Heels of Steel

by Barbara Kavovit

  Scarlett grandly gestured her approval. “I’ll just make myself comfortable,” she said. She wrinkled her nose. “I assume there’s some wine in this thing you call a kitchen?”

  Bridget laughed as she scooped up Dylan. “In the fridge,” she said over her shoulder as she headed down the hall.

  “The rest of your home seems very nice!” called Scarlett as if she suddenly remembered her manners. “It’s just your kitchen that looks like it sucks!”

  “Thanks, Scarlett!” called back Bridget.

  “I’m not tired,” said Dylan as she tucked him into bed.

  She kissed his bright little head. “Yes, you are. It’s late. Now, I’m setting a timer. You can draw in bed for ten minutes, but then straight to sleep, okay? I’ll read you an extra chapter of the book tomorrow.”

  He smiled up at her, pulling out his sketchbook. “Did you see this one, Mommy?”

  She looked at it and laughed, a bit rueful.

  “It’s you and the skyscraper you’re going to build.”

  She nodded and smoothed his hair, wishing she had never said anything to him about the project. “I can see that. It’s really good, my love. Thank you.” She gave him another kiss. “Good night, sweetie.”

  “Good night, Mommy.”

  Scarlett was standing at her kitchen counter, suspiciously reading the label on a bottle of wine. “I thought you were a Domaines Ott girl,” she commented as she put the bottle down and pushed it away with a disappointed little shove of her fingers.

  Bridget shrugged. “Can’t afford it these days,” she said. “Not until I find another job, at least.”

  Scarlett nodded and squared her shoulders. “And that is exactly why I am here.”

  Bridget looked hopeful. “Do you have a job for me?”

  “Oh,” said Scarlett, looking uncomfortable. “Well, no. I mean, I’m sure I could come up with something, but no, I’m here because I heard that you were rather down and out. And as I recall from a recent conversation, it is important to offer one’s support for your friends when they are going through a difficult time. So here I am. All the way in the East Village, offering you my support and condolences.”

  Bridget laughed a surprised little laugh and then was embarrassed to find tears spring into her eyes, which she quickly dashed away. “Thank you, Scarlett. Seriously. I really mean that.”

  “Oh, now,” said Scarlett and gave her a quick little hug. She picked up the wine again. “Maybe I’ll have just a teeny-weeny little glass? I mean, how bad can it be?”

  “Oh, it’s bad,” said Bridget, laughing. “You’re totally going to hate it.”

  Scarlett took a tentative swig from the bottle and shrugged. “I’ve had worse. Go ahead, get me a jam jar or whatever ridiculous thing you serve your alcohol in.”

  Bridget took down two glasses and poured the wine.

  “To you,” said Scarlett, lifting her glass. “May all these troubles be behind you soon. And also, actually,” she said smiling shyly, “to me. My company went public today and it did quite nicely.”

  “Oh, Scarlett!” said Bridget. “I forgot! That’s great!”

  Scarlett waved off her congratulations. “Yes, well, I’m not here to talk about that. Just didn’t want the night to pass without a little acknowledgment. It’s a rather big moment, I suppose.”

  They clinked and drank.

  Scarlett smacked her lips. “Not that bad at all, really. Now, back to you. I saw that cursed video, by the way. You were amazing.”

  Bridget raised her eyebrows. “A lot of good that did me.”

  “And how are you handling all this?”

  Bridget laughed. “Which part? The man or the job?”

  “Oooh,” said Scarlett, pouring more wine. “I did not realize that a man was back in the picture.”

  Bridget felt her cheeks get hot. “I don’t know. Maybe. We’ve been talking, that’s all.”

  “All right, then, if that’s all you have to report, then what about the job?”

  Bridget sighed. “You know, if it was just me, it would be okay. I can hustle. I’ll find work. I’ll be fine. But it’s all the other people I screwed over. They all lost their jobs because of me and now they’re high and dry.”

  “But you said they were all very good at what they do.”

  “I mean, yes, they are, but being good doesn’t always mean it all works out, right? I mean, I’m damn smart. But look—I’m not out there building a skyscraper.”

  Scarlett nodded. “Well, no one is now that Mark Harrington was indicted and might be going to jail.” She smiled smugly. “I can’t wait to see him get taken down. I never could stand that man. Once he said to me that I just needed the right cock to come to my senses.” She rolled her eyes. “Can you imagine? I mean, maybe that miracle cock exists somewhere, but it is certainly not attached to a no-count man like him!” She sipped her wine. “What happens to the piece of land that was being developed, anyway? It was in a rather excellent spot downtown, if I recall.”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Bridget. “It’s prime. I think Henry Kim and the rest of the partners will be able to buy Harrington out. But anything they do is going to be kind of tainted for a while. Everyone thinks that if one partner was corrupt, all the rest of them probably are, too, you know?”

  Scarlett nodded thoughtfully. “So they’ll either have to hold on to it for quite a while, or they’ll have to sell cheap.”

  Bridget shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Hmm,” said Scarlett, pouring out the last of the wine evenly between the two cups. “Hmm. You know what? Go ahead and lift your glass, darlin’, because I have a little idea.”

  Chapter 84

  “Wait, wait, wait,” said Henry Kim, shaking his head, “you want to do what?”

  Bridget, Scarlett and Ava all grinned at him from across the table.

  “I want a skyscraper,” said Scarlett. “Since I went public, I need new headquarters for Scarlett Hawkins Incorporated, and I want a whole building to myself. All designed to my personal specifications. We have talked about this, and we want to design the building based on curves. It should be organic, sexy and have hidden gardens within courtyards. It will have amazing natural light and views in every room. There will be ample space for a day care, complete with an indoor and outdoor playground for my employees’ children. There will be living space for me on the top floor, as well as a rooftop garden that will be intensively farmed to provide organic, heirloom produce for the building’s restaurants and commissary. We will keep bees and chickens in that garden, as well. It should be made with the latest green technology. Solar and wind everything, as far off the grid as we can make it. Recycled and environmentally friendly in every way. And since we’re near the Hudson river, I want to figure out how this building can lift its skirts, so to speak, when the inevitable floods do come. Because I am intent that this will be a monument to my company long after I am gone.”

  Kim blinked. “Well. That sounds amazing. I’d love to be part of that vision. Should we place some calls for a design team and construction management firms?”

  Scarlett laughed. “No. No, no, no. No budgets or presentations are needed. This person—” she gestured over to Ava “—is going to be my architect. And this person—” she took Bridget’s hand “—is going to be my construction manager. Steele Construction will build it. And you, sir, if you are willing, are going help me develop the whole dang thing.”

  A huge smile crossed Kim’s face as he stuck out his hand, shaking each woman’s hand in turn. “Oh, count me in,” he said. “Count me in.”

  * * *

  Afterward, the three women walked out into the warm Manhattan night and stood on the street corner together for a moment.

  “Well,” said Scarlett, “congratulations, ladies. I believe we have accomplished what we set out to do.”

  “It’s
really happening!” said Ava. She looked giddy. “We’re actually going to build a skyscraper!”

  “What now?” said Scarlett. “Where shall we celebrate?”

  Bridget smiled. “I have an idea.”

  * * *

  They sat at a rickety aluminum table in Madison Square Park, Shake Shack burgers and fries in their laps, passing a bottle of champagne back and forth and gazing at the Flatiron Building.

  “It was one of the first skyscrapers built in Manhattan. They called it Burnham’s Folly,” said Bridget, smiling at the high-rise. “Because everyone was convinced that the design was flawed and the whole thing would collapse.”

  “The New York Times called it a ‘monstrosity,’” added Ava between bites of burger.

  “I believe the Tribune referred to it as ‘a stingy piece of pie,’” laughed Scarlett.

  “People are going to think we’re crazy, building this design,” said Bridget. “They’re going to laugh at us and throw up roadblocks and give us a million reasons why it won’t work.” She took a gulp of the champagne and passed it over to Ava. “But the hell with them.”

  Scarlett laughed. “That’s right. The hell with them.”

  Ava brandished the champagne at the building. “The hell with them!” she yelled.

  “Because they said that about the Flatiron Building, too. They said it was ugly, dangerous and ‘unfit to be in the center of the city.’”

  “They did not,” said Ava.

  “They did,” said Bridget. “And now look at it. Here we are, a hundred years later, and it’s still here.”

  “And it’s iconic,” said Scarlett with a smile.

  Bridget took the bottle from Ava, stood up and raised it toward the building. “Here’s to Burnham’s Folly, ladies. May our building be just as unfit.”

  Chapter 85

  End of summer

  Bridget and Jay carried the table and chairs down to the water. Bridget set the table for ten, carefully laying out the china and silver and crystal that the Russo family had passed down. She put out big vases of hydrangeas and filled silver pitchers with iced water and lemonade.

  Back in his kitchen, Jay put the final touches on his grandmother’s Sunday sauce. It had been simmering since early that morning, filling the entire house with the savory smell of tomatoes and sausage, garlic and onions and basil. The kids had been sneaking in and out to dip little pieces of bread into the sauce all day. He was boiling the pasta now, the traditional spaghetti. The garlic bread was staying warm in the oven. A huge salad was waiting in a wooden bowl on the counter, along with several bottles of wine.

  Ava showed up with some ice cream, and Scarlett, with her swimsuit-model date on one arm and a massive blackberry cobbler on the other, and Hana brought a bottle of brandy, and Alli’s girlfriend Minnie had shown up with a bouquet of flowers for the table. Then Liam had crept in, looking a little unsure of himself, but carrying a very expensive bottle of wine. They all grabbed various bowls and dishes and trooped down to the water to feast.

  It was everything Bridget ever dreamed it could be. They were practically dipping their toes in the surf as they ate the wonderful food and laughed and talked. After dinner Alli and Minnie chased Dylan in and out of the water while the adults drank more wine and watched them play. As the sun started to set and the last of the fireflies made their slow, lazy blinking drift around the table, they toasted Liam, who announced he was moving back to Chicago. Though from the way that Ava kept looking at him, and he kept looking back, Bridget wondered if there might be a little hitch in his plans.

  They toasted Hana, who had just set the date for her next show. It was based on the emotional resonance of everyday furniture: beds, bureaus, tables, she’d said, darting a quick glance at Liam, who resolutely looked the other way.

  They toasted to Jason’s release from Russo Construction. No matter what happened with the Harrington trial, Jay had decided it was time for the company to find a new leader. It took too much from him, and now that he knew it was not as it seemed, the weight of his family’s burden had been lifted. He’d left it to the board to find a new CEO, and now he talked about several new ideas that he had, including opening up a restaurant with Omar, the talented Moroccan chef from the tourist trap joint where he and Bridget had their first date. He lifted his glass and toasted his dad, forgiving him for the parts of his childhood that had never been easy, and thanking him and his mother for the memories of nights just like tonight.

  And then they all lifted a glass to Scarlett, Bridget and Ava, who were due to break ground on their skyscraper next month.

  Afterward, they built a bonfire, and sat close to the flames, listening to the surf hush in and out. The kids eventually grew bored and went inside to watch a movie, and one by one, the adults said good-night and thank-you and either went back to their houses or, in the case of Ava, up to her guest room.

  “Wanna take a walk?” asked Jay, and he and Bridget grasped hands and ran giggling down the beach like a couple of kids, finally collapsing onto the ground, where Jay rolled over and pinned Bridget down and gave her a long, sweet, deep kiss.

  She looked up into his eyes, and then up at the stars beyond. “Kiss me again,” she breathed.

  And he did, and they didn’t even mind the sand.

  EPILOGUE

  Two and a half years later

  The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was tomorrow morning but Bridget wanted a moment alone before then. She walked down to the riverfront on her own, not caring how late it was, confident that she could take care of herself.

  It had taken longer than they expected, it had gone over budget several times, there had been the usual trouble with unions and politicians and inspectors and the press, it had created all sorts of controversy, just like they had expected it would, but Bridget had loved every moment of getting it done. From the foundation to the finishes, her heart, strength and soul had been poured into every square inch of this building.

  She thought of her father as she stood across the street and gazed up at the fifty stories that she and her team had built. She didn’t have to wonder what he would think, because she could practically hear his voice in her ear, praising her for the power and beauty of this building.

  You did it, my darling, he whispered. You started with nothing, bare ground and an empty space, and then you dreamed this building and brought it to life, piece by piece, just like I taught you. It will be here for centuries, long after we’re all gone. It will house and shelter people, it will see the beginnings and ends of lives, it will inspire other artists, just like you, to construct more beautiful buildings like this. I’m so very proud of you, my girl.

  Bridget shivered and hugged herself, wishing it was his gentle arms around her once more.

  Tomorrow there would be thousands of people, and an opening-day party like the city had never seen before. Scarlett would cut the ribbon and this building would fill with new tenants, employees on their first day on the job, customers and salespeople, and bustling building workers. It would go from being an empty shell to a hive of life, and Bridget was so excited to see it happen.

  But tonight? Tonight the building was hers and no one else’s. And as she stood outside it, she felt a part of herself lift and take flight, soaring over the street, towering over the other buildings, rising floor by floor and story by story until, at last, she reached the very, very top.

  That place where the earth was finally allowed to kiss the sky.

  * * *

  ISBN-13: 9781488035074

  Heels of Steel

  Copyright © 2019 by Barbara Kavovit

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