Chapter 122: Housewarming

Alexander decided that if he was going to have a housewarming for a property nobody actually intended to live in, he might as well turn it into an open house too.

The morning began quietly enough, with a chaplain officiating a small blessing. Alejandro and Rosalie came as family, along with Giovanni, while Elias hovered nearby, technically there as Alexander’s driver. The architect and artisans who’d spent months helping Alexander bring the old house back to life were included as well.

No speeches or elaborate arrangements. Just the people who mattered, standing inside a house that had been given another chance to become useful.

Rosalie was still looking around after the chaplain left.

"You know," she said, "this would actually be a lovely place to live."

Alexander nearly choked on his coffee.

"Mom."

"What?"

"This is my business."

"I know that."

"The Second Life Workshop."

Rosalie smiled. "I can read the sign, Alexander."

Alejandro looked toward Giovanni.

"What do you think?"

Alexander immediately turned to his father.

"Why are you asking him?"

Giovanni considered the old wooden staircase, the high windows, and finally Alexander, whose ears were already turning red.

"I wouldn’t mind."

Alexander stared at him.

Giovanni smiled.

"As long as Alex is here."

"Oh, that’s sweet," Rosalie said.

"Can we please remember that nobody is moving into my workshop?"

Alejandro took another sip of coffee.

"We’ll discuss it again after the wedding."

"There is nothing to discuss."

Giovanni looked remarkably unconcerned.

Alexander decided the housewarming portion of the morning had officially lasted long enough.

By midmorning, the intimate gathering had become an open house.

Alexander’s professor arrived with several classmates from the master’s program, all of whom had spent the semester hearing about his restoration business as a case study and were now much more interested in seeing whether the actual property lived up to everything he’d put on paper.

The house itself had been one of Alexander’s first investments as a young professional.

When he’d bought it years ago, he’d thought he was purchasing another piece of real estate. He hadn’t known then that something about old wooden structures, worn furniture, and massive doors built long before anyone discovered the convenience of making everything out of glass and steel appealed to him.

He knew now.

More importantly, he’d finally figured out what to do with that interest.

The property had been restored as closely as reasonably possible to its original period appearance. Fortunately, the elderly couple who’d sold it to Alexander had left behind several old photographs of the house, giving his team something more reliable than guesswork when deciding what to restore, recreate, or simply leave alone.

They hadn’t returned the entire property to its original layout, however.

That would’ve defeated the purpose of turning it into a working restoration shop.

Instead, the front portion of the house retained most of its residential character. The original receiving room had become a small display area where finished pieces could eventually be shown to clients, while another room served as Alexander’s office and consultation space. Much of the old flooring, moldings, windows, and doors had been restored rather than replaced.

The changes became more obvious farther inside.

Several less significant interior partitions had been altered to create a larger workshop where furniture and architectural pieces could actually be worked on. Heavy worktables occupied the center, with tools and equipment stored along the walls. A separate enclosed area had been designated for the messier stages of restoration, particularly stripping old finishes, sanding, and applying new ones, so dust and fumes wouldn’t spread throughout the rest of the property.

Storage had been another problem.

Old doors were considerably larger when someone had to find somewhere to put six of them.

Alexander had therefore converted part of the rear section into secured storage for pieces waiting to be assessed or restored, with another smaller space reserved for finished work.

The original kitchen remained functional, although considerably more modern equipment now hid behind cabinetry chosen to suit the house. It also had a proper bathroom and a small break area for the staff.

One bedroom had deliberately been left as a bedroom.

That earned Alexander several looks during the tour.

"For clients?" Bianca Lim asked.

"For exhaustion," Alexander answered.

A few people laughed.

He wasn’t entirely joking.

Restoration work didn’t always respect office hours. If a project required someone to stay late, the room offered a clean place to shower, change, rest, or even spend the night instead of driving home exhausted. There was a bed, a small wardrobe, a desk, and a private bathroom with a shower.

Nothing luxurious.

Just enough to make an unreasonable workday slightly more reasonable.

Alexander refused to compromise on safety.

For now, most of their projects involved wood, which meant the charming old wooden house had the unfortunate distinction of containing an impressive amount of extra material that could burn.

Smoking was prohibited anywhere near the working and storage areas. Food and drinks stayed outside designated break spaces. Fire extinguishers were positioned throughout the property, smoke and heat detection had been upgraded, and the electrical system had been thoroughly replaced and inspected rather than trusted simply because it had not burned the house down over the previous several decades.

Flammable finishes and solvents were stored separately in appropriate cabinets, away from ignition sources. Dust extraction and ventilation were also installed in the work areas, and the shop had rules about cleaning sawdust and wood shavings rather than letting either accumulate.

Alexander had even established an end-of-day inspection.

Machines off.

Electrical equipment checked.

Waste removed.

Finishing materials secured.

Nobody locked the workshop and went home until someone had made sure nothing inside was quietly preparing to become tomorrow morning’s insurance claim.

His professor appeared particularly pleased with that part.

"Good," he said. "You’re thinking beyond whether people will pay for the service."

"They can’t pay for it if I burn down the inventory."

"Exactly."

Unfortunately, Julian Park chose that moment to join the discussion.

"The workshop should’ve been detached."

Alexander looked at him.

Julian gestured toward the rear of the house.

"If you’d constructed a separate building behind the original structure, you could’ve preserved the residential floor plan completely."

"That was considered," Alexander said.

"And rejected?"

"Yes. Cost, zoning, available space, and how much alteration would’ve been required outside."

"You could’ve reduced the storage footprint."

"We need the storage."

"A separate climate-controlled facility would solve that."

Alexander opened his mouth.

Julian continued.

"Although personally, I would’ve approached the circulation differently too. If the consultation area were moved—"

"Julian."

Their professor had spoken.

Julian stopped.

"Let Alexander finish."

"Of course."

Alexander resumed the tour.

They made it approximately four minutes.

Then Julian noticed the restored staircase.

"I would’ve kept the darker finish."

Bianca slowly turned her head.

Another classmate coughed into his hand.

Alexander, displaying the patience of someone who had chaired enough meetings to develop immunity to interruption, explained why they’d chosen the lighter finish based on the old photographs.

Julian nodded thoughtfully.

"The photographs could be misleading because of exposure. If you look at restoration standards for houses from this period—"

"Julian," Bianca said.

"What?"

"His house."

"I know."

"His presentation."

"I was adding context."

"You’ve added enough context to qualify for co-ownership."

Several people laughed.

Even their professor smiled.

Julian finally seemed to notice that the rest of the class had been waiting for Alexander to continue.

He stepped back.

"Fine."

"Thank you," Alexander said pleasantly.

Giovanni glanced at him.

Alexander appeared remarkably patient.

Of course he did.

His professor stood three feet away.

Eventually, Elias quietly pulled out a chair beside Giovanni.

"Have a seat, sir."

Giovanni looked at him.

"This may take a while before they finish the tour."

Apparently, even the driver had noticed that they were spending considerably more time listening to Julian Park than to the man whose actual case study they’d come to see.

Giovanni sat.

"Thank you, Elias."

"You’re welcome, sir."

At least someone around here understood efficiency.