THAILIANA WILKINSON
Thailiana busied herself by washing up used glasses, the Garrison was strangely empty for midday on a Monday which led to a lack of things to do. It was boring to say the least, she had nobody to talk to as Grace hadn't started her shift yet.
"Thailiana!"
Her head shot up at the sound of the eldest Shelby brother's voice, eyebrows raising in surprise.
"Hi, Arthur." She smiled widely at him, placing down the now clean glass on its shelf. "How are you?"
"I'm great, just dealing with family business, eh!"
The brunette moved her attention towards Thomas after nodding at the man's words, who stood beside his sibling. He looked rather handsome, his lips forming a small smile as their eyes met. The action didn't go unnoticed by his aunt, who glanced between the two in curiosity.
"I'm Polly, their aunt."
"Nice to meet you." Thailiana grinned at the intimidating woman, hoping she'd get a smile in return. She did, shockingly enough, although it was only a small one. "I'm Thailiana."
"Yes, I've heard of you." The older woman smirked, glancing knowingly at Tommy. "You're the barmaid my nephew took the races, correct?"
"I am."
"Well, I must say, you seem lovely."
"Oh, thank you." The brunette stuttered, her face heating up at the unexpected compliment. She was quite happy that his family approved of her, though it had no importance as they were not together. "So do you."
Polly's smirk only grew at the girl's uneasiness, amused by the fact such a timid being could be drawn to Tommy. She was more surprised that her nephew had taken a liking to her, she seemed too innocent and calm to be his type of woman. Or maybe that's exactly what he needed, someone that could ground him and cool him down.
"Right," Thomas interrupted, nodding his head towards his friend. "Four glasses and a bottle of whiskey, please love."
The trio walked into the snug, joining John who'd been waiting, and left Thailiana alone with the couple of men who sat in the pub. She grabbed a tray and placed four glasses on it, taking the bar's finest whiskey before she placed them on the window sill to the private room. Tommy grabbed them, his hands lightly brushing over the woman's soft ones. The contact caused a blush to arise on the brunette's cheeks and she quickly dipped her head down, her hair covering her face, in hopes he wouldn't notice the bright pink tint to her skin.
The shutters were now closed, giving the Shelby's the privacy they needed. Thailiana felt bored out of her mind, they'd been in there for over fives minutes and she occupied herself by looking through the paper. Nothing interesting was happening, only news from the football games.
She was distracted by Finn Shelby who rushed into the pub, pushing the door of the snug open and screaming words that Thailiana definitely hadn't expected.
"Tommy, we've been done over!"
The brunette watched in confusion as the family hurried out, wondering what had happened. She shook her head and went back to reading the newspaper as she mindlessly flicked through the thin pages. Their business had nothing to do with her, but she knew she'd end up asking Thomas about it the next time they were alone.
-
He came back much later in the day, the bar was busier than it had been and Thailiana finally had something to do. But as she'd been working all day, she let herself have a break. Grace was also there to help and she always let her colleague do most of the work anyways, so Thailiana decided it was the blonde's turn to do it.
She opened the door to the snug, gently shutting it behind her and walking over to sit on the green leather sofa beside Tommy's chair. He sat, smoking a cigarette, with a bottle of whiskey and a single glass next to it. He pushed the half empty glass towards the brunette and she gladly finished it.
"Are you alright, Tommy?"
"I've been better."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Thailiana inquired, placing her crossed arms on the table as she leaned closer to him. The man refrained from looking at her cleavage, that was now exposed to him through the soft pink blouse she was wearing, the first button was undone and allowed it to show her skin. He couldn't help his thoughts about her body, though, he hadn't done anything with a woman since the pretty barmaid came into his life and he was feeling the effects of it.
"Finn almost died today, because of me." Thomas replied, taking a drag from his cigarette that seemed to be permanently stitched to his hand. "The Lees were angry, from the races, and wanted to have their revenge. It was meant for me."
"And neither of you died, why aren't you happy?"
Polly Gray walked in before he could answer, glancing between the two before giving Thailiana a look. She nodded at the woman before standing from her seat, placing her hand on Tommy's shoulder as she passed behind him. He put his own on hers before they both removed them, it was the brunette's way of telling him that they'd speak later and he understood. They seemed to often have silent conversations together, actions spoke instead.
Thailiana went back to work, her mind focused on the Shelby man and the warmth on her hand still hadn't faded.
"So, how were the races?"
"They were..." The brunette failed to find a word to describe her day with Thomas, and decided to go with the one who described it best without giving too many details. "Interesting."
"What did you get up to?" Grace seemed too curious about their time together and it left her colleague suspicious.
Oh, I almost got sexually assaulted by a disgusting, perverted man and I think I may care too much about Thomas Shelby now but other than that not much.
"Just dancing and drinking, really."
"Sounds fun! Nothing happened between you two then?"
"No."
Grace grinned discreetly, hopefully it'd stay that way. She wished it would, it'd make her job much easier.
-
The bar was closed for the afternoon, the two barmaids were clearing out all the old stuff out of the basement and Arthur was counting all the money they'd earned.
"These cigarettes have a strange smell, Arthur. They smell like rotting water, and look, rats have got at some of them." Grace showed the tattered pack of cigarettes to her boss, who harshly grabbed it out of her hand. "They're stolen, are they not?"
"Don't ask."
"You keep them on a boat."
"What do you care?"
Thailiana walked into the room where they both were, holding a box full of cigarette packets.
"Thailiana, can you check my adding up, please?"
She nodded, placing the cardboard on the table before going over to Arthur and leaning over the desk to be able to check. The brunette rolled her eyes as she saw him glance at her behind, gently nudging him so that he'd stop.
"You know, you should make a new start with this place." Grace spoke up, making Thailiana jump at the sudden sound. "Do it properly. These cigarettes are not fit to sell."
Both barmaids looked at the eldest Shelby as he sniffed on the cigarettes, commenting about how they smelt of Gallipoli.
"You should find a new place to store them."
"It has to be far away from the coppers."
"But not rats?"
"All the wharfs have rats, Grace."
"What's wrong with a dry warehouse?" Thailiana intervened, her curiosity getting the best of her. She felt the blonde's glare on her back but she payed no attention to it.
"Tommy's orders."
"What orders?"
The brunette frowned as she glanced between the two, Grace seemed overly keen on knowing all about their business. She sent a warning glance towards the man, she hoped he wouldn't overshare.
"Always keep Contraband near to petrol boat moorings."
"Don't boats get searched?"
"We moor them at junctions, so there's more than one way out." Arthur smirked and tapped his head with his index finger. "No lock within a mile so we can move stuff fast."
"Your brother doesn't obey the law but he has rules." The barmaid nodded, moving out of the room. "He's a very precise man, your brother."
"Is my adding up right, Thailiana?"
"It is now." She grinned at him, patting his shoulder. "It wasn't bad, though. You're getting better, Arthur."
Thailiana left the room, joining Grace who'd begun clearing out the boxes. She helped them, placing them at the back door, out of the view of customers.
"Why all the questions?"
"Don't meddle with things that have nothing to do with you, Thailiana." The blonde spitefully said the woman's name, annoyed by her presence that seemed to interfere with every bit of her plan.
"How hypocritical."
The two stayed silent after that, neither wanting to communicate with the other. One was too close to getting caught in a lie, and the other too close to finding out the truth. Well, some of the truth. It was quiet until the very end, where they locked up together and they were in a hurry to leave. Their hopes were stopped as they both turned to find Thomas Shelby standing in their way.
"Arthur tells me you've been asking questions." He spoke up, focusing on Grace. "About how we run our business and how we get our booze and where we keep it."
"I'm just trying to help." The blonde defended herself and Thailiana snickered silently. She shut up as soon as Tommy sent a look her way.
"Alright." He nodded, though he barely believed her. "Thailiana, you and I are going for a walk. Grace, you go home."
"Where to?" The brunette gawked at him, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. It was past eleven at night, the sky was dark and cloudy. Where could he possibly want to take her?
Grace watched the two walk off and huffed, it was getting harder and harder to get closer to Thomas. As the time passed, they got closer and it made the blonde's job harder than it would've been had Thailiana not been there to intervene. She thought about ways to get rid of her long enough to get the answers she needed and came to the conclusion that she'd need to cause a disruption in their relationship. Perhaps she'd make an advance towards Tommy, kiss him and distract him, that was bound to hurt her colleague enough for her to stay away. And as soon as Grace got home, she began creating her plan.