Finally

by R. L. Mathewson

  That was it.

  She hadn’t seen or heard from him since. She’d assumed that she could expect him to avoid her at home like he did at work. It would probably make this easier, Charlie thought as she found herself watching her boss/landlord walk into her apartment wearing a pair of black boxers and another glare. She took another bite of cereal as she ran her eyes over him, taking him in from his messy short black hair all the way down to his legs, noting all those tan muscles in between and couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t dress like this for work. It would certainly help boost employee morale, Charlie decided with a wistful sigh.

  “What are you guys doing in here? I thought I asked you to leave Charlie alone,” Devin said, only to be met with blank stares.

  “Why are you in here?” Dustin asked, blinking up at his father.

  Eyes narrowing, Devin said, “I was looking for you.”

  “You didn’t knock,” Abbi pointed out, making Charlie bite her lip to stop herself from smiling.

  “You’re supposed to knock,” Dustin said with a sad shake of his head as he picked up his glass of chocolate milk and carefully took a sip.

  “And did you knock?” Devin asked, reaching over to run his fingers through his son’s messy hair.

  “I’m having breakfast with my lady,” Dustin explained with an adorable smile.

  There was a sigh and then, “I’m sorry if they bothered you,” Devin said as he plucked Abbi off the bed and set her down on her feet before reaching for Dustin.

  “They were no bother,” Charlie promised even as she decided that it would probably be a good idea to pick up more Hostess Cupcakes and chocolate milk for her new BFF.

  *-*-*-*

  “What did we talk about, guys?” Devin asked, leaning back against the wall painted with a large smiling sun as he glanced down at his phone and went over the orders that needed to go out today.

  “Many things, Daddy,” Abbi said, nodding solemnly as she leaned back against him, making his lips twitch.

  “That’s true,” Devin said, only to frown when he noticed all the online orders that were waiting for him.

  Not that he was complaining, far from it.

  When he’d started this business five years ago, he honestly hadn’t expected to be doing this well. His only goal had been to be able to make enough money so that he could take care of his children. Up until that point, he’d been working full-time as a police officer and pulling in shifts on the side as an EMT. He’d never planned on quitting, but then again, he’d also never planned on becoming a single father at twenty-two.

  After Heather told him that she was pregnant, Devin realized that he was going to have to make some difficult decisions. He’d loved what he did, the pay had been good, benefits had been great, and it would have allowed him to take care of his children, but he’d wanted more. He wanted to watch his children grow up and be there for all the big moments and that meant starting over.

  He gave up 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 was very active on social media, keeping all two-hundred and fifty thousand followers engaged, and…

  He needed to stop thinking about her, Devin reminded himself as he turned off his phone and slid it back in his pocket. That lasted for all of thirty seconds before he found himself thinking about how fucking adorable she’d looked this morning, sitting on her bed in her smiley face pajamas with a bowl of Fruit Loops on her lap, smiling at something Dustin said, and-

  He really needed to have another talk with the kids about leaving her alone.

  “Daddy?” Abbi said, dragging his attention down to find her staring up at him through innocent baby blue eyes.

  “Yes, baby girl?” Devin asked as he crouched down so that he could talk to her.

  “You remember that we love you, right?” she asked with the sweetest smile that he’d ever seen, making him narrow his eyes on her before he shifted his attention to find his son watching him with a devious smile that immediately turned innocent.

  “Yes,” Devin said cautiously as he shifted his attention back to his daughter. “Why?”

  “No reason?” Abbi said, sounding really fucking hopeful.

  “What did you do?” D
evin asked even as he kissed her forehead simply because he couldn’t help himself. She was his baby girl…no matter how much she terrified him.

  “Why do you think we did something bad, Daddy?” Abbi asked, blinking at him and-

  “Oh, thank god, you’re here,” a woman said, drawing his attention to find their teacher standing in the doorway looking really fucking relieved and found himself frowning because he didn’t remember her having gray hair when he met her last month.

  Then again, something told him that his children might have something to do with that, especially when Abbi said, “Just remember that we love you, Daddy,” with a nod that Dustin matched as he added, “A lot.”

  Chapter 2

  “What’s new?” Charlie asked absently as she double-checked to make sure that she’d put a new memory card in her camera.

  “That armoire by the back wall,” T.J. said, gesturing to an incredibly beautiful armoire in the back as Charlie stepped out of the way as two men carried a dresser towards the shipment room.

  “That’s so beautiful,” Charlie said, walking over to the armoire with an intricate Celtic design running down the side as she took in the large double-doors and the drawers and couldn’t help but wonder what this one hid.

  Sometimes when she worked late at night, Charlie came down here and looked around, curious to see Devin’s latest designs, which usually led to her spending a few hours trying to figure out where the hidden compartments were until she finally gave up and looked at the cheat-sheet that came with every piece of furniture that left this building. Deciding that she would come back later to have a better look, Charlie took a few pictures for the website before she stepped back with a wistful sigh, wishing that she could justify the cost because she would love to own something this beautiful.

  “Can you send me the specs?” Charlie asked, forcing her attention away from the beautiful armoire before she did something stupid like asking how much it was because she knew that even with her employee discount that she couldn’t afford it. She had to save her money, Charlie reminded herself even as she found herself looking back, unable to help but notice that it was the perfect size for her living room/bedroom.

  “He’d probably sell it to you at a discount,” T.J. said with a pointed look at the armoire that she really didn’t need, but really, really, really wanted.

  It was so beautiful, Charlie thought, biting back a groan because she had to be good and save her money. She wasn’t going to ask, she reminded herself.

  Definitely wasn’t going to ask because she didn’t need to know.

  She had to be good.

  Stick to her plan and…

  “How much is it?” Charlie found herself asking as she sent a hopeful look at the most beautiful thing that she’d ever seen in her life.

  “Five thousand dollars,” T.J. said, before adding, “after our employee discount,” destroying what little hope she had that she could afford it.

  One day, Charlie told herself as she forced herself to look away.

  “Yeah, I’ll just go put that online,” Charlie said, earning a chuckle as she headed towards the back stairwell that led to the second floor and pouted every step of the way.

  When she reached the second floor, Charlie bit back a curse and prayed that she made it to her office before-

  “There you are!” Kelly, the incredibly beautiful woman that Devin hired two years ago to take over customer service, said with one of those warm smiles that she gave everyone as she walked over to Charlie, carrying a white bakery box that probably had two jelly donuts because they were Charlie’s favorite, and-

  Charlie didn’t trust her.

  While everyone loved Kelly and couldn’t say enough nice things about her, Charlie didn’t like her and even though that probably made her a horrible person, she just couldn’t help it. It was something about the way that her smiles never quite matched the look in her eyes and the way she acted like everyone was her best friend, and…

  She just seemed fake.

  There really was no other way to explain it.

  “Look what I got for you!” Kelly said with a conspiratory wink as she popped open the box and presented Charlie with two powdered jelly donuts.

  “I actually already grabbed some on the way,” Charlie said, absently gesturing to her backpack with a disappointed sigh. “But thank you anyway, Kelly.”

  With an over-the-top pout, Kelly said, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry, but thank you,” Charlie said, already moving to head down the back hallway.

  “Okay,” Kelly said with a sad sigh, turning around only to get a calculating look in her eye that Charlie almost missed before it was gone and that fake smile that she was used to seeing slipped back in place.

  Curious, Charlie followed the other woman’s gaze and-

  Yup, definitely time to get to work, she decided when she saw Devin coming their way. With that in mind, Charlie headed down the back hallway, past the storage rooms and the supply closets until she reached the part of the hallway where the sunlight streaming in through the second-floor windows didn’t reach and kept going. She didn’t bother turning on any lights as she went since she already knew that nobody else was going to be coming down here. When she reached the door at the end of the dark hallway, she breathed a sigh of relief that she’d made it to her office without having to endure another glaring session from her boss.

  In seconds, Charlie was stepping into her sanctuary. With a sigh, she toed off her shoes and kicked them aside into their customary spot. She placed her camera on the bookshelf that she’d helped herself to from one of the storage rooms, grabbed the lunch that she’d made to save money and the small white pastry bag holding her precious jelly donuts out of her backpack before dropping it by the door. She placed her lunch in the mini-fridge that she’d snuck in here a few years ago before dropping her donuts on her desk, which she may have also helped herself to from storage, grabbed the remote and turned on the large flat-screen television that she may have also been forced to sneak in here.

  After selecting a movie for background noise, Charlie grabbed her second favorite Slytherin glass, walked back over to the mini-fridge, filled it with ice from the mini-ice machine that she probably wasn’t supposed to have in here either, grabbed a Coke out of the fridge, and placed it on her desk before she grabbed her camera and got to work. Twenty minutes later, she found herself staring at the beautiful armoire from downstairs, making sure that it looked perfect in this resolution while she tried to force her finger to click publish, knowing that it would probably be sold by the end of the day.

  Maybe she could do this, Charlie told herself, absently nodding as she thought it over. She had the money in her account to cover it. She’d have to readjust a few things, push her deadline back a few months, but she could do this, she told herself only to sigh as she finally forced herself to hit save. As much as she would love to get her hands on that beautiful armoire, Charlie wanted to start her own business more. She’d already dragged her feet long enough. It was time to-

  “I wanted to talk to you about something,” came the softly spoken words that had Charlie slowly turning her head and taking in the large man sitting in the oversized leather chair that she may have helped herself to from the waiting room and couldn’t help but wonder why Devin Bradford was in her office.

  Well, technically it was his office since he owned the building, but since he hadn’t stepped foot in this room since he’d banished her in here five years ago, she was surprised to find him in here. She still wasn’t sure what happened. One day, she was stuck in a cramped, tiny office with too much light, squeezed in between the bathrooms and the break-room, making it impossible for her to focus, and the next…

  T.J. was meeting her by the back door one morning with a sympathetic smile and announced that he was supposed to show her to her new office. When he gestured for her to follow him upstairs, she’d hesitated when she realized that the only other office available was the one
by the stairs. A moment later, Charlie was following him upstairs, debating on handing in her two weeks’ notice immediately or waiting until she found a new job because there was no way that she would have been able to get anything done if she had to deal with the noises coming from the shop below or the sounds of people coming and going all day.

  She just couldn’t do it.

  Before she had a chance to figure out what she was going to do, he was walking past the small office by the stairs and heading towards the back-storage rooms. Curious, she followed him, noting the sympathetic glances that he kept sending her, and couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing when he opened the door to the extra storage room that nobody used and announced that this was her new office. Since it worked for her, she’d absently waved off his apology and set to work creating the perfect workspace.

  “What did you want to talk about?” Charlie asked, unable to help but wonder why he was in here talking to her when he normally had T.J. deal with her if he had a question or needed to tell her something.

  “I wanted to…” Devin started to say only to frown when his gaze shifted to her desk. “Where did you get this?” he asked, already getting up so that he could run his hand over the top of her desk.

  “I found it?” Charlie said, watching as he leaned over so that he could run his hands over the front of her desk as his curious gaze took in every detail as well as the dents, and scrapes that marked her desk.

  “Where?” he asked, running his hand over the top as he moved around the desk and-

  She found herself jumping out of her chair and stumbling out of the way when he moved to crouch down so that he could run his fingertips over the drawers, nobs, and-

  Click.

  “Those aren’t mine,” Charlie found herself saying when a hidden drawer slid open, revealing her secret stash of candy bars.