Arabella || Peaky Blinders [Michael Gray]

thirty two

Chapter Thirty Two
"You're the worst."

"Why am I here?"

"Arabella," Tommy stated, nodding towards her as he took his cigarette out of his mouth. "Have a seat."

"Tommy, why am I here?" Arabella repeated.

He took a brief glance at their surroundings before taking hold of Arabella's arm and moving her out of the way of prying ears. "Right, see that gentleman over there." Tommy pointed towards a dark haired boy, maybe a year or two older than Arabella. "I need you to, uh, get to know him."

"Are you kidding me?" Arabella almost snapped, eyes growing wide in realisation. "Oh my god, you're whoring me out–"

"Arabella," Tommy warned.

"No. You–" She jabbed a finger at his chest. "You can't just–"

"Listen, his name is Bonnie, he's Aberama Gold's son," Tommy began to explain.

"I don't care."

"Look, Aberama wants me to help his son become a boxing champion, in return for his help with the Italians," Tommy continued.

"So?"

"I'm not sure I can promise that. So if I can't–"

"Nope."

Tommy sighed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "Arabella."

"I don't care, I'm not gonna–" she cut off, lowering her voice. "I'm not gonna fucking sleep with him, Tommy."

"All right, you don't have to do that, just–"

"I'm not leading him on either," she interrupted, holding her stare firmly.

"I gave you your job back," Tommy reminded.

"Yes, and this isn't in the job description," she pointed out. "So what exactly has that got anything to bloody do with it?"

"This is business," Tommy stated. His eyes shifted past her, landing on the table in the middle of Charlie's yard. There were only a few empty seats left. Tommy took a drag of his cigarette. "Look, you don't have to fuck him. Just make a good impression."Arabella narrowed her eyes into a glare. "All I need is for him to be interested in you."

She spared a glance over her shoulder, eyes wandering over Bonnie Gold once more. "All right. Fine." Arabella released a heavy breath of exasperation, turning back to Tommy. "You're the worst, by the way."

"Yes, you've made that very clear," Tommy told her, exhaling a small cloud of smoke.

"Right," Arabella said, snatching the glass of whiskey from his hands and downing it in one. "How do I look?"

"Wonderful."

Arabella gave him a pointed look in response, turning her back to Tommy. Her eyes made a quick glance over the table, sights setting on the empty seat beside Bonnie. She drew in a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"Hello," she greeted, forcing her warmest smile as she took a seat beside him. "I'm Arabella."

Bonnie turned his head, glancing her up and down appreciatively. His smile matched hers. "Bonnie, Bonnie Gold." He held his hand out and she took it. Bonnie's eyes flickered to hers once more before he brought her hand to his lips, placing a delicate kiss against her knuckles. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you." Arabella said, her eyes flickering over him, lingering a moment too long on his lips. "So, Bonnie, what do you do?"

"Well," he began, leaning towards her. He placed his around the back of her chair. "I'm a boxer, actually." Arabella raised her eyebrows as she nodded along. "What about you?"

Arabella crossed one leg over the other, the motion causing her dress to ride a few inches up her thighs. Bonnie's eyes followed the action closely. "I work for Tommy," she replied, leaning forwards to reach for her glass. Bonnie cleared his throat, as she took a sip of her drink, his eyes quickly snapping back up to hers. "Everything okay?" She asked him innocently. She reached her hand across to brush her hair away from her shoulder, exposing more skin.

Bonnie's gaze drifted, hovering at her glossed lips. She blinked lightly, smiling up at him. He met his eyes once more, leaning closer to her. "How would you feel about getting a drink tonight? Get to know each other a little more."

Arabella bit back the smirk threatening to tease at her lips, knowing full well that her charm had worked. "That sounds great."

She cast a glance across the table, where Tommy caught her eye. He lifted his glass in appreciation and she smiled to herself.

"So, Bonnie." Arabella leaned back in her seat, glass hovering below her lips. "Tell me some more about yourself."

A/N

Arabella is a queen.

I'm way too excited about the next chapter to wait to post it, so here comes a double update