Chapter 148: Eyes and Ears

Giovanni didn’t like what he heard.

Maybe it was because of everything that had happened with his father. Still, he’d developed a particular dislike for vague incidents that could be dismissed as coincidences until they became something considerably worse.

A blond stranger showing up at Alexander’s workshop and asking unusual questions about staffing and operating hours wasn’t proof of anything.

It was, however, enough reason to be cautious.

"I know a contractor," Giovanni said. "He installed the security system at one of our properties. He’s reliable."

Alexander glanced at him. "How soon can he come?"

"I’ll ask."

The answer was Sunday.

"Call me paranoid," Giovanni said after confirming the contractor’s availability, "but I’d rather not wait until Monday."

Alexander couldn’t exactly argue with that.

After all, Bob had already suggested the same thing.

"Fine. Have him come Sunday."

Giovanni smiled. "Good. We can have our first date after Italy at the workshop."

Alexander stared at him.

"You certainly know how to keep the romance alive."

"I brought you Italian leather. What more do you want from me?"

Apparently, a Sunday spent supervising CCTV installation.

By Sunday morning, Alexander, Giovanni, and Elias were already at the workshop when the contractor arrived in a van loaded with equipment and materials.

They walked through the property together while Alexander explained how the workshop operated. The contractor recommended cameras around the entrances, work areas, and other points where anyone entering the property would likely pass.

Giovanni had one additional request.

"The road."

The contractor looked toward him.

"I want one facing the approach to the property. Before someone reaches the entrance."

Alexander raised an eyebrow.

Giovanni shrugged. "I already told you to call me paranoid."

"You’re paranoid."

"Thank you."

The contractor seemed considerably less interested in their exchange than in whether there was a suitable place to mount the additional camera.

There was.

Once they settled on the layout and cost, the work began.

Elias eventually left to buy lunch and drinks for everyone while Alexander and Giovanni stayed mostly in the office, occasionally checking on the installation.

So much for their romantic Sunday.

Still, Alexander couldn’t complain too much. Giovanni had barely returned from Italy, yet instead of spending the weekend resting, he sat in a restoration workshop watching a security contractor drill holes into the walls.

There were worse ways to spend a day with someone.

By late afternoon, the installation was complete.

The contractor joined them in the office to set up the monitoring application on Alexander’s phone and the workshop tablet. One additional authorized account was reserved for Bob.

The difference was immediate.

The feeds were clear, the key areas visible, and the system could alert them when it detected after-hours movement. Recorded footage could also be reviewed later, while the entrance camera allowed two-way communication if someone arrived when no one was available to meet them.

Alexander switched between the feeds.

The road.

The entrance.

The work areas.

The storage facility.

For the first time, he could see the workshop without physically walking through it.

"Not bad," he admitted.

Giovanni leaned back in his chair. "You can thank me properly over dinner."

"I thought this was our date."

"This was foreplay."

Alexander slowly turned toward him.

Across the room, Elias suddenly became extremely interested in the security monitor.

Alexander decided not to dignify that with a response.

Before they left, he thanked the contractor and messaged Bob to say his CCTV proposal had already been approved, purchased, installed, and was currently staring at the empty workshop.

Bob’s response came almost immediately.

That was fast, sir.

Alexander smiled.

Sometimes, fast was exactly what they needed.

The following week was chaotic for considerably better reasons.

Several restored pieces finally arrived at their owners, accompanied by their respective invoices.

Then the payments started coming in.

Alexander stared at the first confirmed payment longer than necessary.

He didn’t need the money personally. Compared to what passed through Vance Holdings every day, the amount was hardly impressive.

But this was different.

This money hadn’t come from Vance Holdings.

It hadn’t come from an inheritance, investment, or family asset.

Someone had brought them a damaged piece of furniture. His team had restored it, returned it, and been paid for the work.

Second Life Workshop had officially earned money.

The workers were considerably less restrained about the milestone.

Someone cheered. Someone else suggested they should frame the first invoice. Bob immediately pointed out that accounting would probably object to them stealing company records for decoration.

Even Elias looked amused.

Alexander let them enjoy it.

They’d earned that much.

By the end of the week, the storage area was nearly empty. The completed pieces had gone back to their respective owners, and the room was being cleaned in preparation for the next scheduled pickups.

For once, having an empty storage room felt like an accomplishment.

Alexander went home that evening tired but satisfied.

Several hours later, his phone screamed.

He woke instantly.

For a few disoriented seconds, he stared at the screen before the security notification registered.

MOVEMENT DETECTED.

Another alert appeared almost immediately.

Alexander opened the application.

His sleepiness vanished.

There was someone at the workshop.

Then he saw the smoke.

"Shit."

Alexander was already getting out of bed.

He called the fire department first and gave them the workshop address. The police came next.

Only after he made both calls did he contact Elias.

"I need you to pick me up. The workshop’s on fire."

Elias didn’t waste time asking unnecessary questions.

"I’m coming."

Alexander called Giovanni next.

By the time Elias arrived, Alexander was already outside waiting.

The drive felt considerably longer than it actually was.

Alexander kept the security feed open on his phone, watching smoke obscure portions of the image while the system continued recording.

His workshop was burning.

Months of planning, money, work, and one of the few things he’d built entirely for himself were sitting behind that screen.

But the cameras were still working.

More importantly, help was already on the way.

When they reached the property, emergency vehicles had beaten them there.

Firefighters were already working.

Police had secured the immediate area, and one officer told Alexander someone had been stopped nearby while trying to leave. They had taken the man into custody while they determined exactly what had happened.

Alexander barely processed that part.

His attention was on the workshop.

The damage was obvious, but the fire hadn’t been given enough time to spread as far as it could have. The early alert and quick response had made a difference.

A considerable one.

The workshop was damaged.

It wasn’t destroyed.

Even better, they’d emptied the storage area before closing. The restored furniture that would’ve represented both substantial financial loss and irreplaceable customer property had already been delivered to its owners.

Alexander released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Beside him, Giovanni stared at the building.

"That was close."

Far too close.

There would be repairs. There would be an insurance claim, reports, photographs, estimates, and probably enough paperwork to make Bob regret ever accepting the Operations Assistant position.

But those were problems Alexander could deal with.

Buildings could be repaired.

Equipment could be replaced.

What mattered was that no one had been inside.

Eventually, Alexander remembered the cameras.

He pulled out his phone.

Giovanni moved closer as Alexander opened the recorded footage.

The camera facing the road had captured the approach.

Another camera captured someone entering the property.

The image was clear.

Very clear.

Alexander stared at the screen.

Blond hair.

The same face Bob had described.

He no longer needed the visitor’s name tag.

Alexander already knew it.

Andrew Callahan.

For several seconds, neither man spoke.

Then Alexander replayed the footage from the beginning.

The cameras had recorded the approach, the unlawful entry, and the deliberate destruction that followed. Whatever Andrew had expected to happen tonight, he’d apparently never considered that the workshop might have acquired several new pairs of eyes since his last visit.

Giovanni looked at Alexander.

"Still think I’m paranoid?"

Alexander continued staring at Andrew Callahan’s face on the screen.

"No."

He saved a copy of the recording.

Observation raised the alarm, action gave them eyes and ears, and constant monitoring saved the workshop.