The Cincinnati Reds Snapback

Elena stood at the edge of the rooftop pool, Manhattan skyline blurring through tears she refused to shed. The corporate retreat had been her idea—her way of proving she was still one of them, still hungry, still capable of drowning her loneliness in KPIs and strategic visioning exercises.

She'd left David six months ago. Not because he'd done anything wrong, but because he'd loved her with a quiet consistency that felt like surrender. He'd wanted a backyard, maybe a dog. She'd wanted to prove her father wrong about women in leadership.

Now she wore his Cincinnati Reds snapback—stolen from his closet in the final sweep—pulled low over her eyes like armor. It was pathetic, really. Thirty-seven years old and hiding her face in a baseball cap at her own company's mandatory bonding event.

"You gonna jump in or just stare at your reflection?"

She turned. Marcus from Sales. The one who'd made that joke about "emotional decisions" during her budget presentation last quarter. He held two plastic cups of champagne.

"Just thinking," she said.

"About?"

"About how I spent fifteen years climbing to a position that makes me miss someone who used to wait up with tea when I worked late."

Marcus paused. Then he set both cups on the ledge. "My ex-wife called me yesterday. She's getting remarried. Said she wanted me to hear it from her first. We divorced three years ago."

Elena studied him. Really looked at him for the first time. The circles under his eyes. The way he leaned against the railing like it was the only thing holding him up.

"Are you happy?" she asked.

"I hit my quota last quarter," he said. "My team likes me. I have a great view from my apartment."

"That's not what I asked."

Marcus didn't answer. Instead, he took off his jacket. "Race you to the other side."

"We're in our clothes."

"Exactly."

She laughed—startled, genuine. And for the first time in months, Elena considered that maybe the pool wasn't something to stand at the edge of. Maybe you just had to jump in, even when it was cold, even when you weren't dressed for it, even when you might look foolish.

She pulled off David's hat and set it on the table. Then she dove.