Chapter 648: Forgiven

Mina pretended to be asleep as President Lee crawled out of bed. His phone had rung in the middle of the night, and while he was quiet, she had already been awake, so she could hear his end of the conversation. Her heart beat wildly as the man sighed on the phone several times, telling Lisa that he could not meet her, but he eventually agreed. Although Mr. Wei had told Mina that the information she had was wrong, clearly it was not. Miss Luna was right; they just needed time.

As soon as President Lee left, Mina crawled into her own bed, feeling the weight of her naivety. She should have guessed that the man would not just throw away ten years of anything, just like she would not. At the end of the day Miss Lisa was a fixture in President Lee's life, someone he had gotten used to, and while the woman had made mistakes, she was clearly being forgiven.

With her head buried under the covers Mina considered calling out of work, but that would leave her artists at the mercy of director Porter, and she did not want to be selfish. She kicked off the quilt and sat up in the bed, hating herself for still wearing President Lee's shirt. She swallowed down her bitterness, and readied for her day which was supposed to start with cookies, and she planned to do just that.

With the dessert in the oven, Mina sat at the small table in the kitchen and called her parents. They did not answer the first time, but called back a few minutes later. She had gotten them a better phone, not to replace the one that her father swore was the best phone in the world, but to give them access to video calling. Now, her father could take a phone to work, and Mina had the option to call one parent or the other.

She was not surprised to discover that the new phone became the landline. It would likely never leave the place where it sat, almost as if it were too good to be spoiled. She made sure that it was the same brand as the one her parents were already using, and Mina's mother told her that her father was excited about getting to know the device during his free time. He was taking less hours at work now that he knew Mina was paying for the home, and while his back pain was still there it had lessened to a point where doctors did not see the need for immediate surgery.

"Why do you look as though you've been crying?" Mina poked at her nose and her mother smirked at the action. "You know, there are times when you seem like just a normal girl," Anne said, not meaning to actually speak the words aloud.

"Sorry," Mina whispered, taking her mother aback. The woman had not meant to hurt her daughter's feelings, but when she went over her own words, she realized how they could sound cruel.

"Mina dear, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I was baking and I think the heat from the kitchen has me a little flushed." Mina was lying. President Lee's kitchen was temperature controlled in a way that amazed her. No matter how much she put on the stove, the kitchen never went above seventy-five degrees. Chef Tan had once told her that it was meant to keep staff from sweating while preparing large meals, and Mina could see how that would be a benefit to everyone.

"Baby girl, if things have gotten too hard…" Mina smiled at her mother, who was obviously in a good mood.

"I am fine, but I'm responsible for someone who doesn't realize how close he is to losing his job if he doesn't improve." Anne stared at her daughter's expression. She could not tell if it were the new video phone, but she could swear that her daughter was displaying genuine pity for the person she was talking about.

"Your father is the one who believes in mediocracy." Mina chuckled. Even though her father had never said those words, any time he would tell her or Sadie to 'be the best you,' their mother would later add 'just make sure there is no one who is better when you can be great.'

"How can I push him? I don't want to fire him, but it may get to that point."

"You'll have to show him how it's done." Mina's eyebrows raised as she realized that her mother's plan could work. If she could get Cylus to loan her someone for one hour, she may be able to make her actor feel threatened.

Mina's timer beeped and she asked her mother to give her a second to check her cookies, something that the woman was not expecting to hear, because they seldom baked anything at home. The shock of it was soon explained, and Mina found herself wondering if she should bring up President Lee to her mother, but she did not have to.

Right before they ended the call, Anne told her daughter to be careful with President Lee. She meant it as a way to remind her daughter that she was not a normal girl, and she needed to take care with the man's feelings, but Mina took it as a warning from her mother. She assumed that it meant her mother had sensed something wrong with him, and Mina told herself that she would end things with President Lee before she became too attached to the man.

----

Ian met with Lisa at the Sky Light Cafe, the place held no significance and why she had chosen it was beyond his ability to decipher, but he had agreed to meet her because she had something important to give him. He was at first skeptical, but the meeting was worth his while.

Lisa was good at spying and listening, something Ian never realized but probably should have, but then again, he never spoke about anything sensitive in front of the woman. Obviously it was a habit that Drew Loam should pick up, but so far, he was glad the man had not caught on.

Before leaving, Ian ordered something to take back to Mina, it was early enough for her to still be in bed, and he wanted her to have a good start to her day after crying herself to sleep the night before. She kept telling him that she did not know why she was crying, and Ian knew from the hours of research he had done beforehand that she was likely telling the truth, but it still made him feel bad, and the fact that she might have woken up without him beside her made him feel even worse.

Ian entered his home, and called out to Mina several times, but she did not respond, so the man went up to his bedroom, but she was not in his bed, which had been made up. He then checked her room, and he found the woman getting ready to leave for work.

"I bought you breakfast," Ian said. The woman barely looked up as she told him that she had already eaten, and he intuitively knew that something was wrong. "Are you angry?" Mina paused in her actions and wondered if she should ask the man where he went, but she was not his girlfriend, and that would be crossing a line that while not established, was there.

"I've been up for a while now. Mina gestured to the small table in her room that still had uncleared plates on it. Thank you though."

"Mina, is there something wrong?"

"Not really. I just want to go to work and come back to sleep."

"Okay, I will drive you today," Mina did not bother to protest because then it would appear as though something was wrong, but other than her feelings being hurt, she was fine.

Inside of the car, President Lee told her that he had met with Miss Lisa, and Mina wondered if the man thought that being honest about going on a breakfast date with his ex-girlfriend was a good idea, but clearly, he did because he had even brought her leftovers. She closed her eyes and settled her breathing, trying to convey to the man that she was okay, even though she was not.

"President Lee, I know that nothing has been said, but I don't want to be a part of a collection."

"And you aren't. Mina, I promise that Lisa and I are just friends with a common enemy right now." As soon as Ian finished his sentence, he noticed what the issue was. He and Mina had only just emerged from that same place, and she was obviously concerned about being used. In some ways, Ian was happy, but in others he was disappointed that the woman still had not caught on to how much he cared for her. "Please don't let this one situation taint what we have right now." Mina nodded, and Ian used his free hand to interlock their fingers. "I promise Mina; I will not do that again."

Mina did not know what to think or what to do. She wanted to believe President Lee, but Dom's words about men pretending were still playing in her mind alongside her mother's warning to be careful, and even her own plans to run away. She was unsure which was right, but the relationship had only just started, and she felt as though she still had time to make an assessment. Since president Lee promised he would not sneak out to meet with Miss Lisa again, she would choose to believe him, and if he failed, she would get her answer.

----

Zane was sifting through some of the files he had been going through when Ellie came into his study. Judging by the lack of announcement, she had snuck into his home, which he was beginning to see was her preference. She looked much better, and her cast had been removed, although Zane was not certain the woman had not cut it off herself. She plopped her body into one of his chairs and pulled a long face that made Zane smile.

"Why do you look like that?"

"Cam has cut me off. He won't post me to any new jobs, and Ian is making me babysit mom."

"Ellie, you are still recovering from your injuries, and let's face it, your head hasn't been in the game for a while now. That's why you are where you are now."

"I know," Ellie whined. "I had been spreading myself too thin, then mom was sick, and dad was retiring, it all became too much to keep up with. Anyway, that is not why I'm here." Ellie slid her phone to Zane who looked at a picture of Ian and Lisa sitting across from one another in a cafe.

"Do you think they are dating again?"

"If not, why meet there? It's clearly not private, I was able to get that photo from outside."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I overheard Drax telling Mills that Ian was making a big mistake. I think that mistake is Lisa, and I want you to help me break them up." Zane shook his head and tossed the phone back to Ellie who looked confused.

"I advised Ian to stay away from Lisa, but if he wants her, let him have her."

"Yes but-"

"No. You and I both know what's at stake right now, and if Ian is making a move with Lisa again, he must have a reason. Maybe his father asked him to unite the Anders and Lee family." Ellie sighed because that was exactly what Drax told her, but it was something she did not want to hear. Her mother wanted Ian to marry Mina, and by default, so did she.

"Then what happens to Mina?"