makeshift interview area, that made it appear as though Karen was in a high-class studio. Although Olivia refused to come to the set herself, she made sure she sent her best people to help.

It was because of Olivia, that Jay realized the importance of having connections in the industry. She always knew they were good, but now she realized that a solid connection could literally make a career.

Since Karen started to appear on variety shows, she had gained attention for her fashion forwardness. Instead of taking the credit, the woman nonchalantly plugged Jay's name into the segment, and since then, Jay's phone had been going crazy with offers from several companies. Of course, Jay went with Rouge Entertainment, as they offered her a better contract, and she was certain it was because of Mina.

----

Back on set for another hectic day, Jay found herself embarrassed when she realized she did not know the names of the new staff that had been brought in. It was common courtesy for behind-the-scenes folk to get to know one another, and Jay felt as though she was losing her connection to 'her people'.

During her down time, Jay introduced herself to several men and women who had been recently brought on. With Mina in another country advocating on Director Porter's behalf, Jay felt lonely and she would be lying to herself if she said it did not motivate her to make new friends.

So far, Jay had only become close to a man named Chris, who was brought on by director Twan, who had returned from 'medical leave'. She and the man connected immediately, and the fact that he was handsome did not hurt her opinion of him any. Still, Jay wanted to get to know all the people she would be working with for the next three or four months.

Satisfied with her introductions for the day, Jay went to make sure the leads wardrobe change was in place for the next shoot. She had started to knock on all doors before opening them ever since she walked in on the director fooling around with someone.

The thought made her shudder. Just the day before it happened, Matthew's lips had been locked with hers, and he was promising her the moon for just one more kiss. Shaking the thought aside, Jay pulled Karen's dress toward the front of the rack. She heard someone enter the room and thinking it was Karen she spoke carelessly.

"Hurry up and take off your clothes. Let's finish quickly." Jay heard the rustling sound of clothes being removed, but she did not remember any buckles on Karen's clothing. She spun around and was shocked. "Director, what are you doing?" She asked with her hands over her eyes. The man had actually undone his clothing. She felt him approach and she used her free hand to keep him at a distance

"Didn't you just ask me to strip?" He asked, taking the hand that was on his chest to his mouth, and sucking on her finger. Jay snatched her hand away.

"Director, I think we have taken things too far," Jay said. She was a skilled kisser, but she was not as experienced as she let people think, and she was no longer interested in learning from director Porter.

"Why?" He asked.

"No reason. I just think we need to keep things professional." Matthew narrowed his eyes at Jay, which was useless because she was not looking at him.

"It's because of him? Isn't it?" Jay turned to face the wall, which was a mistake because Matthew used his body to pin hers against it. He kissed the back of her neck as he held her there.

"I do not want this. Stop it now," Jay said firmly and Matthew released her.

"You never complained before," he said. Jay could hear the man fastening his belt, and her heart relaxed.

"I just think we need to keep things professional," she repeated.

"Are you professional with him too?" Matthew asked sarcastically, and Jay turned to face him.

"Who are you talking about?" She could tell the man was hinting at something, but she had no idea what.

"Don't play dumb, I see the way he looks at you." Jay scanned Matthew's face, then smiled knowingly; he was talking about Chris.