working girl » tommy shelby.

chapter nine

Once Campbell had left the hospital ward, making sure he gave Rosie a cunning look which made her skin crawl as he passed her on the corridor, she made her way back to Tommy's bed, preparing herself for the lecture that was bound to be thrown her way. What she did not expect was silence, complete and utter-silence from the man who had been begging her to leave the brothel for weeks. His eyes remained absorbed on the white, thin bedding that the hospital had provided, his finger stroking the blood stains on the material, his other hand holding a cigarette. He was deep in thought, his mind running a hundred miles per hour as he thought about the past, future and present. Tommy was stuck, he had to obey the orders of people higher than him even if it meant that he would be in danger and possibly the family.

"What did Campbell have to say?" she asked, her voice nervous and quiet. She was afraid of Tommy in that moment - the things he would do and say. There was something different about the way that he looked at her when he finally raised his eyes from the bed sheets to her face that was full of fear. It was like they were staring at each other for ages, mentally telling each other about the last seven years and the things that had happened over the time yet when Tommy finally pulled his eyes away from Rosie's, the two of them went back to being reserved and quiet about their secrets and pasts.

"He said enough," he answered, his voice husky and low. He continued to stare out of the hospital window, the view being the brown houses of Birmingham that all lined up to make one long street and the factories that left clouds of smoke floating around the already depressing area. This was Tommy's land and he wasn't going to let no bastard inspector ruin what he had spent years building up. "Your money fell on the floor," he said bitterly, pointing to the ground with his cigarette.

Rosie hesitantly bent down and picked up the pile of money. She felt ashamed as she lowered to her knees to collect what she had earned, and Tommy's harsh gaze did not stop the unsettling feeling that had made its way into her stomach. Rosie was desperate for the money, she was so close to reaching her goal, so she could finally move to America. The boss had upped the rent at the brothel, taking most of Rosie's wages, so every little bit of money helped her towards earning her dreams. "Are you judging me?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm just upset," he admitted. There was more to the situation than Tommy was letting on and as much as Rosie wanted to find out the truth, she knew that pushing Tommy to speak about things would only lead to him being angry with her and she did not want to be on the firing line. Tommy gulped before sitting up straight, ignoring the rush of pain that ran through his body. "Will you fuck him again?"

"It's my job, Tommy."

"I can offer you a way out."

"How?"

"I've got a club that you can work at or own it with me, John and Arthur, whatever you fucking want." Tommy paused and sat up, so he was directly facing Rosie. He grabbed her chin gently with his hand and turned her to look at him. She noticed his lips curve into a smile as he prepared himself to tell Rosie the good news.  "If you want to earn fast-money then you can put on shows at the club, like an exotic dancer or whatever they call em'. You could hire your own girls, be the boss of them and have things the way that you want them. You won't be fucking men every night, Rosie. Instead, you can be your own person."

"Tommy, that's so kind of you but - "

"Don't say no, please. I'm giving you a once in a life time chance here, Rosie. The only issue is, it's down in London but if you ever wanted to come back to Birmingham then I'll come and get you or I'll pay for your train, whatever you want. Just think about how good your life could be, your own bloody club." Tommy spoke quick, his voice full of happiness as he continued to reel off different ideas that excited Rosie but also frightened her. "We could be business partners."