654 Chapter 654: Things Change

Ian was in his office when he received a call from the front desk that Lisa was waiting to be seen. He allowed the woman up, thinking that she might have current information for him, but when she came in, she was holding bags of food from a nearby restaurant. He just glared at her as she set the bags on his desk, and when she took in his expression, she pouted before explaining.

"It would look suspicious if I just showed up without a reason. You do not have to eat with me, but it would help protect me if we set the meal out and made it look like we had lunch together. People talk." Ian rolled his eyes. He knew Lisa was right, he just did not actually care.

"You can set it out, but I won't join you." Lisa nodded and opened the trays of food and Ian found himself missing Mina, who would have cooked the things that Lisa bought. He was becoming spoiled by the woman, who made sure that he always had bland broth to drink and fresh baked bread to help fill his stomach. It was a skill she had learned just for him, just as he was learning patience for her.

"I assume you know why I am here," Lisa said as she set out her meal. "The plan has changed," she added.

"What do you mean, changed?" Ian asked. He stood from his desk and moved closer to Lisa. He wanted her to get a good look at his face because he was in no mood for games.

"I- Well-" Lisa's words were cut as Ian's office door swung open with an oblivious Zane coming to fetch his friend for lunch. The man took in the sight before him, and an expression of pity crossed his face.

"I'll talk to you later," he said, closing the office door in complete disappointment. Ellie was right, Ian and Lisa were getting back together, and that would leave Mina back at the mercy of a woman who openly despised her. "I'm going out," Zane told his secretary.

----

Filming was in full swing, and Mina was helping one of her artists go through her lines. The woman was a good actress, and her character was pleasant, so her lines were not hard, the problem she was having was with her nerves. When they had been in rehearsals, it was just practice, but now that they were recording, she felt pressured into being perfect, which was negatively affecting her performance because she was over acting.

"It isn't too late to replace you," Mina said. "We have only started shooting yesterday, don't allow fear to ruin something good." The woman nodded, and director Porter called for lunch, allowing everyone a two-hour respite to relax and unwind, but Mina knew it was because he had plans to meet with Mr. Eric.

"Hello beautiful," Mina heard, and she spun to see Zane. He was wearing his signature smile, and, although it had not been long, she was happy to see him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking to see if President Lee had come with the man, but he was alone.

"I'm here to bring you to lunch," the man said, and Mina's face took on a weary expression. "Oh, come on, can't friends share a meal?" Mina smiled, and put down her trusty clipboard, grabbing her purse as she gestured for the man to lead the way.

Zane was unlike President Lee, so his car was bright and flashy. It only sat two people, and while Mina disliked being in-your-face about anything, she was always fascinated by any car the man drove.

"This is new," she said, rubbing her hands along the dash. It always amazed her how soft the leather in a luxury car was.

"Glad you noticed."

"Of course. Is this the model up from the old one?"

"It is," Zane said proudly. "Do you want one?" Mina nodded. She liked luxury; she just was not comfortable enough to afford it.

"One day you'll be admiring my car." Zane found himself pouting at Mina's words. She was such a sweet person that even her attempts at bragging were modest.

"I look forward to that. In the meantime…" Zane gestured to his seatbelt and Mina quickly clicked hers into place.

----

Before she had wrapped up her meal with Zane, Mina was informed that filming had been cancelled for the day. She knew it meant that Director Porter got his date with Jay, and while she was happy for the man, she was worried about how her friend would react. She wished she could text the woman and find out, but she was still under the impression that anyone she was near would be put in danger because of her, and the only reason she had been keeping regular communication with her parents is because President Lee had assigned them a guard.

"Everything okay?"

"Work has been cancelled," Mina said.

"No plans?" Mina shook her head, and Zane smirked at her. "Want to go visit my mother?" Mina stiffened. She had not been to the Free building in a long time, and it was mostly because she was afraid that Brayden would come to find her there. President Lee had let the man off, but she knew there had been consequences for his actions. She just did not ask about them because she did not want the guilt. "Hey, you will be safe with me, alright?

Mina agreed to Zane and after paying, they went straight to the Free building where Mrs. Meagan was counselling a young woman who was expecting her ex-husband's child. It was a weird situation because the woman had not been pregnant when she joined the Free meetings, meaning she had given in to her ex at some point, and the outcome was clearly not ideal.

"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Zane asked. His mother had only just finished telling them the woman's whole story, and Mina could not help but to think of her own undefined relationship.

"I just can't understand it. What changes after marriage?"

"Sex," Zane offered, and Mina's eyes snapped to the man in shock. "It's how this country works. Men marry women they are not emotionally invested in because they want to sleep with them. Once the fun of it is gone, they suddenly feel trapped."

"Don't scare the girl," Mrs. Meagan added.

----

Mina did not go back to the Lee Mansion, instead, she went to visit with Mills, who was excited to see her. Drax had been called out of the country, so it meant that she was alone, and with Fiori and Milo 'figuring' things out, Mills also needed a distraction from reality. The women spoke briefly about Jay. Apparently, she was not told who her date was going to be, and when she found out how the evening came into being, she immediately called Mills to send her sincerest wish for Mina to stub her toe on a coffee table.

"I miss everyone," Mina said. Curling up into Mills who was the only other female comfort she had.

"I miss us being in the same room together as well, but this is only temporary. We should be back together before my wedding." Mina smiled at Mills, asking her to show her a sketch of the dress she was getting made for a third time.

It was well into the evening when Mina received a call from President Lee, telling her that it was time for her to return. She had wanted to avoid the man a little longer, but she knew he would be the one to pick her up because she could hear it in his tone. He sounded angry, and Mina wondered if he had already gotten bored of her.

"What's his problem?" Mills asked. She was close enough to overhear the call, and Mina felt herself wanting to explain, but Mills answered for her. "Probably stressed by that girlfriend of his."

"What girlfriend?" Mina asked, feeling her heart hammer within her chest.

"You didn't hear this from me, but I overheard Drax talking to Cam about President Lee and Miss Lisa." The blood drained from Mina's face, and she had to fight back the urge to cry.

"Are they… back together?" She asked but Mills only shrugged.

"I don't think so, but Ellie thinks that President Lee's parents are pressuring him to unite the Anders and Lee families." Mina slumped into the couch, unsure if she could accept that. She was not ready to let go of the man, and she found herself thinking of ways to keep him, but then, she thought of the women from Free. There was no guarantee on any relationship, even if children were involved. "Are you okay?" Mills asked, and Mina nodded numbly.

----

Ian watched as Mina crawled into the backseat of his car. He bunched up his face in confusion, but because Mills had seen her out of the Staton family home, he assumed that she was trying to keep up the appearance of an unchanged dynamic between them. When they arrived at his mansion, she went straight into her room without even speaking to him, and Ian became worried by the behavior. As she showered, Ian waited in her bedroom, wanting to talk to the woman who was clearly avoiding him.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked, startling Mina who had been using a towel to dry her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Not really," she replied, taking a change of clothes into the steamy restroom before coming back out fully clothed.

"What does that mean, not really?"

"It means that you didn't do anything," she said, but Ian was not convinced.

"Is this about last night?" he questioned, worried that he may have come on a bit strong. When she told him that she did not want to sleep with him without protection, he had taken it extremely personal, and it felt like she was telling him that she did not see a future with him.

"President Lee, I'm tired." Already showered, Ian adjusted himself in Mina's bed, flipping up the covers and patting the mattress for her to lay next to him. The woman's expression looked pained as she climbed into the bed, and her entire body tensed when he hugged her.

"Please talk to me," he begged, and the woman turned to face him. They were so close that their noses were near touching, and Ian had to resist the urge to kiss her.

"Can you promise me something?"

"Anything," Ian added, pushing Mina's wet hair away from her face as he stared into her eyes.

"I don't want things to change." Ian's brows furrowed as he completely misunderstood Mina's words. He wanted things between them to change, he wanted everyone to know that she was his, and he wanted her to feel for him the way he felt for her.

"Some things have to change," the man said, stroking her cheek, and Mina turned her back on him. She felt the man inch closer and scoop her into his chest again. "It doesn't have to be right away," he said, still misunderstanding the woman's attitude. He believed that she was still on the fence about their relationship and was trying to pull away. "We still have plenty of time."

Mina breathed deeply, she hated that the man was speaking so openly about something she could not even think about without feeling sad, but she was happy that he was at least being honest with her. She interlocked their fingers, wanting to just pretend a little longer. He said they still had time, and while she did not know how much they had, she wanted to make every second of it count. It hurt to think about, but she was glad the man did not lie.

"Can we just sleep tonight?"