Chapter Two
Despite having the most peaceful night's sleep she had in weeks, Essie woke up filled with dread.
She had accepted a job for one of the most feared men in London. She woke up questioning the decision. She could pay this months rent, but after that, she wouldn't be able to. She'd be thrown out onto the streets. At that point, her only other option was becoming a prostitute. She couldn't do that. She knew her mother would be turning over in her grave Essie resorted to that. She doubted her mother would see taking the same path of her brother as much better, barely a step up.
But she was desperate and beggars couldn't be choosers.
She wore a navy blouse with small orange, red, green and yellow floral embroidery at the neckline, and chose a navy skirt that fell halfway down her thighs. She also wore a black stockings and black shoes with a small heel. It was a similar style to what she wore when she was working at the doctor's office. It was simple, professional and it added a small and subtle pop of color to a dreary setting. And from what her brother had told her of Alfie Solomons and his factory, a small and subtle pop of color would be exactly what was needed. She also brought a navy knit cardigan, thinking it might be cold in the bakery.
She looked herself over in the mirror, second guessing her outfit choice. Was this right thing to wear to the bakery. She assumed it was. It was the same sort that she had worn when she worked at the doctor's office. She'd be doing the same thing essentially. The only difference was the legalities of it all. But she wouldn't be doing anything illegal, or at least that's what Alfie had told her she wouldn't be last night. Whether or not he was honest remained to be seen. She was tempted to change into a black blouse and black skirt, without any hints of color at all. But she decided not to.
She did like to keep up with current fashions, or at least pretend she could afford to. Without a paycheck, she had to forfeit her guilty pleasure of fashion magazines. But she held on to her old ones, just to flip through. She had plenty of old copies of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and The Delineator. She had to admit, she was eager to buy more copies now that she was going to have a little extra pay for them.
When she had looked herself over, multiple times, making sure she looked right, overthinking every possible detail, she grabbed her brown coat and black cloche hat and left. She doubted any of the men at the bakery would think twice about what she was wearing, or even knew the first thing about current fashion and she doubted any of them even cared about that sort of thing. But she was still worried, as she was sure that anyone would be going into the workplace of a deadly gangster for the first time, or at all, for that matter. She had decided that it'd be best not to tell Mrs. Hirsch about this job until after her first day.
She had told the other girls who had asked her about where she was going that she was job hunting, the same as she did every day, too afraid of what she would be in store for if she told them that she would be going to work for Alfie Solomons, they'd ask questions, and probably think she was insane for accepting such an offer. They'd put ideas in her head about how he'd kill her if she ever did anything to displease him. Essie didn't need them to tell her that, those thoughts were already quite prominent in her mind, and she was terrified that she was going to end up dead by the end of the week. She didn't need those other girls feeding her fears when she was already so terrified.
One of the girls who continued to pester Essie on what Alfie Solomons wanted was Annette. She was a tiny thing, at twenty-one she only one year younger than Essie, and her green eyes always held a sort of mischievous glint in them. She was quite curious as to what Alfie Solomons wanted in Mrs. Hirsch's house, particularly what he wanted with someone like Essie.
"What was Alfie Solomons doing here last night, Essie?" Annette asked.
"My brother used to work for him," said Essie. "He died and he wanted to make sure I was getting on all right."
"Really?" Annette asked. "Never saw him as one to really give a shit about his employees families."
"Well, apparently he is," said Essie.
"I hear he's a bad man," said Annette, clearly trying to get under Essie's skin.
"Yes, I've heard that, too," said Essie. She tried to make it clear that she didn't want this conversation to continue.
"Did he seem very bad when you talked to him?" Annette asked.
"No, Annette," said Essie, becoming exasperated. "I spoke to him for five minutes."
"Isn't that enough?"
"I don't know, Annette," Essie snapped.
"Are you afraid?" Annette asked. "That he'll kill you.
Yes, Essie thought, but she didn't say that. She just wanted this conversation to end. Annette was starting to get on her last nerve, which was saying something, considering what an even-tempered, patient person Essie normally was. But she was nervous enough today without having Annette interrogate her about Alfie Solomons. Especially filling her mind with horror stories about him.
"I'm going," said Essie.
"What's the rush?" Annette asked. "You don't have a job."
"I need one," said Essie. She wasn't going to tell Annette. Not yet, at least. "And the sooner I set off, the better."
With that, Essie left, eager to get as far away from Annette as possible. It wasn't that she disliked her, it was just that she didn't want her fears to be any greater than they already were. She was not going to have her fears fed into any more. Besides, she didn't want to be want to be late on her first day, especially was her employer was Alfie Solomons. She was sure that wasn't the best idea.
The walk to the bakery wasn't too long, only about fifteen minutes. But as she got closer, she could feel herself becoming more and more nervous. She would have been a fool not to be nervous. Alfie Solomons was know for his vile temper, and his cruel nature.
The bakery seemed to loom over her as she approached it. She felt like she didn't belong in a place like this, but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. She was desperate and she didn't have much of a chance at getting another chance anywhere else. She didn't have any chance at getting a reference from her old boss. She considered it a miracle that Alfie would hire her without any. She didn't know anyone else who would do such a thing. But she was working for a gang leader, a tough, violent gang leader. Someone who was known for having a temper that could be set off by the smallest thing, and Essie really hoped that she would not be one to set off that notorious temper of his.
Essie would keep to herself while she worked here. She wouldn't step out of line. She wouldn't ask questions about the business. She wouldn't stick her nose where it didn't belong. She would keep quiet and keep out of the way. She would go to work everyday, she would do what was asked of her, and she would go home.
Essie took a deep breath as she began walking into the bakery. She could clearly see that her arrival was unexpected by those in the bakery. The men had stopped working and turned to her. Some were looking at her with lustful eyes, some where looking at her with curiosity, clearly not used to seeing a women in the bakery.
She was sure women didn't walk in here everyday. Perhaps a few whores for Alfie, but that was probably it. She clearly wasn't a whore, and any suspicions that she might have been, were probably confirmed false by the way she was dressed, in such a professional manner, as well as her demeanor, the fact that she could feel herself trying to make herself smaller.
It was clear that she was uncomfortable by the stares she was receiving from the men, both the lustful ones, and the curious ones. She kept trying to make herself smaller, and tried not to make eye contact. As if they wouldn't exist if she didn't pay them any attention. She had worked in a factory before, when she was seventeen, just after she finished school, while she was looking for a secretarial position, in an attempt to bring home just a little extra money for her mother and brother. The conditions weren't the best, and she hated every minute of working there. But this factory wasn't like the one that she had worked at. It was so much darker here, no natural lighting. Granted, the factory that she worked out was fairly dark as well, but there was at least a little natural light on good days. And she had been making clothes to be shipped off to department stores, and not 'bread.' Luckily, she wouldn't be working on the factory floor.
Essie didn't exactly know where she was going, she just figured that if she kept walking she would figure out just where exactly she needed to be. Or at least she hoped. Alfie had been as vague as possible when he had given her instructions. He had just told her to come to the factory and that she had s job that paid twice as much as her old one.
As she walked deeper into the factory, she was becoming more and more nervous. She hadn't even realized that she could become even more nervous than she already was. But she continued to prove herself wrong with every step she took. She didn't like looking scared in a place like this, surrounded by so many men who were bigger and stronger, than her short, slender frame.
Essie tried to put her fears into the back of her mind, trying not to focus so much on it, as it clearly wasn't helping her situation. She worked here, she wasn't doing anything wrong by being here, she tried telling herself, as a way to help calm her nerves. She didn't know how long she had walked before she had been stopped by a man, lanky and taller than her, though most people were, with short, dark, curly hair.
"You're David's sister, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes," said Essie, holding out her hand. "Esther. Or Essie."
"Ollie," the man replied, shaking her hand. "C'mon."
With that he started walking and nodded for Essie to follow him. Essie did just that. Essie walked a few paces behind him, and her eyes glanced to the side, and she saw some of the men's gazes shift from lust to curiosity. She quickly moved her gaze directly in front of her, once again trying not to make eye contact with any of the men who were working.
He stopped sin front of an office door and knocked on it. Essie noticed that there was a desk outside the office with some pens and pencils, blank paper and a typewriter. She assumed that it was the desk where she would be working. There was a grunt from inside the office. Essie assumed that it was Alfie. Ollie opened the door and poked his head in.
"David's sister is here," said Ollie.
"Well, send here in," Essie heard Alfie say in his gruff voice.
Ollie stepped aside and motioned for Essie to enter. Essie walked inside. Alfie was sitting hunched over his desk looking over some paper work. There was a chair across from his and Essie hesitantly sat down. She folded her hands in her lap. She sat there in silence, waiting. After a moment, Alfie looked up, looking her up and down, and Essie held her breath.
Essie resisted the urge to look down at her lap, as she began twiddling her fingers, a nervous habit she had ever since she was a little girl. But she didn't want to look too cowardly or timid in front of Alfie. A part of her wanted to, just as a some sort of show that she wanted to keep quiet and keep out of the way of everything, but she didn't. She looked at him. She would be lying if she said he was unattractive. But Doctor Kennedy was attractive too, and that didn't work out so well. And she was sure that Alfie was far more dangerous in comparison to Alfie Solomons.
"You have experience as a secretary, isn't that right?" Alfie asked.
"Yes, sir," said Essie.
"And you, yeah, left your old position?" Alfie asked.
"Yes, sir," Essie replied.
"Why did you leave?" Alfie asked.
"Er, my employer and I had a conflict of interest, sir," said Essie. It wasn't technically a lie. His interest was to take her to bed, while Essie wasn't interest in that.
"He wanted to fuck you," Alfie said bluntly.
"Yes, sir," said Essie after a moment, a little shocked that he knew that. She quickly added, "If this is about references, that's why he hasn't given me any. I'm a hard worked. I was the best in my class when I was at school."
"Don't worry, Miss Rosen, this ain't about references," said Alfie and Essie breathed a sigh of relief. "But if any of my men, yeah, harass you in any way, you let me know, a'right."
"Yes, sir," said Essie, a little surprised by the statement. It was the last things she was expecting, but she was happy to hear it.
"I'm a very bad man, Miss Rosen," said Alfie. "But there are some thing I don't tolerate. I don't hurt women. And I don't tolerate any cunt who does, yeah?"
"Yes, sir," said Essie. "Thank you, Mr. Solomons."
"Right," said Alfie, pulling out a leather bound book that looked like a ledger of some sort. "I hear you're good at maths, is that right?"
"Yes, Mr. Solomons," said Essie.
"Good!" he said, handing her over the book. "I need you to balance this out."
"Yes, sir," said Essie, taking the book. "Is it right to assume that the desk outside is mine, Mr. Solomons?"
"Yeah," he said, resuming his work. "Off you go, pet."
Essie did as she was told. With the book in her arms, she left the office and went to the desk. She took her coat off and and hung it behind her chair and placed her hat in the corner of her desk, and immediately set to work. She almost thought it was odd that he referred to her as pet. Her old boss called her 'sweetheart' and 'darling' a lot. It bothered her. It sounded like he was being condescending, like he was talking down to her. But the way Alfie said it, she liked it. Perhaps it was because he didn't sound condescending when he said it.
Essie immediately set to work, doing as she was told. She didn't know what she was expecting, but she was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected the books to be perfect, and they weren't but she had expected them to be worse. Mathematics was always a strong suit of hers. She had always excelled in such that subject. Her mother knew she couldn't keep her son from working for Alfie's gang. He had been a troublemaker since he was a little boy. But Essie was smart. She could do more for herself than working in a factory. She could make her way up in the world. She would never be some upper class lady, but she could be a self-made woman. And thus, Essie's dreams of being an artist, preferably illustrating children's books, were put on hold, and sketching had become more of a hobby than anything else. And in the past few months, she hadn't had the time to work on it that she wished she could have. She had long since accepted it was never meant to be.
Essie felt like she was letting her mother down by going to work for a man like Alfie Solomons. She had wanted so much for her daughter, and Essie had taken the exact same path as her brother. Granted, unlike her brother, she wasn't doing any cuttings or beatings or killings like her brother had done. But she was still working for a gang nonetheless. Essie tried to put it out of her mind. If she was lucky, this would only be a temporary position. If she didn't know if she could get another job. She wouldn't get any references from her old boss, and she was probably going to have a stain on her record considering her new boss was a gang leader.
But she was in desperate need of a job and she liked to think that her mother would understand. She was in need of a job and Alfie had one to offer. That was all, and Alfie had assured her that what she would be doing would be legal. She wouldn't be sent out to go do Alfie's dirty work, she would be quietly sitting at a desk, keeping the books and whatnot.
But, Alfie seemed reasonable enough. He had told her that the men weren't allowed to bother her, and to go straight to him if he did. The pay was well, and the work was nothing she wasn't used to. Maybe being here wouldn't be so terrible. But it was only her first day. Working for Doctor Kennedy had been nice enough for a while. And then it got bad. Essie could only hope that this job wouldn't be the same. But considering her boss, she supposed that was one of the least of her worries. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it would be, but it was one that she tried to suppress, not wanting to think about that just yet.
…
A/N: I hope you enjoyed, and if you did, please leave a review! I would love to know what you think! Chapter three will be here soon.
