XIV. Modern company.

It was early in the morning when Maude arrived at the Shelby Company Limited building for a meeting with the board of Directors. Henry was standing on the curb, having a smoke. Just as the driver pulled the car up, Henry walked over, opening the door for his sister.

"Have you heard from Tommy yet?" Henry questioned as he held his hand out towards Maude, helping her out of the car.

"Not yet," she replied as she shook her head, walking side by side towards the building with her brother. Henry handed his cigarette to Maude and she came to a stop, taking a deep drag before blowing out a puff of smoke. "One of the drivers went to pick him up this morning."

"Man, he is going to bloody kill Michael," Henry muttered as he shook his head, taking his cigarette back from his sister and taking a few stressed puffs before handing it back.

"I don't blame him if he does," Maude replied, wrapping one arm around her body as she took another drag of the cigarette. She sighed deeply, running her hand over her face. "Christ, Michael lost us a lot of money." she groaned.

"I assume Tommy reacted badly?" Henry questioned as he quirked an eyebrow at Maude.

"Badly is hardly the word." Maude scoffed as she took a last drag of the cigarette before handing it back to Henry. "And on top of everything, Charlie heard he shot Dangerous," she muttered as she wrapped both arms around herself.

"Is that why Arthur told the poor lad that killing is a kindness?" Henry questioned as he raised his eyebrows. He had heard snippets of the conversation Arthur had with Charlie the previous night.

"Yes," Maude replied as she clenched her jaw, giving a curt nod.

"Remind me to keep him away from Ruby whenever she has a bad day," Henry mumbled as he took a last drag of his cigarette before stomping it out underneath the heel of his shoe.

"Come on, Linda will have our heads if we're late," Maude mumbled as she nodded her head in the direction of the building.

Maude and Henry entered the building and entered the meeting room with the rest of the board members, but Tommy had yet to arrive. Henry and Maude sat down with Polly and as Edna, one of the maids, handed out tea and biscuits, Polly offered a flask to Maude and Henry, pouring whiskey into their tea.

"Thank you, Edna," Arthur told the maid as he ate one of the biscuits while finding his seat at the head of the table. "And shut the door," he instructed as the woman made her way out of the room and she closed the door beside her.

Maude took a sip of her tea and accepted the cigarette Polly offered to her. It was going to be a long day.

Linda cleared her throat and motioned for Arthur to start the meeting. She was afraid Tommy would arrive soon, and she knew her husband would hand over the reins to Tommy. Arthur's position as chairman of the board was wanted more by Linda than by Arthur. He didn't care for all the big titles and added responsibility.

"OK, now..." Arthur started before taking another biscuit. "Mmm, they're nice," he mumbled as he pointed at the plate of biscuits. "...let's begin." he finished as he opened one of the files in front of him. "Yesterday, as you all know, there was a fucking terrible... There was a terrible disaster." he started. "Hmm? It wasn't just for us. It was for the whole world. Happened in New York. That's where it happened. And it slowly spread to London. And then too, er, fucking Hong Kong."

Maude stared at Arthur as she took a long drag of her cigarette before her gaze diverted. She shared a look with Polly and both women internally sighed. It was going to be a very fucking long day. Both women's attention turned to the files in front of them, and they looked through the papers inside while Arthur went on.

"Hmm? Whole thing... whole thing went up." Arthur continued, glancing at Linda every now and then, making it obvious who was pushing for his position on the board. "Well, actually the whole thing went fucking down, but...we wasn't the only ones hurt by this. Whole world is hurt. A lot of people. In the papers. It's all over the news. Everyone's talking about it." he ranted on aimlessly.

"Arthur?" Polly spoke up as she quirked an eyebrow at him. "Shouldn't we just wait for Thomas?" she suggested.

"I think that is a good idea," Maude replied as she looked around the other members of the board sitting around the table. Among them were her two brothers, Lizzie and Ada, and a non-family member, Mr. Greene. Most of them nodded in agreement.

Linda laughed sarcastically as she looked towards the women. "Polly, Maude, Arthur's now the chairman of the board." she reminded in a sharp tone as she shot a pointed look between Maude and Polly.

"We know, Linda," Maude replied in a tight voice as she gave Linda a petty smile. "You remind us every day," she replied sharply as her head tilted to the side.

Silence fell over the room for a moment before Mr. Greene cleared his throat. "Er, Mr Chairman, perhaps while we wait for Thomas, I might lighten the gloom and express, as a relatively new member of this company, what a pleasure it is to be in a boardroom that has so many females in it, and all females who are both sharp-witted and decorative." the man spoke.

It was true, as without Tommy present, the women outnumbered the men by one, and with Tommy, they were equals. And some of the women around the table, such as Maude and Polly, played a bigger role in the company than most of the men.

Maude quirked an eyebrow and shared a glance with Polly. "Decorative, Pol." she mouthed and Polly rolled her eyes, finding the choice of words offensive.

"Yeah, well, we're a very modern company, Mr. Greene," Arthur explained as he nodded his head.

"Indeed." Mr. Greene agreed as he nodded his head.

"Although there are still some among us who cling to their old-fashioned values," Polly spoke up as her eyes flicked towards Linda, making her feelings towards the blonde very clear.

The door opened and Tommy walked into the room while Arthur stood up. Maude let out a soft sigh, taking another drag of her cigarette and a sip of her tea. "Oh, thank God," she whispered, and Henry grunted in agreement.

"How far have we got?" Tommy questioned as he placed his briefcase on the table, standing at the end of the table.

"We've established that ladies are decorative," Polly spoke up as she stared down at the paper in her hand.

"And Arthur is now the chairman of the board," Maude added as she shot a side-eyed look towards Linda. The blonde glared at Maude, clenching her jaw. Maude stared back at Linda, keeping eye contact with a challenging look, and eventually, Linda diverted her gaze.

"We've only just sat down, Tom," Arthur informed as Tommy shrugged off his coat and laid it on the back of a chair.

"Actually, um, Arthur has some documents that he'd like to hand out," Linda spoke up as she looked at her husband before turning to look at Tommy.

"Yeah? What documents?" Tommy questioned as he pulled his cigarettes out from his pocket, placing one between his lips and lighting it.

Arthur stared down at his wife for a moment before throwing the documents on the table and abandoning them. "I was just explaining to everyone, Tom, that, um, well, we're fucked." he told his brother while Linda gave him a look of disbelief. "Ain't that right? Hmm?" he questioned his brother.

"Yes and no," Tommy replied as he took a drag of his cigarette. He cleared his throat and looked around at everyone. "It is true that a large proportion of the company's funds were invested in American stocks and shares," he confirmed.

"Invested or hidden?" Linda questioned as she raised her eyebrows at him, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

Maude glanced at her husband, quirking an eyebrow as she watched him respond. No one challenged Thomas Shelby more than Linda, not even his own wife. "All investments are approved by the board, Linda." Tommy reminded as his brows furrowed in annoyance.

"Only the ones that went through the books, Thomas," Linda replied, speaking his name with sass that made Maude roll her eyes.

Tommy took a deep breath as he looked at the blonde and everyone else shifted uncomfortable. "Linda, after this meeting, there will be another meeting for just family," Tommy informed her.

"Did we vote on this?" Linda questioned as she looked around at everyone before looking at Tommy. "Is your wife going to be there?" she questioned him.

Tommy stared at Linda. Of course, his fucking wife was going to be there. His eyes snapped towards his brother. "Arthur?" he warned in a low voice, urging his brother to say something before he did.

"Arthur, can't you control your wife?" Linda spoke in a mocking tone as she gave Tommy a cold look. Arthur stared down at his wife with a blank look, like he was wishing either he or she wasn't there. "We are a very modern company, Mr. Greene." she mocked as she nodded her head.

Tommy stared at Linda for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing with the meeting while Arthur sat back down in his seat, and Linda shot him a glare. "To be precise, everything we channeled through the New York Stock Exchange is now offering a return of ten cents to the dollar. And the Nolan Bank of America, where we invested our fluidity, is offering five cents to the dollar on all deposits." Tommy explained to everyone. There were mixed reactions of disbelief and a few scoffs.

"Yeah," Tommy mumbled when he saw their reactions. "There is hope," he assured as he dug in his briefcase.

"Why?" Polly scoffed as she buried her head into her hands. "What have you got in there, a magic wand?" she asked sarcastically.

Tommy pulled out a file from his briefcase and took a drag of his cigarette as he looked toward Arthur. "As nonexecutive director of the company, I need the permission from the chairman to present my strategy to the board," he said.

Arthur looked at his brother for a moment before nodding with half a smile as he closed the file in front of him. "Permission granted, Tom." he agreed.

Linda laughed in disbelief before scoffing. She stood up and grabbed her clutch from the table. "Have a nice day Linda," Maude called out as the blonde stormed out of the room.

Tommy presented his plan to the board, and after everyone agreed to the plan, after a few tweaks would be made here and there, the meeting came to an end. As everyone packed up, half leaving and half waiting outside to head to the snug for a second meeting, Tommy turned to his wife.

"Where are the children?" he asked her as he rounded the table and approached her. He cupped her cheeks between his rough hands and peppered a few greeting kisses to her lips.

Maude gave a small smile against his lips as she reached up and placed her hands on his arms. "Left them with Lizzie's babysitter," she informed him softly. She gave a small sigh and reached up, placing one of her hands over Tommy's. "Arthur talked with Charles, which only made things worse."

Tommy sighed and lowered his head. He was silent for a moment before nodding. "I'll talk with Charles today," he assured his wife as he lowered his hands.

"He's still upset," Maude informed him as she reached up and cupped one of his cheeks, her thumb brushing across his skin. "He's like you when it comes to horses," she told her husband with a small smile. "You have to talk to him calmly, explain it to him."

"I'll talk with him, don't worry," Tommy assured his wife as he took her hand off his cheek and kissed her palm.

"I have to worry." she insisted as she nodded her head. "Since yesterday, everything has been falling apart," she muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed softly.

"We'll fix it," Tommy assured his wife as he nodded his head. "We always do." he reminded her.

Maude sighed as she leaned back against the table. "Things with Michael have been rough since his betrayal," she muttered softly as she shook her head. "Now it will only be worse once he returns." she insisted as she threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

"We'll deal with that as well," Tommy assured as he stepped in front of Maude, placing his hands on her arms and rubbing his thumbs up and down across her skin.

"No matter how you deal with it, the situation is fucked Tommy," she whispered as she slowly shook her head and sighed. "Can't accept Michael back into the family, can't throw him out permanently," she replied as she weighed the options in her hands.

Tommy knew his wife was right, and he was admittedly at a loss about what to do with Michael once he returned in a few days. He sighed softly and closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to Maude's forehead. "Come on, we'll be late," he muttered softly.

The two grabbed their things and met the family outside to head to the Garrison.