Page 32 of And They Had a Great Fall

“Momma, is that built by real dragons?” Becca exclaimed. Kat had the urge to explain that dragons were not real, but she stopped herself.

Instead of bringing her to reality, Kat replied, “Maybe. I don’t know, but I do think it would take a very tall dragon to make that high of a spire.” Becca squealed and proceeded to guess what color the dragon would be (purple), what their name would be (Julie), and why they built the spire (to harness lightning power). They were both in giggles, and Kat was in awe of how Becca’s imagination allowed her to explore all possibilities with abandon.When did I lose that skill?She wondered if she’d ever had it.

The next time she looked at the clock, it was after 4:00 p.m. She often lost herself while working. She walked out of the office in search of food, but Poul announced a celebratory happy hour and insisted Kat join. She retreated back into her office to pack her things.

She followed the team down the street to a lively café aptlynamed Café Wilder. Noise spilled out of the open windows. The energy inside was infectious. They yelled “hi” in unison to the bartender, and he motioned to the oversized booth marked reserved in the back. Kat slid into the middle of the booth and the team filled in around her. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to pretend she was simply a member of the team. She tried to follow the chatter as they fluidly moved between Danish and English.

She envied other countries for their culture of travel, having a different country right next door. She found her global counterparts had distinct knowledge not just of different languages, but they also knew how to read and adjust to a culture that was not their own. She was hoping to one day give her daughter a view beyond the Upper West Side.

The pints were pushed around the table, and the team pummeled her with questions about the New York headquarters. Was there really a basketball court (yes), ale on tap in the office (yes) and company yacht (no), and then they moved on to her. Was she enjoying her visit (yes, second trip, loved the city), did she have kids (Becca), and what was it like living in New York City (chaotic and wonderful at the same time). In return, she had many questions for them. Once they had exhausted all the obligatory get-to-know-you questions, Kat sat back and listened to the banter of the team.

One of the youngest members was scrolling through her phone when she blurted, “OMG everyone. Listen to this.” She read out loud. “Jake Laurent is in Copenhagen, starting this week, shooting his new movie,Zero Code. He will be on location for the next six weeks,” she said, her face animated with every word.

Kat knocked over her pint, causing the group to gasp. The amber liquid ran into the middle of the table. Her face burned red as she dabbed napkins on the spill.

Another team member, ignoring the spill said, “Duh, there were photos all over Twitter of him at Tivoli. I hope I run into him—he is so my type.”

“Your problem is you actually think you have a chance with him,” retorted another. The group laughed and picked up their phones to scroll through their social feeds, grabbing information to continue the conversation.

Kat did the best acting job she could muster to keep her face neutral. She thought it was funny that the source said he just got to Copenhagen since he’d been there for weeks—likely because he was only spotted this week. She had a twinge of guilt for outing him in the city.

“I heard he was gay,” said another. “I mean, isn’t everyone in Hollywood at least bi?” There were a lot of head nods, and they took some time to dissect all the people he had dated and guess which men and women he was secretly sleeping with. They became particularly giddy with this topic and Kat couldn’t stomach such a private topic being casually discussed as if it were the weather. Kat searched her mind for something … anything … to change the subject.

“Hey, Kat,” Poul said, jarring her out of her thoughts. “I heard he lives in New York. You ever run into him?”

“New York City is a big place,” she said, avoiding the question. In her brain, she logged another reason why she wanted to keep her and Jake a secret: she would be outed as a liar to this entire team, not to mention change her reputation from leader to woman sleeping with a celebrity. She could only imagine the work gossip circles that would gleefully ignite with that information.

They spent the next ten minutes mapping where they thought the filming was taking place, where they might spot him, guessing what the movie was about, where he was staying, why he was at Tivoli, and generally any crumb of information that would put them in his orbit, even for just a minute.

Most of the chatter was harmless, but Kat cringed as she listened to the way they talked about him. He was an object, not a human. She knew it wasn’t particular to him, but it was the same way she had heard friends, colleagues, and even herself talk about celebrities. Nothing was off-limits. In one minute, celebrated; in the next, torn down. It was hard to listen to, especially since the conversation was not about his work and his art, but his body and his face.

If the conversation continued to be about Jake, she feared the reactions on her face would give her away. She finally got them to change the subject to the Copenhagen RLFC, the local rugby team. Here, as in the US, celebrities and sports were the easiest conversation starters. She glanced at her watch. She didn’t want to stay for long since it was a team celebration and, as a visitor—especially one from corporate—she knew better than to overstay her welcome.

She untangled herself from the booth and made her way out of the café. She mapped her way back to Jake’s apartment and decided to walk in the cool September air. He was most likely still on set, and she enjoyed the time to herself as she meandered back home.

She climbed the stairs, and she heard her texts chimed. It was Emily texting her to connect via video chat. She was ready to discuss the current status of the launch. Things seemed to be back on track, but they connected daily.

Once they were on video, Emily walked her through other parts of the launch plan, including media. Kat took over the screen to share a TikTok influencer video the Denmark team had completed and recommended the US marketing team replicate the campaign. They fell into a familiar groove of optimizing the launch and adding improvements.

Kat was in their shared document, uploading links for the marketing team, and Emily was multitasking. They were silentas Kat finished. So silent that Jake, not realizing she was on video, plopped down next to her in full view.

“Oh hi!” Emily said with surprise in her voice, and Kat froze. “You must be mystery pronoun,” she said, letting out a loud laugh.

Jake’s entire face lit up in a smile. “And you must be the famous Emily. Hello, Famous Emily,” he said with his usual charm. He bounded off the couch and moved out of view of the camera. He mouthed “sorry” at Kat, but his eyes were twinkling.

Kat hit the mute button. Despite her internal panic she kept her voice steady. “I didn’t think you’d be here. I thought you were on set.”

“I was and then we had a break. I’m heading back now. We’re shooting a cluster of night scenes,” he said. “You need anything?”

She shook her head no. Before she could protest, he leaned down, waved to Emily, and gave Kat a quick kiss on the cheek. “Text me if you need anything,” he called as he walked out the door.

Once she heard the door close, she turned back to the call, took her laptop off mute, and saw Emily’s stunned face. “Let’s go through the marketing document one more time,” she said, trying to pivot back to the task at hand.

“No way, Kat. I finally learned that mystery pronoun is a real person, and you want to talk launch logistics? We’re discussing this,” Emily said in a firm tone, but with a giggle. “Ohhhh … is he on the design team? I think I met him a few weeks ago … one of the new hires, right? No wonder you don’t want to tell anyone about him!”

Kat felt a flash of anger. She would never date anyone within the company. In her position, that secret was worse. “Oh my God Emily, NO. You know I would never do that.” Kat was surprised that Emily had even considered that a possibility. Did she know her at all?

“Why does he look so familiar? Have I met him?” Emily’s questions hung in the air.

---