American Angel

The meeting

Polly brought Scarlett over to the head of the table where the man was standing, facing the opposite way of her, talking to Arthur. She heard the man who she had yet to hear his name mumble "Capone's daughter?" Just then Polly intervened.
          "There's someone you need to meet, Tommy." She said to the man.
He took his peaked hat off that had razor blades sewn in and placed it on the table. He turned around and he met Scarlett's eyes. She thought her eyes were blue....boy was she wrong. Nothing compared to his icy, beautiful ocean blue eyes. They stood there for what seemed like hours looking through each other's eyes. She felt like he looked right through her eyes and into her soul.
          "Fookin ell I think Tom just fell in love." Arthur joked to the rest of the group.
Tommy was pulled out of his trance by the comment and shot Arthur a look. Tommy looked over Scarlett's shoulder at Polly who was smirking at him.
          "Thomas Shelby." He said as he made eye contact again and stuck out his hand.
Scarlett was still stuck in her trance. There was something about him she just couldn't figure out.
          "And she's Scarlett Jade Capone." Arthur yelled, which snapped her out of it.
          "Just Scarlett." She said as she took his strong hand and shook it.
While they were exchanging names and shaking hands, Ada leaned over to Poll.
          "Has he ever looked at a woman that way?" She quietly asked her, even though everyone heard.
          "No. I didn't think he was capable of it." She said back.
Tommy shot them a look and then sat down at the head of the table and motioned for Scarlett to sit, which she did. He smirked over at Poll and shook his head.
          "You weren't joking when you said you had something special up your sleeve." Tommy said to his aunt Polly.
          "Just wait until you hear the numbers." Poll smirked.
Tommy looked at Scarlett.
          "Well go on...tell me why you're here." He said being a little too cocky.
          "I'm here to scratch your back and you're here to scratch mine."
          "Meaning?" He asked.
          "Meaning Mr. Shelby, I am here to double..maybe even triple your profits. I'm here to spread our business here and you're looking to spread yours into America. Who better to help than someone who has the whole country under her thumb?" She said confidently as she tilted her head.
   He gave a small smirk and nodded as he threw his hand out, motioning her to go on. Polly admired Scarlett for not being afraid of Tommy. Scarlett got these folders out of her bag and handed them to each of the family members....besides a ten year old Finn. As they looked through the folders she passed out, she continued.
          "We make around 85 million a year in New York with just our business." She said.
Arthur choked on his whiskey when she said 85 million.
          "This isn't New York." Tommy stated.
          "You're right. It's not New York, but it is a new place and as a respected businessman Mr. Shelby, you know a new place is an opportunity of a lifetime. You have this place wrapped around your finger. You say jump and they say how high. Just think about your business spreading through New York and all the way down the East coast of America. You'll make double of what you made last year within the first four months."
Arthur placed his glass on the table as he and everyone flipped through the folders.
          "She's the real deal Tom. These numbers don't lie. We would be foolish to turn this down." Arthur said as he looked at Tommy who had his eyes focused on Scarlett, trying to see if she would break.
          "And why should I trust you?" Tommy said slowly as he sat back in his chair and intertwined his hands on his lap.
          "I'm not asking for trust, Mr. Shelby. You and I both know trust is earned. I'm asking for a chance. That's all I need."
Tommy was irritated that she was so calm and collected. No one ever stood a chance this long with him. No one ever could match his intelligence with the business except Polly. Everyone else was silent because they knew this was between the two. Polly looked on with a smirk as she watched Tom get quietly frustrated and Scarlett plead her case. It was quite amusing.
          "How do you know this will work here?" He asked coldly.
          "Because the numbers don't lie." She snapped back.
Tommy tilted his head and raised his eyebrows at her. He was not used to anyone talking back and battling him.
          "Have you ever done research on this place? Do you know anything about it?" He hissed as he slammed his hands on the table and stood up.
   The rest of the table set their eyes on Scarlett to see if she would break under this pressure or succeed. Scarlett knew exactly what he was doing. This was a test to see if she had the stones to go toe to toe with the most notorious gangster in England. And boy did she. She placed her hands on the table and stood up, never breaking eye contact from him.
          "The worst thing you can do to yourself...especially in this business, is to underestimate someone. You're a smart man, Mr. Shelby. You know better than to underestimate me, but if that's what you please..I will gladly take my business elsewhere because you aren't the only offer I've been given in England." She said as she stared at him while she leaned over the table.
This time she was the one who was looking right through to his soul. Tommy stared at her emotionless, but stunned. Polly and Ada couldn't help but hide their smiles and John and Arthur had their hands over their mouths trying not to laugh because they knew their brother had met his match.
          "I fookin love her." Arthur said as he looked at Tommy.
Tommy walked over to where Scarlett was standing. She turned around and stood up straight to face him. They made eye contact and then put out his hand.
          "Looking forward to doing business with you." He said.
Scarlett nodded as she shook his hand. There was a small exclamation and celebration from the group.
          "Let's go get a bloody drink to celebrate our new partner!" Arthur yelled.
Everyone was grabbing their coats and Scarlett had just grabbed hers when Tommy gently pulled her to the side. Eyes gazing in hers. He looked perplexed.
          "Why did you pick us to do business with?" He asked her very seriously.
She leaned up to his ear to whisper in it and with confidence and no hesitation she responded.               
          "Because I respect you, Mr. Shelby."