Chapter 516: No One Better

Zane arrived at Mina's apartment a full hour earlier than he needed to be. As soon as he saw what she planned to wear he rejected it, and with the help of Jay, he found Mina an outfit that was more 'appropriate' for the evening. Mina felt over dressed, but Zane promised her that she would be muted compared to everyone else. She found herself confused, but then something occurred to her.

"Is president Cameron going to be there?" Zane chuckled, and Mina felt her stomach churn. "Why?"

"Mills' brother has a government contract. Also, the venue has changed for security reasons." Mina froze and turned around to go back to her room, but Zane blocked her path. "Mills will be happy to see you. Ignore Cam, I will too." Mina flashed a half smile as Zane pulled her out the door.

----

Seated at the table in The Grand dining room, Mina mostly ignored the people around her. She had hoped to be seated closer to Mills, but she ended up sitting between Zane and the President, who was at the head of the table, with his vice on the opposite end. Across from her, sat President Lee, Miss Lisa, and Miss Luna, who were among the most talkative women at the table.

"What do you think?" President Cameron asked, Mina was too busy ignoring everyone, and she had not realized the man was talking to her. Zane nudged her side and she flinched before looking up to see all eyes on her and her face turned red.

"I don't think Mina was paying attention," Lisa said, as she tried to reignite the conversation, but President Cameron used his hand to hush her. Mina knew the man was waiting for her to speak, so she let her words fly without thinking.

"It is a move with too many risk factors to consider an option. The probability for success is lower than the probability of failure, and anytime the odds aren't in my favor, I work around them." Lisa scoffed, believing that Mina had just contradicted herself, but the men at the table seemed extremely interested.

"If I threw out a few variables, would you be able to navigate them?" President Lee asked, and Mina nodded.

"Hypothetically speaking, yes; but it would be purely based on made up information unless you trust me enough with facts." Mina picked up her glass and took a sip of water, aware she was being antagonistic, but uncaring. She looked over at Mills, who was smiling in anticipation. The President rambled off some information and Mina nodded as she considered it.

"What sort of connections do I have?" she asked.

"Ian," the man replied, and Mina nodded as she seriously considered how she would approach a failed business venture with President Lee's help at her disposal.

"First, I would hit the markets. I would buy the cheapest stock I could find in a company that had promise. Investors are not stupid, and they won't fall for just any trap. I would then inform President Lee of the value of said stock and encourage him to invest." Some people chuckled, including Mills' brother, who had come with a date of his own. She continued her strategy, and Cameron looked at her approvingly.

"Isn't that too obvious? How could something like that work?" Lisa was trying to make Mina look bad, because she noticed the President seemed to be extremely interested in the woman, and she did not believe Mina deserved the man's attention.

"Unfortunately, our country is highly driven by trends. If one person accidentally wins a million dollars by playing tic-tac-toe, suddenly the whole of Pan is filled with enthusiasts." Ian used the opportunity to chime in. It had been weeks since he laid eyes on Mina, and it was rare that they had a normal and civil conversation.

"You've used that method before, but how did you discover it?"

"By accident actually. I was at work at the Yuliana Resort, and I was using the computer to browse. I had some money saved, and I memorized my father's account information, so I took a gamble." Mina went into detail and while it was not the Lee family who invested, it was someone else, and her stock value increased rapidly.

"You worked at a resort?" Lisa asked with a snort, hoping to embarrass Mina, and still believing that her degree was bought.

"I did, but only during breaks from school."

"When?" Ian asked, he knew all of Mina's work history, and he knew she rarely visited home during her years at Wayvair.

"I was twelve, if that is what you are asking." Mills looked at Mina, now positive that there was much more to her than she let on.

"Why would you have needed to get a job at twelve?" Milo asked, and Mina looked up at the man with a bitter smile on her face.

"As I'm sure you know; we aren't all born into a perfect life."

"Mills told me that you graduated from Wayvair." Mina nodded at the man.

"Yes; I worked hard to accelerate my studies and I enrolled early. I had a letter of introduction from someone trusted and I qualified for a hardship scholarship."

"I heard your speech," Cameron interjected. "Did the school really decrease your scholarship without notice?" Ian knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Mina tell the story again to see if he could spot any added details.

"They did. I can't say I didn't expect it though. Before it happened, a few of my professors hinted for me to purposely skip questions on my exams. I ignored them."

"As you should have," Ian added. "Your life has nothing to do with the woman they were trying to appease."

"True, but I often find myself swept into matters I have no business being involved in."

"Like the breakup of Cylus and Vanya?" Mina looked at Lisa, confusion written on her face.

"I hadn't heard about it, but your example is a good one. Cylus made Vanya insecure, and she perceived me as a threat no matter how many times I told her I was not interested."

"It was Vanya's actions that killed the relationship, not Mina," Zane added and Mina tilted her head toward the man. Cala, the woman who came with Milo chimed in.

"Does that happen often?" Mina was beginning to grow uncomfortable with the conversation, and Cala rephrased. "I meant, are you misunderstood a lot? Sorry to make you feel uncomfortable."

"It's fine, I understood." Mina looked up at the woman making sure to remain polite, just as she had done with Milo. "The problem is the culture of this country. Women become fixated on one man because they don't want to ruin their reputation by moving on from someone who doesn't deserve them." Mina let her eyes dance around the table before they lingered on Miss Lisa and President Lee.

"Well spoken," Cala said while turning to Mills, who looked put off by the conversation. Mina looked at the woman's plate, and saw that she had not eaten, and her heart sank with realization. Shrugging her shoulders, Mina placed her utensils to the side and picked up a stalk of broccoli with her fingers.

"What?" She asked with her mouth full of food. Mills laughed at the other end of the table, and President Cameron cast a raised brow toward Mina.

"Mina, you shouldn't misbehave here," Luna said. She had misread Mina's actions as provocation and Lisa was glad she wasn't the one to speak first.

"It's all family here," President Lee said. He also dropped his utensils and relaxed his posture. He did not eat with his hands, but he leaned heavily on the table, a big 'no' even in poor households.

"Ian," Lisa said in shock, but she seemed to be the only one who had not dropped their etiquette, even Cala, one of the guests had done so.

"No one at this table is better than the next," Mina said loudly in the Sani language, making Mills blush.