Chapter 93: Classified

When the elevator doors opened, Mina was greeted by the sight of several men and women hard at work. The floor space was shared with president Lee's office, and only the top analyst from each department were allowed to be there. The position of 'top analyst' was precarious and without constant hard work, one could be replaced in an instant.

Mina could sense that there were people staring at her and the feeling made her want to shrink back into her skin. She unintentionally made eye contact with one of the women in the area and she could detect pure animosity behind the woman's gaze. Soon, Mina could hear whispers and some people were even pointing. Using one of her hands to cover her face, she walked faster. In her haste, Mina failed to notice President Lee stop in front of her. She crashed into his back and landed hard on the floor. The man was stunned.

'Did she not just promise to behave a second ago?' He thought.

Within the split second that Mina hit President Lee's back and landed on the floor, several men were already rushing to her rescue.

"Are you hurt?" One man asked.

"Do you need to be carried?" Said another. Mina, oblivious to the looks she was getting stood up on her own and brushed herself off.

"Well that was embarrassing," she said with a smile, and President Lee could practically hear the men around her exclaim in awe.

"Should we get you a doctor?" Someone asked, and Mina laughed. Once again, the men around her made involuntary noises.

"I'm not made of glass," she said, as she removed her jacket. She inspected the coat for dust and then folded it over her arms. She looked up and smiled before apologizing for distracting them from their work.

"It's no problem, we just wanted to make sure you are okay," a man said, and Mina thanked him for his kindness.

"Okay, you guys should get back to work before you get in trouble," Mina warned, and like puppies the men obediently went back to their desks. However, they did not take their eyes off Mina.

Mina cautiously looked up at President Lee who was glaring at her. With an apologetic smile on her face, she forced out the word 'Sorry'. She did not mean to bump into him just then, although by his look she could tell he thought she did it on purpose.

Just as President Lee was about to lose his temper, Zane stepped out from a side corridor. He was coming to fetch President Lee for their upcoming meeting, and he did not expect to see his friend outside of his office instead of inside reviewing files.

Zane was about to call out to President Lee but stopped himself when he saw Mina. The sight of her caused his eyes to light up. He could tell that her thick brown hair had been professionally styled and it now fell just below her shoulders. She appeared to have put on a little weight, although it could have been attributed to the thickness of the dress she was wearing. Taking in the situation, Zane realized that Ian was about to blow up at the girl, so he quickly intervened, and Mina shot him an appreciative smile.

Momentarily distracted by his friend, Ian shot Mina a warning look before turning to enter his office, and Zane followed quickly behind. Mina made mocking faces at the door and only when she heard the profound silence of the room did she realize that her actions shocked everyone into complete stillness. Chuckling to herself Mina put one finger to her lips and made the shushing sound. The men who had previously been nice to her put their heads down. The woman was pretty, but she was obviously crazy. Shrugging Mina strolled around the work area and screwed her face up in contempt. It was not dirty and to the average person it would look neat and efficient but to Mina, everything was being done in a sloppy manner. No wonder people in the Lee Group wanted to have President Lee removed.

Absentmindedly Mina picked up a book on a nearby table and flipped through the pages. She found an empty chair and sat down as she read. Just as she was starting to get comfortable a particularly rude woman strode up to her and snatched the book out of her hands.

"This is classified," the woman said, and Mina laughed loudly. The woman was both confused and offended by Mina's laughter. "What is so funny?" the woman asked.

"You have obviously never stepped foot in a library if you think that book is classified." Someone in the room worked hard to suppress their laughter but failed. The rude woman turned her head toward the direction of the sound where another woman, who seemed to be isolated in the corner, sat.

"Miss Kim, you've only just returned. Don't cause trouble for yourself," the woman spat angrily; her words made Mina stand up.

"Your problem is with me," she said. "Don't take it out on other people." Mina had not meant for her statement to come off as a challenge, but to those around her, it was clearly that.

"Just who do you think you are?" The woman asked, and Mina extended her hand.

"Just call me Mina," Mina replied.

----

When Zane opened Ian's office door, Mina was in the middle of a heated exchange with one of the lead risk managers within the Lee group. He could not hear what Mina was saying, but the risk manager was clearly struggling to contain her rage. Mina, however, looked calm. Zane had no way of knowing that Mina had encountered that entitled personality many times in her life, and she found pleasure in serving the person a slice of humble pie each time. As for the woman in front of Mina right now, she had simply called her out on her lie, but the woman refused to back out of it.

Only when Zane walked closer could he hear what Mina was saying, and he thought she was explaining some sort of financial guideline. Not wanting to interrupt a good cat fight, Zane walked up to a man who was watching the scene with absolute adoration in his eyes and asked him what was going on. Someone overheard and handed their CEO a copy of the same book the risk manager had claimed was classified. The book, of course, was not classified, in fact, there were several copies of it in the office. They were no more than decorations to impress uninformed visitors.

"She's currently on page six," a man said, and Zane flipped to that page. It took him a second to realize that Mina was quoting the book verbatim. He was floored.