A close call

After talking for another ten minutes, Laila had heard all that Giselle had to say about what she had seen and overheard. One of those things including the story of how Fiona had attempted to steal a valuable Fabergé egg that had been used as a decorative piece on the mantlepiece only to be stopped by Marco stepping out of the bathroom and thwarting her plans. Hearing all that had happened and had been said, Laila let out a soft sigh. "Well what has happened, has happened but we need to think of a way to not let this affect our plan of getting rid of a Olivia in a way that doesn't hurt any us in the process."

Realizing she hadn't informed everyone yet of her plan to get rid of Olivia, Laila turned to face the entire team of people present in the living room and said, "I have spoken to some of you about this already but I realized just now that not all of you might be aware of my plans. From the moment I met Olivia or lady Smith..." With each word Laila was saying, she was making sure to see how the others were responding when hearing her say these things. She also made sure to think about her words carefully in order to not let anything slip out that might give herself away. That second sentence was already a close call but she already knew how she would fix that little slip up.

"Or I should say from the second I saw her when she came to visit me yesterday, I have been less than fond of her and have been asking myself how I have considered her a friend for so long. She has been behaving suspiciously and her acting the way she did towards Giselle made it clear that she needed to be cut out of our lives for good. But In order to do that, without hurting myself or any of you guys in the process, I need to tread carefully. Right now I don't know what she has planned or what she is capable of. Because of that I would like all of you to ask around to colleagues, friends, acquaintances, who might know Olivia or someone that is close to her. Ask them if they could tell us anything they know about her or what she is planning. Anything that might be useful."

Everyone nodded in understanding and let Laila know that Giselle and those that had been present during her initial request had already informed them. They were all willing to help her, especially after today and they would reach out to those that they thought might know something. Two of those people said that they had already set something in motion and were waiting for answers. Hearing the answers given by the others, made Giselle remember that she actually knew someone that worked at the Smith residence and decided to contact her in order to minimize whatever damage Fiona had caused with her blabbing. Without saying a thing, she rushed out of the room, ignoring the curious stares that followed her, and ran towards where she had kept her phone in order to call that person and ask for their help.

After returning with her lungs burning from her fast and unexpected running, she explained that she was going to contact an old friend. It was someone that she had met during her travels to this country and had been in close touch with during the first few months of her stay here. After that life and work got in the way and they got out of touch a bit, but they made sure to meet up once every so often to catch up. This was the perfect time to re-establish some contact.

"Oh Giselle that is wonderful news!" Laila said with clasped hands. Though she didn't want to worry Giselle or make anyone feel bad about inviting Fiona, she was in fact a bit worried what damage her information would cause to their upcoming plan. Despite not knowing if Giselle's friend would be willing and able to help them, this piece of information gave her hope that all could still be saved.

No sooner had Giselle's message been sent or they had received a reply. Giselle decided to read the text aloud to allow everyone to find out what it said at the same time. "Oh I was wondering if that was the same Stephens residence as where you were working when I overheard Rina's conversation. As far as I know, she hasn't said anything to miss Olivia yet but I will try and see what I can do in terms of convincing her not to say anything at all. I will pretend to be on her side and say that I don't think she should say anything until she has some real information to give before she causes miss Olivia to be in a bad mood all week for nothing. I am sure that not even she would be able to stand her mood swings, temper tantrums and anxious pacing for over a week. Especially if it was for 'nothing'"

This message caused another sigh of relief on Laila's part and the remaining people lifted their fist in celebration or hugged Giselle from the side from excitement. Almost each and everyone of them had been affected by Olivia one day in one way or another. So, the idea that they might have a chance to pay her back for what she had done to them, their colleagues or friends, was truly a cause for excitement and celebration. With that final piece of good and reassuring news, it was time to start the next step in their plan for revenge and elimination of Olivia. Getting Maria here and for that Laila would first need to go on a girl's trip to her!