Chapter 598: Not Ready

Mina did not want to tell President Lee the truth of what happened, but she also did not want the man to remain suspicious of Brayden. She had already asked him how he knew where to find her, and he told her that his manager called to warn him of paparazzi that had been drawn to a specific area, and he made an educated guess.

The problem was that Mina herself did not fully believe the man's claim, but she could not see any benefit that would come of it. When she brought it up to President Lee, the man laughed at her, telling her that Brayden could have set the whole thing up to make himself look better, but Mina did not understand.

"Do people do things like that?"

"Yes," Ian replied in a tone that was both sympathetic and annoyed. "Especially those with means and intentions." Mina narrowed her eyes, half understanding what President Lee was saying, but half confused by his words.

"You're just trying to scare me."

"Whatever you say, but just know that I warned you." Ian was still under the impression that Mina was hiding something from him, but he did not want to push her. He planned to first ask Dom, who he hoped was not keeping the truth from him, and if the man was also in the dark, Ian would then ask the women who Mina called friends.

"I should go. I'm going to be late," Mina said, but President Lee's words had gotten to her, and she found herself more suspicious of Brayden, who not only showed up in her former neighborhood, but he had also come to pick her up from the filming site the day she and Peter had their spat. He claimed to have already been in the area, but now she was not sure.

----

Olivia went over Willow's work and was relieved to have capable people on which she could lean. Between the woman and Mina, nothing was set out of place, and filming followed the proper schedule without issue. The scene selection process was underway, and only three retakes had been suggested, fortunately, not because of her, but because of what director Porter called poor background acting.

Olivia was in the process of trying to get her staff to recreate the scene, but they were having trouble recreating the lighting conditions. It was a gloomy day when the scene had been filmed, but natural sunlight was pouring into the studio, making it hard to get the perfect amount of cloudiness.

While scaffolding staff assembled lifts to cover the windows, Olivia went into a back room to lay down. Her little one had been doing flips in her belly and she was not used to the sensation, which she could only compare to rolling flutters. The only reason she even knew what she was feeling was because Dom had gotten many parenting books for her, and she, wanting to be a good mother, read them all.

Olivia removed her oversized cardigan and laid down on the fluffy couch that was meant for the actors to nap on. She had begun to layer her clothing to hide the bump that was a little too big to be normal, but still small enough not to shout pregnancy. She and Willow had already been 'overheard' speaking about her secret marriage, so even if her stomach got too big to hide, everyone would think the child belonged to the man she 'eloped' with.

A light knocking at the door made Olivia's eyes shoot open and she quickly pulled her sweater back on before inviting the person inside. Her heart physically hurt when she saw who it was, and for no apparent reason, she felt the urge to cry. The worst part about pregnancy to Olivia was her shifting emotions.

Annoyed, she quickly pulled a pill bottle out her bag and took one of the huge vitamins her doctor had prescribed her. She had been neglecting to take them regularly, but if just seeing Peter was enough to make her emotional, then she would need more than just food to help aid with her hormone imbalance.

"You've been avoiding me." Olivia raised an eyebrow as she put her vitamins back into her bag. "Are you sick?" The man asked as a follow up.

"I was," Olivia replied, not exactly being specific as to which question she was answering. "Why are you here?"

"You got married?" Olivia rolled her eyes but did not answer. Part of the plan to convince people that she was married to someone her family did not approve of was to hide the fake relationship.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Listen Peter, please do not make things any more awkward than they need to be. You said it yourself, we have both moved on. Let's remain professional." She tried to leave but Peter stood in her way.

"What was Mina talking about?" Olivia shrugged.

"She told me you two got into an argument, but I didn't ask for details," the woman lied. Mina had told her everything verbatim. She had even gotten angry with her friend for bringing Mary up, but when Mina told her what Peter had implied, she understood why the woman lost her composure. "I should probably finish setting up." Olivia pushed past Peter, who followed her.

Technically, Peter was working, and while he may not have had to be near her, it was likely they were going to the same area, and she wondered how long she could take being in the same room with the man. He continuously asked her questions about her husband that she flatly ignored, and then he asked her if she had ever dated her boss, which prompted Olivia to snap.

"Why are you so interested in my personal life? I have already asked you to remain professional, but since it seems to be hard for you, I will make sure you and I never cross paths on this set again." Olivia stomped away, and Matthew quickly made himself available. He approached the woman, who ignored him as she gathered her things and left.

"What the hell are you doing?" Matthew asked his friend, but the man ignored his outrage. "Listen, she is married. You need to move on. You messed up, and you cannot fix it. Just like me, you lost."

"She didn't have a ring on her finger."

"So what? Did Chance not tell us that her family didn't approve of the man she was with? Maybe he couldn't afford a ring or maybe she didn't want one. Do not mess this up for me Peter. I fired Mina for you, the least you could do is give me enough time to convince her to come back before you start acting crazy again."

"You don't understand Matthew. Everything that happened with Olivia was because I saw her out on a date."

"No, everything that happened is because you thought you saw her on a date, and instead of asking you assumed."

"What was I supposed to think? She wouldn't even take my calls."

"I don't know, but now is not the time to figure it out. We came here to help an old friend, not to stir up trouble with his staff."

----

Mina and Brayden sat at the back of the Free building exchanging childhood stories. Everything she told the man resulted in the same response, but after a while, he realized that her tales were too well detailed to be lies.

"So, you walked around speaking in ones and zeros and your parents didn't try to stop you?" Mina chuckled as she shrugged. She had never considered what her parents thought or how they felt.

"They did not, and I'll have to ask them why the next time we speak."

"What did your friends think?" Mina giggled.

"I didn't have any. I was beyond an outcast, even adults treated me poorly at that time."

"Well that's crappy. I bet they wish they hadn't mistreated you now." Mina shrugged again.

"They were ignorant and afraid, but by the time I was twelve most people started to realize I wasn't what I was made out to be." Brayden's face took on a confused expression and Mina could not help but to smile at it. He was an extremely handsome man and even when he was not trying, he made her heart flutter. "Brayden, what exactly do you want from me?" Mina had never been so forward, but President Lee's suspicion was making her wary of the man, who she knew had no shortage of women.

"It's your call," Brayden said. "If you tell me that you just want to be friends, I am fine with that. If you tell me that you want something more, I am fine with that too." Mina felt her stomach flip with Brayden's words, but her mind was still telling her to be careful.

"And what Connor said about Cylus' father; is it true?"

"I won't lie, he did approach me, but I declined his offer."

"What did he want?" Mina asked, a small hint of panic in her tone as she spoke.

"He wants to force his niece back home, and he asked me to help convince you."

"Why would he think you could do that?" Brayden raised an eyebrow, but Mina just stared at him, clearly not understanding what his eyes were saying.

"Let's just say that I don't have a lot of women saying no to me." Mina's brow furrowed and Brayden laughed before smoothing it. "Does knowing that bother you?"

"I don't know what to say," she admitted, and Brayden smiled brightly.

"Thank you for that." The man said before shifting his chair closer to her. Mina's breath hitched as Brayden started to lean his body forward with his eyes directly on her lips.

"I'm not ready," she blurted out, knowing that the man was going to kiss her. His face fell as he drew back, but he recovered with a smile.

"I guess that means we are just friends."

----

Willow moaned loudly as Oric brought her to the pinnacle of pleasure, pushing her over before following her. She let out a deeply satisfied sigh before stretching and getting out of the man's bed. She began to dress herself, ignoring Oric's bad mood as she did.

"Same time tomorrow?" she asked, jumping on the bed with a smile and pecking the man on the lips. When he did not speak, she put on a mock hurt expression. "If you don't want-" Oric grabbed her and pressed her body underneath his.

"Stay for a while," he said, and Willow wiggled away, standing up to fix her clothing.

"Maybe next time; I have to work in the morning."