Chapter 329: Pitch-2

Mina was taken aback by President Lee's acceptance of her pitch, and she suddenly wished she could take it back. When she had mentioned the Lee group, she was only doing so as an example, but she planned to pitch the idea to Oric and Cylus, whose smaller companies would benefit from the tax write-offs most.

Mina was unaware that President Lee and his family had been looking for new ways to avoid paying taxes. The old methods were becoming too common and easy to spot, but a trusted third-party nonprofit, had not yet been explored or exploited by the group.

"And under whose name do we register the non-profit?" Zane asked. He knew that even if he said no, Ian had already given Mina the green light, which meant the project would continue regardless if Zane was interested.

"Miss Meagan of course. It's best to use someone who can relate to the individuals we are aiming to help." Meagan was at first apprehensive, but Mina's presentation had included the fact that she would just be the head of the organization. She would not have to be hands on unless she wanted to be.

"Are you okay with that mom?" Zane asked, but Mina jumped in.

"Miss Meagan, think about it this way. How much easier would it have been for you if you had a safe place where you could go to vent your frustrations and fears?" Mina sat next to the old woman and cuddled up close to her. She continued to speak until the woman relented.

Zane did not know how to feel about what he was witnessing. Mina was manipulating his mother into agreeing to something that put her outside of her comfort zone. He knew that Mina had a certain amount of charm about her, but he was now seeing her put those charms to work. Even with the greenish hue of her face, it was hard to look at her puppy dog eyes and say no.

If Ian really did get what he wanted, and he ended up in a relationship with Mina, Zane suddenly felt that Mina would play the man like a fiddle. Especially if Ian was the only one who had any feelings in the relationship.

"When did you come up with this idea?" Zane asked. He was mildly suspicious that Mina was using his mother. He knew the girl was excellent at leaving out important details and he felt that her pitch was too well arranged to not have been pre thought out.

"Miss Meagan and I spoke about it a few days ago, but I put the presentation together this morning," Mina said. Without waiting for Zane to follow up with a secondary question. She invited both men to the dining room.

----

Ian and Zane made their way into the dining room, with confused expressions on their faces. They had noticed that Mina was keeping to a time schedule, but they were both unprepared for what the woman had arranged.

Mina had prepared a five-course meal and had only left the kitchen to show them her presentation. According to Meagan, the girl had made everything with her own hands, and all the butler had to do was watch over the food as Mina spoke.

Both men now knew that Mina was up to something, even if she genuinely wanted to start up a non-profit with Zane's mother, the meal preparation was for something else. Mina was clearly buttering them up for a positive reaction, but she had yet to let on to what she wanted to ask.

As Mina laid the first part of the meal out before them, Ian unblinkingly stared at her. He had been suspicious from the moment Mina asked Zane to come home at an exact hour, and Mina's behavior only furthered his suspicions.

Not wanting to ruin the calm atmosphere, Ian decided to wait until after dinner to question Mina, but as the meal progressed, his suspicions soon melted away.

Mina was making casual small talk with Miss Meagan and throwing follow up questions to both he and Zane. Her actions left the men confused and they kept looking at one another and shrugging, not knowing where Mina was going, or what her overall aim was.

"I'm confused. If president Lee did not meet Mr. Zane until he was fourteen, how do they have memories of one another before then?" Zane cleared his throat and Ian looked down. They were clearly trying to avoid the topic, but Mina pressed forward. "I remember Mr. Zane told me a story about when he and President Lee took your car. I think he said he was thirteen," Mina said innocently, and Miss Meagan glared at both the men, who looked like guilty boys.

"Is that true?" Meagan asked, she was not angry, but it was news to her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start trouble," Mina said. Only she did not look sorry at all. She looked like she had brought it up on purpose, but why she had brought it up was a mystery to both men.

"I had my suspicions," Miss Meagan said. "But at least I know that every time my son was snuck out of the house, it was not to chase skirts." Mina coughed. That comment was not at all part of her plan.

Mina was trying to make the men feel uncomfortable with her and Miss Meagan staying under one roof. That way, when she asked to go back to her apartment, they would be more willing to agree. She thought the men would have a negative reaction, but instead they laughed loudly.

"Mom, if you want me to marry Mina, you shouldn't say things like that," Zane replied. He still had not worked out what Mina was trying to do, but he figured he might as well push back a little. Mina turned beet red at the statement and sank in her chair.

"Is there a chance?" Miss Meagan asked excitedly, but Ian killed the conversation before it could go any further.

"Mina has someone she is interested in," Ian lied, only to have Miss Meagan add fuel to the fire.

"Dom or Paul?" The woman asked and Mina gasped.

"What? No- I-Just friends- I." Mina looked at President Lee and narrowed her eyes. "What are you playing at?" she asked, but the man filled his mouth without an answer. Zane was also staring daggers at her, and she knew they suspected her, even if they said nothing.

"Speaking of Dom," President Lee interjected, pretending that he had not heard Mina's question. "We should visit him tomorrow. Would you like that?" Mina was caught off guard, but she also did not like the sound of the question.

"What do you mean visit?" Mina asked. Ian had forgotten that Mina was unaware of Dom's injuries, and he had spoken without considering the effect it would have on her. He knew the woman was extremely close to the man, and he regretted having brought it up so casually.

"Mina, we didn't tell you before because we were not sure you were ready to hear about it," Zane said. Ian was glad that his friend came to his rescue, because he was sure his words would have hurt the girl, once again.