The Billionaire's Regret

Taking a risk

Sitting across a dressed, cheerful looking Evelyn, Michael sipped his coffee. Returning her smile he reached for his phone and scanned through his messages. They were having breakfast together at the hotel's restaurant. Only a few other people were around this early in the morning, but he figured people would start coming in soon.

"You have any plans tonight?" Evelyn asked, tearing his attention away from his phone.

"The guy who is showing me the buildings this afternoon mentioned something about dinner."

"Oh."

He noticed the disappointment in her eyes. Putting his phone down he focused entirely on her.

"Did you want to do something?" He asked carefully, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable.

Her eyes brightened, "Since I only have one class today I figured we could meet up after your building tour around the city, have dinner together and catch a movie at the most beautiful theatre in the Netherlands." Her lips curled up, "Well according to me it is."

He couldn't refuse seeing the excitement in her eyes. He figured hanging out with Evelyn was a lot more fun than dinner with Robin, though Robin seemed like a nice enough guy. He rather spend his remaining time in the Netherlands together with a beautiful lady.

"Sounds good to me."

She looked surprised, "Really?"

"I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but it's not just your body that interests me, Evelyn."

She chuckled, her eyes dancing with amusement, "I'm glad." She took a deep breath and let out a sigh, "Okay, text me the last building you're viewing and I'll meet you there. We'll take the tram to the theatre, there is a good Asian place near it where we could eat. If it's not what you like there are also a lot of other restaurants around."

"Asian food is fine." He assured her, "I'll text you the address later today." He finished the rest of his coffee and thanked the waitress who asked her if he wanted another cup, he opted for water instead and focused on his pancakes, "So what class are you following today?"

"Film." She told him without hesitation, the excitement clear in her eyes and voice, "We're focusing on documentaries now. It's not my favorite kind of production, but it also has its charms."

"It's certainly down a notch from the horror short film you made."

"It is." She agreed, "The shots are not nearly as exciting. But I can manage to film it on my own. We're focusing on editing today. I can't wait to get behind my laptop and start editing my rough cut."

She was passionate about what she was doing. A documentary was not something she liked as much as shooting a horror, but she enjoyed the process. She thought he was being nice when he told her he wasn't only interested in her body. She had no idea how interesting he found her mind. The way she behaved and the way she viewed life. He liked it a lot. Spending time with her helped him reflect on his own way of living his life. When he was going back to New York he was going to change things. He was definitely taking her advice and find at least half an hour in his day to do what he liked most.

"When is your project due?"

"In two weeks."

"You have time."

"I finished earlier than expected." She admitted to him, "I just couldn't wait to get started, you know."

When you loved something you didn't mind spending a lot of time and effort into it.

"I know." He smiled at her.

His eyes flickered to his phone as it vibrated against the table. Zara's picture came up which made him panic for a second until he realized he wasn't doing anything wrong. He wasn't together with Zara and he didn't make things official with Evelyn. They were only having fun so he didn't owe her an explanation. Yet he felt like he couldn't disrespect her by answering Zara's call. So he declined it. Turning his phone to mute and putting it display down on the table.