Chapter 642: Hopes

True to his word, Director Porter allowed Mina to push through several inexperienced actors. So far, two of the women she chose had mild personalities, they took correction well, and even when Director Porter would yell at them for missing a line, they refused to shed a tear. The male, however, was mildly arrogant and had taken his call back as a sign that she was interested in him.

Mina did not want to ruin the actor's career by removing him from the production, so she asked Cylus to visit her. It had been a while since she had seen the man and she assumed that because he worked in the same industry, it would just appear as though he were visiting one of the actresses who came from Rouge.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Cylus asked while rubbing Mina's shoulders. He knew from Olivia that Mina had to cut ties with everyone for their own safety as much as hers. It was serious enough to require seeded rumors to be spread to insinuate the women had parted ways over a financial dispute. It was simple and believable.

"I'm fine, I just feel isolated. I did not realize how much I depended on everyone until I had to stop talking to them abruptly. It did not feel like this when we graduated from Wayvair."

"You are human, it's only normal for you to feel this way, but as soon as they find the person who is targeting you, we will have a giant celebration." Mina smiled, loving the idea although she generally disliked parties.

"How is Olivia?" Cylus opened his phone and showed Mina photos of Olivia clad in a wedding dress. It was a beautiful gown, and it completely hid her belly.

"She is now Olivia Twan. It was a small ceremony; it was just my family and his, but she really wanted you there. I didn't send you pictures because…"

"I know," Mina finished. "That just makes all of this so much harder. I almost feel like the only person I can depend on is…" Mina paused, not knowing if she should continue her words so she lied. "I just feel like the only person still there is Brayden."

"Brayden?" Cylus questioned. "Mina he isn't someone you should be looking to for any sort of support. You might as well give Connor a second chance." Mina chuckled.

"Connor got into a relationship to prove to me that he could be faithful and from what I heard he failed."

"Mina, Brayden isn't going to be much better and who told you that?" Mina made a face that told Cylus she was not going to tell him, and the man moved on. "Fine, don't tell me, but believe me when I tell you that Brayden is far worse than Connor."

"Why?"

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After Cylus left, Mina went back to work and as usual she treated 'her' actors to a meal. They used the time wisely, going over lines, clarifying scenes, and the male backup she had pushed through obviously misunderstood Cylus' visit because he became more respectful, and focused totally on the script.

Mina could tell that all three of the people she had chosen were nervous. Director Porter was extremely harsh with them, and she was certain that if she had not promised to pay for any setbacks they caused, the man would have cut each of them from the script on day one. She also knew that the man was happy with the visual appearance of the trio, so he was willing to work with them, albeit with an attitude.

"He yells at everyone like that except me."

"Why not?" One of the women asked.

"Because I will quit. This is not my passion, but I do not mind it. Especially when I can help people like you."

Mina rounded the meal and saw each of her artists to whatever accommodation their labels had set up for them. James hated driving the girls anywhere because they liked to flirt with him, and since he was earnestly trying to give Emma the fairytale romance she liked to read and write about. That included staying away from drinking, other women, and visiting her at her family home often. With his promotion, he had more free time, and he invested nearly all of it into Emma, who was receptive to his efforts.

Once back at the Lee mansion, Mina noted that she was alone again. She was conflicted about what that meant, especially after the very forward declaration President Lee had made the night before. He did not exactly vow to wait for her, but he implied that he was already waiting. The way he phrased his words made her feel as though he meant that he had been waiting for her for longer than they had known one another, but because she was so taken aback by the man's openness, she could not bring herself to ask.

However, it was the next night, and Mina was mildly looking forward to seeing President Lee. She wanted to talk to him about what Cylus had told her about Brayden. If anyone could confirm the information it would be him, but she also wanted to subtly let the man know that she had plans to go to an event that he had not approved.

Brayden had made it almost impossible for her to cancel, telling her that he owed her for his solo career and had made her the guest of honor. She felt like she was being guilted into attending, and she did not want to make the man look bad by no-showing him. She had been put off by what Cylus had told her about him. He told her that his group used to be close to the man, but they all had to cut ties because Brayden was physically abusive during intimate moments.

Cylus told her that he had since believed that Brayden had grown out of whatever 'hobby' he had gotten into, but the truth was that he had only gotten better at hiding it. Mina became angry with Cylus' words, and she wondered why he had not told her sooner. She would have pulled away from Brayden long before, but he told her that he had no proof, and he was working on pure speculation and rumor.

Mina could understand Cylus' reasoning; she too had been wrongly accused of something she had not done many times, and the end results were always hurt, pain and betrayal. Still, she was glad that she had previously written the man off, and although she had agreed to go to his sendoff party, she had not given him any inclination that she was going as anything other than a friend.

Keeping in mind President Lee's words from the night before, Mina headed up to her room and prepared for bed, but after her shower, she heard light tapping on their adjoining doors, and she opened it to reveal President Lee.

"I thought you would be awake," the man said, handing her a folder.

"What is this?"

"That is a promise." Mina opened the file and gasped.

"Why would you do this for me?" she asked, and President Lee stepped so close that the folder had flattened to her chest.

"I want you to see that I'm serious. Giving you a few shares of my company is nothing. If things don't work out between us-"

"I'm not giving it back," Mina interrupted, making Ian chuckle.

"I was going to say that if things don't work out it will still be in your best interest to work with the company since you will have a stake in it." Mina considered the man's offer and as tempting as it was, she could not accept it. Not when she had no genuine answer for the question she knew he was asking her.

"I won't sign," she finally said, and she could see the hurt in President Lee's expression. He went to leave but she held onto one of his arms, wanting to explain further. "I don't want you to buy me President Lee." Ian's eyes went wide. That was not at all what he was trying to imply. He just wanted to show the girl that he could offer her the financial security she wanted since she was young, and more.

"Mina, I'm so sorry. I did not mean it that way. I just know how important taking care of your family is to you, and I thought it would give you peace of mind to focus on other things." Mina nodded. She believed the man, but that was not what she wanted from anyone. Her dream was to take care of her family through the work of her own hands, not by capitalizing off someone else's.

"President Lee, you know as well as I do that anything between us is wrong." Mina said the words, but she was not entirely sure. If they were both suffering from the same sort of mental illness, then wouldn't they cancel each other out?"

"Because someone else told us that it was?" Ian wrapped an arm around Mina's waist and pulled her into him, completely crushing the folder onto which she was still holding.

"President Lee…" Mina's voice was barely a whisper, and while she kept looking at his lips, he knew she would not kiss him first, so he leaned in and pecked her lips as gently as he possibly could. Mina sighed. "Can I have more time to think about things?" Ian nodded as he released the woman.

It was already enough to Ian that she did not pull away, run away, or tell him that his feelings for her were not real. Regardless of whether they were brought on by guilt or not, he genuinely liked Mina as a person. She was kind, but she could be cruel if she wanted to be, she was sweet but not entirely a push over, and overall, her personality complemented his. She was not even trying and people within his company were complimenting him about how 'mature' he had become, when in reality, the maturity they were seeing was the patience he developed while dealing with Mina.

"Mina I-" President Lee looked down at his waist and really hoped the person calling at such a late hour had a valid reason. When he saw that it was his mother, he stepped out of Mina's room to take the call, but the woman followed him, mirroring his expression as they made their way into his study.

Ian's father's illness was becoming worse, and the pain was becoming more frequent. Doctor Juan was still with his family, but because his father's kidneys had started to fail, his mother wanted him to arrange a flight to visit the man just in case something bad happened. She wanted her children to see their father with at least some of his strength, a sentiment that Ian could only agree with. When Ian ended the call, he was surprised to see that Mina wore the same worried expression he wore. He told her what was happening, and the girl sighed heavily before sitting.

"President Lee, I don't want to get your hopes up, but please tell Doctor Juan to find a copy of Howser's Medical Journal Volume twelve and jump to page ninety-six. Based on what you told me, your father could be experiencing something similar, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner; I was afraid." Ian wanted to assure Mina that she had no reason to fear him, but he understood why she would be worried.

As Mina had suggested, Ian called Doctor Juan, who had difficulty locating the book Mina had mentioned. When he finally got a copy, the man called back practically shouting into the phone with excitement. Ian did not tell him where the knowledge had come from, because he wanted to keep Mina's name away from his father's health.