Chapter 10

Rosalind entered Eddie's Bar was a skip in her step, humming a familiar tune under her breath, holding a Costa coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. Ash arched an eyebrow in amusement, clasping his hands together in front of him.

"What has you so happy Babygirl?" Mickey questioned.

"…Have you seen today's paper?" she wondered.

"No…should we have?"

She sipped her drink and dropped the newspaper onto the table top. She slid further up in the seats when Sean and Emma joined them, drinks in hand. Eddie approached them, interested, leaning against the wall to the right to their booth.

"Page six," she instructed almost smugly.

Albert carefully turned the pages, pausing and laughing in happiness at the headline. "Oh you, Rosie, are a genius."

"Thank you," Rosalind grinned.

Sean appeared confused. "What?"

"'Fraud Finance Manager in Money Scam'" Albert read aloud, "'Mr. James Cern is the Finance Manager of 'Carnal and Change' – or he was, up until yesterday morning when it was revealed that 2% of the company's profits were being transferred into the private bank account of Mr. Cern. With the help of an anonymous tip, billionaire and company owner, Victor Von Ratsen discovered the swindle within his own business. He told the public, from now on, he would personally deal with the money that moves in and out of the company…'"

"Is that true?"

Rosalind smiled knowingly. "I was his secretary for the past part of a fortnight. I had full access to his computers and all that was on it. It wasn't that hard to piece together to be honest…"

Emma laughed. "Brilliant."

"Amazing," Sean breathed.

Rosalind flushed pink, her grin widening ever so slightly.

"We shouldn't expect anything less," Mickey commented, smiling, "Babygirl has always been the best at finding and analysing the finer details. A fixer in the making."

"I trained her well," Ash added.

"The apple never falls far from the tree. Grifting is in her blood – in her family," Albert pointed out.

"I am in the room people," Rosalind spoke, a hint of a whine in her voice, "Stop talking like I'm not."

"Sorry darlin'" Ash grinned. He checked his wrist watch quickly, "Are you ready?"

She hummed in acknowledgement, finishing her coffee and standing up.

"Where are you two going?" Emma asked.

The younger Morgan beamed brightly at the small group. "We're having a Daddy-Daughter day."

Sean watched the father and daughter with interest from over his shoulder, only shifting slightly in his seat. He found himself watching the wiggle of her hips as she exited the bar before he could stop. He clenched his fists and forced himself to turn back to his drink. He paused when he felt eyes on him.

"What?"

"You don't pay dumb very well, do you Sean?" Emma stated amused, "That had to be the most obvious reaction to someone leaving I have ever seen…"

"I…I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Fine, don't admit it – just listen, okay?" Emma ordered.

"Sean, all we're saying is you need to be careful when concerning Rosalind," Mickey warned carefully, "If there is one thing Ash Morgan cares about, it would be his daughter."

"And he is not the only one." Albert interjected, sipping his drink.

"Exactly; just…don't do anything unless you're completely serious, alright?" Eddie added in his two-cents, catching onto the jest of the conversation.

"Nothing is happening between me and Rosalind, alright?" Sean insisted, "We're just friends – nothing more, nothing less." Not that she'd ever want there to be more…

"No…but you want there to be," Emma commented quietly, watching her brother's reactions closely, "You have that look in your eyes – you can't hide it from me Sean. I'm your big sister. I know you…" she sighed deeply and gave her brother a pleading look, "…just be careful, okay?"

"So where are we going?" Rosalind questioned, smiling happily as she brushed her curls behind her ear.

Ash placed an arm around her shoulders, guiding her in the right direction. "I thought I'd share some Grifting wisdom with you. How are you with casinos?"

"Crap," she stated bluntly.

"Excellent." He answered with glee.

"Full House."

Rosalind glanced down at her cards and sighed in defeat. "Two pair…"

Ash cackled happily. "Royal Flush – guess this means I win." He circled his winnings with his arms, dragging the money closer to his chest before organising it into one pile.

Their opponent cursed loudly, leaning back in his seat with a huff. He was a prosecutor, used to winning by any means necessary, so he wasn't happy with the current situation. Something that Rosalind (despite her hatred at playing poker, especially with Mickey and her Dad) found amusing.

"Dad, can we move on now?" she whined, laying her cards on the table, "There's a roulette wheel calling my name…"

"No – I want a rematch!" the solicitor demanded furiously.

"Sorry mate, but its lady's choice," Ash shrugged as he stood up from his place, folding his winnings in half and placing them in his back pocket, "Come on Rosie…"

Rosalind stood up. "Sorry mate."

"So…roulette huh?" Ash stated.

She grinned happily. "Oh yeah, my game – no real way to cheat at roulette as the player. It's all about chance. It looks like I'm going to have to teach you a thing or two, Dad."

Ash gazed down at the stacked pile of chips with amazement. It seemed roulette was his daughter's gambling gift. Starting off with £200, she managed to make up to £2400 within an hour.

"How do you do that?" He wondered, awed.

Rosalind smiled brightly at him. "It's simple really – just math. Luis owns a lot of casinos and betting companies. He taught me techniques that help you win a large percentage of the time. For example, if I placed a six line inside bet, with a quantity number of six, the odds are 1 in 6.2 – the percentage of win 16.22%." At her Dad's confused look, she laughed, "Yeah, I know. It's confusing if you don't know it of by heart, but it was the one thing I was good at remembering – odds and statistics are easy."

"Says you…" Ash muttered, clearing his throat loudly, "Okay, I've been cleared out. How about we use some of your winnings and go out for ice cream or something?"

Rosalind laughed, arching an eyebrow. "Ice cream? Okay, sounds nice – let's go get ice cream."

He shouldn't be thinking about her.

He'd been warned, by numerous people, to leave her alone – to be careful. He still didn't know whose sake it was for: his or hers? Still, that did not change the fact she was plaguing him like a bad dream.

Usually, Sean was the cool and collected type. Women come to him, not the other way around, so why was it that, with Rosalind, he would rather make his move now, no matter what her reaction might be? And he was sure they would be negative. All the other close encounters they had always seemed to end in them being interrupted, or she disappears.

It was very clear sign that nothing was supposed to happen between them.

So why couldn't she leave him alone?

Even now, as he lay on his bed in the Langham Hotel, he could remember the smell of her cherry lipstick clearly, the slight pout in her lips, the hint of a smirk as she joked with him; he remembered how much he wanted to kiss them. He could remember her walk, her teasing nature, the feel of her body pressure up against his when they were practicing their roles as 'Harry' and 'Elizabeth'.

Sighing heavily, he rolled onto his back, resting his head on his hairs, staring up at the ceiling with contempt.

This is getting ridiculous, he decided, I just…have to get her out of my system is all…

No, he couldn't do that. Other than the fact he would most likely get killed by three of the scariest conmen he knew, and his sister, he couldn't do that to her. She was just too…her.

Groaning loudly, he ran his hand over his face. Oh yes, he was definitely screwed.

"You know…this place looks familiar…" Rosalind commented, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember, licking contently at her Mr. Whippy Ice Cream Cone (with chocolate sauce and a flake).

Ash smiled slightly. "You should, Rosie. This used to be your favourite park when you were toddling about – you said you used to like the ducks…"

Rosalind smiled softly, reminiscing. "I remember."

Six-year-old Rosalind giggled childishly as she knelt down by the edge of the large pond, watching the fish swim just beneath the surface and the elegant birds attack each other for the last scraps of stale bread. She couldn't understand why they liked stale bread – she'd try it. It was gross.

Ash stood at a slight distance with Mickey and Albert, watching her closely for any sign of distress. She had been told time and time again that swans were vicious creatures but, no, she refused to listen, so they had taken to just watching her alert, in case they were needed. Besides, she looked so happy, and who were they to destroy that?

"What time does Chrissie want her back?" Albert questioned.

Ash's smile wavered at the mention of his baby's mother. "Tomorrow at three. The woman, apparently, has a date with some bloody businessman and can't take care of her tonight. So I have her tonight, instead of tomorrow, and my times cut down 'because I wasn't supposed to have tonight'." He shook his head, "Bloody woman's a menace I can tell ya. If Rosie didn't want to see me, she'd stop contact all today."

Mickey rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just keep in mind Rosalind does want to see you – it'll make you feel better."

"Daddy," Rosalind appeared at her father's side, tugging at the bottom of his suit jacket. She peered up at him with wide pleading eyes, "Can we go and get some bread to feed the duckies with? They're hungry…"

"Um and how can you tell?" Ash challenged.

She pointed to the pond's bank. "That brown duckie is eating grass. Mummy said grass isn't good for ducks."

"She's right – it isn't good for ducks." He agreed, holding out his hand for her to take, "Come on then – let's go find some bread."

Grinning happily, Rosalind gladly accepted the larger hand.

"…Is the pond still there?" she wondered.

"I think so. Wanna go see it?" Ash questioned, holding out his hand.

Nodding happily, Rosalind accepted her Dad's hand and quickly tugged him in one direction, making him laugh quietly.

A/N: I just wanted to point out I have no idea about statistics and betting ratios, or anything like that. I got my roulette information from some website after I googled it (where would we be without Google?) so don't ask me about them, because I have no clue. Thank you x