She thought that she had just done a great job of saving Tony from an awkward situation. Little did she know that for a split second, irritation flashed across his eyes when she referred to Myra as his groveling employee.
Director Bridger’s expression brightened up after his daughter’s comforting comment. “Tony, let’s not beat around the bush anymore. Our families are quite a matching pair, and my daughter here is a woman unlike any other, if I may say so myself. Should we sit down somewhere and talk about this?”
He was straight to the point this time; he didn’t feel the need to be indirect about it anymore.
Belle blushed bright red on the spot, sheepishly taking a brief glance at Tony. She stamped her feet in embarrassment and said, “What are you talking about, Dad?! How can you say something like that straight to his face…”
She stamped her feet again and bit her lip nervously, apparently overwhelmed with awkwardness. With that, she quickly ran off to the lounging area nearby.
Director Bridgers finally took his pampering eyes away from his daughter and smiled at Tony. “My daughter is a little sensitive when it comes to stuff like this. Even after living in the United States for several years, she gets embarrassed really easily. What a kind and gentle girl she is… I wonder who would have the honor of marrying her in the future.”
He looked at Tony with an expectant grin as he finished his sentence, eagerly waiting for his response.
Tony gave a faint smile, but it wasn’t because of what he said.
Rather, Tony’s gaze had unexpectedly fallen upon Myra who was not too far at a distance.
Decked out in an all-white sports attire, the woman was learning golfing techniques from the instructor clumsily. He had just taught her the basics and was getting her to try it out herself. As instructed, Myra held the golf club firmly and swung at the ball, but she didn’t hit it at all. In fact, she even sent the entire club flying in the air for more than a good five feet.
She ran through the field awkwardly and tried to retrieve the golf club in the grass. Looking left and right, she desperately hoped that no one had seen her embarrassing failure. Myra sighed in relief after making sure that nobody was staring, but when she abruptly raised her head, she made eye contact with Tony; he seemed to be teasing her with the look in his eyes. Her face instantly turned scarlet and she whirled around, avoiding his gaze.
Afterward, her following attempts all ended in a similar fashion. She had either accidentally stuck the club deep into the ground, or she had flung the ball out into the abyss. The instructor was both dumbfounded and amused by her various forms of failure and corrected her technique again and again, each time more thorough than before.
This whole time, Myra felt a persistent gaze on her back as if someone was watching her intently. Without a peace of mind, she felt so distracted that she couldn’t concentrate on the instructor’s lesson at all.
“… And that’s how you do it. Do you get it now, Miss Stark?” The instructor had just finished explaining when he realized that she wasn’t paying attention. He raised a hand and waved it before her eyes. “Miss Stark? Are you there?”
“Huh?” Myra finally came back to reality and stuttered in confusion.
The instructor was devastated; he was at wit’s end trying to teach a student like her. Just then, a deep voice rang out from the side. “I’ll do it.”
The instructor was taken aback at first, but as the respectable man before him reached out and took the golf club from his hands, he quickly let out a breath of relief. Bowing politely at the man, he went to help out another student.
Similarly, Myra was shocked to see Tony. She immediately looked back at where he was earlier with Director Bridgers and his daughter, but the area was now empty.
“So… Are you done talking with Director Bridgers?” Myra asked cautiously. She assumed that they would have needed quite some time to talk, but it took way quicker than she expected.
“It wasn’t business affairs, so it didn’t take much time,” Tony simply replied. Myra wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating or if she really saw a small smile peeking out beneath the man’s stoic expression.
Reminding herself that he had seen all of her feats of humiliation earlier, Myra’s face heated up again after she had finally calmed down. She said stiffly, “It wasn’t business affairs, huh…”
Tony squinted playfully as he teased, “Do you want to know what we talked about?”
“Uh…” Myra was at a loss for words. She shook her head hastily. “No, I… I don’t want to know.”
Tony’s smile faded a little. Ignoring her refusal, he looked down at the golf club in his hand and said dryly, “Old Bridgers wants me to date his daughter, so he arranged for us to meet today.”
He spoke slowly. However, he didn’t say it with a tone that revealed his opinion about the remark, and Myra couldn’t tell if he was happy or unhappy about the matter.
Based on Belle’s behavior from earlier, Myra could tell that the woman would have thrown herself onto Tony as soon as she could if it weren’t for the fact that they were in public.
Somehow, Myra felt uncomfortable at the thought of that and she instinctively frowned.
Tony’s nonchalance took a pleasant turn as he noticed Myra’s troubled look on her face. Not wanting to put too much burden on her, he decided to change the conversation. As he held up the golf club in his hand, he smiled at her. “Since no instructor wants you as their student, it looks like I’ll have to teach you how to play.”
Upon looking around, she realized that all the instructors were indeed steering clear of her. She rubbed her nose in self-consciousness and muttered, “I really tried, but I don’t know why I can’t get the hang of it. It’s as if the ball is going against me.”
Tony found her behavior of using unreasonable excuses quite adorable, and a slight smile played at the corner of his lips. Handing her back the golf club, he went and stood behind her. “Let me see your swing.”
“Okay.” Myra received the club and stood in position with her feet apart for better balance.
But just as she was done adjusting her position, Tony shook her head. “Nope. Your feet have to be wider apart.”
Myra moved her feet slightly more apart and asked, “Like this?”
She turned her head to face Tony who was standing behind her. A strand of her hair fell loose, hanging by her cheek which made her skin look even more flawless and divine. In addition to her sporty attire, it was truly difficult to guess her age.
Tony’s heart fluttered at the sight as he stuck out his right foot and lightly nudged her ankle. “More.”
Myra readjusted her position and prepared to swing the club. All of a sudden, a pair of hands reached forward from behind, followed by Tony’s deep voice which came from the top of her head. “Don’t hold the club like this, or you won’t be able to maintain your balance when you swing it.”
His long, slender hands wrapped around hers on the club, repositioning her grip. His hands were warm and his grip was firm, but it didn’t hurt her.
Tony’s gesture felt casual, but within a moment, Myra was effortlessly and fully enveloped in his arms.
She could pick up a subtle hint of his scent and Myra felt her heart race all of a sudden; his words from the other day rushing back to her in her mind.
“Also, your legs. Stop being so stiff—just stand naturally.”
Tony took a glance at Myra, whose face had turned as bright as a tomato.
Myra, who was in a daze, immediately lowered her head to avoid his eyes.
At this point, Myra had already successfully swung the club with the help of Tony.
From a short distance, an employee signaled that the ball had entered the hole.
“See—it’s not that hard,” Tony said calmly, his arms still tightly wrapped around hers from behind.
Myra was feeling extremely uneasy; she couldn’t tell if Tony did it on purpose to get close to her, or if he did it for the sake of teaching her golf. Just as she was about to come up with an excuse for him to give her some space, Tony spoke first. “Practice the moves I just taught you. I’m heading over there for a minute.”
