Alfie sat in the car; his irritability evident. Neither of his two men said a word, knowing it would only grant them a disapproving glare.
"Fucking Birmingham." Alfie grumbled under his breath as he entered the shit hole of a town.
Tommy better have a good fucking reason for dragging me up here, Alfie thought.
They arrived at Tommy's large estate house and Alfie grunted as he opened the door and stepped onto the gravel. Before he reached the door, it opened and Tommy's maid, Frances, welcomed Alfie with a polite smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Solomons." She said with a bow of her head. "If you will come in.."
She moved to the side and Alfie stepped around her into the house. Immediately Alfie's irritability grew. Tommy's deco house was as elegant as ever but the group of individuals inside were much less than.
John and Arthur had each other in headlocks, wrestling playfully without realizing Alfie stood in the door.
"I will let Mr. Shelby know you are here." Frances said, though he could barely hear her due to the commotion Tommy's brothers were making.
Alfie nodded at her and turned his disapproving eyes back on the men. Michael, Tommy's younger cousin, stood leaned against the wall watching with amusement. After a few moments, Alfie had had his fill. He was about to turn and walk out the door, going back to London when movement on the other side of the room gave him pause.
A beautiful woman with raven colored hair walked in, a piece of toast in her hand.
"Oo. Is that clotted cream?" John asked as he tightened his hold on Arthur's neck and quickly took a bite of the woman's toast, earning him a reproving look as she quickly moved it out of his reach before he could steal another bite.
She took a bite of her toast pointedly as John attempted to move for another bite but was held back by Arthur who was attempting to get out of his hold.
As she licked her lips, her eyes landed on Alfie, and she froze. Her gray eyes rested on his for a moment before they shot back at her cousins who had resumed their playful scrapping.
Michael followed her gaze and cleared his throat at the same time Tommy rounded the corner.
"Alfie." Tommy greeted as he gave his brothers disapproving looks as they quickly stopped their nonsense and straightened their clothes.
Alfie watched the woman as she grinned while watching the chastised men and eating the last of her toast before he proceeded to follow Tommy.
"Drink?" Tommy offered and Alfie grunted a yes. After what he just saw he needed a drink.
"So, how was the drive?" Tommy asked when he handed Alfie his glass.
Alfie blinked repeatedly up at Tommy in irritation.
"Why is it I'm always fucking summoned up to fucking Birmingham, when you are the one that fucking needs me?" Alfie grumbled.
"You're a smart man, Alfie. I know you speak multiple languages; do you speak German?" Tommy asked, getting directly to business.
"German?" Alfie echoed, scratching his beard. "I understand bits. Not fluent. Why?"
"I'm attempting to do business and they are specifically asking for you to be involved…"
Alfie's eyebrows bunched. "I thought you were going west in your business dealings? What business could you possibly have with any Germans? And how the fuck do they know who I am?"
Tommy shrugged. "Apparently one of them is Jewish, they've heard of you. They want you involved to give some sort of common ground-"
"So, you don't fuck them over." Alfie finished for him with a chuckle. "What? They don't speak English?"
"They do, but they don't trust me so I hoped to have someone there that could-"
"Spy on them when they speak their native tongue?" Alfie, again, finished for him with a cock of his eyebrow.
Tommy cleared his throat. "Yes. I don't want to get women involved but…" He trained off as he stood and walked to the door.
Tommy opened the door and the women from the parlor followed him in, shutting the door behind her.
She walked forward, her face soft before she sat delicately in the seat beside Alfie with her hands in her lap.
"Alfie this is my cousin Olivia. Olivia, Alfie." Tommy introduced and Olivia gave Alfie a shy, polite smile.
Alfie scratched his mustache with his thumb as he considered her before he turned a skeptical eye to Tommy.
This woman has no business being involved in any sort of dealings or negotiations, he thought.
"She speaks six languages other than English." Tommy explained before he began naming them off. "Italian, French, Gaelic, Yiddish, German, and Romani, as well as can read and understand Greek."
Alfie looked at her again and she leaned in and whispered for everyone to hear, "I'm the smart one of the family." To which Alfie released an unamused breath of a chuckle.
Olivia sat quietly, an innocent air about her as she looked at Alfie with large gray eyes and then back to Tommy.
"And the business?" Alfie asked, pointing out that Tommy hadn't answered his questions.
"I was given their names by a trusted friend about a piece of merchandise, and the rights to it, that they have."
"Mm. And how much are you paying?"
They discussed money and when they decided on an amount, Alfie looked back at Olivia.
"And her?" He asked nodding in her direction as he looked at Tommy.
"She will be there as an observer. Purely to listen in if the need arises. But…" Tommy trailed off. "Because she does speak Yiddish, I hoped they might assume she was at these meetings with you. As an advisor."
"Fucking hell. Why?" Alfie asked with an exasperated sigh.
"They have reservations of doing business with me because I'm a Gypsy. And-"
"You don't want them knowing she's a fucking pikey as well." Alfie rolled his eyes and sighed. After a moment, he shook his head. "No. I don't want any part in this. I told you not to get involved with the fucking Russians and you didn't fucking listen. Now you want to get involved with a bunch of Germans? No."
"Not a bunch of Germans. Just two. Two that are looking intently to get rid of what they're selling but they're being cautious about it."
"Then maybe you should be cautious about buying it." Alfie pointed out.
"Alfie." Tommy said before he leaned forward in his chair. "These men are Jewish, and they want to get rid of what they have and quickly. But they don't trust me. They won't do this without you."
"Then you're going to make this worth my fucking trouble. I want an additional 50,000 pounds." Alfie said sternly.
Tommy leaned back in his chair in disappointment as if Alfie had knocked the breath out of him. He rubbed his hands down his face before he said in resignation. "Fine. We are supposed to meet in London on Thursday at 8 in the evening."
Alfie growled, almost angry that Tommy had agreed. He looked at Olivia before he stood. "Be in Camden Town on Thursday at 6 o'clock. Don't be fucking late."
"Um. Why?" She asked.
"Well it wouldn't make much sense to be there with me and show up with him, would it?" He barked.
Olivia looked at him with indignation before she conceded and shook her head.
"Right. 6 o'clock." Alfie repeated before he left, in no better a mood than when he arrived.