𝐞𝐠𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 · 𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

Richard Klein was a young man, taking over his father's start-up underground betting and alcohol business when he died, alongside his brothers. He was handsome, there was no doubt about that – from his light brown hair to his charming smile. But he held an arrogant air about him that made Evelyn feel uneasy as he turned to her, looking her body up and down.

"... and you must be Miss Shelby," he grinned, walking the few steps towards her as Tommy made his way back to his seat – intently watching the interaction. "I must say, that when I imagined you from the stories that people told me, I never expected you to be this beautiful."

Evelyn felt a light flush cover her cheeks when the man lifted her hand to press a feathery kiss to the back of it – his eyes never once leaving hers. The flattery didn't seem to feel right coming from a man that wasn't Alfie, but Evelyn figured that she could play along for the sake of the meeting.

"I appreciate the compliment," Evelyn sweetly replied, looking towards her brother – causing Richard's attention to return to the situation at hand.

Without being asked, Richard took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Tommy's large desk – his eyes occasionally darting back over to Evelyn who hadn't moved from against the window. 

"Why are you here, Mr Klein?" Tommy decided to start the meeting, setting a professional atmosphere.

"I think you know why, Mr Shelby."

Evelyn bit the inside of her cheek as she watched the cocky expression that settled on Richard's face – her fingers pulling the gold necklace from under her blouse, fiddling with the crystal pendant on the chain.

"Then you understand that I have ownership of the industrial areas from Bordesley to right here in Small Heath, Mr Klein," Tommy's words were chosen with precision. "I heard what you wanted in London, they gave you the same answer that I'm going to give you."

Richards jaw clenched at Tommy's words, his blue eyes darting between the pair of Shelby siblings before he focused his attention on Evelyn.

"I heard that you had relations with Alfie Solomons," Richard tilted his head, as an almost predatory gaze settled on his face as he stared at her. "Word is that you asked around for a speakeasy – but since Mr Solomons and your brothers already have one each, I take it that they saw no need to invest in another."

Scowling, Evelyn strolled over to stand beside her brother – gripping the top of the backrest to ground herself.

"What are you proposing, Mr Klein?" Tommy huffed, already fed up with how the man opposite him was dragging out the meeting – Richard snickered before waving his arms out around him as if making a spectacle of himself.

"My father was in the process of opening his own juice joint before he passed. It's already built and stocked, never had its doors opened–"

"What do you want for it?" Evelyn questioned, glancing towards Tommy whose face was blank. Richard only sleazily smirked towards her. 

"The usual import-export," he lazily shrugged. "However, I want sixty percent of the makings, and the North of Bordesley."

Evelyn was silent, barely blinking as she took in Richard's offer. Her left hand reached into her coat pocket, pulling out her tin of cigarettes – running one over her lips before lighting it with the lighter that Tommy had left on his desk.

"I don't know if you're aware, Mr Klein, but I run the books in this company," Evelyn gestured around them, letting the smoke from her cigarette cloud the air around her. "We won't settle for sixty percent – go lower."

"The lowest we will go is fifty," Richard tried to bargain. "It'll be a half-half deal."

Tommy knocked his knuckles on his desk as he moved to lean across it – pulling the attention in the room back to him. "That's not going to work for us," he scoffed. Richard had the audacity to look surprised. 

"It's the only deal we're going to give you, Mr Shelby."

"Very well," Tommy shrugged. "No deal."

Evelyn felt her heart sink at the way Tommy immediately threw the deal off the table. That was her chance, but instead of bargaining, Tommy had pushed it aside like it was nothing – even though he knew how much she had begged for it – a countless amount of times. 

"Then I guess we'll have to discuss the next point of business, Mr Shelby," Richard brushed off his pressed trousers, holding a hand out behind him as one of his men gave him a piece of paper that he haplessly threw onto the desk.

Evelyn tried to read the scrawl of handwriting from over Tommy's shoulder – her brother pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose 

"Darby Sabini said that you would be able to import my whiskey into New York," Richard explained – dropping Sabini's name as if it held some form of power. 

Tommy tossed the letter back onto his desk as he fell back in his chair – the atmosphere becoming tense as both men stared at each other, only being broken by the cocky smile that once again graced Richard's face as he looked towards Evelyn.

"Does he think that he's intimidating," Richard laughed as if expecting the girl to join him, pointing towards Tommy as Evelyn swallowed thickly. "Trust me, Mr Shelby. I've looked the devil in the eyes and told him to fuck off, you're not scaring anybody."

Tommy hummed at Richard's words, looking towards his sister who was as unamused as him, before he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tell me, Mr Klein, did you fight in the war?"

The smirk instantly dropped from Richard's face – Evelyn hiding her own grin behind her glass of whiskey. Shaking his head, Richard let out a small 'no' under his breath.

"Then you haven't met the fucking devil," Tommy calmly spoke, but poison laced its way through his words. "If you want your whiskey imported, you're going to have to find somebody else."

Richard held Tommy's stare for what felt like hours before he abruptly stood from his chair – his legs pushing it back with his force. Evelyn felt herself instinctively shuffling closer to her brother when Richard's harsh gaze met hers – the man pointing a finger towards her.

"I'll be seeing you both very soon. Miss Shelby," he winked towards Evelyn, turning on his heel before walking out of the door after his men – slamming it shut behind him. 

Evelyn couldn't help the sinking feeling she got at the way Richard had stared at her as if she was something to be ogled – she couldn't help but think that she would be seeing the man much sooner than she thought.