Wretched

Laila was still standing in the hall with Olivia, where Garry had just been accused of showing bad behaviour, despite doing his utmost to not let his personal feelings shine through in the execution of his job. Laila was about to come to his defence and responded to Olivia's complaints by saying,

"Oh come on Olivia. Poor Garry was just doing his job. If he had let you through, without calling me first, you would have said that he hasn't had proper training because he had allowed an uninvited guest walk in without checking with the owners. We can't switch our tune and change the rules everyday right? If we did, that would not make him a bad employee but us a bad employer. Then we would never be able to find good staff. So, in service of the greater good, we should embrace the fact that we too will sometimes be faced with the rules that we expect others to be subjugated to."

Then Laila turned to Garry and with a grateful smile she said, "Thank you Garry. I have got it from here." Garry finally turned around to where Laila and Olivia were standing and gave another slight nod in Laila's direction before saying, "Very well Miss Laila, I shall leave you to it." After another nod in Olivia's direction, one that was barely noticeable, he walked out of the room to let the two 'friends' have their conversation in private. Once he was out of the room, Laila turned to Olivia again and asked, "Now tell me, what has brought you by today?"

Olivia had no way of coming back at Laila's words of defence and after showing her disapproval in some muttering sounds in the moment itself, she straightened her dress in a huff and with furrowed brows decided to let the matter go as she waited for him to leave the room. "Did he really just say 'Miss Laila'?! Is that how they are addressing you now?! Really, what has this place come down to." Laila felt herself losing her patience and fought hard to keep a smile on her face, however forced it may have looked. Through pursed lips she said, "Never mind that Olivia." Then she loosened the tension on her jaw again as she elaborated. "I asked them to. I don't want everyone to be so tense around me and Noah. Especially now that I am home most of the time. It feels so stuffy and at least in my own home I shouldn't feel that way."

Olivia could not believe what she was hearing and was clearly not approving Laila's way of managing things but that is not what she had come down here for today and she refused to waste too much of her time and energy on someone like Garry. With a "Ché", crossed arms and a look that spoke a thousand words, Olivia said in a bitter tone, "Suit yourself. Your house, your staff. As for the reason that I have come here today, I was not aware that I needed a reason to visit my friend. Or have you become too big to be visited by the likes of me in the few days that have passed since we last saw each other. Really Laila, I don't know what has gotten into you? These days I feel like a criminal or an unwanted guest every time I come to visit. Now I have even been humiliated by being kept waiting in the hall like some saleswoman or low level colleague. Is that what things have come to between us?"

Laila let out an internal sigh as she fought the urge to roll her eyes and said, "Of course you don't need a reason to visit. I assure you that it is nothing like that. It is just that your visit is unexpected and we have guests over today. So, I can't really spend time with you and I feel bad that you should have walked here for no reason. That is why I asked if there was a reason for your visit, so that I could at least help you with whatever you needed, if there was such a thing, before I tell you that I cannot stay and chat or go anywhere with you."

"Guests?" Olivia asked with lifted brows. "I did not know you were having guests." Laila was happy to see that Olivia had taken the bait and started saying the words she had rehearsed in her mind. "Yes, I am sorry. I did not get a chance to inform you about it as I was not aware of them coming to visit either. Apparently Maria has contacted Noah and has asked him to help reach out to me. Saying that she has had time to think about things and that she doesn't want to let matters end between us like this. I was only told about her visit today and also about how she will be staying with us for two weeks."

"Maria?! Why is that wretched woman here? You poor thing. How dense husbands can be sometimes. How could he think that her staying here for two weeks could be something that would make you happy. Especially with you being in the state that you are. How could this possibly be good for you. Doesn't he know that stress is bad for the baby? And here I was yelling at you. What a bad friend I am." Olivia pulled Laila in for a hug, to show her sympathies and Laila pretended to feel the pain. But once their faces were shielded from each other because of their embrace, they each showed their true feelings, which certainly didn't match how they tried to appear on the outside.