Chapter 587: Very Right

Sitting behind President Lee's desk, Mina fully realized that she needed her own office to work out of. The man had been put out of his own space and he was sitting in the chair she usually sat in with his laptop balanced on his legs. He looked uncomfortable, but at the same time, he looked content.

After meeting Tracy and her infant son Roy, Mina and Miss Meagan decided that they needed to branch out, but they needed money to do that, and no one they reached out to was willing to donate to a 'mistress's' organization. At first, Mina had believed they were referring to her, but she eventually realized that an unwed mother had become synonymous with a mistress in Pan.

Swallowing her pride Mina called President Cameron, who answered his phone with a groggy voice.

"Sorry Cam, did I wake you?" Mina was unaware, but Ian raised an eyebrow at her greeting and on the other end of the line, Cam wore an equally confused expression.

"I was resting when you called, but I am awake now. Are you okay?"

"I am fine, but I don't want to bother you. I can call you back if you want."

"No, now is a fine time to talk, and considering the fact that you opened this conversation casually, you definitely need something from me, so, what's up?"

"Well…" Mina paused and looked up at the other President Lee, who was busy typing up an expanded proposal for their joint venture. When she saw the man was not paying attention; she lowered her tone and whispered her question. "I was wondering. Do you still want to marry me?" Cam was completely caught off guard by Mina, and had she called at a different time he would have jumped at the opportunity, but she was asking him when he literally had another woman curled in his arms.

"Not really…" Cam responded, not entirely sure why he rejected Mina's obvious offer. He owed the woman in his bed nothing; she was not his girlfriend, and he had no intentions of giving her a title.

"Okay," Mina sighed out dejectedly. "Let me know if you change your mind." Cam was about to question the woman further, but she hung up as if the conversation meant nothing.

As soon as Ian heard Mina ask Cam if he still wanted to marry her, he knew she was in too deep. He had been warning her that she could not heal the country, but she responded by telling him she could at least begin treating its wounds. She ended the call, and Ian walked to stand behind her. She held her head in her hands and started to rub her temples. He glanced at the paper she had been writing on and saw that she had already made it halfway through her list with only a few valid commitments.

"What did he say?" Ian asked.

"Not really," Mina quoted. Ian rested his hands on her shoulders and began to squeeze the tight muscles. Seeing that she did not have a negative reaction he dug deeper into the massage.

"Why won't you just let me help you? I have vacant properties you can use."

"Because I need more than just apartments. I need long-term funding, a daycare program, government assistance and work placement training." Mina leaned into the hands kneading at her shoulders, not at all paying attention to who was causing the sensation.

"Another twenty percent of your company could help me part with one of the buildings I own for a year." Mina chuckled while tilting her head to the side, and Ian gladly followed her cues by kneading the exposed muscle harder.

"A vacant property is costing you in upkeep. Give me back ten percent of my company and I will cover all the maintenance the property needs." Ian smiled, and spoke without really considering his words.

"Cam is an idiot for saying no." Mina's eyes shot open. She moved President Lee's hand, stood and started to pack her things.

"Sorry, I should give you back your desk."

"Why? I told you that you could use it." Mina did not answer the man as she gently placed the paper she was writing on in a folder. "And why won't you use the laptop I bought you?"

"My mind moves faster than I can type," the woman said in a distracted tone, and Ian took a few steps back.

"Did I say something wrong?" Mina shook her head. President Lee had not said anything wrong, he said something very right, but she did not like hearing it from his lips.

"No, I just realized that I have been going about things the wrong way. I am going to go back to my room and sleep on it."

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Mina awoke in frustration. She had dreamed again, but it had nothing to do with work or the past. She dreamed of President Cam and President Lee both asking for her hand in marriage, but the worst part of the dream was that she was confused. She found President Lee more visually appealing compared to his cousin, but she also found him less stable; not that she found Cam stable at all.

Scared of what her dream may have been telling her, Mina texted Willow. She wanted to know if they had moved on to 'editing the second chapter,' and Willow responded by saying that her parents were in town and it had set her back on the reading. The reply was almost devastating to Mina, but she reminded herself that things had to be done cleanly and professionally if she wanted her plan to work.

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Willow was not expecting a text from Mina regarding their plan, and not just because of the random hour. Although her friend had told her that she was not interested in President Lee, Willow was not entirely convinced, and beyond that, she knew that the man was interested in Mina. She just assumed it was the kind of interest most men had in her friend, which was why she had not said anything to the woman, but she had started to wonder if she should.

Unsure of what to do, Willow excused herself from the Lamars' and her parents, who had been talking nonstop for hours. She knew they were going to end up staying the night and she had no idea why they had forced her to meet them, just to send her back to her apartment alone.

Willow made her way up the stairs and knocked on Oric's bedroom door. She wanted to ask his advice from a male perspective who did not have all the facts. She had tried going to Cylus who had suggested for them to kidnap Mina and stage her death. It was only after Willow reminded him that Mina would never stay 'dead' because she was obsessed with caring for her parents that the man dropped the idea.

Knocking on Oric's door yielded Willow no response, so she pushed it open thinking the man was asleep. As soon as she stepped into the room, Oric stepped out of his en-suite restroom completely naked.

"Willow what the ff... Close the door." In a panic Willow closed the door, with herself inside.

"I didn't mean to walk in on you. I just wanted to ask you a question." Willow heard clothes rustling and peaked behind herself to see that Oric had dressed himself in boxers. She turned to face him, but her eyes kept landing on the bed.

"We don't have to talk in here. Give me a second and I'll step out with you." Willow did not hear a word Oric said as her mind went back to the worst day of her life.

"I hate you," she whispered. "I hate everything that you did to me." Oric did not even flinch because he knew Willow hated him. If he had experienced things the way she saw them, he too would have hated himself. He stood in front of the woman and lifted her chin.

"Saying sorry doesn't work and begging you doesn't work. So, if you have to hate me in order for you to heal, that is okay."