Too much to deal with

Laila had been shocked to find out that the backer they had been speaking of, the mystery man that they had feared, had turned out to be none other than Harold Richardson. Though things might have gone different in her previous life and she had not known of which people or struggles Noah had faced after his going away for college, she did know Harold Richards. Or to be more accurate, she knew of him and what she knew was far from pleasant.

She had known of him through one of the cocktail parties she had gone to with Jake. Some of the people had been talking of a man that was quite new to town that was gaining territory at an alarming speed and he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty to gain it. Though some wondered if the stories surrounding him weren't just stories. Tales with not much truth to them. They didn't care to find out if they were and test their luck, when they knew that it could possibly put them in harm's way. It was because of this that she was surprised that he hadn't done anything to Noah in all these years. But she wasn't willing to wait and find out if he ever would.

From what she had remembered, he was a frightening man that didn't have any morals. He loved his women, loved his booze and his money. Anyone that came in between of any of those three things, would be made to pay the price. His unforgivingness plus his connections with people that were considered part of an even worse crowd, made him a bad person to cross. Though he had always made sure not to get his own hands dirty, he had enough money to his name to make others do it for him. Now she was told that a person like that had been exactly the person Noah had crossed?! Put back on his tail by the likes of Olivia. She agreed with Steve that it was best to deal with him while he wasn't at full strength yet. If he was, he could prove to be too much to deal with.

After processing what she had heard and making up her mind, Laila finally snapped back to reality. Just in time it seemed as all eyes were directed at her. "Well, what do you think Laila? Will you do it?" Steve asked her with an excited look in his eyes. Laila was confused as she had missed most of the conversation that had taken place after the name 'Harold Richards' had been mentioned. Though her confusion was quite present on her face, Steve took it as her being unwilling rather than unaware of the task she had been given. So he replied to her silence by saying, "Does this mean you don't want to? I know it might be a bit awkward but it is the safest option we have right now."

Even Noah wasn't aware that Laila had missed their conversation. Though he had noticed her silence, he thought it was more because she was trying to take it all in as a lot of information was being discussed. He had no reason to think otherwise because as it stood, he didn't know very much of her previous life. Other than what was necessary for him to know to move their relationship forward, they had kept the past in the past. Besides, this was far too little of a detail for them to have discussed either way, so in his mind, Laila had heard the name 'Harold Richards' for for the first time tonight and knew nothing of him.

The reason he had for believing this, despite Maria responding so strongly to the name, was because according to the timeline, their lives couldn't have crossed. At least not their current lives. Which happens to be the life that this Noah knew most about and the life his mind thought of when thinking about Laila.

So, in his mind Laila had moved with him to the town they were living in a few years ago. As Maria only knew of the name because of him moving his business to the town she lived in, this mean that she hadn't heard of him until he was driven out of this town. Which also meant that Laila couldn't have heard of Harold Richardson while they were still living in the town they grew up in and where Maria still lived. Because Harold Richardson moving away, was something that happened when Noah himself had started building his company here and therefore also after he and Laila had made their big move to this town as well.

With this mindset, he too thought that Laila simply didn't want to do what they had asked of her and came to her defence instead of trying to convince her like Steve did. "Stop pestering her. If she doesn't want to do it, then she doesn't have to. We will simply have to find another way." This was when Laila finally said something. As she grabbed Noah's hand and squeezed it to express her thanks, she looked at him and said with a smile, "I'm sorry. Thank you for standing up for me but it isn't that I don't want to." Then she turned to face the others as well before she elaborated by saying, "It is just that I don't quite know what you are talking about. So, I am not rejecting anything but right now I don't know what it is I am supposed to say 'yes' or 'no' to. Unfortunately I was in a bit of a daze after hearing the name Harold Richards, as I too have heard his name before and it wasn't in a good way. So, I was a bit shocked to hear his name again here. But please repeat your question and I will answer right away."