Birmingham | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Part 3

"Oh, I'm family," the woman responded, her voice holding a power that intimidated (Y/N). But the younger woman knew that she had to hold her ground, so she kept her face straight and raised her eyebrows slightly, hoping to give the woman the notion that she was not convinced. Silence hung in the air before the older woman let out a sigh and began walking closer to (Y/N). "My name's Polly Gray. I'm Arthur and Tommy's aunt, and I help out quite a lot with the company...even though it'd be running a lot smoother if I were still in charge of it," she formally introduced herself and gave some background on who she was, her final statement coming out lower than the others and in an almost begrudging tone.

Now fully convinced, a slight smile formed on (Y/N)'s face as she allowed her shoulders to relax. She really didn't want to fight this woman; mostly because she had a gut feeling that the woman would win. "It's nice to meet, Ms. Gray," she said with a smile before she extended her hand, "my name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N)," she then introduced herself.

"(Y/N)..." Polly trailed off as she tried the name for herself, her tone sounding as if she was using it to try and jog her memory. "(Y/N)...you're the woman that Thomas has talked about," she said then, drawing a connection in her mind.

"He's talked about me?" (Y/N) almost gasped, a look of shock forming on her face. She didn't think that she'd be being talked about, and now she wondered how much of her story this woman already knew.

"Yes," Polly nodded as a slight grin grew on her lips. "He's said that you came to this city looking for a fresh start," was all she said on the matter, and (Y/N) took some solace in that. If she knew more than she'd just said, (Y/N) didn't want to know about it. "You've come to the right city for that, love," she added then, her grin growing.

(Y/N) wasn't quite sure how to take her statement, so she just smiled in response to it. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing. I'm sorry for stopping you," the younger woman said, her polite smile still present.

"Don't apologize," Polly brushed the apology off, "you were just doing your job," she concluded, and with that, she turned and continued to her previously intended destination.

(Y/N) took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It felt good that she'd been able to get through that conversation and found that the woman wasn't as intimidating as she looked...for now. With a slight laugh, she shook her head at her thoughts before she retreated back to the stockroom and continued on with her shift.

—

After finishing her shift, (Y/N) made sure that everything was locked up and squared away before she exited the tavern. She smiled when her eyes fell on Matthew. He was waiting, leaned up against the Garrison's exterior wall, for her. "Ready to go?" he asked once he noticed that she had exited the building.

"I am," she nodded, the two of them then starting off to her apartment.

The walk passed by rather quickly, the two only sharing some baseline conversation. When they got to her building's door, however, Matthew stopped her from going right in. "Would you want to go and get something to eat with me?" he asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

(Y/N)'s eyes widened as she took in his offer. "Asking me out on your first full day? Isn't this something that your boss would frown upon?" she teased him, trying, and failing, at keeping her grin from appearing.

Matthew grinned at her playful words. "I'll take my chances with a woman as beautiful as you," he responded cheekily, his statement making (Y/N)'s cheeks heat up. "What do you say?" he asked then, his mouth opened slightly in anticipation of her answer.

"I'd like to get something to eat with you," she agreed with him after she managed to compose herself. He seemed like he was a sweet person, and she desperately needed some more people in her life, so why not accept his invitation?