Chapter 596: Criminal

Once again, Mina found herself working for the Lee group. After agreeing to be President Lee's 'friend,' the man had been more open and honest with what he expected from her. She already owed him for helping her out, and with them working on their new 'relationship' she felt bad for refusing.

Using the inside trading techniques she had used many times in the past, Mina continued to funnel money into the Lee group by investing in projects they already owned and would see a turnaround in. This time though, she directly helped Olivia and Willow using President Lee's money without his permission.

The man had complete access to everything she was doing, and since he had not asked her why she was investing in her friend's start up, she saw no need to stop. Feeling bold, Mina started to add a few thousand into several startup companies, including a false company she had created for when she was ready to run away.

"You are really quiet on that tablet," President Lee said, making Mina jump. She had been staring at the screen because she thought she had spotted a trend that she had not exploited yet, and she was trying to memorize it for use on her personal account.

"You know President Lee, you can do the same thing I am doing," Mina said, attempting to change the subject. "I really do not appreciate you asking me to break the law for your family."

"You are better at it; you break the law daily and I'm paying you." Mina shrugged. Nothing the man said was wrong, but she was not expecting him to put it so bluntly.

"You can at least look at me when you accuse me of being a criminal." President Lee actually raised his head and flashed a toothy smile that made Mina's heart flutter.

"Fine. You are a criminal." Mina laughed at the man, who shook his head before going back to work on the files situated on his desk. Curious, she stood up and looked over the man's shoulder.

Since they had become business partners and 'friends,', they had a certain amount of trust for one another. It did not mean they trusted each other; they just did not work on anything sensitive in each other's presence.

"It worked!" Mina shouted as she pushed President Lee's hand out of the way. "I told you it would."

"It was a fluke," he replied, flipping the page over so that she could not read how many other small issues her rats had uncovered.

"Maybe I AM a genius," Mina said with a self-appreciative smile. "Have you promoted the man yet?" Ian laughed loudly before he realized that Mina was serious. Her eyes widened and her smile fell. "You told me you weren't going to hurt him." Mina punched President Lee's arm. "You lied to me, again." She started to storm out of the man's study, but he caught hold of her, stopping her from leaving.

"I didn't lie. I told you that I wasn't going to hurt him, and I have not."

"Ordering someone else to do it is the same thing." Mina shook her arm free of President Lee's grip, but he moved quick enough to block her path, placing both hands on her shoulders.

"He is still alive, and if you can give me two valid reasons to keep him that way, I will." Mina thought hard, but since she did not know the man, only two basic reasons came to mind.

"One, it's wrong to hurt people and Two, you can call the police."

"Yes, it is wrong to hurt people, but he hurt me first. Yes, I can call the police, but it would only shed light on something I would rather be kept in the dark." Mina looked down, clearly conflicted about what she was hearing. "I told you Mina, not everyone has a story as unbelievable as yours. Some people are bad."

"I know," the woman whispered. "I just don't like that I had something to do with whatever you plan." Ian's face took on an expression that made Mina worry. "What?" She asked, looking around the room as if someone had entered despite being faced toward the door.

Ian played Mina's words in his mind, and he too did not like the fact that she had sentenced someone to death. He did not want her to wake up screaming at night because of a man who she had never met and owed nothing to.

"Fine, I will do to him what I do to Lee soldiers who disobey orders, but you have to promise me you won't ask about things like this in the future." Mina did not nod, she just stood there staring because she was not sure if dying slowly was a better option.

"That's not fair, your men are trained and he-" Ian cut the woman off by abruptly letting go of her shoulders and walking away. She found herself confused by his reaction and she became offended.

"President Lee, this is who I am, and I can't change it. I can't handle knowing someone will die over something petty; I just don't have it in me." Ian stared at Mina as if he were listening to her, but he had moved away not because he was annoyed, but because he desperately wanted to kiss her. The entire time his hands were on her shoulders he was fighting the urge to press his lips against hers.

"Fine. What do you want me to do with him?" Ian had no intention of listening to Mina, but he was curious.

"He obviously can't be trusted to work for you in the same capacity, but what if you use him to weed out others?" Ian caught the way the woman neglected to use the word thieves when speaking, and he realized that she was truly putting herself in the man's shoes, which was unhealthy.

"Fine," he said, making the woman frown.

"You're lying."

"I'm not." Ian planned to do exactly as Mina had asked and use the man to stop anyone else who wanted to steal from him. He just would not tell her how he was going to do it.

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend and I'm taking your advice."

----

Because of Mina's scandal, Olivia and Willow had lost several potential contracts and Chase Morgan was forced to bring in a better director who would draw his own crowd. They did not care either way, all they were contracted to do was design and set up scenes, and with Mina's help, they had never missed a mark and had nothing to feel ashamed of.

Olivia was in the process of comparing her written scene to the sketch she provided with the actual set when a wave of nausea hit her. She quickly asked Willow to take over for her as she went to take a seat nearby.

Having morning sickness at home was one thing, but if Olivia were caught outside, it would lead to speculation and eventually someone nosey enough would find out her secret. She sat down just as chance came in with director Porter and Peter.

Quickly, Olivia stood and made her way to the back of the set, hoping the man would not speak to her. She had not forgiven him for Mary or for the way he had spoken to her when she tried to reach out to him. She wondered why the men had come, and absolute horror filled her when she realized they were the outside directors being brought into the project.

Olivia called Mina on the verge of tears, and the woman showed up on set with Mills faster than she had expected. She and Mina switched places, while Willow made up an excuse for her.

----

Peter knew that Olivia and Chase Morgan were dating but he did not know she worked for the man. When he saw her try to hide from him, he was immediately put off, but he remained professional. There was no reason for him to make a scene or cause trouble for the girl. They had both moved on, and while she may have had regrets, he was happy.

"Willow, where is Olivia?" Chase called out and the woman shrugged. Peter rolled his eyes realizing that the girl's friends likely lied for her routinely. He had honestly believed he was the only man in her life, and while he may have been her first, he felt as though she had gotten bored with having just him.

"Olivia as in…" Matthew trailed off as he stole a glance at Peter.

"Kent, yes why? Is that a problem?" Chance asked defensively. He was not a Pan native, and he disliked the fact that Olivia had been 'disowned' by her family. As long as whatever was going on in her private life did not affect her work ethic, he did not care.

"No reason. A close friend of hers used to be an employee of mine."

"Oh?" Chance asked. "Which one?"

"Mina Harlow." Chance's eyes widened.

"That girl is a blessing around here. Honestly speaking, I do not know how she does it, but after we had to change filming locations, we lost track of a lot of things; the girl was able to get us organized and functional in a matter of weeks." Chance shook his head clearly recalling a memory. "It's a shame what's happening to her right now, she is a sweet girl. I wouldn't mind dating her if she would even look in my direction."

"Aren't you dating Olivia?" Peter asked, not sure why he was annoyed by Chance's words.

"What? Of course not. She is very professional and has always been. Besides, Olivia is married; you didn't hear that from me though." Peter's heart began to thump in his chest.

"I saw photos of you two at dinner," he lied, wanting to force the truth out of Chance, but the man tilted his head in confusion.

"Olivia and I have had dinner once, but it was to go over a business proposal. Her partner had been called to another meeting, so she and I ended up eating alone." The man shook his head. "I swear this country's paparazzi is diabolical." Matthew looked between Chance and Peter seething in anger. He had fired Mina to placate Peter, and now he was finding out that Olivia had not been cheating on his friend at all.