Page 15 of And They Had a Great Fall

chapter seven

Jake choked on his sake. He wanted to grab Kat’s hand and bolt out of the restaurant. Before he could reply, the waiter reached over them to set down their sushi. Jake coughed into his napkin.

“You okay, sir?” asked the waiter as he refilled their sake cups.

Jake nodded and said, “Yes, yes. I’m good,” then flashed him a smile. “Hey, we’re in somewhat of a hurry, so can I give you this now?” Jake asked, fishing his credit card out of his wallet. He wanted to expedite this dinner as quickly as possible. He was surprised by Kat’s boldness, but not surprised at all. In all her rationality, she was always clear on what she wanted.

“Sure thing, Mr. Laurent,” the waiter said, and walked away to run Jake’s card.

“What’s your hurry? Maybe I want dessert.” She picked up a sushi roll and popped it in her mouth. He watched her deliberate chewing. “Mmm. This is delicious, you should try some,” she said in a cheery voice.

He leaned over and whispered, “Kat. If I could, I would bend you over this table right now.” His heart raced. He was charged up and her comment threw him right over the edge. He felt like he was vibrating. He often felt this way when he was anxious, excited … really, any emotion. It was the kind of reaction he’d spent years in therapy learning to control.

“Rule number six,” she started, pointing her chopstick in his direction. “no sex in public.” She looked dead serious except for the smirk on her lips. She was teasing him, and it was having the desired effect. He wanted her and she was going to make him wait.

“Fuck your rules,” he growled. He reached over with his chopsticks and snatched a piece of a dragon roll. His nostrils flared as he refereed the dueling desire and frustration wreaking havoc on his thoughts. Kat laughed and pushed the plate of sushi close to Jake.How is she still sitting there like we’re having a normal dinner?Seeing her unaffected made him crazy, but it made him want her more. It was a power play, and he was turned on by her control.

The waiter returned with his card and set it in front of him. He leaned over and whispered, “I’m not supposed to do this, but can I have a quick photo? My fourteen-year-old niece is a huge fan.”

“Of course!” Jake said. “Crouch down here so your boss can’t see.” He gestured to the other side of his chair. Jake was relieved he didn’t have to stand up. Rule number seven was probably “no hard-ons in public.” He could only imagine the Insta commentsthatwould generate.

Eventually, the waiter left them alone, and Jake looked at the table. They had made a pretty good dent in what they’d ordered. Once Kat had declared their next activity, he’d wanted to skip the meal, but it felt good to eat real food.

Part of his image was his slender frame, and he was pressured to keep it that way. It allowed him to play younger characters, which was part of why he got so many offers—his young look, coupled with experience, made him desirable to directors. His team counseled him to stay small and young-looking for as long as possible. He didn’t often get to enjoy a full meal, existing mostly on protein shakes that offered all the appropriate nutrientsand calories, but none of the joy. Watching his weight was his least favorite part of his job.

Kat was fiddling with her phone. “My taxi is two minutes away. I’m going to head out.”

He tossed his napkin on the table. “Great. Let’s go,” he said. He couldn’t wait to get her alone and a car sounded like a great place to start.

“Call your own. I’m not walking into your apartment building with you,” she said, standing up. “It’s a good idea for us to leave the restaurant separately, too.”

Frustration jolted into his body, but he wasn’t going to challenge her. He put his hands up. “Yes, rule number three.” He opened his phone and ordered a car. It was only five minutes away. He would be right behind her.

He watched her walk out and thought about the difference twenty-four hours had made. He had been a ball of stress—fucking up a movie, angry, andhard to handle, as he had heard the assistant director say. He’d laughed more since Kat had arrived than he had in several months. She was a safe place—not always easy, but always safe. He understood the reasons they didn’t discuss or define what they were to each other. At twenty-five, he told himself, he didn’t want the stifling expectations or responsibilities that come with relationships.

But hehadcalled her. When his world seemed dark, he’d called her. Although he’d yet to make complete sense of it, he knew she was someone he wanted in his life. What he wanted, what he could sustain, and what she would give him were questions he couldn’t answer. At the moment, he didn’t want to figure it out. He just wanted to be with her. “No thinking,” she’d told him.

His phone buzzed with an alert, letting him know the car had arrived. On the way out, he obliged a few tables with quick photos when they asked.

It was a short ride to his apartment, and he flew out of the car and into the building. As he bolted up the stairs, his phone rang. He pulled out his phone to hit ignore when he saw Roger’s name pop up on the screen. Damn. He’d agreed to a call today to discuss an upcoming film where he was under contract. Swearing under his breath, he answered.

“Hey, Roger,” he said, out of breath from running up the first two flights of stairs.

“Jake! How the heck are ya?” Roger asked, dispensing the obligatory pleasantries.

“I’m okay,” he said. “Sorry, I’m hoping this can be fast, I’m kinda in the middle of something.” He typed his code into the keypad and opened the door. Kat was on the other side of the room, looking out the large window. She turned, and Jake mouthed “sorry” while motioning to the phone at his ear.

Roger let him know the start date of his next project was moving earlier and might overlap with his current project. He needed to know ifZero Codewas on schedule so he could confirm Jake’s arrival date in Prague with the producers.

“No, we’re a bit behind,” Jake said, sighing. “Also, I was planning on having at least a month off after this. We talked about this, Roger.”

Roger ignored his comment about time off, instead questioned why they were running behind. There was no way to skirt the fact that they were behind because of his performance. He figured Roger already knew. “I’m having trouble connecting to the part … I don’t know … it’s just not coming.”

Jake held the phone away from his ear as Roger started his lecture.

“Your reputation is one of the key reasons you’ve moved to offer only, Jake. You’re still young and don’t forget, the only thing consistent about directors is that they hate risk. If I tell the studio the film can’t start because you are having issues, it willsnowball. You have to fix this. Shit. We have to control this. You are too new to studio-driven films to have a reputation for being difficult, or worse, costing the studio money.”

“I kno—” he tried to interject, but Roger barely took a breath as he spoke.

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