from a shelby to a solomons

nine

Charlotte growled when she found out. Finn had walked into her bedroom and told her that Lizzie wasn't a whore anymore - Tommy had hired her as secretary for Shelby Company Limited. That was something Charlotte definitely could have done, but Tommy just decided to hire Lizzie and not even his own sister.

Charlotte stormed down the stairs and saw Tommy sitting at the kitchen table. "You hired Lizzie?!"

"I did," Tommy replied, taking a sip from his tea. He flipped through the newspaper and ignored Charlotte's presence.

"How could you fucking do that?" Charlotte seethed. "I want to work for the family business! I'm a Shelby and can't even work at Shelby Company Limited!" She threw her hands in the air and yanked the paper out of Tommy's hands so that he would have to pay attention to her.

"She's a whore, Charlotte," Tommy explained gruffly, standing up to leave the room and go into his office. Charlotte followed him. "She needs the money. You live with me." He picked up his pack of cigarettes that lay on his desk and lit one. "You don't."

Charlotte huffed as she realized Tommy was right, as he usually was. But that didn't mean she would back down and give in so easily.

"I do need the money, Tommy!" She protested. "I want to buy things and I need to earn money to buy things." She crossed her arms across her chest and flopped into the chair across from Tommy's desk.

"What do you want to buy?" He asked, reaching into his pocket. "How much does it cost?" He thumbed through some notes and pulled some out. He was trying to pay her off.

"I want to earn the money, Tom, not take it from my brother." She sighed as she stood up, plotting how she was going to stay involved in family business because she felt like Tommy kept pushing her aside and inviting new people in. First it was Grace, now Lizzie.

"It's a family business, Charlotte," he spoke, taking a drag from his cigarette, letting the smoke come out of his nose. "This money is Shelby money. You're a Shelby." He dropped the wad of cash on the desk.

Charlotte rolled her eyes at her brother's obvious statement, grabbed the notes on the desk, and swiftly ran out of the room, already plotting her comeback. She was going to show Tommy that she could earn money her own way - and he wouldn't like it one bit.

---

Charlotte waited in her bedroom until Polly called her down for supper. She ate supper quickly and kept her mouth shut for most of it, only making a disapproving noise when Tommy mentioned to Polly that he hired Lizzie to be the company's new secretary. Meanwhile, Finn kept trying to convince Tommy to let him get his own horse. Finn was determined to ride a horse in a betting race, but Tommy insisted that they weren't the kind of people who rode horses for entertainment anymore. He explained that instead they were now the type of people who owned those racehorses.

She ate quickly and quietly, wanting to cause no attention to herself. After dinner, Tommy said he had to go out for a bit, Finn went to his room, and Polly went into the office to continue doing work. Living above and next to the betting shop made it difficult for anyone in the Shelby family to separate work and play.

After staying in her room for a solid hour, Charlotte decided to open her window and climb down the back of the house. She knew Polly would forget she was even there because she was being so quiet, Finn probably didn't care, and Tommy wasn't even home to notice. She walked down the streets of Birmingham with her head down and a shawl over her shoulders. She didn't want anyone to see it was her who was walking down the street. If one of the Blinders saw Charlotte walking down the street alone at this hour, she knew they would tell Tommy and Tommy would have her head.