Twisted Perfection - Tommy Shelby/Peaky Blinders

1.

Spring had begun in 1926, flowers were starting to bloom and trees had sprouted their first leaves. The sun was shining in Birmingham as she set down her suitcase. She was seeking the leader of the town, Tommy Shelby, or, as he was better known, the leader of the notorious Peaky Blinders. At 25 years old her Mother wanted her to settle down and marry, but Ruby Reilly had something more important to get off her chest. Revenge. For the Father she had never had the chance to meet, cruelly shot down by Tommy Shelby.

Ruby walked slowly along the cobbles, making her way to one of Tommy's factories. She had  applied for a job, now was time for her interview. She hoped for it to be conducted by Shelby, the first steps of her plan had already fallen into place.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The door opened abruptly, "ah, Miss Reilly. I'm Michael, come on in." He handsomely smiled at her. "Now, if you can get to work right away, that'd be great. We're four workers down and your references check out, so whenever you're ready?" Michael showed her into his office.

Ruby was taken aback. "Let the girl sit down first." A husky voice came from behind the cigar smoke. Tommy Shelby. In the flesh.

"Ruby, Tommy. Tommy, Ruby." Michael quickly introduced them. "Ready to start?"

Ruby nodded, now she was there she had no idea what to say. She had begun to doubt whether her revenge plan against Tommy would ever work. Not if she had to look into those dreamy but piercing blue eyes everyday. "Michael, go and make sure little Miss Red's desk is ready." Tommy referred to her red coloured lips and coat, while ushering his cousin out of the room, locking the door shut after him.

Tommy circled around the room. He touched every chair at the table twice.

Ruby's eyes darted to the ceiling, then to the floor, over and over. Anxiety kicked in, had he realised who she was? Would he shoot her too?

Suddenly Tommy was behind her, gently touching the few strands of dark her that showed beneath her hat. He was slow in that moment, her heart beating as loudly as it ever had, as he pulled off her hat revealing cascades of dark hair around her petite face and deep green eyes. His actions frightened her. Every time he looked at her, her heart skipped a beat.

"There's something about you, Ruby Rose Reilly. I can't quite put my finger on it." Tommy slouched in his chair, head of the table, lighting a new cigar.

Ruby took two steps forward, closer to Tommy, "and you're a disaster waiting to happen. Too many secrets behind those eyes of yours, Thomas Michael Shelby." She could play him at his own games. She was many things, but certainly not dumb. "Don't worry, I have my facts straight. 35 years old, war 'hero'. Wife who was killed, one son, Charles, with her. Prostitute you used while grieving, one daughter with her, Dotty." She got even closer to Tommy, practically in his face. "You May have an OBE, Tommy Shelby, but you are a gangster through and through. You still kill people in cold blood."

"Who are you?" Tommy was lost for words. What did this girl want with him?

Ruby smirked. She was going to like playing games with the King of the Shelby clan.

Tommy grabbed her hand, passionately sliding her body on top of his. His cigar fell from his free hand to the floor, allowing him to caress Ruby's body. "There's something about you." He held her chin, so close to his peachy lips.

Ruby instantaneously jumped up, straightening herself out. She had teased Tommy enough, leaving him lusting for more. "I don't want this job. I just had to see you." She spoke as she strutted towards the door in her red high heels. He wouldn't be forgetting her in a hurry, not if their first encounter was anything to go by.

"Wait-" Tommy held his hand in a stop sign, as if the feisty girl would listen to him. She walked just a fast out of his life as she did in it.

Another girl met Ruby at the end of the street, in case Tommy had watched her leave. Which he had. "You have definitely left him wanting more. You know he's gonna come looking for you now?"

"That's the plan, Jane. He'll come looking, I'll seduce him and make him fall in love with me. We already know he's a sucker for his children. I'll get pregnant, reveal who I am and, voila, disappear out of his life forever. Just like he did with my Dad." Ruby mischievously chuckled, she couldn't wait for Tommy Shelby to get his comeuppance. It was the least he deserved.

Jane was, quite literally, plain. A plump girl of five three, short blond locks and blue eyes. She had a husband but had taken the train with her best friend, Ruby, to Birmingham for the day. She was the complete opposite to Ruby, who liked to stand out. Petite with long, dark brown locks and menacing green eyes, always accessorised with vibrant make up.

"Don't you think your Dad would want you to just settle down and have babies the normal way? Without this incessant need for revenge?" Jane pleaded with Ruby. "There are perfectly good guys back home," Jane linked her arm through Ruby's as they trailed along the houses.

"I know he would. But I can't. Plus, a baby of Tommy and I, will be strikingly beautiful. I mean, you have to see him, Jane, he's so handsome." Ruby gushed.

Jane was pleased with Ruby's reaction to Tommy. If she couldn't find her best friend a nice boy back home, she'd make her fall in love with the bad boy she loved to hate.

"Ruby Rose Reilly, get in." The dark, husky voice muttered from a car next to them.

"Not this time, Tommy Shelby."

Jane whispered in her ear, "go!" Ruby couldn't resist, chucking her bag in the back seat of Tommy's car and hopping in beside him.

"Where to, Miss?" Tommy, always the gentlemen, asked.