Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,4
his apartment and moved back in with his parents to save money, took every shift that he could get his hands on, worked for his Uncle Jared on his days off, and saved every penny while he tried to figure out what he was going to do. He’d considered going to work for his uncle full-time, knowing that his uncle would allow him to have more control over his schedule so that he could spend time with his children, but…
It wouldn’t have been enough.
He needed something that would allow him to make his own hours. He’d never planned on going into woodworking, but he’d realized pretty quickly that it was his only option. So, late at night after he came home and the only thing that he wanted to do was take a hot shower and pass out, he’d go into his father’s old workshop and work until he was too fucking exhausted to see straight before he finally allowed himself to pass out for the night. Then he would get up the next day and do it all over again. He’d managed to sell a few custom pieces, did some cabinetry work, but it wasn’t going to be enough.
His Uncle Mark asked him if he wanted to help him out with Bradford Furniture. His uncle was looking to retire and needed help until it was time for his youngest son to take over. Since it allowed him to spend time with his children, Devin jumped at the chance. By the time that his children were born, he’d had enough money put away so that he could rent a small two-bedroom house with a large garage that he was able to turn into his workshop. His uncle sent him the orders that he needed filled and sometimes he’d send him something that needed to be fixed, which was how Devin came up with the idea for Bradford Creations.
A customer came across an old chest that one of his great-grandfathers had built. It had some damage, a bit of wear and tear, but the problem was that they couldn’t seem to get it open. His uncle sent it to him to see if he could restore it, which he did. It wasn’t until he was putting the finishing touches on the old chest that he found the small latch that opened a secret compartment at the bottom.
He’d been amazed at how well it had been hidden and the craftsmanship. That had led him to take a closer look at some of the furniture that had been passed down through the family over the years. He’d found several hidden compartments, each one more intricate than the last. He’d spent weeks studying them, trying to figure out how they worked, and how they’d managed to work them into the design without giving anything away.
That had led him to trying to work hidden compartments into some of his designs. He’d quickly realized that wouldn’t work since the compartments had been easy to find. He’d decided to have another look at some of the stuff that had been passed down through the family. He took a few bureaus and chests apart so that he could get a better idea of how they’d managed to pull it off and after a few months of trial and error, he’d finally figured it out.
He’d started playing with ideas, chests, bureaus, beds, bookshelves, cabinets until he ran out of space in that tiny two-bedroom house. His uncle started featuring some of his work on Bradford Furniture’s website and not long after that, Devin found himself the proud owner of an old fire station and in desperate need of someone to handle all the online stuff and marketing.
That’s where Charlie came in.
Even as he hired her, he knew that it was a mistake, but thankfully it wasn’t one that he regretted. Whatever she did in that back office had made Bradford Creations incredibly successful. He had orders coming in from all over the world, people willing to pay top price to get their hands on his designs, and more work than he could handle, and it was all because of the small woman that he’d been avoiding for the last five years.
Curious, he decided to see what his son’s new best friend had been up to. He pulled up Bradford Creation’s website and couldn’t help but notice that she’d been very busy lately. She kept his blog up to date, made sure to feature his latest designs, answered questions, and