Chapter 517: Luck

Ian arrived at The Red House with Cala, Milo, and Mills. The woman was extremely happy, clinging to her brother as if she had not seen him in years. Ian knew it was in part because she and Drax had not been doing well. Drax had thought it was a good idea to lie to Mills about 'hostility' she would face in Pan. He had even forbidden his sister from taking the woman around, likely in fear that she may find someone else to cling onto.

Ian found himself glad that he had listened and stepped away from Mina when he did. There was no doubt in his mind that he would have kept her by his side until she agreed to marry him if he didn't have Lisa to deal with, and with the way the woman kept secrets from him, he would have regretted it at once. Ian believed that because Drax was engaged to Mills, he felt obligated to stay with her, despite the two of them having moved on from the honeymoon phase.

Once inside, Ian greeted his cousin, who was smiling while texting someone on his phone. The man was so focused that Ian had to clear his throat to get him to look up from his device. Reading Ian's expression incorrectly, Cam answered the question he thought he was being asked.

"Mina is already on her way," he said, giving his cousin the impression that he had been texting Mina and not Camille, who was begging Cameron to allow her to return to her former place of employment and he was enjoying teasing her with circular statements.

Cam greeted Milo and Cala, Milo's date. He skipped Mills, who wore a bitter expression as she stared at the man. Cam knew she was fully aware that he often 'visited' Mina, and she had brought it up to Drax more than once, hoping that her fiancé would be able to get through to his boss. As if on cue, Drax entered The Red House flanked by Luna and Lisa, making Ian look at his cousin in confusion.

"I didn't invite her," he said. It was rare that Ian believed Cam, but this time he did.

"Ian!" Lisa shouted excitedly. "Why didn't you invite me?" she asked, looking around to see if she could spot a possible rival.

"I came with Mills." Drax snorted in annoyance, as he walked away from the group.

"Everything okay with you two?" Luna asked her brother.

"I don't think he likes the fact that his fiancé is my date." Luna made a face, and Ian responded to it with something he had heard Mina say, making his sister look at Lisa.

"It doesn't make it right."

"Trust is the foundation of any relationship," Ian replied, also quoting Mina. Lisa seemed put off, but she did her best not to show how affected she was. Ian started to walk away, and Lisa linked her arm in his as he did.

It wasn't long before Mina showed up on the arm of Zane wearing a fitted black dress. The garment was plain, but Mina's body shape was far from, and he even caught Milo peeking at her. He watched Mills drag Mina away from Zane and nearly push Cala out of the way so she could properly introduce the woman to Milo. Fortunately, Cala was not as prudish as Lisa, she simply giggled at Mills' enthusiasm, but Mina tactfully apologized.

Mills, in turn, pulled Cala away leaving Mina and Milo to 'chat' and Ian shot a glance at his cousin, who looked baffled. The man called everyone to the dining room, and he made sure to seat Mina at the seat to the right of him, while putting Cala in the seat to the right of his Vice at the opposite end of the table. He did Drax the favor of seating him next to Mills, who was torn between sitting with her brother, and sitting with Mina, but Zane quickly put an end to the matter by taking the seat next to his date.

Ian could tell that Mina was distracted, almost downcast, so he made sure to keep his eyes off her and focus on Zane, the traitor. He knew the man was working with Mina and apparently, that also meant going with her on dates. Ian knew his friend could sense his suspicion, and the man looked away in guilt, clearly understanding what his mistake was. Still, Ian ignored the woman, but Cam did not.

After a brief back and forth, Mina dropped her utensils, and started to eat with her fingers. Ian didn't have to ask to know what she was doing. Her eyes had drifted to Mills many times in the night, and with the woman staying in his home, he knew she was struggling to grasp Pan's etiquette. He followed suit, as did everyone except Lisa.

----

Mina was not exactly relaxed, but the conversation had rolled around to something she was at least interested in. She spoke mostly to Zane, who had been unusually quiet during the night, but she hadn't yet figured out if it was because he was uncomfortable being her date or something else. When he had picked her up, he seemed fine, but once they sat, he had sunken into himself, almost as if he felt guilty.

"Sometimes getting rid of staff can save a business," Lisa said, while addressing President Cameron. "In one of my ventures I had to fire over half of the upper staff." Mina giggled, thinking that Lisa was being sarcastic, but the woman's expression told her she was serious.

"Your losses must have been huge," Mina said, not meaning to sound judgmental, but failing.

"There were some, but we recovered."

"How?" she asked curiously. Lisa glared at the woman before speaking through gritted teeth.

"We shut down the business and repurposed the building." Mina nodded in approval.

"Risky," Mina said in a faint voice. Cameron was staring at her, knowing that she was just speaking casually, but Lisa was taking it personal.

"Skill," Lisa corrected.

"Money," Mina quipped.

"Hard work," Lisa replied.

"Luck," Mina retorted, only to have her leg pinched by Zane. She yelped and looked at the man as if he were crazy. The dress he and Jay had settled on was short and fitted. She wore matching tights, so her legs were covered, but the pinch still felt like it was directly on skin.

----

Mina was back in her apartment and was not at all shocked to see Olivia. The first thing she did was to ask about Cylus' breakup with Vanya. Olivia told her that the woman suddenly quit her job and called things off, leaving Cylus completely in the dark as to why. Mina felt good for Vanya, thinking that the woman had finally learned her worth. She then asked Olivia about Peter, and the woman turned red. Mina was happy that Olivia was happy, but she could sense a certain sadness behind her friend's smile.

"Is it becoming harder?" Mina asked, and Olivia nodded.

"It's exhausting, and Peter hates sending me back in a hired car. He thinks it's dangerous." Mina agreed with the man, it was dangerous. Pan was a patriarchy and with that, came lots of victim blaming and shaming. The whole, 'if she wasn't' argument was thoroughly ingrained into society.

"Why not get your license? Connor taught me how to drive, it wasn't as hard as I thought." Olivia knew that Mina had a driver's license, but she also knew that Mina was not a confident driver.

"Cylus won't let me." Mina stared at Olivia. The man had also tried to stop her from getting her driver's license, telling her that he could hire a car to wherever she needed to go, but Mina insisted, solely because she knew the man was being sexist.

"Cylus also doesn't want you with Peter, and yet..." Olivia's face turned red, unable to retort the way she wanted. She sucked in a deep breath and Mina watched her pull out her phone. "Asking for permission?"

"Nope, I just scheduled my first driving lesson."