by Marie Astor
A sound of rustling silk made his hair stand on end. For a moment, he thought it was Claudia, but it was only one of the many wives of the many important men who had felt about as much excitement about David’s engagement as his father had and now were finally leaving the party. Though stunning, the woman could not hold a candle to Claudia, but the remote likeness was enough for David to be reminded of the outline of Claudia’s curved lips, her catlike eyes, and her long, chiseled legs. He looked up, sensing Claire’s glance upon him and smiled back. He had gotten himself a wonderful wife, and tomorrow he would make ardent love to Claudia.
“Do you want to come up?” Claire’s voice woke David from his thoughts as he returned her to her apartment.
From the tone of Claire’s voice, he could guess what was on her mind. They had spent the entire weekend in separate bedrooms, and it was only to be expected that his fiancée was expecting a physical confirmation of their engagement. A part of him wished he could simply say yes, wished things could be as simple as being in love with your future wife, but he felt nothing. Well, that was not exactly accurate. David did have feelings for Claire. He admired her, he respected her, but he did not lust for her, and he was not in love with her.
“I’d love to, baby, but I’ve got to get up early for work tomorrow.”
“All right then.” The cheerfulness of Claire’s voice failed to conceal a momentary shadow that came over her face.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you next weekend, okay?”
“It’s just that we’ve been apart all weekend, and I missed you, that’s all.”
“I know. I missed you too. We’ll do something in the middle of the week, I promise.” David got up to open the car door for Claire. As he walked around the car, he felt his telephone vibrate with a text message. His pulse kicked a thousand volts as he wondered whether the message was from Claudia.
Claire willed herself not to be disappointed as she watched David's car pull away, but in spite of all logic and common sense — it was late Sunday night, David was tired, they both had to get up early for work the next morning — a small part of her felt let down. Yesterday, she had made the biggest decision of her life, and yet she had barely had a chance to spend even a few minutes alone with the man who was responsible for it.
She wanted to be held in David's arms, so that they could both reconfirm the union they now had formed. Yes, they had been dating for a year, but David's marriage proposal changed things. No one was more surprised by her reaction than Claire herself. In the past, when she had allowed herself to imagine David proposing marriage, fleeting as such occasions were, she had always thought of it as an unnecessary formality. She and David were perfectly happy together, so why complicate matters? Now, she could admit what a coward she had been. Up until yesterday, there had still been a hidden part of her that had wondered whether she was good enough for David. But now, everything had changed. When David had asked her to marry him, she was overcome with her love for him and also, gratitude - gratitude for him finally proving to her that she was good enough to be loved, not merely toyed with as some fleeting distraction, but cherished and treasured. Two days ago, David was merely her boyfriend. Now, he was her fiancé. The word felt pleasantly new on her tongue, and she would savor every minute of getting used to it.
Yet, as much as she would have liked to convince herself of it, things were not perfect. But then perfection was not real, and Claire was a realist. The visit to David’s family had left her perplexed. On the surface, she had been welcomed, but somehow, Claire felt that she had not even managed to scratch the surface of the Lawson clan. At first glance, the family seemed perfect – the distinguished, regal-like patriarch who had amassed a great fortune from practically nothing, a charming, still beautiful mother, a lovely sister, with David rounding off the portrait as a handsome and ambitious son, industriously walking in his father’s footsteps. But when Claire noticed the way David’s jaw stiffened as he answered his father’s questions, the barely perceptible shadow that crossed his face when he spoke with his mother, and the frank concern that flashed in his eyes when he looked at his sister, she knew that things were not that simple. His parents had surrounded David his entire life, but to her, they were strangers. She was a stranger to them too, an outsider, and she would have to earn her acceptance among them, but David was their flesh and blood, and even he had to work at being the good son. Officially, Claire would become a member of the family once she and David married, but deep down, Claire sensed that admittance into the Lawson clan would be a long haul. Well, she was no stranger to hard work and she was prepared to earn her place in the Lawson family. She would make David proud.
Stale air greeted her as Claire opened the door of her apartment. She flung the windows open, and, with a pang of guilt, threw away the wilted white roses David had brought her before they left for the weekend. Roses almost never kept well. She had been away for only two days, but her apartment felt deserted and lonely. The unexpected emotion caught Claire off guard. She had always shunned roommates, valuing the privacy and independence that her small, but comfortable studio offered. But now that she had finally allowed David to enter her heart completely, she did not want to be in the empty apartment by herself. A few months ago, the thought of moving in together seemed unimaginable to her, but now, as she pictured herself and David snuggling on the couch, sharing takeout while watching a DVD, Claire felt wistful, hoping that David would ask her to move in with him soon. Then, no matter how late he would have to work, he would still come home to her every night.
Chapter 14
As soon as Claire stepped on the sidewalk, humidity hit her like a cannonball. It was only late May, but already New York was laden with heat. She tried not to think about the beads of perspiration that were popping up on her chest and back. She was wearing a designer white linen dress she had bought on sale at Bergdorf during one of her shopping trips with Amber – an impulsive purchase that cost half her monthly paycheck had somehow seemed like a good idea at the time. It makes you look ten pounds thinner, Amber had gushed. Not that Claire needed to lose ten pounds, but she bought the dress nonetheless. And now, she was sweating in it, and there was not a cab in sight. It would have to be the subway again.
“I want to hear everything!” Jake stared at Claire intently as she made her way to her desk after making it to the office.
“Good morning to you too,” Claire grinned. Relishing the suspense, she turned the engagement ring to the inside of her finger.
“There will be nothing good about this morning if you keep jerking me around like this. You know that I’m not a patient guy.”
“Oh, well, let’s see. Where do I start…They have a beautiful Tudor style house, very distinguished…” Claire took a sip of her morning coffee, glancing at Jake over her cup.
“I’m not interested in the architecture of their house or their furniture for that matter,” Jake snapped. “Wait a minute, what’s that on your hand?”
“What?” Claire’s voice gave her away as she blushed in spite of herself.
“Come on, out with it.”
Claire triumphantly held up her left hand. “David asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”
“Wow.” For a brief moment Jake looked startled.
“Turns out you were right all along.” Claire grinned. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m just blown away by how huge this thing is, that’s all.” Jake was back to his usual teasing self. “You should be careful. You could blind people with that.”
“Okay. Thanks for the heads up.”
“But seriously, Claire – be careful. You can’t ride the subway with a rock like this. People have been killed for less.”
“Well, the scarcity of cabs makes ruling out the subway pretty much impossible.”
“Tell David to send a car service for you. He can afford it, or, better yet, let him give you his driver.”
“Don’t you think that would be a bit too demand
ing? I mean, the guy only proposed two days ago, and already you want him to give me his driver.”
“Hell, yeah. If I were engaged to a girl like you, I’d do it.”
“You don’t have a driver.” Claire grinned. Jake was such a flirt, and like all men, he had to be competitive to boot.
“You’ve got a point there.” Jake shrugged. “But I can still take you out for drinks to celebrate. Stephen’s at six?”
“Deal.” Claire nodded. “I’ll call Amber and Lindsay.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“And I’ll call David. Hopefully, he’ll be able to make it.”
“And here I was, hoping it would be just us girls.”
“Don’t you want to meet him?”
“Never wanted anything more.” Jake grinned, the sarcasm in his voice making Claire wince.
The phone on Claire’s desk rang, not giving her the chance to address Jake’s remark.
“Claire, would you come into my office, please?” Her boss’s voice gyrated on the other end of the line.
“I’ll be right there.” Claire’s face grew warm. Sure, she’d been chatting with Jake a bit more than she should be, and her deadline was approaching, but she had everything under control. She just hoped that her boss would not beg to differ.
“Was that the big cheese?” Jake’s eyebrows rose in alarm.
“Yep.” Claire got up from her chair and smoothed her dress. At least she would look pretty when she was being reprimanded.
“Stop being such a scaredy cat. The old man loves you. You are the teacher’s pet.”
“Yeah, well that was a long time ago. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re no longer in school.”
Claire’s boss - Daniel Bancroft, managing partner of Bancroft, Skinner, and Willis - was also a faculty member at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture and had been Claire’s advisor for her Master’s degree. Impressed by her dedication to her thesis, Daniel had offered her a job at his firm as a graduation present.
“Still, old habits die hard. I’m sure the old man just wants to check on his protégé.” Jake too had studied at Columbia, albeit a year before Claire. He had asked Bancroft to be his adviser, but Daniel had declined, citing a heavy workload. The fact that the refusal did not prevent Jake from being offered employment at Bancroft, Skinner, and Willis did little to abate the old grudge, and he never missed a chance to poke Claire about it.
“Daniel?” Claire rapped on her boss’s door. Her student days were behind her, but every time she stood before Daniel Bancroft’s door, she remembered her thesis-writing days – the tormenting search for the hypothesis, the painstaking groundwork, the inevitable setbacks, but through it all the unrelenting perseverance that finally had got her on the right path, and most importantly, won Daniel’s unwavering support.
“Come in!” Daniel Bancroft sat behind a vast stainless steel writing desk that was laden with what looked like a completely chaotic heap of drawings. Yet anyone who knew Daniel would know that this seeming chaos was in fact a highly organized system that only he could operate.
Smitten with guilt, Claire took a seat on the edge of the chair. She had the greatest respect for her boss. He had put such faith in her by offering her the position in the firm, a position that hundreds of architects vied for, and she had repaid him by slacking on the job. Well, granted, her slacking had only been recent, and her personal life was partly to blame, but that was still inexcusable. So what if her last few projects were not exactly intellectually stimulating? Office layouts were an excellent source of revenue for the firm, and it was her job to carry out her assignments instead of daydreaming and chatting with Jake.
“So, how’s the job?” It was Daniel’s favorite question – his version of “How are you?”
“Everything is going well. I should have the layout completed by the end of tomorrow.” Claire bit her lip. If she put her nose to the grind, she would indeed have it done by then.
“I’m having you reassigned.”
“But I can get it done. I just need another day…”
“I know you can, Claire, but I need you on something far more important. Look, I know that the last few projects I threw at you were not exactly the pinnacle of excitement, but I’ve got something that will more than make up for the mundane bits.”
Claire nearly burst, trying to contain a sigh of relief. No more office layouts
“What did you have in mind?”
Daniel reached for one of the rolled up drawings that lay on his desk.
“I want to get your opinion on this.” He unraveled the drawing and pinned it down with two paper weights.
Claire pulled her chair closer and examined the drawing for several minutes. It seemed to be a straightforward design, but she wanted to make sure that she had not missed any clues.
“Looks like a typical industrial structure from late 1800s,” she gave her diagnosis.
“Aha!” Daniel clapped his hands triumphantly. “But what would you say if I told you that there was another building underneath the façade?”
“Where?” Claire gestured at the drawing. “There’s no indication of that on the drawing.”
“It’s not on the drawing, but there is another wall running beneath the façade. I saw it with my own eyes today, and I want you to take a look.”
“How can that be possible? I mean, how come it has not been discovered until now?”
“The building used to house printing presses, and for the last twenty years it served as a warehouse. As you probably already guessed, there hasn’t been keen interest in its architectural value. Despite its menial use, the building was landmarked, and when the new owner wanted to proceed with condo conversion, he had to apply for a permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. During the evaluation, an engineer noticed a gash in the façade, and to his amazement found that there was another wall underneath the exterior wall. Results of a preliminary scan showed that this internal wall spans the perimeter of the entire building. There could very well be a hidden building within a building.” Daniel’s eyes blazed with passion of a scholar. “This could be one of the greatest architectural discoveries of the decade, if not of the century. Now, my question to you, Claire, is do you want to be a part of it?”
“Of course I do, but why me?” Claire could scarcely believe what she had just heard. Daniel’s hypothesis, if it could even be called that, sounded like it had been taken straight out of the National Treasure storyline.
“Because your thesis was on Gaudi, and I think the building in question could very well be an example of Catalan modernism in New York.”
Claire simply stared back, struck mute by the momentous news. She respected Daniel tremendously, but presently, his words made no sense whatsoever. Perhaps the heavy workload was taking its toll on him, or maybe it was the unseasonable heat wave.
“I know, I know. I didn’t believe it either at first, but I just came from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. They’ve asked me for an opinion, and after finally seeing the site with my own eyes, I think there’s something there. If this thing checks out, it could be tremendous publicity for the firm. We’re going to the site at five.”
“I’m sorry, Jake. Looks like our night out will have to wait,” said Claire, once she settled back at her desk. “Daniel has asked me to come with him to a job site at five tonight.”
“No biggie. There’s always tomorrow.” Jake hooked his hands behind his head. “So, what’s this new job about?”
“I’m not sure myself yet, but I promise to tell you everything once I see it.” Normally, Claire did not keep any professional secrets from Jake, but she was so excited about the project that Daniel had just described to her that she did not want to jinx it by talking about it prematurely.
At five o’clock sharp, Claire and Daniel stood on the corner of Leonard Street in Tribeca. Daniel had kept the address secret until their arrival at the destination, but the precise address still remained a mystery, as the building was shr
ouded in scaffolding and various construction fortifications that completely obscured its identity.
“This way.” Daniel motioned to the entrance that said “Authorized Personnel Only.”
They passed through the narrow partition in the scaffolding. There, they were greeted by a man dressed in a suit and a hard hat. He was trim, with glasses and looked to be in his early sixties. A younger man dressed in slacks and a collared shirt stood next to him.
“Evelyn Turdot,” the elder gentleman introduced himself after shaking hands with Daniel. “And this is Jim Foley, project manager of the construction site.”
“Evelyn is Head of the Preservation Department of the Landmarks Preservation Commission,” Daniel completed the introduction. “And this is my associate, Claire Chatfield. Claire did her thesis on Gaudi,” Daniel added, raising his eyebrows for emphasis.
“Wonderful!” Evelyn clapped his hands. “Yours is just the kind of expertise we need, Claire.”
“I hope to be of service.” Claire felt her face grow warm – accepting praise had never been her forte.
“You should put these on.” Jim handed two hard hats to Claire and Daniel. He seemed to be clearly displeased by the encroachment on his terrain. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to put this matter to rest quickly. We do hope to proceed with the condo conversion as soon as possible.”
“Keep your eyes open, Claire.” The anticipation in Daniel’s voice resonated in Claire. This could be a career-making discovery.
Evelyn led the way, with Jim following closely behind him and Claire and Daniel completing the procession.
“This is it,” Evelyn announced several moments later, pointing to a foot-long gash in the facade. He handed Claire a flashlight.