working girl » tommy shelby.

chapter five

Tommy put the letter back in the draw as he tried to rake through his memories of 'Roseanne.' Tommy had business with her father before the war and although things were never official between himself and Rosie, it did not stop them spending an awful lot of time together in the few months that he had known her. When he had returned to Birmingham after four years away in France, not one bit of him thought about finding her, his mind too focused on the business. A part of him believed that she had moved on and found some other man during the four years, but he had obviously been wrong, and he was curious to find out how Rosie had ended up becoming a prostitute in the back alleys of Birmingham.

Rosie came back into the bedroom, her eyes wandering to the floor when she saw Tommy's hard and powerful stare. She knew at that moment that Tommy was aware of who she was and the things that had happened in her past but she did not want to get into the conversation. Rosie walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a dressing gown to cover her half-exposed body.

"You've changed your hair colour. You used to be blonde..." he trailed off as he stood up and walked over to Rosie's body. Her breath was laboured as she tried to calm herself down and not worry about what discussion was going to come next. From Tommy's body actions and the way that he spoke, she could tell that he wasn't livid, more disturbed or confused. "How did you get into this mess, Roseanne?"

Rosie's heart stopped once her real name left that lips of the man she had been trying to forget over the course of the last seven years. "I don't want to talk about it," she managed to say, her voice frail and soft. Tommy was standing over her at this point, his arms resting by his side as he tried to figure out Rosie. "I think it might be best that you leave and do not return."

"I can't do that, Rosean - "

"My name is Rosie," she interrupted, a hint of anger in her voice that was no intentional. Tommy chuckled softly before nodding his head. "Tommy, please do this."

"How do you expect me to just get my things and leave you here alone to fuck random and strange men all night? I can't do that, Rosie."

"Your time is nearly up anyway, Tommy. Just make sure you close the door on your way out and do not think about me or what I do again, is that understood?" Rosie was shaking at this point, her hands a quivering mess. Her heart was beating faster than it had ever done and she thought, for a second, that she was going to pass out. The room became smaller and Rosie found herself walking over to the broken window in an attempt to bring some air into the room. "I hate this stupid thing," she said, groaning as she aggressively jiggled the handle in her hand.

"Here, let me," Tommy said as he walked over so he was stood behind Rosie. She could feel his body press lightly against her own and for a moment, she went back to happier times. It was cut short as the loud streets outside of the brothel came through the window, reminding Rosie of where she was and what she had become. "I'd like to talk to you, please."

"Why?"

"It's been a long time, Rosie," he answered. "Rosie Mason."

Rosie sighed at the use of her old last name, one that she had not used in over two years. It brought her nothing but bad memories that she wanted to keep secret. Of course, Tommy Shelby had to come along and drag it all back up. She should have known that he would've found her eventually. Small Heath was only small compared to the rest of Birmingham, but she had done a good job of keeping herself on the down-low - going down another street whenever she saw him walking up, doing her best to not engage with John or Arthur too much (luckily, they did not know about Rosie's and Tommy's secret love) and even dodging certain areas where she knew that Tommy and the rest of the Shelby's hung around.

There was no escaping him though. Every now and again, his name would make its way around the brothel as the girls spoke about the shooting between him and Kimber, the murder that had taken place down by the cut or the stories of Tommy and the inspector. Everyone knew Tommy, but none of them knew him like Rosie.

"Goodbye, Tommy."

He looked at her one last time with a glimmer of sadness, his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't want to go along with what she said but he couldn't force her into anything, at least not yet. Tommy nodded his head and sighed before grabbing his coat and leaving Rosie alone in the room. She watched him leave, her heart breaking at the sight, but she soon got over it, she had business to do.

+++

As soon as Tommy got home, he instantly went to his office and began to look through old files. Even though it had been years, Tommy was sure that the paperwork or meeting notes of some sort would be knocking around in one of the cupboards. Right on cue, Polly came into the office with an angry look on her face.

"Your brothers, I would expect it from," she started, her eyes fixed on Tommy who was furiously pulling out sheets of paper. Polly's expression turned to confusion as she saw the frustration on his face. "Why have you been at the brothel?"

Tommy looked at her, his mouth opens slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "How do you know everything?" he asked before returning to the mess of sheets on his desk.

"Word spreads quick around here. Anyway, what are you looking for?"

"Can you remember someone called George Mason? He owned the big house and all of the horses," he said, hoping Polly would have some recollection of the deal. "Erm, he had a wife called Sally and a daughter called Roseanne. I was buying some horses off them, just before the War started..." Tommy trailed off when he saw Polly's blank expression.

"Have you gone mad?" she asked, laughing afterwards. "But yes, I remember. Why do you want to know about them, anyway? I thought the business deal fell through when the War started."

"It did but somethings come up. I just need to know what happened to George and Sally. Do we have any contracts from me?" he asked, only to feel disheartened when Polly shook her head. "We must have something, Pol."

"We had a clear out, got rid of everything that was no longer necessary to us. Tommy, why is this so important?"

Tommy looked up from his desk and smiled softly. "I've found her, Polly. That's all you need to know."