Chapter 621: Common Enemy

Mina had been calling Brayden since her return, but the man did not answer any of her calls or texts. When she felt well enough, and after she had been assigned a new guard detail that once again included James, she went back to work. She had completed all her solo scenes and she had no more with Brayden, who had committed a week to filming, and took it seriously. Mina knew that the situation she had just gotten out of had pushed back recording, but she did not expect to stay long, she just wanted to talk to the man, who was wrapping up his last scenes.

When Mina arrived, Brayden was working on the scene where his character finds out that his fiancé was the person who had hit Mina's character with her car while rushing to meet him. It was genuinely an accident, but he was having trouble believing her, and he was doing an excellent job. He was meant to seem agitated and distressed, and Mina could swear that he was not acting. Unfortunately, as soon as the scene was captured, she got her answer. The man glared at her in a way that made her blood run cold before he stalked up to her with so much ferocity in his stride that she instinctively backed away.

"How could you?" The man demanded. Mina barely got to open her mouth when the man cut her off. "You sent people from the Lee group to take me from a key event. Do you know how important my career is? Do you know how hard I worked to get where I am?" Mina stayed silent as she listened to the man berate her for something she had not done. Even if it was done on her behalf, it had nothing to do with her.

"Brayden," Mina said, intending to answer the man's questions with a question of her own. "Do you know that something traumatic happened to me? It was not just Paul who took me. The fact that I am standing in front of you is no less than a miracle and you are talking to me about your career?" Mina could feel tears welling in her eyes, and Brayden tried to reach out to her, but she backed away. "Not even a welcome back?" Mina chuckled self-deprecatingly before she turned to leave.

"Mina," Brayden called out, realizing that he had messed up and he needed to get her back. "I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking."

"That is obvious because if you were, you would have known that you were a suspect because you and Paul are friendly, and it was through your urgings that I dismissed my guard. You kept asking about President Lee and I kept telling you it was work related, but you wouldn't listen, and now, I don't even know why I cared."

Mina turned to leave, allowing the man to follow her but she ignored every word he spoke as if it were just background noise. She climbed into the waiting car and Brayden held the doors, not allowing her to close it until James came and asked him to leave. With reluctance, Brayden left her alone, and Mina allowed herself to cry. She had gone out of her way to make sure that anything that happened to Brayden would work in his favor, and if he had answered any of her calls, he would have known that she was already in touch with Cylus, who had greenlighted the man's solo career with a criminal theme. They were going to spin it in such a way that it looked like he had been removed from the Hansen group by Lee guards as a teaser to his first solo album. All of that she had done because she liked the man and with everything that was going on, she felt as though she needed male companionship; something she planned to get from him.

Mina told James that she wanted to visit her friends, but he reminded her that everyone was at work, something she should have known, but was in a poor mood, so she asked him to take her to the Staton home, which James agreed to. As soon as she saw Mills, she broke down crying, feeling stupid for not heeding every one's warning about Brayden, who had been nothing but sweet to her up until the moment she had come to apologize and assure him that she had taken care of everything in advance. Drax had been eavesdropping on the conversation, but Mina saw the man as an annoying brother, so she waved him into the parlor, where she and Mills cuddled.

"Mina, some people take their careers very seriously, even me. You remember when Mills and Ellie fought the first time. I didn't know what to do, so I just let them fight. Even now, I just let them fight." Mina nodded at Drax, but Mills was staring up at the man with eyes that told him that his advice was terrible.

"Please don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he is talking about, and he is comparing bananas to watermelons." Mina chuckled at Mills' butchering of the saying, but she liked it better than the real thing.

"Babe, apples to-" Mills just glared at Drax who made a zipper motion against his lips because part of the issues she had said pushed her to leave was how he constantly corrected her over things that should not matter. She could understand etiquette, which was important in Pan, but among friends and family, she could not stand for even the tiniest correction. "Why did you come here?" Drax asked, wondering why Mina had not crawled into Ian's lap instead of his fiancé's.

"I wanted to see my girlfriend," Mina mocked, throwing in a quick jab at Drax who she knew had almost corrected Mills on something that was not serious enough to matter.

"Get the hell out," Drax demanded, and Mina started to laugh, something she needed after how terrible Brayden made her feel.

"Have you showered yet?" Mills asked, and Mina shook her head in the negative, making Drax stand up and force his body in between them.

"I'll hug you," the man offered, opening his arms to Mina, who was so tickled by his reaction that tears began to escape her eyes.

"Why are you so insecure? Mills is yours, likely forever, whether you want it or not."

"I want it, and I'm not insecure. Mills has had a relationship with a woman. I am being cautious." Mina shrugged because Drax had a point.

"Hey, don't agree with him," Mills added.

"You never did explain Melony to anyone," Mina said, making Mills turn red in embarrassment. Drax's eyes widened, and his mouth hung open from the reaction.

"You better wipe that look off your face before I break every promise I made and make you walk the aisle in a maternity dress." Mina flinched at Drax's words but Mills just winked at him. "Mina you need to leave," the man said, staring at his fiancé as he spoke. Not wanting to see what was going to happen, Mina started to leave, but Drax pulled her back down. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not going to kick you out when I will have all night to-"

"Please," Mina said, covering her ears as she cut the man off. Since she had kissed President Lee, the moment kept replaying in her mind, and anytime she was around him she felt butterflies in her stomach.

The sensation was maddening, and Mina had taken it as a sign that her body was no longer content with romance novels and dreams. She had wanted Brayden to fill that role, but he had shown her he was unfit. She sat back down, this time in another chair, allowing the couple to cuddle while she lazily played with her own hair. Mills asked her what she planned to do about Brayden going forward, and she told her that she had no plans for the man. She had already written him off as a person who only held his best interest in mind regardless of the consequences for others. It was the same category she had put President Lee in, and she did not want to be with a man like that.

Mina knew how hard it was to break out of the mindset she once shared with the men, and she was not eager to fall back into a place where people viewed her as savage. Besides, she genuinely enjoyed being nice to people, especially when those people deserved to be treated kindly. People like Mills who, like her, had grown so accustomed to being looked down upon that it was weird and off putting to her when a person was not negatively profiling her. People like Olivia, who spent most of her life defending her name against false rumors, only to end up exactly where those lies said she would be; pregnant and alone. People like Willow and Jay, who had noticed when she needed someone, and had made themselves promptly available when they had nothing to gain.

----

Ian was at work when he received a call from security, telling him that Lisa had checked in with the main lobby. He was glad the woman had not tried to come straight up, because she would have thoroughly embarrassed herself with how quickly she would have been kicked out of the building. He instructed the front desk to put her through teleconference, and after hearing what the woman had to say, he allowed her up with a security escort. He called for Zane, who he wanted to be a witness to the exchange, and the man promptly came, giving Ian a look that practically shouted his discomfort. As soon as Lisa entered, she glanced around the room, either looking for a person or looking for change.

"You said you had something sensitive to tell me," Ian said, not wanting to draw the meeting out for too long. Although he and Lisa had distanced themselves, what he felt was permanently, people who were unaware of the events that transpired had not gotten the memo, and he did not want to spark a new set of misunderstandings.

"It's about Mina and Sasha Ivanov. I overheard Drew Loam, and he and the man are friendly now that they have found a common enemy, so I wanted to warn you."

"At what price?" Ian asked, knowing that nothing came free, especially for scheming women like Lisa, who he knew was still whispering in his sister's ear about being blinded by love.

"Ian, I've learned my lesson. I just do not want to be at odds with you. As it is, I have to avoid events that you'll be attending because I don't want to be kicked out or embarrassed. All I am asking is that you humor me a little. Help me give people the impression that you and I are still on friendly terms so that I can help my family out of the hole I dug."

Ian looked to Zane, who was suddenly extremely interested in his fingernails, making silly expressions as he admired them.

"I'm guessing that what you told me is not all you have to offer," Ian replied, and Lisa nodded.

"I will not continue without a guarantee, and if I go missing or you kill me, all evidence will point straight to Mina, and it will not go to law enforcement first." Both Ian and Zane glared at the woman who must have had solid information if she was being as bold as she was.

"You have my attention and my guarantee, but there will be lines that I will address as you cross them." Lisa nodded, taking what she could get. Zane stared at his friend who he felt was making yet another mistake.

"They plan to go after her friends next."