Mina was enjoying her time with normal people. They had the same table manners as she did, and she did not feel forced to recall Wayvair's etiquette course techniques while she was with them. It was refreshing, and had it not been for the guard watching her from a distance, she would have felt that everything in her life had returned to normal.
"Mina, I'll need your contact information," Mr. Eric said.
"I don't have any," Mina admitted. The man looked skeptical.
"Are you one of the anti-technology types?" he asked, and Mina played along.
"Only for now," she said. Mr. Eric nodded.
"Well then, we can meet in front of the Lee building at 10AM in two weeks' time. If I need you before then, I will send word with my niece."
"Is there anything specific I need to do?" Mina asked. She was new to everything and she did not want to disappoint the man.
"Now that you mention it, it would be good if you did a bit of toning. Not that you are overweight, but the camera can make you look bigger and you may not like what you see."
Mina looked down at her body. She wanted to tell Mr. Eric that there were parts on her that would never slim down or tone. She knew that the oversized sweater dress she was wearing downplayed her 'assets' and it was the reason she chose it this morning. She opened her mouth several times but did not know how to bring up the topic. He was a man after all and she did not feel comfortable talking about her body with him, so she skipped the awkward conversation and hoped she wouldn't waste his time in the coming weeks. It would be horrible if they had to do a recasting session because of her curves.
"Mina, I am done for the day," Rachel said. "Do you have any plans?" She did not, but she also didn't want to push her luck.
"I have to head back to the Lee building," Mina answered. After finishing their meal, the uncle and niece duo accompanied Mina back to the Lee building before heading off on their own.
Mina strolled into the Lee building and suddenly wished her father were around to meet her for lunch. She thought back to the promise she had made to her parents before she embarked on her journey. It had been seven whole years, and she was no closer to realizing her dream than before she left. Mina was not paying attention as she walked, and she was bumped so hard by someone that she fell back and hit her head on the tiled floors.
Mina hissed in pain as she rubbed the sore spot. The person who had knocked into her stood above her and spoke.
"Mina, you should watch where you are walking," the woman said. Mina recognized the voice as Lisa's.
"It's ok," Mina said. "I'm not made of glass." Mina did not want to antagonize the woman further. Luna had already explained to her that Lisa was living in a state of uncertainty due to her presence at the Lee mansion and she felt nothing but guilt toward her.
----
Lisa had been waiting for the elevators when she noticed Mina stroll into the Lee building. She hated that the girl was living with her man, and the knowledge that she could show up at the Lee building anytime she wanted irritated Lisa. She did not know why Ian had hired the woman or for what, but she was disgusted by Mina.
From what Lisa could tell; Mina tried to appear innocent in all her actions, even in her style of dressing. She made sure that everything was covered, and Lisa thought it was because she wanted to make men curious about what she looked like underneath the layers. Today Mina even wore solid opaque tights, not one inch of skin, other than her neck, could be seen. Yet, the girl didn't even have a scarf or a jacket and it was freezing outside. If that wasn't screaming for attention, then what was?
Noticing that Mina was in some sort of daze, Lisa decided to have a little fun. She walked toward the woman as fast as her heels could carry her and crashed into her hard. There was a satisfying thud as Mina's head hit the ground. She had not intended to knock the girl down so roughly, but it felt good to see her wince in pain. When Mina stood up, Lisa expected the girl to defend herself, but Mina simply shrugged off her assault and walked away.
"Mina, you should really be careful. If you bump into the wrong person, they may not be as forgiving as me," she said. Mina turned back and nodded at Lisa.
"Thanks for your concern," she said, then she continued walking.
----
Mina went to a secluded area and rubbed the back of her head. The guard president Lee had sent with her approached in concern. Mina did not give him a chance to speak.
"I'm fine," she said. The man was about to walk away but Mina grabbed his arm. "Do me a favor and keep this from President Lee. His girlfriend is having a hard time right now and I don't want to cause any trouble for them." The man nodded. He knew very well that Miss Lisa had knocked into Mina on purpose, but he remained frozen in place unsure of how to react. It was a relief to hear that Mina did not want to make the incident a big issue. He knew that most of the women around President Lee were jockeying for a chance to get close to the man, but Miss Mina seemed to be indifferent toward him. Being her security detail was easy and as far as he was concerned, she was much better to look at than his boss.
"Are you sure you are okay?" the guard asked, and Mina laughed at his question. He furrowed his brow, thinking that the girl had gone delirious.
"I am fine," Mina said.