Chapter 583: Banking

Mina wanted to feel guilty, but she could not. A few days after the incident between herself and Miss Maggie, President Lee brought her a medical bill that showed that the woman had minor injuries which required nothing more than time to heal.

Mina paid the expenses herself and taking Zane's advice she called the Arden family to inquire about opening a banking account. She had believed that Mr. Arden would have been snotty or rude to her, but he was the complete opposite, and when his wife was merged onto the call, the woman extended a dinner invitation to her.

Mina politely rejected the invite by citing work commitments. The couple said that they 'understood' that she was a 'hard working young woman', and they were going to 'personally' handle and manage her account to help 'ease her worries', something Mina was not sure she felt entirely comfortable with. It was President Lee who reminded her that the Arden family had more to lose, and so she agreed to meet them at their earliest convenience, which coincidentally, was whenever Mina wanted.

In preparation for hostility, Mina had arranged for Dom to accompany her to the bank. It was a VIP establishment, so it was mostly empty, but that did not make Mina feel any better. She sat at the desk, with Dom at her side, and filled out the paperwork to open a living and college savings account for an unnamed minor.

Mr. Arden looked between her and Dom, his eyes speaking in ways that made Mina chuckle. She put the idea she knew was growing in the man's head to rest by reminding him that she was not yet married. She told the man that she was preparing for her future children, just in case anything happened to her.

Mrs. Arden praised Mina for her farsightedness, and Mr. Arden chimed in by saying that he wished his own daughter would also think long term. Mina's brow raised at the man's statement, but she did not comment on it. Zane had already told her that families like the Arden's often resented their daughters for not being male and some went to extreme measures to stay wealthy.

With Miss Maggie as their only child, it meant that she would be married into a family, and Mina suddenly realized why Paul was a good fit for the woman.

All throughout university Paul played the middle ground. He was neither the dumbest nor the smartest, and he barely met the graduation requirements, but above all, he was extremely passive. Having a son in law who would allow his wife to run everything would keep the Arden's in control of their finances long enough to secure a comfortable future for themselves without the worry of what will happen to their daughter.

It was a selfish way of thinking, but in a male dominated society, Mina could see the wisdom in it. If ever Paul and Miss Maggie split, or if something were to happen to Paul before old age, the woman would retain the right to her parent's fortune, and that was huge.

As the account was being set up, Mina was asked if she wanted to put a secondary manager on it. She pretended to think for a while, throwing out random names until she finally 'settled' on Olivia Kent. Mina gave the woman full access to the account, meaning that Olivia could add and remove money from it at any time, but Mina also set aside a frozen amount that would continuously incur interest until the child turned twenty-five.

Once again, the Arden's tried to invite Mina to dinner, but she declined again, not forgetting to add that she was pleased with their professionalism on the matter. She did not bother to remind them to keep her account details a secret, because if they leaked anything, it would lose them existing clients, including the Lamar family, who did most of its banking through the Arden family.

Settled in Dom's car, Mina rested her head back and re-reviewed the details of the account she opened. If market trends followed the way they had over the last ten years, she concluded that Olivia's baby would have half a million dollars in savings by the time he or she graduated from high school. That also assumed that Olivia did not touch the money already in the account and was able to add the specified amount in Mina's guide monthly.

"You know that Olivia is going to cry when she sees that, right?" Mina looked at Dom with a worried expression. Their friend had been overly emotional and cried about everything. Dom had made the mistake of eating her leftover food and he spent the whole week trying to make it up to her with midnight snack runs and all.

"I think I will wait for this phase to be over before giving it to her." Mina closed the folder and put it into the cute little briefcase that Miss Ruby had gifted for her life calendar birthday.

"I think it will make a good baby shower present." Mina agreed with Dom, and she found herself seeing the man in a new light.

"Do you want children?" She asked, despite being able to guess the answer.

"Many," Dom replied. "Don't know if I want to deal with a pregnant wife though. Olivia is my friend, and I can never say no to her requests. I don't even want to think about the power my wife will have." Mina giggled. She knew that Dom had a warped sense of love and marriage, but she also knew that when he found the woman who could change that concept, he would pour all of himself into her.

"What about you?" Mina shrugged. Dom was the second person in recent days to ask her that question but the burn from it was still the same as the first.

"Not anymore."

"What do you mean not anymore? You would be a great mother." Mina chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"I think so too, but imagine my life as it is with an infant added into the mix." Dom's lips curved down as he took in Mina's meaning. A child born to her would constantly be in danger, either from women like Miss Lisa, or men who would not take no for an answer like Ren Loam.

"That isn't fair to you."

"Nor would it be fair to a child." Mina sighed deeply and Dom looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I am still young though. Maybe things will change for me?"

----

Jay was on yet another date, with another strange man who her father deemed as fit for marriage. They were all older men, who had missed the prime age of marriage because of work or had never really considered it until they realized time was running out.

Jay was not against dating someone older than her; in fact, she liked older men. They were more secure, had already played around enough to resist temptation, and a lot of them cherished wives who were considerably younger, because it made them feel better.

Unfortunately, none of the men her father chose even made her heart flutter. Each one was as boring as the next, and the man she was sitting across from might have been the worst. He was so old fashioned that he had not invited her to dinner as to 'not assume.'

Jay had thought he was joking when she mentioned the topic, but her laughter made the man turn red in anger and embarrassment, and she realized that he was completely serious.

"So should we just call it an afternoon?" Jay giggled at her own mocking phrase, and the man nodded.

"Your father described you poorly," the man said before walking away, leaving her to settle the bill.

Jay had the day off, so she browsed around several stores before having dinner alone. Her father had called her several times, but she ignored him. The old man was crazy if he thought he could force her to marry anyone, especially now that she was out on her own.