Chapter 530: Tour

Mina was awakened by loud snoring. Drax had drunkenly come to harass her the night before, but Emma was ready for him. She hit the man so hard that he collapsed onto the floor, adjusted himself and fell asleep. Feeling guilty, both women had gotten him blankets and pillows to make him more comfortable, and now Mina was regretting it. Mills really must have adored Drax, because only love could make a person ignore the animal sounds he was making.

The sun had barely risen, but Mina was fully awake, and her stomach was starting to rumble. She wanted to kick the man on the floor before she passed him, but not knowing if Drax was like President Lee and was prone to attacking people in his sleep, she resisted the urge. Emma must have been disturbed by the man as well, because shortly after Mina started to make breakfast the woman came out of her room and made the most aggressive cup of coffee Mina had ever seen.

"If I smother him, do you think Mills would forgive me?" Mina remembered when Emma would barely speak, and while she was still extremely quiet and mostly kept to herself, she had come a long way. She slid the woman a plate of grilled toast, making sure to add a touch of extra cinnamon and powdered sugar hoping to make Emma smile.

"Sorry. You wouldn't have to deal with any of this if I weren't your roommate." Emma had stuffed a huge bite of the eggy bread into her mouth before she looked up at Mina in shock.

"Are you kidding me? Moving in with you has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Mina, I worked as a barista and now, I am a paid screenwriter; one who isn't bound to a production agency, so I can pretty much do as I please."

"Extreme variable," Mina said in a muffled voice.

"Extreme what?" Drax shouted from Mina's room. The man had clearly slept well and had even taken a shower. He was wrapped in Mina's bathrobe, which made the garment look tiny.

"That is my favorite robe!"

"And Mills is my favorite person." Drax pulled Mina's plate toward him and started to eat her untouched food. She could not believe the nerve of the man. She continued to glare at him until the bell rang and Drax went to answer it. Mina stepped in his path.

"What will the person think if they saw you dressed like that in my apartment?" Drax smiled wickedly.

"I'm sure they will talk." He moved Mina out of his way, and opened the door as the woman fled from view. He was at first all smiles, until he saw Ian staring at him with a murderous gaze.

"You didn't come back last night, and your phone's tracker said you were here. Apparently, you are more than fine." The man walked away and Drax scratched the back of his head realizing that he had just given his friend the wrong impression. He turned around and Mina wasted no time in throwing whatever she could find at him.

"If he uses this against me, I'm going to kill you."

"Who Ian? He isn't going to do anything to you." Mina scoffed.

"Do you know Cedrick Dom? He used to work out with me. Your friend misunderstood and told everyone that we were sleeping together." Drax snorted in disbelief.

"Wait; you're serious, aren't you?"

----

Ian was livid; he had gone to Mina's apartment because Drax's phone was at her place overnight and he was worried the man was bullying her again. He had not been getting involved because he and Mina had been on relatively peaceful terms, and he would not allow Mills or Drax to ruin that. What he did not expect to see was his good friend wrapped in a bathrobe that he had custom made for Mina when she first moved into her apartment.

Ian wanted to shoot Drax on the spot, but his more logical side told him that Mina was not a willing participant in whatever the man was doing. Still, just to be safe, he left, sending his friend a text that told him to leave Mina's apartment before he made him leave. The man responded immediately, and Ian could not help but to chuckle.

[Only after she tells me where Mills is.] The text was vague, but it told Ian exactly what he needed to know. There was nothing other than bullying going on, and Drax was probably trying to make Mina so uncomfortable that she would be in a rush to give Mills away. Unfortunately for Drax, Ian knew that Mina was not that easy to deal with.

On his way back home, Ian received a call from Lisa, she wanted him to come to her studio, but he was unwilling to go. He heard from Fiori what the woman had done to Mina, and while he made the girl keep quiet about it, he confronted Lisa as soon as they were alone. Since then, they had not really spoken, so her call was more than unexpected.

Ian listened to Lisa beg him to show up until he caved, sensing that there was a reason she wanted him there. They set up a meeting time, and Ian went to work as usual, but not before texting Drax that his presence was mandatory, hoping to give Mina a respite.

----

Mina walked into the studio while talking on the phone. She was handling a contract negotiation for the Lamar family, and the new business partner wanted clarification on some of the clauses she had put into the document. She strolled into the building, not even noticing that she walked past Zane, President Lee and Drax.

The information was not sensitive, so Mina continued with the call until the person was satisfied and then she walked up to the front desk. She was given a badge, and told where she could find the elevators, it was when she turned to walk in that direction that she noticed the three men, smiling brightly as she did.

"Zane you made it!" she said excitedly. She greeted the other two men much differently. "President Lee. Ogre." Drax roughly patted Mina's back in response and she winced from his heavy hands.

"What are you doing here?" President Lee asked, but he was not talking to Mina, he was talking to Zane.

"Mina asked me to tour the facility with her. You?"

"Lisa asked me to come." They all looked at each other, understanding that something was up. Mina became uneasy, but she still entered the lift to continue the tour, finding comfort in the fact that Zane was with her. They stepped out of the elevator and onto the executive floor. Lisa was already waiting for them, and she behaved as if nothing unusual was happening.

"Ian! I wanted you to see my new office design, but I completely forgot what was on my personal schedule. Mina, is it okay if I show him around before I get to you?" Mina nodded at the request, not seeing anything she could say or do. Great, there is a lounge in the back. Can you two men go with her?" Zane was put off by Lisa, but there were many eyes watching, and she was probably trying to put on a show for them.

After a few minutes, the pair returned and Lisa gestured for Mina to follow her, clapping enthusiastically as she did. She rambled on about being excited about director porter taking interest in her studio, and she took Mina to the floor she was most proud of first. The three men intentionally fell behind, allowing the two women to speak as they tried to gauge what was happening. Drax felt as though they were overreacting because Lisa seemed genuine.

"Are we wrong to suspect her for behaving decently?"

"I think so," Ian replied.

"I don't know. Something is very wrong."

"Or she learned from what happened to Vanya. I do not know who Mina's friends are, but you all read that article. If that woman is not already dead, she will be."