Chapter 270: What about President Lee?
James walked into Mina's apartment fully aware that they were being watched. Not that he cared for himself, but he wondered how Mina must have felt knowing that her privacy was limited to her bedroom and changing areas. He had two older sisters and after living with them for the first fifteen years of his life, he learned that most women valued their privacy.
James walked around the spacious apartment and surveyed the environment, while Mina got busy in the kitchen. He thought he would find typical girly items, like picture frames and stuffed animals, but there was nothing that gave Mina's apartment the feeling of home.
"Mina, why don't you have any pictures up?" James asked, as he entered the kitchen. There was no real wall separating the sitting room, dinette, or kitchen from one another, so he could see Mina the entire time he wandered around.
"I just moved in," Mina replied. "But even so, it's a waste of money." James shrugged. He knew that women could be vastly different, but he felt like Mina was in a class of her own.
"Do you need any help?" James asked and Mina looked at the man with reluctance written all over her face.
"Do you know how to cook?" Mina asked and James shrugged. "No thank you then," Mina said. As much as she would have liked to allow the man to help her prepare, she hated to waste food.
----
It took an hour before Mina was finished cooking. In that time, she learned that James was as sweet a man as Paul and she could not understand how he became a soldier for the Lee family.
When Mina had asked about it, the man said that his father enlisted him because he feared his son had become too soft after being babied by his mother and older sisters.
Mina was surprised to find out that like James, many of the Lee soldiers came from families that were considered well off. Unlike soldiers who were recruited from lower class families, those men had the option to retire after ten years.
Typically, men like James would never have made it into President Lee's personal guard, but because of Mina, he had somehow made the cut. However, James was totally in the dark about all things that related to why Mina had a security detail in the first place.
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When James dug his fork into the pan seared steak that Mina prepared, he was not expecting it to be so delicious. He ate his serving, and the remaining serving that she had prepared herself for the next night.
"Mina, how are you not someone's bride already?" James asked, but he was not flirting. James found Mina a bit too beautiful, and he was insecure enough to never trust a woman who had no shortage of options. He also felt she was a little too friendly.
"I haven't met a groom," Mina retorted sarcastically.
"What about President Lee?" James asked innocently, but his question nearly caused Mina to cough up her meal.
"President Lee is taken," Mina replied, realizing that James was not as informed as Dom or Jessica.
"I don't think Miss Lisa is his actual girlfriend," James said. He was eating and talking at the same time, so he had not looked up to see how pale Mina's face had become.
"She is, and they are perfect for one another," Mina said.
"I don't think so," James responded. "I'm a lot like Miss Lisa when it comes to relationships."
"What do you mean?" Mina asked, she was curious only because James was comparing himself to a devil.
"It's no secret that she doesn't like you. She has made that clear to any Lee soldier who gets too close to her, but I have never seen you or President Lee flirt with one another, so Miss Lisa must be insecure." Mina nodded in agreement.
"How would you feel if your girlfriend of ten years moved a random man into her home?" Mina asked. James gave her an honest answer.
"I would break up with her. You don't stay with a person who has hurt you and expect not to be hurt again."
"What do you mean?" Mina started to ask but James' phone buzzed.
"Welp! Duty calls," James said cheerfully. "I think Dom will be here in the morning. See you soon," James said with a smile and a wave goodbye.
----
As soon as James was gone Mina pushed the sofa up against the door before going to take care of the dishes. She thought about the statement that James did not get to finish, and she wondered if Lisa hated her because of something else that may have happened in the past.
Mina had not read about any scandals involving President Lee, but she knew it meant nothing. The man had the power to suppress and change the news, which meant Miss Lisa had probably experienced a similar heartache, and Mina's presence was like throwing salt on the wound.
----
Ian found himself addicted to listening in on Mina's conversations with his guards. It was like he always found out something new about the girl and about the people he had placed in charge of guarding her.
Dom was a loyal soldier who Ian knew had mixed feelings regarding Mina, Jessica was trying to convince Mina to explore her sexuality, and James was an idiot. The man had spoken too much about Lisa, and Ian was sure that James' words would make Mina think that he was sleeping around while being in a relationship.
Unlike women, there was no physical evidence that could prove when a man had been intimate for the first time, nor was there an exam that could find evidence of it. Ian knew for a fact that he was the first man who Mina had been with, but she did not know that she was the first woman for him.
Even if he told her, she would never believe it. Not just because of James' big mouth, but because of his sister and Lisa. Ian was almost positive Mina was under the impression that he and Lisa were in a physical relationship, solely based on the way she reacted to her hearing that the pair had been in her room for a time.
Though Ian denied it, and had his butler clarify the misunderstanding; Mina still believed that they had done something, which was why she stayed up late into the night washing her bedding of the nonexistent traces of the fictional couple.
Ian pushed back the thoughts of Mina and poured himself a drink. He made himself comfortable as he waited for James to arrive. The man was not in trouble, but he had reported that Mina deviated from her daily schedule and Ian wanted to hear about it. He did not feel guilty at all for keeping tight tabs on Mina, as he believed her safety depended on it.