Chapter271: Tested
President Lee dismissed James from his study and tried to figure out what Mina could have been doing at Leading Incorporated. The company was small, but successful, and the Lee group had collaborated with it a few times on projects ranging from solar conversion to processor development. The incorporation was easily in the top twenty percent of influential companies in Pan, and the Lee group often used their services to appear non-biased to the public.
Ian could not recall Mina ever mentioning knowing anyone from Leading, but James had told him that Mina mentioned meeting with an investor. The problem was that Ian did not believe her. He had already done some investigating and found that the Rue family and the Lamar family were extremely close to one another, and he had a feeling that one of the Lamar children had been at the dinner Mina attended.
From what Jessica reported, there were two other women besides Mina: and not including Cylus, three additional men. Ian believed that one of those people must have been part of the Lamar family. It was not until Ian received a photo of the Lamar children that he recognized exactly who Mina had gone to see.
During the Rouge Entertainment charity event, Mina spent a fair amount of time with a man who even Ian had to admit was handsome. Although the man did not appear to be flirting with Mina and had even left Mina to talk to another woman, Ian remembered being jealous of the man.
Unsure if he had enough of a reason to be angry, worried, or something in between, Ian called his best friend and hoped to get solid advice.
Over the phone, Zane reminded Ian that it was Oric Lamar who had been the one to call him regarding Mina's safety. It was also Oric who told Zane that he believed someone tried to purposefully sabotage Mina multiple times throughout the night, and although he did not specifically say what the attempts were, Zane did not need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out.
Ian also did not require a single brain cell to guess what Oric had implied by calling Zane and offering up that information. There were many ways to embarrass a person, but the top spot went to the spiked drink. Sometimes, people were given a hallucinogen that made them appear insane, while others were given diuretics, and although uncommon at events where women were literally on sale, some were given 'happy pills.' Ian did not know if the information Zane was given was reliable, but he knew he needed to find out before the person, whoever it might be, tried to hurt Mina again.
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Dom arrived at Mina's apartment earlier than he originally planned. President Lee had changed their directives regarding Mina, and he now expected each guard to give a daily briefing. He also expected every single unforeseen change in her schedule to be reported as it occurred.
Although his boss did not implicitly say why, Dom knew that the change had not just come because of his conversation with Mina, or Jessica's tattle telling. It was something tangible. Something that made President Lee believe that Mina needed further surveillance.
Originally, Mina's guard detail was made of just three people, but there were now eight guards in total. The additional men and women were made up of people who held a higher rank than Dom and had never met Mina. According to President Lee, he did not want Mina nor anyone else to notice she was being followed.
That was part of the reason Dom arrived at Mina's apartment early. It was a test to see if she would notice the added company or not. Something told Dom that even if she did, she was not going to tell him about it, thanks to Jessica, but he hoped she would still be as open with him as she had always been.
"You look tired," Dom said to Mina, who was still in her night clothes.
"I didn't sleep well," she admitted. "Why are you here so early?" Mina asked, and Dom told her that he wanted to take her out for breakfast. Mina did not question the man, she asked him to make himself comfortable while she left to ready herself.
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At breakfast, Mina was unusually quiet, almost distant. Dom misread her actions as her having perceived her new guard detail and he secretly sent a text to his boss telling the man that Mina was acting strange.
"Are you okay?" Dom asked, trying to draw Mina out.
"Has president Lee been cheating on Miss Lisa for a long time?" Mina asked, causing Dom to raise his eyebrows.
"Why?" he asked. He did not know the answer, but he was curious as to why the woman would ask.
"It was something James said about staying with a person who hurt you," Mina replied.
"I don't have details about my boss's personal life, and neither does James," Dom stated. "Why are you asking? Are you jealous?" Dom questioned, trying to get a rise out of Mina, but instead he received her sullen reply.
"I'm scared." Mina looked up at Dom for what felt like the first time since he picked her up. She shocked him with her next sentence. "Can you take me to get tested? Please?" She asked. Dom did not know how to respond, the request was not unreasonable but at the same time, it was offensive to his employer. Still Dom agreed, if he did not take Mina, she would likely get someone else to do it.
"I will take you after work," he said.
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When Matthew saw Mina, he wanted to scoop the girl into a tight hug, but something told him that neither she nor CEO Rue would appreciate the gesture. Still, he could not resist the urge to gush over her competence.
"How did you get them to cover the entire deficit?" Director Porter asked, and Mina looked at him confused. Realizing that she may not have been aware of the additional funding, director Porter pulled up his transfer records. "Do you know what the extra funding means for us?" Director Porter asked. Mina shook her head no. "More money to spend on promotions." Mina made an 'O' shape with her mouth. That should have been obvious to her.
"If we stick to the figure I've put together, we should have a 20k surplus," Mina stated, jumping right back into what mattered to her and not the fluff of work. "What kind of promotion could that support?" she asked.
"Both actors in this production have a small fan base," Director Porter replied. "We could use the money to promote them-"
"Which in turn will promote the series," Mina added.
"You learn quickly," Matthew said with a smile and Mina's cheeks turned red. He noticed that every time he gave her a compliment she blushed, and he wondered how little appreciation she had received in her life.