Chapter 641: Admired

Mina awoke to her phone ringing. President Lee told her where to meet him, and after completing her morning routine, she met the man in the private kitchen of his home. Breakfast had been laid out, and based on the way it looked, a Lee Chef was not the one to prepare it. She questioned him about the meal, but instead of answering, he pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit. Not wanting to be rude, Mina sat at the table, and after pushing her in, President Lee sat across from her.

"Did you make this yourself?" Mina looked down at the meal which looked questionable, but edible.

"Someone guided me, but they did not help with anything," Ian said proudly. He watched the woman pick up the corner of the omelet with a questioning gaze, before letting out a barely audible, 'I bet they didn't.' "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to."

"I just want to know why you cooked," Mina said. The way the food looked was not as off putting as the thought that it may have been poisoned.

"I want you to see me in a different light, and I'm trying to show you my sincerity." Ian reached across the small table and gripped the tip of Mina's fingers. "I was not joking last night. Regardless of what anyone thinks; I have not let go of the possibility." Mina felt her heart rate increase. She started to pant, but not from panic. The way president Lee was looking at her held no trace of lust. He genuinely meant his words, and she was not confident she could continue to reject him. "I don't expect an answer right away. Let's just eat for now."

----

After breakfast, Mina received a desperate call from Director Porter. She was actually grateful to the man for bailing her out of having to stay with President Lee for an entire day. So, when he told her that Peter was taking time off to help his wife with her business, she did not even dwell on the change of title for too long. Mina knew it was just a matter of time before Olivia gave in to the man. Just like she knew that if President Lee kept pushing, she would eventually say yes. She just hoped it would not come to that between them because she was fairly certain that Miss Luna would get involved.

Ready to start her day, Mina went into President Lee's study, surprised to see the man standing by the doorway and not at his desk. He was holding a book in his hands, and Mina could see that he was in the process of moving to the chairs they usually sat in when they were discussing Ubi.

"Are you going out?"

"I'm going to work. Director Porter needs an assistant for the next three months and he asked me to fill the role until Director Twan returns." Ian nodded and closed his book while simultaneously closing the distance between himself and Mina.

"Do you want to do it?" He asked and Mina's mind went completely left. She cursed Connor for making her view every statement as dirty, even when there was no intention behind it.

"I don't mind," she replied, and President Lee pulled her into an endearing hug for which she was not prepared.

"Just be careful," he said, kissing her hair before releasing her. Mina was frozen, not from fear but from shock.

"Do you want me to drive you?" The man asked and Mina's daze was broken.

"Dom is off today, so James can drive me." President Lee nodded, and Mina briskly left the room.

----

Already familiar with Director Twan's job, Mina was able to get right to work. The project Director Porter was working on had only just begun, and they were still casting for actresses to fill the roles.

The pair looked through the headshots and profiles of some of the women who had been referred by their agency, and Mina pulled out a few who caught her eye. She made sure not to allow background or experience to influence her decision because she felt as though some people just needed a chance to prove themselves. Director Porter on the other hand, was looking for someone who could bring a fan base.

"If you are going to fill the main character with someone who is dominating the industry then you should at least allow those who have not been given a chance to act in supporting roles. All the people you have chosen started from somewhere. You can grow your own fanbase."

"We do not have the budget for that." Mina rolled her eyes and pulled out her trusted clipboard.

"This is from a past production you worked on; two thousand dollars went to imported bottled water for the male lead." Matthew glared at Mina.

"I can tell that you've been waiting a long time to bring that up."

"I have; that amount is equivalent to hiring someone with no experience for two months. I find it an even trade off, that is assuming that the person has skill."

"You and I both know it's not just skill; beauty matters as well."

"False; makeup and costumes matter." Matthew made a face while nodding. Mina had a point, but he was stuck in his ways and uneager to change.

"Will you at least let me push three people through? I will be responsible for their promotions if you do." Matthew took a deep breath, but he knew that Mina had backing behind her dollar. Even if the women she chose were horrible, she could probably buy their success using the connections of the Lee Group.

"Fine, but if I don't get a good vibe from them during rehearsals, I will drop them from the script without remorse." Mina nodded vigorously as she extended her hand to the man.

----

Mina returned to the Lee mansion to find it empty. President Lee's butler was always around though, so she never felt alone even when she was. The man was friendly, and Mina enjoyed speaking to him about current events or his daughter, who had recently had her second child. The man was ready to retire, but he wanted to wait for Ellie to make up her mind before he left. He told Mina that he knew President Lee since he was a teen and felt guilty just walking away from the man; something Mina could not at first understand.

"You look as though you have a lot on your mind," the man said as he followed Mina up to her room. It was not typical behavior, but whenever President Lee was planning to be out late his entire staff behaved abnormally, almost as if they had orders to wait on her hand and foot.

"I feel like I'm in a movie," Mina admitted.

"Romance or horror?" Mina chuckled at the man, who was clearly trying to cheer her up.

"Mr. Wei, without flattery, can you tell me how you see your boss?"

"Flattery aside I cannot say anything good about the man, but I cannot say anything bad either. My daughter had a difficult first pregnancy and he allowed me to take sick leave to help my wife tend to her needs. The same man was ready to kill me when he thought I may have been working with Carmen. So, it's difficult to put a label on him."

"How was he with Miss Lisa?" Mina asked, unable to stop herself from being curious. Ten years was a long time to be with a person, and she wondered how President Lee could just walk away from it.

"That relationship will always be a mystery to me. I do not ever recall them having a casual conversation unless Miss Luna was around. Miss Ruby was never fond of the woman, so Miss Lisa rarely visited."

"How can people be together for ten years and not have a casual conversation?" Mina was talking to herself, but Mr. Wei answered.

"That is not exactly correct. President Lee was sixteen when he met Miss Lisa, but she was always just his sister's friend until much later in life. I think he felt obligated to pay attention to her, but his interest was clearly not there." Mina thought her anxiety would be relieved with clarification, but it was not. "Are you thinking about giving him a chance?" Mina flinched. She had not expected Mr .Wei to put her on the spot.

"I don't know what I'm thinking."

----

Ian returned to his mansion far later than he expected. He was busy doing damage control after Mina's speech, but luckily the family members she had raised the eyebrows of were from Cam's paternal side and were easy to calm. Cam claimed to have hired the woman to make it appear as though the nonprofit worked independently of the family, and that was all many of them needed to be convinced. He had also been in contact with his father, who was travelling around the four cities when he had another fit of pain.

Ian had to get Doctor Juan out of the country, while simultaneously concealing the man's movements to prevent those who may exploit his sickness from finding out. He was expecting Mina to have already fallen asleep, but what he had not counted on was where she would be sleeping. The woman was curled up in front of the television in his sitting room, with multiple pages of a script laying over her face.

Gently, Ian removed the pages, and shook the woman by the shoulder. She lazily opened her eyes and stretched as she greeted him.

"Were you waiting for me?" Mina's face turned red, and Ian sat next to her on the couch. I was not sure if you had eaten, and since you were the one who cooked breakfast this morning, I made dinner.

"Thank you," Ian said, pushing a stray hair behind Mina's ear. The woman turned red again, and as badly as he wanted to kiss her, he did not. "Have you eaten?" He asked, and the woman shook her head. "Next time, don't wait for me." Sometimes, I do not come home until morning, and you could have been here all night." Mina felt her stomach rolling with the man's words. His hand was still cupped behind her ear, and when she felt a chill coming on, she pulled away.

"Should we go eat?" Ian nodded and followed the woman into the kitchen, where the meal she had prepared was still sitting on the stove. She turned on the burner and began to set the table as he quietly watched her actions.

Mina could feel President Lee's eyes watching her make her way around the kitchen, and she was terrified that she would make a mistake and spill something with how unnerving his gaze was. It was not fear that was consuming her, but a type of anxiety that she had only experienced when she was a child. Whenever she was meeting a new person, she was afraid to say something that would get her in trouble.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"There was a time when I told the owner of a house my mother cleaned that she could save money by learning to pick up after herself." Ian chuckled, not sure why Mina's mind had gone there.

"Why are you thinking about that?"

"Because she was offended, and the way you are watching me almost feels like the way that woman analyzed my every move. It was like she was waiting for me to make a mistake so she could yell at me and send my mother and I away." Ian stood directly behind Mina whose body went rigid.

"Am I making you feel uncomfortable?" Mina nodded, not trusting her voice to work. "Please don't be. I'm just admiring how beautiful you are."