Monica Schaffer and Kevin O'Donnell

THEY met at a New York dinner party in 2000. Kevin O'Donnell was seated to the left of Monica Schaffer; on Ms. Schaffer's right was an aspiring filmmaker seeking to charm her with his store of multisyllabic words and existential takes on French cinema. (She later admitted she had no idea what he was talking about, but listened with rapt attention.) It wasn't until dessert that Ms. Schaffer turned to her other side, where Mr. O'Donnell was sitting back in his chair, with arms crossed and a skeptical look on his face.