Chapter 5: Symphony in Blue
The following morning,
A banging on the door caused Kate to moan as she slops tea over her hand. "Coming." Without even thinking to grab her gun, she hurries towards the front door and opened it. There, stood a very cross-looking Thomas Shelby on her doorstep. "Ugh, and I thought today would be a perfectly lovely morning."
"What are you doing here?" he demands as he pushes past her and enters the building. "You're supposed to be working for Harry."
"Ahh, Mr. Shelby, I quit."
"Why?" he spins around, attempting to frighten her with his burning glower. It could work, if he didn't have such a bit of a baby face on him.
"For this very reason. Apparently," she goes back to her cup of tea that's on a small box on the floor. "you and I can't have a civil word with each other for one minute."
The place was a disaster. She'd spent the night asleep on top of some empty boxes. She'd already gotten the floor swept and a lot of junk moved into one spot, waiting to be hauled away. Harry had heard her this morning and said she could use some of his cleaning equipment. The barmaid, Grace, had given her a cold look. Kate wasn't sure what it was, but apparently, all women named Grace had it out for her.
"That remains to be seen." He glowers at her. "Where's the owner?"
"That would be me." she states as she sips her tea. "What can I help you with?"
"You?" he is clearly surprised.
"Yes. Women can own property, you know."
"I mean how are you able to afford it?" he stated with a scowl. "I literally just took you in off the streets."
"That doesn't mean I was without resources. Even your brother's yesterday noted that I was a lady, merely by looking at my shoes."
A tap on the door causes them to turn towards the front door. There are a few men standing there with six boxes. "Delivery for a Ms. Katherine?"
"Here!" Kate hurries towards the man. "It must be the lights."
"Lights?" Thomas follows behind her. "What are you doing to this place?"
Kate ignores him as she pays for the delivery, telling the man to keep the change before turning towards him, her hand extended. "Pocketknife please." He glowers at her. "Come on, man like you has a knife on him." he reaches into his pocket and pulls it out. "Thank you." She opens the blade without blinking and slices open the box. She hands it back to him as she opens up box.
"What are did you order the lamps for?" he inquires as he closes the blade and puts the knife back into his pocket.
"I am opening a restaurant." She declares. "The Garrison Restaurant."
She can feel his eyes boring holes in her back. "I had plans for this building."
"Sorry, but you should have bought it when you had the chance."
Thomas whistles lowly as she pulls out the blue, gold and white tiffany style, inverted ceiling lamps. "Bit fancy for down here in Birmingham."
"As long as the food is a price that people can afford, I should do well." she states "People tend to come back if the atmosphere is friendly. Besides, I intend to live here, so I want it to look nice too."
"You'll lose a fortune." He blinks. "You're going to live here?"
She shakes her head. "I don't think so. I'm simply blowing through some funds from my father and believe me; I've still got a few million pounds in my account." Thomas chokes on his cigarette. "If the restaurant is a success, I'll have a pretty lucrative business to keep me going for the rest of my days."
"You've got several million pounds?"
She nods. "Two million left in the account to be exact."
"What the hell are you doing down in a hole like Birmingham then?"
"Kate?" harry enters through the front door. "Here are a few men." His face stiffens when he sees Thomas. "Hello Mr. Shelby."
Thomas is clearly surprised. "What you doing here?"
"Just giving the lass a hand. This is a big job and she's got no one." Harry explains. "Grace is minding the pub and I rounded up a few trustworthy men looking for jobs."
"Thank you Harry. Everyone please come in." Kate encourages them. "Mr. Shelby was just leaving."
"You shouldn't be encouraging this business of hers." He states.
"I've got several ideas, which Harry thinks are lovely. I'm also predicting an increase in sales at the Garrison Pub."
Harry nods. "It's a sound business proposition."
"Now," Kate places her hand on his shoulder and nudges him towards the door. "if you'll excuse us Mr. Shelby, I've got a lot of work to do. And in spite of another charming argument with you, I can't waste more time arguing with you."
He yanks away from her. "Stop pushing."
She ignores him. "I'll talk with you tomorrow." She turns back to the group of men and smiles. "Well, shall we get down to business?"
1:00 that afternoon,
"Lunch is ready!" Kate called, stopping all the men in their tracks. She shifts slightly, with her two plates in hand. "I thought you all would be hungry, so I made some sandwiches and potato salad."
"We'll wash up first," Mark, the man in charge of this whole work crew. "and then get back as soon as possible."
Kate shakes her head. "You all can take an hour for lunch. Get your food and if you feel like it, hop on over to the pub for a drink. I'll be next door delivering some food to Harry."
The men head to the back of the building to clean up. It's been a long day, but the men worked hard. Kate made a mental note to tip each of them well afterwards. They'd sanded all of the dingy wood walls inside and Kate had selected an eggshell blue for the wood. It really brightened up the building. The floor needed to be replaced, but that would be another day. Kate had them build a waiting bench by the windows. The glass had been cleaned; the ceiling had been given a new coat of paint. The brick exterior would be painted white, when the weather was bright and clear.
Kate stepped into the pub and headed towards the backroom, where harry was getting ready to take a bite from a sad looking sandwich. She taps on the door and he looks up. "Hi, I brought you lunch."
He's surprised. "Why?"
"I figured it's the least I could do since you got me help so quickly. They work hard and fast."
"They know if you're a friend of Thomas Shelby, things need to be of a certain quality."
Kate laughs as she steps towards him and hands him his plate of food. "Friends? I think our display yesterday in your pub makes us more like enemies. Especially now, since I bought this building out from under him."
"You need to be careful lass." Harry says seriously. "I mean it. If he decided he'd want you," her brows rise. "there'd be nothing anyone could do about it."
"Excuse me?" Kate decides to clarify his statement. "are you implying that if Thomas Shelby wanted me in his bed, I'd have to submit to him?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Well, I wouldn't go willingly." Kate snorts. "He'd have to force me and that wouldn't end in his favor."
"He wouldn't force you. It's just that man could make a deal with the devil and still come out on top. Lucky for you, since he got back from France, Tommy doesn't want anybody at all."
Kate blinks in surprise. "Why on earth would a man as attractive as him not have a girl by now?" harry shoots her a look. "He's not my type, but he can be considered attractive. He should also do something with his hair, it looks ridiculous."
"Don't let him hear you say that." harry takes another bite of his sandwich. "No one knows really. He was a different person before the war."
Kate nods. "Everyone was."
"I've been meaning to ask…how did you get him to let you play the piano? All of us thought he was going to hit you, especially after you drew a gun on him."
Kate laughs. "You and everyone else has been wondering that. The truth of the matter is, I took a bullet out of his shoulder in France. Moreover, men, have a tendency to respect those who fought in the war. I didn't fight exactly, but I was a nurse."
"That explains a lot." he shoots her a smile of admiration. "Soldiers have an admiration for nurses, especially when they meet the ones who pulled a bullet out of them."
Kate exhales. "Tell me truthfully, what do you think about this restaurant idea?"
"People are poor here, but, if you make it affordable. It could be a big help to the community. You've already given several men some work."
"I'll be looking to hire a few cooks and waitresses of course, so, a few families will be getting some employment. If you could recommend the neediest, I'd appreciate it. Uniform will be provided of course."
"Why are you here?" harry asks. "What made you decide to come down here and open up a place like this?"
"I don't know." Kate says with a sigh. "I'm currently at this point where I'm lost in my life and…I feel this is something I should do. It's something I'd be good at and…I can write some past wrongs."
"What kind?"
Kate stares at the window. "The kind that can't be forgotten." She clears her throat. "I should be going now. There are lots to be done."
"Right. But I'll remind you again Kate. A girl like you could either drive a man like Thomas Shelby insane, or he'll fall in love with you." Kate laughs at that statement. "Be careful around him."
Kate nods. "I'll take your words to heart Harry." Kate exited the Garrison Pub a faint smile on her lips. The idea of Thomas Shelby falling in love with her was laughable! Driving him insane, well, that was a possibility.
Shariebery: She has her moments, Thomas sometimes pushes her a little bit too far. They don't really know each other yet, so, they're just pushing each other's buttons, not knowing which one is the 'fire' one!
Angel029: Agreed.
Idcam: It was 2 years vs. 12, so, I figured they'd know right away. Both are off on the wrong foot for the moment, but we know Kate, she'll charm him in the end.
