Chapter 4: 

A day full of last-minute meetings with clients and she still had tons of work left to finish. Mina leans back in her desk chair and sighs. She didn’t know where to start. 

“Mina- Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, and I are gonna grab dinner and drinks. Want to join us?” 

She looks up to see Madison and Rachel standing in her office doorway. 

“I’d love too but I’ve got work to finish” Mina replies. 

Madison knew it could wait. She glances over at Rachel. 

“I’ll meet you in the lobby” Rachel states. Madison smiles at her as she walks away. She enters Mina’s office and sits down across from her. 

“Mina you work too hard. Seriously, take a break once in a while” 

“You always say that. I like working, besides it makes us money”

“Touche” Madison laughs as Mina’s phone chimes- 6:00 Reminder: Dinner with JC at 7

“Shit! I’ve got to finish this floorplan for my meeting tomorrow and I forgot that I told JC I’d have dinner with him!” Mina groans

“Dinner with JC? You forgot to mention that…”

“It’s nothing! Just business but I said I’d cook and there’s not enough time to drive home and do that! Take out it is” Mina laughs

“Be careful” 

“Careful? It’s JC, Madison nothing to worry about. You know how I feel, it's just business”

“I know how you used to feel...”

“Mads! That’s old history” 

“Whatever, but new business is good like you always say” Madi stands up as Mina starts packing up her bag. “I’ll walk out with you!”

Mina struggles with her front door, trying to balance her work bag, Chinese takeout, and the wine she picked up on the way home. Finally getting it open, she heads to the kitchen and carefully places everything on the counter. The doorbell chimes. 6:55 the clock on the stove reads. He was early! She still had to chill the wine, make the takeout not look like takeout, and attempt to look less frazzled. “Mina chill out” she whispers to herself. She heads back towards the front door, stopping by the mirror in the foyer to fix her hair. Taking a deep breath, she opens it. JC stands before her.

“Hey Willie” he grins. He wore jeans and a simple tee again. Mina was beginning to appreciate this dressed down Josh after only seeing him red carpet ready for so long in magazines and whatnot. 

“Hi Jace” she replies “Come on in” 

“You’ve got a great place”

“Thanks.” Her townhouse was perfect for her. It was close to the beach with 3 bedrooms, enough room for her parents or Madison if they visited. It was the first place she ever got to call her own and she had a bit too much fun at Pottery Barn decorating. 

“Listen I have a confession to make… I sort of forgot about today, lots of last-minute work came through and well…” 

JC laughs as Mina shows him into the kitchen and he spots the takeout containers. “At least it's just me” 

“I got Chinese. Is it still your favorite?” Mina asks 

“Only if you got noodles and...” 

“Orange Chicken,” they both say at the same time. JC smiles at her. That smile would be the death of her. Mina turns and grabs some plates for their food. 

JC takes one last bite and puts his chopsticks down. “Now that you’ve bribed me with Chinese” 

“It wasn’t bribing” Mina states, shoving him playfully

“Let's talk business,” he answers sternly. Mina had never heard him use this tone before. It was kind of sexy. 

“No Mina” her inner self screams “Listen to Madi, don’t go there!” 

“Right business. Listen I thought about it and I’ve decided...I can’t plan your party” 

“You’re kidding, right? All this suspense… for that?!” 

“Josh- of course, I’m kidding! I’ll do it. Only because you’re sooo persistent” Mina grins at him. JC chuckles. “So 40 huh? Any ideas? Should I ask Charlotte? I mean wasn’t this all her idea?” she adds, clearing the table. 

“What did you do for your 40th?” 

Her birthday was last week on the 16th. She was surprised he even remembered. “Not much. Madison and some of the girls at the office took me out for dinner and drinks. We kept it small.” 

“That’s what I was hoping for. I know Charlotte means well but I cringe thinking of what this would look like if we asked her ideas” 

“Harsh much! She’s your girlfriend” Mina states, pouring them each a glass of red wine. 

“She’s… Charlotte. We’ve been together for about a year. She’s cool to be around and don’t get me wrong- the sex is great but sometimes she’s a bit too much to handle” JC chuckles, taking his glass and walking over to Mina’s large gray sectional. Mina really didn’t want to hear about his sex life so she was glad he left it at that. She was surprised by how easy the conversation between them was. It was like no time had passed. 

“Why don’t you break up if you aren’t happy?” she asks. The words slip out before she can think about it and she had only had a sip of wine. 

“We probably won’t be together much longer” he answers nonchalantly. 

“Why’s that- wait don’t tell me it’s true? You do have a 2-year rule!” 

“Where’d you hear that?” JC stammers

“A little birdie… okay fine. Tabloids, but is it true?”  

“Not necessarily a rule, but life has just worked out that way. I guess I just haven’t found my person yet, you know?” 

Mina nods in agreement and takes another long sip. 

“Anyone in your life, since you wanna judge me” he laughs

“Nope, not for a few years. Madison tries to play matchmaker a lot. Work is my life… she um worries about me because that’s all I make time for” 

“I get that. Rather be busy than not.” That was one thing they always had in common. 

“I feel bad for saying this out loud because Madi does mean well, technically Morgan Events is her baby but right now she’s sort of put it on the back burner. She’s a little bit younger than us and I think turning 40 and being single is freaking her out so she’s trying to find a man and has made it her new priority.” Mina and JC laugh at the same time. 

“I’m perfectly happy with my life the way it is,” she adds. Silence fills the air. JC wasn’t sure what to say, the conversation had been going so well. It was like he had his best friend back. Granted he had Justin, Lance, Chris, and Joey but his friendship with Mina had always been different. 

“I’m sure you know what I’ve been up to… catch me up” he speaks up, breaking the silence. Mina is taken aback. Should she bring up… Definitely not!

“Um…” she downs the rest of her win and refills her glass. “I got into NYU!” 

“You always did talk about going there”

“And I did it! That’s where I met Mads. Somehow they mixed up our dorm rooms, hers was a different cost or something, you can imagine how mad my Dad was!” 

JC laughs recalling Mr. Morgan and how his face would turn completely red like a cartoon character when he was angry. 

“Eventually they fixed it and put us in a room together. We’ve been inseparable ever since. Let’s see… we majored in marketing and we did the typical internship, pray to find a job thing. Everything fell into place. We moved into this shitty studio apartment after graduation. You know in the movies where they pull back the rug and there’s a tape outline of a body?” 

JC nods. 

“That was this place... you can just imagine how awful it was. We worked in corporate marketing and worked on our MBAs. Mads and I did that for about ten years when she decided she wanted to start her own event planning business. Morgan Events was born in our little apartment, a 2 bedroom upgrade from the dump. I stayed with the firm and helped her on the side. A few years ago she moved to LA and we were bi-coastal. I quit the firm and worked New York events while she handled the West Coast and then I moved out here about 2 years ago so Morgan Events could be West Coast full time. Sorry, that was a lot.” Mina finishes

“20 years is a long time…” 

“Of course I mean look at all you accomplished! Sorry to hear about the solo thing though” 

“No worries. I was frustrated and angry for quite a few years but it’s water under the bridge now. Justin and I are good. The guys are great. We recently bonded again” JC states. Mina recalls hearing about their small reunion on the VMAs a few years before. Huge reunion rumors had been circling ever since. 

“So I’ve heard…” 

“From your little birdie?” JC jokes. Mina chuckles.

 
“Guilty. Madison is a fan. She had posters all over that crappy apartment” 

“Oh really? Let me guess… Justin girl?” JC asks. He had met Madison briefly but she was definitely Justin’s type. 

“Wrong. Joey actually.” Mina and JC laugh. He reaches for the bottle of wine and refills his glass. 

“They’ll be at your party I assume?” Mina says, trying to switch back to business.

 
“Yes. I can’t wait for you to meet them.” 

“Let me know when you’re free and we can start planning everything out. I know you want to keep it small but I know a great club we can look at. It would make a perfect venue. They’ve got a large VIP section and separate entrance” she explains, getting up and walking towards the kitchen to get more wine. Her mood had changed. JC wasn’t sure what he had said or done.

 
“Willie… stop” 

“What?!” she snaps

“Is it something I said about the guys? Or in general? What did I do?” he asks. Mina stops at the counter. “Was that… was that when?” JC adds. 

“When what?”

“When you started hating me?”

Mina freezes. How dare he?! Of course, the years had gone by but he could still tell when she was annoyed. “I think you should go”

“Why won’t you talk about it? What did I do for you to hold a grudge this long?” he inquires

“You seriously are telling me you don’t remember?!” she snaps. JC stares at her dumbfounded. “I think you should go,” Mina says again, pointing towards the front door. She grips the counter as the front door closes. 

The tears sting her eyes but she forces them back. She immediately regrets letting JC back into her life, business, or otherwise.