A surprising encounter

"Mr. Collins?" Yvette's voice was like a push to bring Irvyn back to reality. If not for her calling out to him, he would've still been in disbelief.

"Miss Juan?" He couldn't help but speak up her name as well. Wasn't he supposed to meet Hailey Rose? What is she doing here then, dressed up so elegantly?

"Hang on… it was you who was supposed to meet her? Goodness," Yvette muttered to herself, and Irvyn noticed how she was mumbling to herself as her lips slightly moved. But soon, she lightly shook her head before fixing her eyes on him. "Ah, I am sure you might not be expecting me, but there is a reason behind it. Would you allow me to explain it?"

Irvyn arched his eyebrow a little, giving a fixed stare at her. Hailey Rose having a friend from a normal background, could've been acceptable to anyone else. But to Irvyn who clearly knew how Rose was as a woman, he was, sure enough, there is a mistake.

Did someone mess up with her? He wondered.

"Sit down and then we shall talk," he pointed to the empty seat, and Yvette took a seat for herself after nodding a little. Only after she was seated comfortably, did Irvyn open his mouth again to speak. "Now tell me, what do you have to explain?"

"Mr. Collins, I know you were expecting someone else for today's date, and if I had known earlier it was you, I'd made sure this messy situation never occurred," Yvette's eyes lowered, not meeting with him. She kept cursing Summer in her mind continuously. "It's just… Summer has a really important appointment held today, and she really can't miss it as it was about her career she really treasures. And she isn't interested in getting married at all so…"

Irvyn let out a chuckle, which made Yvette stop in the middle of her words. What's wrong with him, laughing all of a sudden like this? She kept wondering.

Meanwhile, he was really enjoying how she was getting nervous over the explanation. He hoped she would be caught in the mixing up of rooms, but apparently, she didn't, and he knows exactly what was the reason.

"Let's just forget about that now. Rather, I'd love it more if my today's date is you, Miss Juan," he curved his lips a little, showing a slight grin before looking at his phone one more time, tapping away something on the screen before looking at her once again. "I have to make a call right now. It's rather urgent."

"Y-yes, please. Go ahead." Confused, Yvette replied with a simple word, and averted her eyes in another direction. She was hoping to divert her attention away from the man, but there wasn't anything in this cabin to do so. Why there wasn't any menu card on the table, she wondered.

Did he go ahead and ordered for both of them? Who knows.

"Yes, that one. Print it out, and bring it with you here ASAP," Irvyn ordered over the call, his bossy tone making Yvette alert in her seat. She readjusted her posture, sitting with her back straight. Just then, Irvyn was done with his call, and he put away the cell phone. "Shall we eat? I mean, even though you weren't supposed to be my date, there is nothing wrong with having a good meal, right?"

Yvette wasn't originally planning to do so. She would come, finish explaining the entire situation, or worse, get rebuked for the messy thing, and get away with this within an hour maximum, at least that's the plan she had in her mind. But there is no reason in rejecting a fancy dinner, when she wouldn't be spending a dime, is there?

She nodded in agreement. And taking the positive response, Irvyn was pleased. He pressed a small button beneath the table, and soon a waiter came into the cabin.

"Do you need anything, sir?" the waiter asked politely, bowing his head.

"The order for this cabin is placed already. Have those bring out here," he responded, and immediately brushed his hand signaling the waiter to proceed with his work. In response, the waiter simply nodded and went away.

Soon, he came back with a big trolley, where plates were placed with their lids closed. And placing those on the table in front of them, the waiter took his leave.

"Eat," he ushered her, while taking his utensils in hand. And without a further ado, he started cutting through his steak.

Yvette looked at the steak on her plate. It was a medium rare steak, she could tell that just by looking at it. She picked up her knife and fork, but couldn't make herself actually dig in.

She hates food that is even the slightest bit rare. Even the smell of that makes her nauseous.

She kept poking at her steak, not sure about what to do with it. "Shall I tell him about it? Would he mind if I do?"

But then again, telling him to change the food would be a bad manner, when he went ahead and ordered for herself as well. That just doesn't seem right.

"Guess I'll just eat a little for now and have medicines afterwards," she muttered in a low voice to herself, while proceeding to cut a small piece from the steak.

Irvyn suddenly noticed how fidgety Yvette seemed to be, as she kept doing back and forth with the utensils in her hands, seemingly hesitating something. And just when she was about to cut through the meat, he spoke up, "Is the food not to your liking?"

"Yes? Oh…" Yvette jumped out a little at the sudden word from him. "No, actually. I am not good with foods that are… rare. I get stomache and stuff." She responded in a low voice, not daring to meet his drilling gaze with scrunched eyebrows directed at her. She won't lie, he sometimes indeed looks scary with the way he looks at people.

But when she tried to peek a little at him, she regretted it even more, as his eyes were even more narrowed than usual.