Chapter 403: I Regret It

[Chapter 403: I Regret It]

Alice immediately turned around when she heard Charlotte say that, but Eric's black car had already disappeared into the night traffic.

Feeling a bit down, Alice turned back to Charlotte and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could've asked him for an autograph."

"He didn't want to admit it. What good would that do?" Charlotte shrugged and added with a hint of regret, "What a shame. If only tonight could've gone differently... we wouldn't have to squeeze into that little apartment on the street, and maybe we could've gone to Hollywood."

Alice's cheeks flushed. "No wonder you said that just now."

Charlotte grinned and playfully pinched Alice's arm. "You were looking forward to it too. Honestly, I figured it was Eric because of that woman with him. Did you hear? He called her Kathryn. That made me sure it was Kathryn Bigelow. She was promoting Point Break on NBC's Tonight Show last year. Remember? You just got back from Colorado that day, and we stayed up late to catch it."

"I remember now. But Kathryn Bigelow looked so young! Didn't they say she was in her forties?"

"Nah, she's thirty-nine," Charlotte said, a bit enviously touching her own face. "If I could look that good at her age, I'd wake up smiling from that dream."

...

While the two women gossiped about Eric, he and Kathryn were in the car heading back to the hotel. Kathryn had been quiet for a long time, and Eric finally couldn't hold back any longer. "What are you thinking about?"

Kathryn glanced at Eric, not hiding her thoughts. "I'm considering keeping my distance. You're too much of a risk. In less than an hour with you, you've charmed those two girls into doing anything."

"Maybe they recognized me? After all, I am quite wealthy. It's a great opportunity for average girls struggling in the big city."

"The short-haired girl recognized you, but the one with the ponytail didn't resist the short-haired girl's cues," Kathryn easily pointed out the key. "Of course, that's not my business. What matters is..." She raised her wrist to look at her watch. "It's already a quarter past ten. Without work, I set a rule to rest by ten. And I've never been to a nightclub before, let alone worn a white scarf. Becky secretly pointed at my scarf before dinner, asking what was going on. I didn't even know how to explain that."

Eric couldn't help but rub his nose, saying, "Sounds pretty serious."

"It is serious. Human laziness is a powerful instinct. Building a disciplined lifestyle takes years, but ruining it might only require a week of indulgence."

"But I didn't take you out to indulge, right?"

Kathryn gave Eric a complex look, reflecting on their age difference before saying, "Being with you is indulgence in itself."

"But you invited me today!" Eric countered.

"I regret it."

For some reason, when Kathryn said that, Eric suddenly thought of that little girl, Ivanka Trump's assertive "twenty bucks." It seemed that no matter how old women got, being unreasonable was a gift. But occasionally being a little temperamental was part of their charm.

Kathryn, unaware of Eric's thoughts, turned away to look out the window after she said her piece.

They remained silent until they reached the Soho Hotel. As they stepped into the elevator, when they reached Kathryn's floor, she took a few steps out but didn't leave immediately. She turned and blocked the elevator doors, saying to Eric, "Sorry, Eric, my reaction was a bit over the top. I shouldn't have said that."

Eric dramatically clutched his heart, saying, "You scared me! I thought you'd never talk to me again. As a consolation, shouldn't we share a hug before goodnight?"

The flicker of guilt Kathryn felt vanished at Eric's expression.

What a little flirt!

With a smirk that showed she was not oblivious, she shot him a glare and turned away, leaving the elevator without looking back.

...

Early the next morning, Kathryn arrived at the restaurant right on time, and Eric was already seated.

When her steps hesitated slightly, Eric looked up with a smile. "You're not really going to cut ties with me, are you?"

Kathryn realized she might have overreacted, so she walked over and sat down across from Eric.

After they had breakfast, Eric signaled for the waiter to clear the table and asked Kathryn, "I'm heading back to Los Angeles today. When do you plan on going back?"

Kathryn seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and replied lightly, "I'm planning to stay another month, going back at the end of February. Are you done with your business?"

"The conflict in the Middle East is finally winding down. Everything's settling, and I don't need to stay here anymore. Plus, I need to start prepping for my next movie."

"Is that the tornado film you mentioned?"

"Yep! We're starting preparations now, aiming for it to be produced this year and released next summer."

"A year feels like such a long time."

Eric explained, "Once special effects movies became the mainstream in Hollywood, you'll see that this timeframe isn't long at all. It's a sort of indirect monopoly. As movie budgets grow bigger and production times extend, many production companies that can't handle the risks will get eliminated in droves. Only the major studios will be able to support projects like this."

Kathryn replied, "Why are you telling me this? I'm not interested."

Eric just wanted to point out a fact: all of Kathryn's past projects in his memory were heavy genre films, which also meant that each of her productions took significant time in the financing process.

"Alright, let's get down to business," Eric said, handing her a thick folder from beside him. "This is the script for Saving Private Ryan. I made some revisions based on our discussions while filming Point Break, and I even sketched up some storyboards during my spare time. There are 76 drawings in total you can use as reference."

When Kathryn heard Eric had drawn 76 storyboards, she couldn't help but take a look. She had seen some of Eric's sketches in the study at the Liberty City estate, but opening this folder now revealed that these drawings were very different from what she remembered. They all seemed rather sloppy, but she could easily discern the scenes represented.

"These are so poorly drawn," Kathryn remarked with a laugh.

Eric replied, "If I had enough time, I could make them as precise as your industrial design blueprints."

Kathryn flipped through the sketches in her hands. "But, I don't think I've agreed to take on this film yet."

"Then look while you think about it," Eric said. "But just imagine, if you could excel at directing a war epic that's rarely touched by female directors and gain enough accolades and box office success, you'll never face discrimination over your gender in Hollywood again, right?"

Kathryn paused at Eric's words, visibly intrigued. After a moment of thought, she quickly made up her mind. "Okay, I'll take this movie, but you absolutely cannot meddle too much. I don't want it to end up where people attribute all the success to you."

Eric smiled. "Of course, no problem. I can find another producer for you."

*****

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