Chapter 283: Just James

Jay sat in Mina's living room unsure if she should speak or run. Mina's driver, James, had invited himself into the woman's apartment and Jay was beginning to wonder if the man were some sort of stalker. She kept trying to give Mina warning or distressed looks, but her hostess had done well in not meeting her gaze. Mina invited her to stay for dinner, and the creepy driver agreed to stay as well. Finally, Jay could take no more.

"Okay, if no one is going to address the elephant in the room, please allow me," Jay said. Although James was a fair looking man, she was still put off by his presence.

"Jay James is- Well he is-" Mina did not know how to describe James. He was not exactly a friend, but he was more than an acquaintance. Still, she did not know how to explain who James was and why he was there, but James came to her rescue.

"Jay, is it okay for me to address you casually?" James asked. Jay nodded, but her eyes looked suspicious. "I am Mina's security detail. I was hired by her primary employer." Jay's eyes softened with the explanation. She had heard from her cousin Rachel that Mina worked for the Lee group.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Jay asked Mina; relief was clearly displayed on her face.

"We don't yet know what the threat is," James replied on Mina's behalf, and Mina looked at the blabber mouth in shock. She wondered if he had also cleared his confession with his boss.

"You thought I was a threat?" Jay asked incredulously.

"Jay don't be offended please," Mina started to say, but James once again spoke up.

"It was hard to clear your identity. There is no record of a Jay Hue being born in Pan ever," James replied.

"My family-"

"Goes by a false moniker," James finished. "We have already cleared you, but I still have to accompany Mina in the off chance that something was overlooked." Mina was beginning to breath heavily. She feared that Jay had accidently been pulled into her mess, and she did not know how to get the girl out of it.

"My goodness you guys. You could have said something sooner! I have experience with stalkers; I would have understood. No wonder your commercial had to be taken down," Jay said with confidence. Mina was relieved that the woman had drawn her own conclusion and she realized that James had been leading Jay to create her own narrative from the beginning.

"Jay, you are one of few people who are aware of my actual positi-"

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I hope you catch the bastards," Jay continued. She pulled Mina into a hug as she spoke. "No wonder you were angry about the uniform," Jay said.

----

Mina was preparing the ingredients for dinner while Jay and James spoke about everything from current events to birthdates. When James mentioned his birthdate, Mina interjected.

"We have the same birth year and month," Mina said. She had not imagined that she and James were the same age.

"I thought you said you were going to be twenty-four soon," Jay added. She remembered details such as age and birth dates as to not offend a client.

"My parents use the life calendar, so naturally I use it as well."

"So you celebrate your first year of living two months after your birth?" James asked and Mina nodded. "That actually makes you twenty-two, not twenty-three," he stated.

"Does it make a difference?" Mina asked.

"It does," James admitted. "You've already completed university, haven't you? What age did you start?"

"Just shortly before I hit sixteen," Mina admitted.

"You mean fifteen," Jay corrected.

"Mina your parents allowed you to move out at fourteen?" James asked. "Weren't they afraid for you?" Mina had not really thought about it. She had been extremely responsible growing up, and always did as she was told.

"It was just as dangerous back home," Mina admitted, but she had begun to think back on her true age and suddenly, some of the things that happened to her became a little more sinister. Even her sister's relationship with her boyfriend became less appropriate.

Someone pressed Mina's apartment bell and Mina went to receive the person, who she assumed was Jay's sister, but James stopped her again. Ignorant to the truth, Jay also insisted that James answered the bell, just in case.

As Mina expected, it was Jay's sister at the door, the woman looked completely flustered by James' presence. She backed away from the door thinking she had made a mistake.

"My apologies," she whispered as she attempted to dart away, but her sister called out to her.

"Emma!" Jay yelled. "I'm right here." Emma peered into the apartment, but she did not step inside until James had left the door frame. "This is Mina Harlow, and this is Ja- Just James," Jay said as she pointed to the appropriate person.

"Nice to meet you," Emma said meekly, and she bowed her head slightly.

"Ugh," Jay said mockingly. "Stop with the formalities. I am the oldest person in this room," She added.

"Sorry," Emma replied, and Jay smiled.

"Sorry, as always," Jay teased.

"Leave her alone," Mina said, a little more forcefully than she had intended. "It's hard to change a person's nature, and you might not like who she becomes if she does." Mina was referring to her personal experiences in life.

In the past, Mina's family wanted her to emulate her sister, which had been the reason Mina was always with her sister in the first place. They believed that she could help Mina blend in with the others, but instead Mina stood out further. She had started to steal the attention from her sister, and it did not help that she had hit puberty early.

"Sorry," Mina said. She had turned red in shame and Jay realized that she must have struck a nerve. She knew Mina was as shy as Emma, and she wondered if the women could lean on one another for support.

"Fine, but don't get annoyed when she apologizes the entire night," Jay said as she poked her sister's nose affectionately. Mina knew that Jay's statement was made because she cared about her sister, but she also knew how damaging being embarrassed by a close relative could be.

"It's fine," James said, seeing that his charge was out of words. "Mina is like that too. You should have seen her when we first met."

"Sounds like a good story," Jay added but Emma was still silent.

"Emma, please make yourself comfortable," Mina said. "But I won't force you to stay if you don't want to." Emma's shoulders relaxed.

"Thank you," she said softly.