A/N: Sorry for the abandonment on this fic and my writing in general. Trying to find time to write is really difficult at the moment – and it's annoying when the inspiration is there. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations guys <3
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A consuming feeling of immense guilt swamped the new singer as she stood alone in the large, dimly lit dressing room.
Several beautiful gowns, mostly hand selected by the fashion-conscious Scarlett, lay out on the plush velvet square seat in the centre of the room. Verity had felt eerily uncomfortable, feeling as if she was losing herself as she tried on the various gorgeous dresses. They were all elegant in style, with shining crystals or diamonds – one dress with a flattering scooping back and another with a beautiful sweetheart neckline. But no matter how dazzling they were, they did not take away from the hollowing feeling in Verity's heart.
She had just finished on trying the last dress, only relying on her own opinion in the mirror's reflection as Scarlett had scarpered off around an hour ago – flocking to Arthur's beck and call like a little puppy. Verity's green eyes flickered all over her figure criticizingly, her jaw clenching slightly as she felt a complete sense of anguish at how these gowns had come to be.
She had wanted to buy them from her own money – not from Tommy Shelby's personal pocket. She didn't want to think he had any sort of hold over her.
Scarlett's words flickered into her head... 'give him a chance'
Maybe she was just reading into this with far too much assumption, immersing herself into the negativity rather than anything else.
A short series of knocks on the door caused her to jump, as Verity turned around in the golden dress. Her heart hammered heavy in her chest out of the shock, and so she found herself struggling to speak.
"C-come in..." she faltered, clearing her throat as she tried to regain composure. She was half expecting Arthur to be the one to step in, perhaps in need of her maths skills considering he and Scarlett were about as useful as a chocolate teapot when it came to sums.
However, Verity was indeed surprised when Tommy walked in, his cool eyes shielded by the brim of his flat cap. She felt immediately exposed and vulnerable, despite the expensive fabrics of the dress.
"So, these are your purchases then?" he asked firstly, placing his back against the wall near the door, removing his dark cap – barely entering the room as the clicked shut behind him.
Verity's breath caught up in her throat, feeling as if she was being choked by the invisible hand of her vulnerability in this new situation. She had been under the thumb of men before, constantly crushed and controlled by them when studying for her degree – it was like she was a poor donkey, and these men dangled the carrot in front of her, forced her to accept things to instil the belief in her that she could never make it alone.
Verity had never wanted to feel like that since then, and Tommy's earlier insisting of using his money had roused those suppressed emotions out of their aching slumber.
She realised she hadn't spoken in a moment or two, and turned again to face her reflection, as it felt safer than the icy penetration of his stare.
"Yes... Scarlett picked most of them for me." Verity replied, a part of her feeling guilty her tone was so cold shouldered- but she needed to make Tommy aware that she did not want his charity. She decided to bite the bullet and have a brave conversation with the man.
Glancing over her shoulder, her dark curls fell flattering down the slight low back of the dress, her glittering eyes settling on his own properly for the first time since he'd entered the room. Tommy would be lying to himself if he did not acknowledge the way her gaze caused a differentiation in his usual depressive emotions.
"There's actually something I wish to talk to you about." Verity started, clearing her throat as her eyes fell to the red carpeted floor – her fingers twining together as if to act as some distraction from her words.
Tommy sensed her nerves like a blood hound sniffing for a rabbit carcass, but his expression never once betrayed his suspicions – as he remained as collected as he had been since he entered the room.
"And what's that?" he asked, his voice only just laced with a hint of curiosity as if he never really quite wanted to show a heavy level of interest – lest that conspire against the reputation of nonchalance he always tried to portray.
Verity set herself down on the very edge of the square velvet seat, her hands clasped neatly in her lap, her eyes willingly looking into Tommy's now as she wanted him to treat this matter with the level of attention she felt it deserved.
"Although I... I appreciate your kindness in offering me that money today-" she started, and already could feel Tommy's attention wilting away when he turned his head away, crystal blue eyes rolling with a muffled 'fucking hell'. His hand snakes inside his coat pocket for the pack of cigarettes he always kept there as if to distract himself from the matter at hand.
Verity's anger burned off on the tinder of frustration, how dare he treat it like she was going on about something meaningless!?
"I don't want your gifts, Tommy. I don't want you insisting I have to take from you when I don't need to." She growled loudly, standing up from her seat so she felt equal to his level. "It's not that I'm being ungrateful. I just want you to respect the fact I can stand on my own two feet."
It was Tommy's turn to surprise her then, and the level of anger in his eyes when he directed his potent stare into her own had her cowering for a moment.
"I overheard Scarlett and Arthur talking before when I passed outside the office." Tommy snapped, hesitating to slip the unlit cigarette between his lips at that precise moment, "I heard Scarlett telling Arthur that you are afraid of me? Afraid to take gifts from me because you think I'll have some kind of rule over you?" he hissed, his voice full of what sounded like shock and betrayal mixed into one toxic emotion.
Although Verity was listening to his vexed words, she couldn't help but feel a pit of sadness and foolishness in the base of her stomach. Scarlett had blabbed all of that back to Arthur like some gossiping child? It hurt her to think that she had confided only to be deceived.
"I.... I've just had that experience before in life Tommy, and I don't want it again." She explained, her previously angry eyes softening, framed by fluttering dark lashes and the slightest glimmer of tears. "If you can promise me now that it wasn't about having some control over me, we can put these worries to rest."
Upon her words, Tommy's mind flickered back to that fateful meet up with Solomons – his gritty desire to have his ally run Verity out of her business. Tommy's own selfish greed far outshining any real morals. He knew what he had wanted and he was going to get it – controlling her life to achieve his own goals –
"That was never what it was about." Tommy quickly snapped himself out of his own stream of thoughts to give Verity a plain and collected answer. "I just wanted to help make you feel more comfortable here – next to Scarlett and all her-" the Blinder gestured his head to the right where clothing racks were stuffed full of glamorous dresses and shoes. "-Shite."
Taking a moment, Verity scanned his expression – waited for anything; any sign of a lie, any sign of relenting – but it never came. She had to trust him for otherwise she would be constantly torturing herself for the rest of her life.
"Okay." She finally breathed, "Then thank you Tommy. But you don't need to gift me. Once I get enough money to buy frivolous items such as dresses and jewellery then I will." Verity added, turning back to the mirror once again to examine her appearance, before another thought fluttered into her mind as her pretty eyes locked onto the background of her reflection where Tommy was obviously drinking in her image, cigarette now exhaling a translucent grey plume of smoke.
"Who is Eli Valentine?" she asked, pivoting on the spot to face him, where his eyes immediately snapped up to hers as if to disguise his drawn-out focus on her figure in the flattering dress. He frowned immediately to her question.
"Did you not hear what I said to Scarlett earlier?" he remarked in response, his way of attempting to shut her down. However, the image of the dark, tall strange lingered clear in the forefront of Verity's mind – and she was not the type of woman to back down.
"I did but I'm asking you to tell me who he is." She replied firmly, her quick response almost rousing a smile on Tommy's face, it flickered there for a moment – like seeing a ghost out of the periphery of your version.
"Why are you so interested?" he then put forward, dodging the question entirely. He seemed smug about it too, cocking his head ever so slightly as his fingers drew the cigarette away from his lips momentarily.
Crossing her arms across her chest, Verity pursed her lips and tried to think of the answer to that. If she was honest, she wasn't too sure herself. Maybe it was just her genuine intrigue, he seemed a charming enough man upon the miniscule interaction she'd had with him – it fascinated her to imagine the ugly sides of business these men tangled in.
"I just wanted to know." She said, "everything you do is shrouded in mystery, it makes me wonder what could possibly be so interesting you want it kept secret." Her voice was almost a whisper by the end of the sentence, her pink lips curving into an enticing smile that Tommy found hard not to let himself fall for.
Sighing deeply, Verity knew the moment he cast his eyes down and shook his head – he had caved in and was going to give her the answers she so desired to know.
"He's another club owner here in London – he has a fancy club not too far from Camden." Tommy confided, "He's been in the business for a long time – he figures he may be able to help expanding the Eden by working with Arthur."
"So why were you there at the meeting the other day?" Verity then asked simply, gazing at him in interest.
"This club carries the Shelby name with it, therefore I like to have some involvement in decisions." His tone then fell flatter as if he wished to conclude. "I'm afraid that's about as interesting as it gets, love." He strode the couple of paces back towards the door.
"Has that given you your fill of curiosity?" he then said snarkily, and Verity couldn't quite work out if he was being sarcastic or bitter with her. She decided to play it light-hearted for the sake of them parting on a good note.
"For now." She smiled, her approach paying off – Tommy's face indicating the slightest hint of a smile as he made his way back through the dressing room door.
His footfalls became more and more undistinguishable as he walked away, and the new silence left Verity to ruminate. With Tommy gone, she was now in slight denial that Scarlett had double crossed her. She thought she was warming to the girl but could she now not be trusted? That made Verity feel very isolated indeed – working in a club where she felt like her trust could not really be left with anybody.
"Damn." She sighed to herself, standing up and facing the mirror again as her nimble fingertips worked and pulling the zip down on the back of her dress.
The glossy gold material began to fall away, exposing her fair skin. She was about to pull it away completely when the door creaked open. The former psychologist's arms lashed out like a viper to catch the falling material and pull it close to her chest.
Gazing in the reflection, she felt initial relief upon seeing it was only Scarlett – her suede over the knee boots appearing first and then followed by the rest of her. After the first flicker of relief, came the untasteful roll of bitterness and anger – an emotion that always sat uncomfortably heavy with Verity. She did not like feeling this way and often had to remind herself of the merit behind these feelings.
Scarlett could tell by her co-worker's face that she was not happy with her.
"I... kind of heard a lot of what you were talking to Tommy about." Scarlett started instantly, talking so fast it took Verity a moment to distinguish her words.
"So you're eavesdropping now as well?" Verity scoffed bitterly, tearing her eyes from Scarlett as she stared angrily at her own reflection instead.
"No – Verity, please;" Scarlett started, striding across the room as she sat behind her new friend on the well-used square velvet seat. "Tommy made it sound like I went and fucking – fucking went and blabbed everything to Arthur." She fumbled over her words out of frustration of getting her point across.
"-When I was actually explaining to him my concerns I had for you, I was saying to Arthur how you mentioned you didn't feel you could trust Tommy right now-"
"Scarlett!" Verity hissed in disbelief, that was possibly the worst thing she could do!
"No not like that!" Scarlett practically leapt up as to defend herself, "I never told on you, Verity. I wanted to see if Arthur had any ideas on how to make you feel less wary about Tommy." She then further explained, "He just said it would take time... and suggested maybe he could talk to Tommy." She stared down at her petite hands, rubbing the heel of her boot into the carpet slightly. As Verity turned to face her, she felt a wash of guilt and sadness. Maybe it was the fact there was genuine honesty in Scarlett's tone – or maybe the fact Scarlett looked like a gentle baby deer in that second with her big brown eyes and tiny frame.
"I'm sorry if I ever made you think for a second I would hurt your feelings, Verity." Scarlett expressed, pulling her platinum blonde ponytail over her shoulder as she fiddled with the strands nervously. "I just wanted to help." Her tone fell conclusive whilst her eyes searched for a sign of forgiveness from Verity.
She couldn't help but relent, pushing her anger aside as Verity shook her head softly, a weak smile possessing her lips.
"Sorry Scarlett, the way Tommy phrased it – it sounded like-"
"I was a snitch. I know. It's fine." Scarlett replied, throwing her ponytail back over her shoulder. "It's okay. You had every right to be upset, I would be."
Verity nodded at Scarlett's kind acceptance of her behaviour, she walked over and wrapped one arm around the singer whilst attempting to hold her dress up still.
"I'll try to refrain from jumping to conclusions in the future." She sighed softly next to Scarlett's ear, before drawing away. There was the kindest smile on the American girl's full pink lips as she took Verity's free hand tightly.
"We've got to stick together." Was all she said, "Me and you, we're the same. We've seen the same shit. We need to support each other."
In that moment Verity was incredibly confident she had found a friend in Scarlett, their first real tense moment and they had come out of it feeling positive. In a world where men had both pushed them down, they had come back up fighting – they were practically sisters in that rite. Verity squeezed Scarlett's hand as if to agree with her inspiring statement.
"Thank you Scarlett," she smiled widely, "I didn't know I'd find myself a friend working for the Shelby's but ... here I am." Her statement roused a small amount of laughter from the girl.
"It's me that should be thanking you," she started, "You managed to weasel information about Eli Valentine from Tommy Shelby. A feat in itself." She hollered, going to help Verity hang up the remainder of the newly bought dresses.
"You don't want to know the things I've done to Arthur this afternoon to try and get him to talk." Was all she said, a total nonchalant air to her tone that completely shot Verity off guard.
She decided not to respond to that, a frown spelling across her face with that piece of unwanted information.
However, she did secretly pat herself on the back at Scarlett's other comment – getting Tommy to talk. It was something she had previously not been very successful at – but perhaps now things were changing – maybe he was more open to the thought being honest with her.
She could only hope.
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A/N: This was kind of just a relationship establishing filler chapter so I'm sorry guys – more excitement to come in the next chapter – a proper introduction to Eli 😊