Chapter 38: My Name is Mina
When Lisa awoke the next day, she was still engulfed by mixed emotions. She had not showered the night before and felt a bit dirty. She reached over to her nightstand and picked up her phone. She did not respond to Ian last night and decided that she would respond today. She typed [I will wait.] but she deleted the message and typed something else. Lisa did this several times before she sent a message saying, [Okay, I will. But I will be busy for the next few days.] Satisfied with herself, Lisa got up to shower.
Today Lisa dressed herself in an expensive and lavish dress that she paired with a business jacket. She did not plan on seeing Ian today, so there was no need for her to pretend. If she was being honest, she preferred dressing up as opposed to being simple. She liked over-the-top make-up, high heels, and accessories. She only did not wear them if she planned to see Ian, but today, she was going to enter the Anders Corp. She needed to speak to her brother about her role in the family business. If Ian wanted to slow down, she would have to slow down as well. She would need at least a month to see if she was successful this time. There was no way the thing they used protected them from anything after what she had done.
Lisa's eyes grew wide as she remembered something. The earring she had used to carry out her task was left on the nightstand. It was small, but Ian would eventually see it, and it would not take a rocket scientist to put two and two together. Lisa picked up her phone and made a quick call. She smiled as the voice on the other end of the phone assured her that the earring would be discarded. There were perks to being rich, and Lisa used all of them to her advantage.
Five years ago, Lisa had bribed a maid to be her eyes and ears within the Lee mansion. Money was transferred into the woman's account monthly and in return all she had to do was answer any questions Lisa may have.
She only ever asked simple questions like, what Ian had been requesting for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She needed this information to make Ian think she knew him the best. If he had taken a liking to seafood, she would bring him seafood. Ian did not seem to notice that this was not a mere coincidence. Instead he thought that he and Lisa had similar taste. It was through this maid that Lisa made her way into Ian's heart.
Every now and then she would confirm that there were no unknown women coming in and out of the house. The maid was eager to please as she was assured by Lisa that once she married into the Lee family, she would appoint her as a replacement for Ruby. Lisa did not understand the attachment Ian had to that woman. All wealthy children, including herself, were raised by nannies. They were just hired help after all.
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Mina was already dressed when the door opened. The same young maid walked into her room and Mina stood up quickly. She did not approach the maid, but she quickly blurted her word out.
"My name is Mina; can you tell me what color the sky is today?" The maid paid no attention to Mina's question as she placed the tray on the ground, picked up the old tray and left.
Mina felt as if she were going crazy locked in a room all alone. She had never realized how much she liked talking to people before this situation. It had been days since the last time she heard another person's voice, and it was beginning to affect her. The room was always so quiet that she felt as if she had lost her hearing. Out of sheer boredom she tested this theory by knocking on several pieces of furniture just to make sure she was ok.
Mina was hungry, so once the maid had left, she quickly picked up the bowl of mush and walked it back to the table. She ate slowly this time. She planned to stretch the 'gunk' out for the entire day if possible. It would at least give her something to do. Mina chided herself. Why did she ask about the sky?
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Ian arrived at his office early the next morning. He had come in before his staff and worked on some matters that had fallen behind. In the last four days, a business competitor had launched an online attack on one of the Lee Group wedding venues. An anonymous review complained that service was terrible at the venue, despite the excessive cost. The person said they were treated rudely, and their wedding ceremony was completely ruined by the arrogant staff.
Due to his own personal matters, Ian had not paid attention to this issue, but within a few hours he had solid evidence that the owner of a rival hotel chain had sponsored the wedding in question. The staff at the venue had already filed a report regarding the incidents that happened that day.
Apparently, after the staff had finished decorating the hall as specified in the details of the contract, the bride entered the room and found everything unsatisfactory. She claimed that the samples she was shown were not the ones used. After trying to accommodate her for several hours, the woman refused to show her face at the venue.
The wedding started three hours late because of this and the groom demanded a full refund. The staff initially refused, but eventually settled on refunding half of the venue costs. While they knew they had done everything according to contract, some arguments were not worth the energy.
After getting the refund, the wedding party and all its guests got up and walked out of the venue, without even touching the food that was prepared for them. They claimed that a partial refund was an insult to their family.
Ian knew that some women had high expectations for their weddings and were often disappointed, but this type of situation was too rehearsed. After a little digging into the situation, Ian discovered that the owner of a neighboring hotel had sponsored the wedding completely. Without reaching out to the parties involved, Ian forwarded the information to the chief of the local authorities. The police chief quickly arrested the couple for fraud.
Afraid she would end up in prison the woman gave up everyone involved. She did not think that the Lee Group would bother with such a small event and did not think of the consequences.
In truth, Ian would not have bothered with this matter, but now, he was trying to drown himself in work, hoping to take his mind off Mina and Lisa. Ian laughed to himself. 'Why did their names have to rhyme?' He thought.