Chapter 156: All the Way

After roughly an hour of travel, the familiar landscape of the Vance ancestral property came into view.

The workers immediately began looking out the windows.

The ancestral villa stood beyond a wide stretch of cultivated land. Different sections of the property were planted with crops, while farther away stood barns, warehouses, cattle enclosures, and chicken coops.

It wasn’t merely an old family home. It was a working estate.

Rosalie had already been informed that Alexander was bringing an entire busload of people. More specifically, he’d called his mother and asked her to prepare lunch for everyone.

Charged to his account, of course.

That particular detail hadn’t prevented Rosalie from preparing enough food to make Alexander wonder whether she’d misunderstood and thought he was bringing three buses.

Several long tables had been arranged outside, with large serving dishes placed down the middle so everyone could help themselves. The bus driver and Elias were included.

"Thanks, Mom."

Rosalie waved the gratitude aside.

"They traveled all this way. Of course we have to feed them."

Alejandro came out shortly afterward, accompanied by the family’s three senior dogs, who immediately became considerably more enthusiastic once they saw Alexander.

He crouched to greet them.

"Hello to you too."

Apparently, being the owner’s son wasn’t nearly as interesting as being someone who could scratch behind their ears.

Once everyone had gathered, Alexander stood.

"Before anything else, allow me to introduce my parents, Mr. Alejandro Vance and Mrs. Rosalie Vance."

Several workers immediately straightened.

Alexander almost smiled.

"They were kind enough to let Second Life Workshop temporarily use one of the warehouses here while our original facility is being rebuilt."

Alejandro nodded toward the tables.

"Eat first. You can inspect the warehouses afterward."

That was apparently an instruction no one had any difficulty following.

After lunch, Alejandro led the group around the available warehouses.

Alexander didn’t simply choose the first empty building they saw. The workers would be restoring furniture inside it, so he wanted their opinions before deciding.

They inspected the available floor space and ventilation, along with the electrical connections and lighting. More importantly, they considered how easily they could move large pieces of furniture in and out and whether they could store materials separately from the active work area.

Eventually, one warehouse emerged as the practical choice.

It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. It only had to provide enough room for the artisans to work safely and protect their projects until the permanent workshop was rebuilt.

That process would take considerably longer. The fire-damaged property still had to go through inspections and insurance documentation before cleanup and reconstruction could properly begin.

Alexander couldn’t afford to leave Second Life Workshop idle through all of that.

Next came the bunkhouse.

It already had built-in beds, although there weren’t enough for everyone. The workers moved through the rooms checking the condition of the windows and plumbing while discussing what could reasonably be repaired or added.

They would need more sleeping space, additional toilets and showers, and a simple cooking area with safe drinking water. Since most of them planned to stay during the workweek and return home on weekends, they would also need a separate laundry area.

Then there was the privacy issue.

Parts of the warehouse and bunkhouse were visible from the parking area used by bed-and-breakfast guests. Tools, construction materials, laundry, and half-restored furniture sitting in plain view weren’t exactly part of the atmosphere Rosalie’s guests were paying for.

They would need some kind of temporary barrier separating the workers’ area from the guest side of the property.

Nothing ugly.

Just practical and presentable.

Bob remained unusually quiet throughout most of the inspection, but Alexander soon realized his assistant was taking notes.

A lot of them.

He asked about electricity and internet access, where deliveries could enter, and whether there was enough space for a temporary office.

Increasingly important to Bob, however, was where exactly he was supposed to sleep.

As Alexander’s Operations Assistant, he handled customer information, invoices, schedules, and other paperwork that occasionally required privacy. Sharing one large sleeping room with the artisans for several months wasn’t exactly ideal.

Bob decided he’d ask Alexander about it later.

It was already past three in the afternoon when Alexander finally called everyone together.

This was why he’d brought them here.

They had decisions to make.

Bob opened his notebook while Alexander looked around at the people who’d spent the afternoon inspecting what could potentially become both their workplace and their weekday home.

"All right. You’ve seen the warehouse and the accommodations."

He gestured toward the surrounding area.

"You also know this isn’t permanent. Once the original workshop is cleared and the insurance process is far enough along, we’ll begin rebuilding, but I can’t promise how quickly that will happen."

Everyone listened quietly.

"As I said yesterday, no one is required to relocate. If you want to stay with Second Life Workshop, your wages will continue through the temporary stoppage while we prepare the facility. If the arrangement doesn’t work for you, we’ll process your separation properly."

Alexander looked toward Bob.

"Ready?"

Bob raised his pen.

Before he could begin tallying anything, the eldest artisan stood.

"Sir."

Alexander looked at him.

"We talked about it."

The older man glanced toward the other workers, several of whom nodded.

"We appreciate your offer to continue paying our wages even when we can’t do our regular work, but we don’t want to sit around getting paid for doing nothing."

Alexander waited.

The man gestured toward the warehouse.

"We can work."

"Doing what?"

"Fixing this place."

Alexander stared at him.

"We’ll clean and repair the warehouse ourselves. We can work on the bunkhouse too. Whatever needs doing."

Another worker spoke from behind him.

"Most of us did construction work before we specialized in furniture."

That explained considerably more than Alexander had expected.

Several of them had experience with carpentry and masonry, while another knew plumbing. One worker even had experience with electrical work, although he quickly added that anything he touched should still be professionally inspected afterward.

That earned a few laughs.

The eldest artisan continued.

"You’re willing to pay us while the workshop is closed. We’re willing to work for it."

He looked back at the others.

"Agreed?"

The response came almost immediately.

"Agreed!"

Alexander looked around.

Apparently, Bob wouldn’t be needing his tally.

"So you’re all staying?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you’re willing to live here during the workweek?"

Another round of agreement followed.

The older artisan grinned.

"We’ll get your temporary workshop running."

For once, Alexander had nothing prepared to say.

He’d come here expecting to find out how many employees he might lose. Instead, they’d volunteered to help him get Second Life Workshop back on its feet.

"Thank you."

It sounded inadequate, but he meant it.

"Seriously. Thank you."

The older artisan shrugged.

"You take care of us, sir. We take care of the workshop."

Alexander had managed difficult projects with employees at Vance Holdings before, but this felt different.

Second Life Workshop was small enough that Alexander knew the people standing in front of him. When something happened to the business, it affected them all directly.

Apparently, that also meant they were willing to help fix it together.

Alexander nodded.

"All right. But we’re still doing this properly. Anything requiring permits gets permits, and anything that needs a licensed contractor or inspection gets one. I don’t want us surviving one fire only to create another problem ourselves."

"Agreed."

Alexander looked toward his assistant.

"Bob?"

Bob closed his notebook.

"May I speak with you privately, sir?"

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

They moved several steps away from the group.

"I want to stay," Bob said quietly.

"But?"

Bob looked toward the bunkhouse.

"I was wondering if there’s any possibility of having a separate room. It doesn’t have to be big."

Alexander almost laughed.

He’d already noticed Bob examining the sleeping arrangements with growing concern.

"You need privacy because you’re handling administrative work."

Bob looked relieved that he didn’t have to explain.

"Yes, sir."

"Don’t worry. We’ll have a small separate room built for you with your own toilet and shower."

Bob’s face immediately brightened.

"In that case, sir, I definitely want to keep my job."

"Good. I’d hate to start looking for another Vincent this soon."

Bob laughed. "Who’s Vincent?"

"Never mind. He was my former Executive Assistant at Vance Holdings."

Alexander turned back toward everyone.

"Then it’s settled."

He looked at the warehouse that only a few hours ago had seemed like another collection of expenses and problems.

Now he could already imagine it becoming a functioning workshop again. It wouldn’t be permanent or nearly as polished as the facility they’d lost, but it would be enough to get them working.

Alexander turned to Bob.

"One more thing. We need proper work uniforms. Shirts with the Second Life Workshop name printed on them, five per person."

Bob immediately opened his notebook again.

Naturally.

"Collared shirts or regular shirts?"

"Regular shirts should be fine."

"Color?"

Alexander considered it. "Black. Check everyone’s sizes first."

"I have a friend who does printing for a reasonable price. If the shirts are available, he might be able to finish them by tomorrow before we leave Station One."

"That fast?"

"I can ask."

Alexander looked around at the workers.

"Go ahead. I’d like to see everyone in uniform tomorrow if possible. Make sure everyone has proper safety gear too."

"Yes, boss."

Alexander addressed the rest of the group.

"Everyone goes home tonight and packs whatever you’ll need for the workweek. Tomorrow morning, the bus will be waiting at Station One. Bob will coordinate the trip."

Bob continued writing.

"We’ll start with the warehouse and accommodations. Once everything is ready and properly inspected, we’ll move the restoration operations here."

Alexander looked around at them.

"Thank you, everyone."

The workers began discussing what needed to be done before Alexander had even officially dismissed the meeting. Mario was already talking about the bunkhouse roof while another group discussed where to put the additional washrooms.

Alexander listened.

For the first time since he’d seen the workshop burning on his phone screen, its future didn’t feel nearly as uncertain.

The original building was damaged, and getting it rebuilt would take time and money. Until then, operations would remain limited.

But the things that mattered most were still there.

His customers hadn’t disappeared.

His workers were staying.

More than that, they were willing to help him rebuild all the way.

Alexander smiled.

Maybe resilience and grit didn’t sound quite so much like words from a motivational poster after all.