Past Hurts

-Two-

Alfie's contacts up north had spent the past seven weeks looking for anything they could on Miss Evelyn Moines but they had come up with absolutely nothing at all. Parents had died in an accident when she was fourteen. Older brother had looked after her and then continued to live with her until he died a little over a year ago after falling down the stairs of his local haunt while drunk. By all accounts, Evelyn had led a very boring and very simple life. Didn't really have any friends, no boyfriends, worked hard and volunteered at a local animal shelter in her spare time. It was all really rather odd if truth be told. There was just something about her that still didn't sit right with Alfie and he couldn't work it out for love nor money.

"Morning Ev, gosh you're a right busy bee today," Ollie appeared with a tray of tea and some biscuits.

Evelyn hadn't moved from her desk all morning, typing up some documents for Alfie's meeting with Tommy Shelby that afternoon, so Ollie had been relegated to the tea maker for that day. Not that Alfie was complaining because Evelyn, being a northerner, made tea so dark that it may as well have been black. It definitely weren't for him. Nah, his mother used to drink her tea black and it was bloody awful. Tea needed milk. And sugar; lots of it.

"Hey, where's them chocolate biscuits," Alfie scowled, when Ollie set a cup of tea down on his desk with a couple of custard creams.

"Oh, I gave Ev the last two 'cause they're her favourite," Ollie grimaced apologetically as Alfie glanced over at Evelyn who had just crammed an entire biscuit into her mouth with one bite. If he didn't know Ollie was madly besotted with his wife, Alfie might have thought his assistant had a bit of a crush on Evelyn because he was always fussing over her like a bloody mother hen.

"Here," Evelyn stood, holding the other chocolate bourbon out to him, grinning when he eyed it warily "Don't worry, I've not done anything to it."

"Well I know that don't I?" he smirked, pushing the biscuit back towards her. "Just surprised you hadn't inhaled the whole thing within two seconds of Ollie giving them to you. I watched you devour half a packet the other day in the time it took me to open me post."

"What can I say?" she shrugged, her neck and her face turning red with embarrassment. "I just have a sweet tooth."

Yeah and a sweet arse as well, Alfie thought to himself as she turned to go back to her desk. He'd have to be blind not to notice the temptingly curvy figure that lurked beneath Evelyn's form fitting dresses and skirts. And it wasn't like every other bloke in the bakery hadn't noticed as well. He saw them all having a right good gawp when she walked past them, and even Ollie had been caught having a little look once or twice. Truthfully though, Alfie didn't think Evelyn paid any attention to the over salacious smiles of the lads or the way they were all so fucking desperate to help her with any little thing because Alfie just genuinely believed that she had no idea how attractive she was. There was just something in the way she held herself that told Alfie she didn't dress the way she did to try and turn heads, nor did she think that the way the blokes were so amiable towards her was to do with anything other than their desire to be friendly with their newest colleague.

"Ollie, go down the shop and get some more of them chocolate bourbons, yeah?" Alfie blinked himself out of his thoughts. "If the only reason than to make sure our Evelyn here don't waste away."

"Fat chance of that," she snorted to herself, pulling the piece of paper out of the typewriter and expecting it briefly.

"I can't go now, Alfie," Ollie shoved a custard cream into his mouth, causing Alfie to scowl when crumbs scattered all over his desk. "I'm off to the doctor's with Lottie for her check up, remember? I did tell you last week and you said I could take the afternoon off."