working girl » tommy shelby.

chapter twelve

 There was something different about Tommy when he stepped out of the business meeting with Alfie Solomons. He had made Rosie stay outside, claiming it was for her own safety and nothing else. She didn't believe a word that left his mouth, but she obeyed his instructions. Tommy had never been one to discuss business around Rosie, even before the War. She was often told to stay upstairs while her father and Tommy chatted about money, horses and the races. It was when Tommy was first starting out in the business and he was still young and uninformed, but Rosie's father taught him a lot about the world. Tommy would have been on top of the world if the War hadn't interrupted his plans. They had taken away four years of his life that he was never going to get back and Rosie's heart broke for him and the millions of people that had suffered but she knew Tommy, he wouldn't let it drag him down.

The bruises and swelling on his face had gone down massively on the journey to London. It was obvious that Tommy had been involved in a beating and occasionally, people would gawp for a little longer than needed. They hurriedly turned away when Tommy shot an intimidating look in their track, letting people know that he was soon to be the boss around London streets. Whether the expansion to London would work or not, was a different story, but Tommy was a determined man who was not going to give up easily on the fight.

"What's he like?" Rosie asked, referring to Alfie Solomons, as the two of them strolled hand and hand through London streets. There was a busy market on and people were bumping into each other, shopping sometimes falling to the floor, but Tommy walked through the crowd, unphased by everything and everyone. There was stuff on his mind, more than just the meeting with Alfie. She knew about the Italians and how they had beat him to a pulp, but his meeting with Alfie was a mystery to her.

"Like every other bloke," he answered frankly. Rosie shook her head and sighed, letting Tommy know that she was getting annoyed with him and his mardy attitude. "Do you want to see our new club?"

Rosie perked up at the comment and nodded her head, her lips curving into a smile. "It's yours."

"No, it's ours," he corrected. "And John's and Arthur's but they're just going to be using it to their own advantage and not actually do any work."

"You never know, they might surprise you. When do I get to meet your family?"

"You've already met John and Arthur, remember?" A smirk was on his face, letting Rosie know that he was only messing around with her and that there was no offence in the meaningless remark.

"Oh, I remember but seriously, what about your Aunt? I've seen her walking around before and she scares me," Rosie admitted.

"Polly knows about you, she saw you leave the house after you got pissed."

"Does she know about the brothel?"

"Yeah."

"And what did she say?" she asked, her concern obvious in her voice.

"Nothing much."

Rosie didn't say anything else and ended the conversation. She was aware that people would judge her because of her prior occupation and it didn't bother her that much, it was always going to happen. To have Tommy's family judge her would be the worst, she didn't want them to look down on her because of the way that she used to survive. Things had changed radically in just over a month and Rosie had found herself in a healthier place, a happier place, four years after her life had turned to nothing but a long line of disaster and heartbreak.