Listening to Mandy lead the conversation back to his phone catching an opening, Ace sighed heavily crushing the empty soda can. Seeing her wait for his answer, maintaining a steady eye contact with a calm and composed expression, his gaze hardened as he leaned in and softly muttered, "Why can't you just let it go?"
"Why can't you just admit you were chatting with a girl?" With her eyebrow arched, her shoulders squared, and a subtle smirk on her lips, Mandy sharply retorted in a clear and steady voice.
"Fine, it was a girl, happy?" Ace admitted with his jaw clenched. Leaning heavily on the hard cedar, he rapped the crushed can against the railing, a frustrated exhale escaped his lips as he pondered, 'Mandy has a point, why was he avoiding telling her the truth? She was family, a trusted friend, he couldn't fathom why he went through the trouble of hiding it from her in the first place.'
Getting Ace to confess, Mandy gave a subtle nod, lounged beside him on the cedar beam, and pressed, "Do you like her?"
"Yes, we're close," Ace replied thoughtfully, sighing in relief.
"Was that so hard?" Mandy concluded with a soft smile, her warm eyes reflecting a sense of calm and understanding.
"Then why were you mad earlier?" Ace hesitantly asked, glancing downward, staring at the cedar floor.
"I hate men who think about other women when they're with me. But since you're my nephew, I'll forgive you this once. Next time—well, there won't be a next time, right?" With a playful nudge, Mandy warned him. Her exaggerated expression made it hard for Ace to take her words seriously.
Rejuvenated by Mandy's humorous reply, Ace headed to the minibar to grab another soda. The dark, fizzy drink had lost its appeal; it was starting to feel more like a chore. The amount of body fat needed to generate a unit of curse energy now seemed astronomical. He shook his head in dismay, realizing it had taken him seventeen years to accumulate the fat he had previously converted into curse energy.
"Stop stuffing yourself and follow me. I'm cashing in the favor you owe me for picking up Danny after school," Mandy ordered, firmly leaving the dock without waiting for Ace's reply.
"You want me to take you on a date, now?" Ace exclaimed, unable to figure her out.
"If you want to, sure. But it'll have to wait. I need you for something else," Mandy replied evasively with a cryptic smile, gesturing with her slender fingers for him to follow. Placing the soda can back in the mini-fridge, he ran after her, thinking his initial impression of her was correct: She is trouble.
Soon, Ace followed Mandy to the back of the cottage, where three two-seater golf carts were parked in a row. Getting into one, she started the engine and yelled, "Get in."
"Where are we going? Shouldn't we inform someone?" Ace pointed out as he got into the passenger seat. Fortunately, Dame Wasp had completed her survey of the buried fault in the lake; otherwise, he could only make an excuse to refuse Mandy.
"You have your phone, right? They'll call us if they need us," Mandy rolled her eyes and answered flatly, stepping on the accelerator. With a jolt, the golf cart sped forward.
Ace grew silent, unless one were ignorant they couldn't help but feel inadequate next to Mandy. She was capable and confident, backed by experience, while he was capable but lacked the same experience. Her confidence came from her expertise, while his inexperience bred hesitation despite his skills. However, he knew that with every step he took trusting in his own capabilities, he would grow. Experience, after all, was only a matter of time.
"We're going to meet the reason behind my quick success and one of my close friend, Janice J. I'm skilled, but without a regular source of high-end clients, I'd still be toiling to pay my bills like my colleagues. No one can deny my hard work, but if it weren't for her vouching for me and introducing high-end clients, I could never have become the young success I am today," Mandy narrated gratefully, her eyes remaining on the road.
"So, why are you taking me to meet her?" Ace asked, still unclear on his role in all this.
The golf cart came to a sudden halt, and Ace, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, almost stumbled out if not for his firm grip, which left finger marks on the steel frame. Turning to face Mandy, who was already glaring at him, he asked, "Why did you stop?"
She leaned toward him, staring into his eyes as she sternly inquired, "Do you have somewhere better to be?"
"No," Ace answered after weighing fishing with his uncle and father against meeting a rich woman with Mandy.
Ace's father was right about him—he hated fishing. Now that Dame Wasp had found the motherload, he had little motivation to sit motionlessly under the sun, holding a rod in the middle of a lake. As for searching other similar faults that had been buried that unfortunate night, first let him finish digesting this fault. Not to mention, seeing how Dan treated the boat like his mistress, Ace was sure his uncle wouldn't let him near its console let alone drive it.
"Then stop complaining and let me finish. I wasn't done," Mandy said with a measured tone before the golf cart jolted forward again.
"When did I complain?" Ace exclaimed, taken aback by Mandy's sudden criticism. Feeling wronged, he pursed his lips, closed his legs, and leaned toward the openside of the cart, maintaining a subtle distance between them.
"Fine, stop whining." Mandy snapped curtly, without sparing him a glace or explaining her sudden irritation.
Ace wanted to sharply retort but went quiet, realizing Mandy was suddenly critical of him for no apparent reason because she hadn't truly forgiven him for chatting with Rose when she was flirting with him.
He had seen his mother do the same to his father. Whenever they had a fight, his mother would compromise with his father on the surface, knowing that in the heat of the moment, his father would temporarily become bolder. However, when his father least expected it and had forgotten what they were even fighting about, she would strike, catching him off guard and making his life miserable, he would apologize even if he had done nothing wrong because he just wants to watch the game or read the news in peace.
"Auntie, I thought you forgave me," Ace regretted falling for the obvious and sighed heavily, 'You think you can learn by watching others fail, but you'll never know until you are in their shoes.'
"Nephew, I've had a change of heart," Mandy hissed, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. Her pride had been wounded. He'd dared to chat with others when with her and had the audacity to lump her in with them when asked. She won't tolerate such disrespect, even if he was family.
"Auntie, I just remembered I have to go fishing with Uncle."
"My dear nephew, you don't get to also have a change of heart."