Stamp of approval

After hearing Laila's first words of reassurance, Maria felt herself being a lot less tense as a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders. But she was not done yet. So, while her friend was still looking at her with a speechless expression, Laila continued with a smile as she felt that that Maria's balled up hand had loosened up a bit.

"As for your second point, though Noah was behind the door with me, I can safely say that he was far from paying attention to the two of you. The only reason he was standing there was because of me. I pulled him back when I saw you walk in and he simply amused me. He even told me that he had stopped listening after a bit. I can't say that he didn't hear anything because I am sure he did, at first at least, but I doubt he cares enough to remember. I know you might think that we fooled you by pretending we didn't know anything when I myself knew practically everything but we did that with good intentions. The only reason that we pretended to be unaware of everything was to make you not feel too awkward with Steve being present for the conversation and all. Not to hide that we knew all together and make a fool of you."

Maria let out a sigh of relief and glanced over at Steve for a brief moment, before turning her eyes back towards Laila with a soft smile. "In that case I will try to relax a bit more and take it one step at a time. If he was able to get a stamp of approval from both you and Noah, I guess that I should start believing in him a bit more as well." Laila was so happy to hear those words. She felt happy by the idea that her friend had finally found someone that was actually worthy of her and that she was willing to give her a chance.

Though she wasn't sure about this life but if her previous life was any indication, then her friend had trouble finding good men. In her eyes, all her boyfriends so far had taken advantage of Maria's giving nature in one way or another. But no matter how often she got hurt, it seemed that she kept going for the guys that made her feel pity for them or made her feel small. Cheating on her. Making her pay for their expensive hobbies when she wasn't swimming in money either. Or expecting her to solve all their problems.

The last boyfriend she had was a real 'prize' and seemed to combine all that was wrong with the ones before him, in one narcissistic jerk. After he had cheated on Maria with her cousin, that was when she broke it off and swore off all men. That was about five years ago and she had been afraid to open up to anyone new ever since.

Looking back, Laila realized that in that sense, neither of them had been very good at picking men. Fortunately she had been given a second choice and was able to get herself a wonderful husband, now she wanted to give her friend the same chance. Since at the very least Maria's second chance didn't require time travel like hers did, Laila quite liked her friend's odds of achieving happiness. With time travel as the bar, everything else seemed well within reach.

While Laila was in her own cloud, imagining the wonderful life her friend was going to have in her eyes, Maria was feeling grateful. Grateful that at least Steve was not aware of them being seen and heard, as that would make her feel even more embarrassed. Though she had some worries that Noah might end up telling him, even if just to annoy her. But when she thought it through, she would remember that Noah is not that kind of person and if he told Laila that he supported her and Steve getting together, he would never do anything to harm that.

Suddenly, Maria and Laila's thoughts, as well as Noah and Steve's conversation was disturbed by Noah's phone ringing. The phone was still with Steve, who saw that the call was from the office. He picked it up and put the call on speaker for everyone to listen. "We sent the information you asked for Mr. Branson. And again we want to say that we are terribly sorry. Please tell Mr. Stevens as well and if he decides to fire us, we won't blame him."

Laila and Noah exchanged a glance after these words and Noah knew what he needed to do. After a look at Steve, asking if he had heard and said all he needed to say, he grabbed the phone from the table and turned the speaker off. As he walked out of the room he said in a calm tone, "Don't worry. You were on speaker. So, I heard everything. As for me firing you, there is no need for you to worry about such a thing. Though I am not happy with the situation. Everyone is capable of making mistakes. Even me. I raised my voice and got angry at the three of you when you were seeking help to fix your mistakes. Mistakes you owned up to. My wife helped me realize that I reacted too harshly and that it was out of character for me. So, if you can forgive me for my mistake, I am willing to overlook yours."