by Wendy Wax
Avery scrambled up the ladder behind him to stand on the roof of the main building, which was in horrible shape even to her untrained eye.
“It will, of course, need to be replaced,” he said after releasing the ragged tarp that covered the worst sections of the roof. “And we will make sure it is at a correct slope to avoid this pooling of water. I will look also at the cottages, but I think we will have to assume that the roofs there are in a similar condition.”
A rainbow-colored parasail caught her eye, and she moved to the western edge of the roof to take in the view of sugar-white sand that stretched in both directions and the endless body of sparkling water that stretched westward.
“The beach it is beautiful from here,” Enrico said. “You can see very far.”
Avery nodded. Along the edge of the building, palm trees twisted toward the sky, their trunks swaying and palm skirts rustling slightly in the breeze.
“It’s the perfect spot to watch the sunset, no?”
“Oh, yes,” she breathed.
“And it could be also good for the sunrise,” he said, turning and leading her to the opposite end of the roof with its eastern view over the cottages and the scrim of trees and bush that bordered Pass-a-Grille Way.
She went up on tiptoe. “A few more feet up and we’d be able to see right over those condos to Boca Ciega Bay. They’re only two story.”
“Yes. This is what I am thinking,” Enrico said. “We must add a rooftop deck so that we can have magnificent views in both directions.”
Avery felt a shiver of excitement. Raising the roof and adding a deck would not only provide a magnificent place from which to enjoy the scenery, it would increase the square footage of the communal areas and greatly enhance the property. Raising the ceilings while they were at it would do a lot for the interior space. But each of these things would also add to the expense.
The worry about money was constant, a burden that grew heavier with each decision. She had chafed at the network for keeping the budget artificially low and putting them under needless pressure in order to keep things “interesting,” but at least they hadn’t been required to raise every penny. “Can you figure it both ways, Enrico? With and without raised ceilings and with and without the decks?”
“Of course. But we must have the decks.” Enrico kissed his fingers and opened them in a classic Italian gesture. “This main one, I promise you it will be magnificent.”
“Yes, I know it will,” Avery said. “But I need to look at the cost very carefully. Our budget is . . .” She couldn’t quite come up with a word that fit. “Tight” was too generous. “Almost nonexistent” too frightening.
“Do not worry,” Enrico said. “I will work on this and give you my most ‘beautiful’ price. And we will also become sponsors. Like my cousin Mario did on the South Beach house. He has been lording this over me for too long to ignore.”
“That’s fabulous. Thank you!” A flush of gratitude warmed her. “I don’t know where Do Over would be without the Dante family.” But the truth was, to make these changes to the roof and raise the ceiling, the price would have to be not just “beautiful,” but downright gorgeous. “I want to make sure you know, though, that although we’re going to do everything in our power to shoot and air the series, we have no guarantee that what we shoot here will ever be televised.”
“Pfft!” Enrico said dismissively. “I have no doubt that you will make this happen and show that network who they are dealing with.”
God, she hoped so. Avery smiled and hugged the little man. “You’re the best,” she said.
“Yes, I tell Mario this all the time. Perhaps I will have to ask you to put it in writing.”
Enrico began to take measurements.
“Raising the ceilings and adding the decks are both great ideas,” Chase said with genuine enthusiasm when she explained what she had in mind. Though Hardin Morgan Construction had built a reputation on its new construction, Chase had a soft spot for historically interesting structures that matched her own.
“I like it, too,” Jeff agreed.
“I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope like hell we’re not going to have to replace all the support beams,” Avery said. This was the real challenge when budgeting construction. Sometimes you just didn’t know until you opened things up what surprises lay inside.
Chase wrapped an arm around her waist. “No point in borrowing trouble. We’ll deal with bad news when and if it happens.”
“Right.” She banished budget worries for the moment and allowed herself to enjoy the warm glow of anticipation. It was a glorious day to be alive and an even better day to begin a new project.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I asked John Freemont to come out today. He’s the floor guy I told you about. An absolute genius with terrazzo.”
Avery nodded.
“And one of Enrico’s nephews is coming to look at the plaster work. Oh, and the company we get our hot tubs and Jacuzzis from said they’d take a look at the sauna.” Chase abruptly stopped talking. “You haven’t told me to mind my own business yet,” he said. “Are you feeling all right?”
Avery laughed, shocked at how all right she was. “I kind of appreciate it.”
“Hold that thought.” He called out to Kyra, who’d been moving around, her video camera on her shoulder, documenting everything. “We need to record this for posterity.”
Avery laughed again as he took her shoulders and turned her to face the camera. “Go ahead, say it again.”
“Okay, here goes,” she said, looking straight into the camera lens. “Chase Hardin has invited some of his subs to come give quotes and has offered to help on this project. And I am hereby admitting that I might actually let him.”
Chase kissed her on the cheek and mugged for the camera.
“Good Lord,” his father teased. “I think I see his head expanding as we speak. Keep this up, Avery, and the boy won’t be able to fit it through a door.”
Kyra moved off to follow Robby, who was on his way to inspect the cottages’ plumbing. Jeff took a seat near Maddie’s lemonade stand.
Chase cocked his head and studied her. “Are you as comfortable with the idea of collaborating as you seem?”
Avery studied him back, thinking of all the arguments they’d had, how disdainful he’d once been. How important it had seemed not to appear uncertain or needy. “Well, since the project’s mine and there’s no network cameraman attempting to make me look inept, I’m willing to listen. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do or agree with everything you suggest.” There was only one general contractor on a job, and she was it. She could hire and fire. Cajole or reject. Anyone who didn’t think she was capable just because she had blond hair, Kewpie-doll features, and a big bust could go screw himself.
“Fair enough,” he said. “I’m going to go walk through the electrical with Reed Hampton.” He offered his father a hand up, and the two turned down the path toward the cottages.
There was not a building or patch of the property that didn’t need something, but even now Avery could see the end result in her mind’s eye, could imagine people lounging around the pool, meandering to and from the beach through the opening in the low concrete wall, snagging an ice cream sandwich from the cooler, or bellying up to the soda fountain for a milkshake or a sundae. Being handed a vintage key at the front desk.
“Thirsty?” Maddie’s voice pulled her back to the present. Avery drank down the proffered lemonade in a few greedy gulps and savored the moment, that moment before anything began, in which everything was possible and the need to compromise had not yet reared its head. She held out her glass for a refill as Nikki stepped out of the main building. Her hair askew, her face streaked with dirt, she looked far less put together than she had when they’d arrived.
She dropped into a chair, blew a limp bang off her forehead, and accepted a glas
s of lemonade. “Bless you,” Nikki said. She closed her eyes and drank thirstily. “And I don’t think there’s enough air in the world to get rid of the smell in there.”
They sat and sipped their drinks treasuring the shade, and the moment of quiet in the midst of the hurricane of activity that whirled around them.
“I could have hugged Joe when he told Annelise that the case was going to be reopened.” Avery took a long sip of lemonade as her thoughts turned to the family cottage, which still sat locked and shuttered.
Nikki nodded and smiled at the mention of Joe. But her smile didn’t come anywhere close to reaching her eyes. “And we have Will to thank for helping to bring Bitsy on board,” Nikki said. “I’m pretty sure it was his call inviting her to the concert that sealed the deal.”
“You’re going to have a blast at that concert,” Avery said to Maddie. “Being there with Will and a part of everything.”
“Absolutely,” Maddie said, but something flickered in her eyes. She’d sounded more excited about the lemonade.
“You did know about the concert, right?” Nikki said.
“Sure.” Maddie looked down at the pitcher in her hand. “Well, I knew there’d probably be one. I just didn’t think it would happen quite so soon.”
An uncomfortable silence fell. Avery wasn’t exactly a relationship expert but it was clear something was up with both Maddie and Nikki. Was she going to bring it up? Hold their feet to the fire to get to the bottom of it? Avery thought not. She’d stood and deposited her empty cup in the garbage, when she noticed a stranger walking toward her. He was tall and slim and wore a billowy pale blue shirt with white summer pants that confirmed he was not a tradesman. As he neared she noted the spiky blond hair and oversized tortoiseshell glasses. He removed the glasses, came to a stop in front of her, and put out his hand. “Avery Lawford?”
She nodded.
“Ray Flamingo.” His grip was firm, but his hand was soft. His features were more beautiful than handsome. The blue eyes were slightly mischievous, his smile disarming. “I heard you might be looking for design help.”
“Oh?” Avery asked.
“The design community is all agog,” he continued. “And I missed out back when Ms. Morgan turned Bella Flora into a designer show house.”
There was something in the way he said Deirdre’s name that had her studying him more closely. “Have we met?” she asked.
“No, but I feel as if I know all three of you. I’m a very big fan of Do Over.” The designer shook each of their hands enthusiastically, then retrieved a business card from the breast pocket of the linen shirt with the kind of flourish a magician might pull a rabbit from a hat and presented it to her.
Nikki excused herself. Maddie’s eyes moved from Ray’s face to Avery’s, then back again. “I, um, I think I hear Kyra calling me,” she said, though Avery hadn’t heard any such thing. With one last look at the two of them she hurried down the path toward the cottages.
“We have budget issues,” Avery said, looking at the thick white card with the bright pink outline of a flamingo and then at the designer’s designer boat shoes and woven belt that encircled his trim waist. “Whoever we hire, assuming we do, is going to have to be creative. There won’t be money to throw around.”
“Not a problem. I enjoy a challenge. And I absolutely adore midcentury modern. This place is right in my sweet spot.” He slipped his sunglasses into the V of his shirt. “Why don’t you show me around and I’ll give you my thoughts. If you like my ideas, I’ll send you photographs of a few of my installations along with references. If you decide you don’t want to work together, no harm no foul. But I really don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“You’re going to get dirty,” she said, eyeing the pale blue linen shirt and white pants. “The property has been closed up and rotting for decades.”
“All the more reason to get on with things, then,” he replied, taking her elbow and walking to the main building. Inside he neither gagged nor pinched his nose. He walked through the space with a contemplative expression, stopping now and then to sigh with what seemed to be happiness or to examine a piece of furniture or blow dust off of a frame or knickknack. He went into paroxysms of ecstasy over the front desk and the soda fountain. In the dining room, he turned slowly with his hands clasped to his chest as he drank it all in.
He climbed onto the roof without difficulty or complaint. At his first sight of the view he said, “Good God, I hope you’re planning to build a penthouse up here and charge people a fortune to stay in it.”
“Hmmmm,” Avery said. “Tempting. But we were just discussing the idea of altering the roof line so that we could create a more expansive deck with 360-degree views.”
“I love it,” Ray said, doing a slow turn to take it all in. “I think we go for understated elegance—all clean lines and top-end outdoor finishes with nooks and seating areas. And of course we’d have to have a serious bar.”
“Absolutely.” Avery moved back to the western edge. “I was thinking that the bar could cantilever out over the pool and Gulf sides.”
He smiled exuberantly.
Even the cottages didn’t diminish his enthusiasm. “I love the idea of raising the ceilings,” he said as they walked through a one-bedroom. “It’ll really open things up.” Outside a two-bedroom he tilted his head at an oddly familiar angle, then snapped a number of pictures. We should create new façades out of ten-inch-wide HardiePlank.” He named a pressed concrete product impervious to bugs, water, humidity, and hurricane-force winds. “It’ll have a clean sleek look but we can get it with a slight wood grain.” He tilted his head the other way. “I’m seeing a burnished steel trim around the doors and windows and maybe squared hardware and light fixtures.”
She found herself nodding in agreement with each and every suggestion that he made.
“It will be like designing a movie set intended to suck guests right back into the fifties, but with the best and sturdiest modern materials. With so few units the cottages are going to have to justify a high room rate.”
When they finished, he looked as crisp and clean as he had when they’d begun. The only other person she’d ever known to whom dirt and grime refused to adhere was her mother.
“So,” she said when they’d completed the tour. “Any questions?”
“You mean other than when can I start?”
She laughed. It was hard to resist someone who seemed to be as in love with the property as she was.
“I’ll send you the references and photos,” he said. “And I’m going to go ahead and pull samples of some of the finishes and materials I mentioned.” He put the sunglasses back on. “As far as I’m concerned, we have a deal. Because I’m not one to take no for an answer. Never have. Never will.”
By three that afternoon temperatures had climbed into the mid eighties and all but one of the subcontractors had departed. Maddie had folded up her lemonade stand, and everyone but Avery and Chase had gone back to Bella Flora. “We might as well start closing up the cottages,” Chase said, rubbing the back of his neck and stifling a yawn. “Robby should be done inspecting the plumbing in the main building soon.”
“I kind of hate to see them closed up now that they’ve finally had a chance to breathe,” Avery said, pulling her sweat-soaked T-shirt away from her body. “I can’t wait to make them habitable again.”
“Yeah, it’s a great property.” He nuzzled the top of her head. “I’m glad it’s going to get a second chance.” He took off his baseball cap and ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. “Do you have the key?”
“Yep, it’s . . .” Avery was patting her pockets when they heard a shout. They eyed each other at the sound of Robby’s voice and started moving. The plumber waved excitedly as they approached the main building.
“What’s up?” Chase asked when they’d joined him on the porch.
“I gotta show you something.” He led them inside and through several doors to the women’s locker room. “I had to take apart one of the lockers to get at a plumbing stack and I found something kind of odd.”
Avery’s heart sped up as they drew closer and she saw the newly exposed section of wall. The thing Robby was pointing to wasn’t something that needed to be repaired. It was, however, something that didn’t really seem to belong hidden away in a women’s locker room. It was a safe, one that would have looked far more at home in the bowels of a bank vault.
Chapter Sixteen
They spent the following week airing out the buildings and attempting to scrub away as much of the dirt and grime as possible. Ray scraped paint samples off the walls and cut swatches of wallpaper and fabric, shredded though they were, to send to the companies that had existed when the hotel was built for potential matching and comparables.
Determined not to lead the remaining paparazzi to the hotel, they staggered their departures each morning and took turns returning to Bella Flora at different times during the day. It was dirty and exhausting work that left them limp; some might say catatonic. Hiding their exhaustion when they straggled back in the late afternoons required almost as much energy as the manual labor they were performing.
With Renée and John still out of town following the Memorial Day weekend, they’d decided to keep the discovery of the safe to themselves until the Franklins returned. Despite the drawing of straws and a vigorous round of rock/paper/scissors, no one was willing to inform Annelise of its existence for fear she’d insist everything come to a halt until it had been removed and/or opened.
Kyra returned to Bella Flora from a supposed “beach run” with Dustin late that Friday afternoon to find what remained of their pack of paparazzi waiting on the beach path. She bit back a smile of satisfaction that the pack had now shrunk to a duo consisting of Nigel Bracken and his potato-faced cohort Bill.