Chapter 384: Bad Boy

Jay opened the door to her family home and rushed inside. She did not give Matthew time to react, because she had a feeling the man was going to ask to come in for tea. Jay's father did not like Matthew, and if he found out she was alone with the man in a nonprofessional setting he would probably cause a scene.

Jay sighed heavily against the door; she did not move until she heard the sound of a car driving away. When she peeked out of the window and saw that Matthew was gone, she started to head for her bedroom. She was about halfway there when the hall light was switched on, and her father stood in her path glaring at her.

"Where did you tell me you would be?" Eric asked his daughter. Jay was way past the age of spankings, but she was afraid of her parents none-the-less.

"Out with Olivia, but daddy-"

"Out with Olivia" her father shouted over her. "Unless your makeup skills have improved, this person does not look like Olivia." Eric held up his device and Jay looked at her father's phone. On it was an image of her and Matthew standing in a secluded corner of the gala. She did not have to ask who sent the photo, because only one person made sense. 

"Daddy I can-?"

"And what is that on your arm?" Her father shouted over her again. Jay looked down at her arm and noticed scratches, her eyes widened when she realized how misleading it appeared.

"Daddy it's not-"

"I had three rules for you to follow if you wanted to join this industry. The first: respect yourself, the second: stay true to your beliefs, and the last: stay away from the men. Do you know why I asked you to do these things?" Eric asked. 

"To protect-"

"That is right, to protect you." Eric rubbed his face and Jay's mother made an appearance in the doorway of her bedroom. "How far have you gone with that man?" Eric asked, and Jay shuddered, she did not want to talk to her father about her relationship with Matthew. 

"Daddy I-"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Every time that man was not on set, neither were you. I may be old, but I am not an idiot." Jay did not know how to respond, so she chose not to. 

"I hope you really like him," her mother threatened, and both of Jay's parents disappeared into their room.

----

Zane continued to follow Mina in his car. He had been worried that she lost her mind, but after listening to her muttering for the last ten minutes, he realized that she was venting. The woman was so angry that she could not sit still. It was something that Zane could relate to, although for him, he would just go to the gym.

"Mina can you get back in the car? It's cold and you aren't dressed warmly." Zane was hoping that the woman would actually respond to him; she did not. 

Still, Mina got in the car, but she was visibly angry. Zane tried hard not to smile, because he knew she was livid, but she looked cute with her arms folded across her chest. 

"Do you know that President Lee is behind all the rumors about me?" Mina was looking directly into Zane's eyes making him feel like he was part of the problem. 

"How do you know that?" Zane asked, trying not to let on that he knew as well.

"Do you know who owns Mary's agency?" Mina went into detail and Zane stared at her, not understanding how she could know intimate facts about the Lee group.

"How did you find that out?" Zane was suddenly hit with the feeling that Mina was a spy after all. 

----

As soon as Mina walked into her apartment her phone rang. She thought it would be President Lee, telling her he was there to collect her device, but it was Cylus. 

Mina answered the phone just like any other time Cylus called, but the man seemed to read too much meaning into her tone, and he immediately started apologizing.

"Cylus, relax. Olivia is your cousin. I understand."

"Yes, but I invited you out. I should have taken a taxi with both of you,"

"No, family is important. If any woman asked you to pick her over your family, you should run far away."

"But what if that woman becomes my family?" Mina opened her mouth to reply, but there was a knock at her door that startled her. "Was that your door? Who could it be at this hour?" Mina did not need to check because she already  knew.

"I have to go. Hey! I forgot to ask; can I bring a friend to Connor's party?"

"Man or woman?" Cylus asked. He was not eager for Mina to show up with a rival. He was relieved when she told him it was a woman. "There should be no problem then." Mina ended the call calmly, knowing exactly who the person knocking was. Emma had gone out with Willow, and the pair were still an hour's drive away.

Mina pulled open the door, and President Lee glared at her. She had yet to change her clothing and neither had he. With his tie loosened, the man looked like a perfect bad boy character from the movies. She found herself pitying the woman who would fall for his looks without knowing his character. 

President Lee had been the man of Mina's dreams when she read about him as a teen. Then when she finally put a face to the man, it was always him in her girlish fantasies. Mina had even once declared to Willow that she would make him hers, but she wanted nothing to do with him now. 

Ian did not speak as he entered Mina's apartment. She tried to hand him her device, but he kept walking forward, forcing her to take steps backward. Eventually, Mina's back was pressed against the wall and President Lee used his arms to block her in.

"What happened to trusting each other?" he asked. His face was so close that she could feel the heat from his breath on her neck. 

"I do trust you. That is why I have not confronted you about hiring Mary to slander me," she lied.

"Show me how it works," he ordered, still keeping her boxed against the wall. Mina held up her phone and pushed a few buttons. The screen turned white then flickered to a completely different layout.

"That is why you do not connect a hacked device to a secure one." Ian just stared at her phone's screen. He pulled out his device and like magic, Mina's cellphone mirrored his. 

"How long have you been able to do this?" He was not sure if he had a right to be angry. 

"Twenty-three figured it out, but I only used it a few times."

"Couldn't you have just asked me what you want to know?"

"It wasn't my intention to make use of the connection. I just so happened to take a peek when you were transferring funds."

"Do you know my bank codes?" Mina shook her head.

"I never saw you input them. If I had, my parents and I would be on the other side of the globe." Ian shifted his face from Mina's ear to right in front of her. He stared into her eyes but she shifted hers away.

"Do you want to know why I did it?"

"Because you had to?" Mina asked with a shrug. It was only then that President Lee removed himself from her personal space and Mina let out a relieved sigh.