The perfect distraction

Olivia thought that she had found the perfect way to save herself from Noah's questions but his understanding and interested look was only a front for what he was planning inside. Since Olivia could lie for days if he only stuck to asking questions, Noah decided to put her to work instead. That way she would not only be exposed as a liar but it would provide him with some entertainment as well. So, just as Olivia took another bite of the food she had brought for lunch, Noah put his plan into motion.

"Yes, you are right. In fact, don't bother sending me the recipe. I have a much better idea. Why don't you prepare this dish for us for tomorrow's dinner." Olivia almost choked on the bite of food she had in her mouth when she heard Noah's suggestion. She then fervently began to cough to get the bit of food out of her wind pipe. With tears in her eyes and a sore throat from coughing she managed to force out the word, "W-what?" As she felt a rush of panic, hoping dearly that Noah was only joking and hating herself for the lies she spun, Olivia looked at Noah with big eyes.

"Yeah. It'll be great. I'll come early and you can show me the entire process step by step. After all, what better way for me to learn it, than to see it directly made by the person who knows how to do it already? Besides, I have always been a see and do kind of guy. I don't learn well from a piece of paper. Especially not when it comes to things I don't often do. Normally I wouldn't ask this of someone but since you said that we are friends, I thought to myself "Why not?". So, what do you say friend? Will you teach me?"

Noah knew he had driven Olivia into a corner and he didn't mind at all. Having Olivia agree with this, would give Laila the perfect opportunity to roam around the house without the fear of getting caught by Olivia. By getting rid of the biggest obstacle, Laila would have less to worry about and a higher chance of success. Plus, it had a wonderful added bonus. The fact that it would throw Olivia in a big frenzy for the rest of the day and probably tomorrow as well as she now suddenly had to learn how to cook. This would ensure that she would have no time to plan anything else that would potentially ruin his day or any of their plans until then. In other words, the perfect distraction!

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While Olivia was facing some cold sweat over tomorrow's dinner, Laila was preparing a dinner of her own along with Maria. After the decision was made to have the date tomorrow, when Laila and Noah were over at Olivia's house, it was time for them to do the shopping. Maria had used a fair share of the morning to come up with a menu. Now all they needed to do, was get the ingredients and do some prepping.

Over at the supermarket both of them were lost. The first for never having been there and the other for not having any supermarkets since starting her new life. Though she did wonder if having the memories of this life would be much of a help. In a way Laila doubted that she had done a single day of shopping since they became rich. This Laila didn't have the realization of the negative sides of wealth. Her life had been as close to perfect as possible on the surface. So, with the lack of hardships in the form of a miscarriage and a cheating husband, the Laila from this timeline never had the wake-up call that she had experienced. Therefore, chances were that the her from this timeline had been just as stuck up as she had been for a big part of her life.

As they slid from isle to isle, Maria threw item after item in their shopping cart, turning the empty metal carriage into a food pile on wheels. From meats to vegetables, fruits and herbs. Nothing was left out nor to luck. No effort nor expense was spared to turn tomorrow's dinner-date into a success, making both Laila and Maria more excited with each step they were taking to reach that goal.

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At the office Noah was holding back a big smile as he waited for Olivia to leave. A lunch that was supposed to last an hour, had been reduced to a mere twenty minutes by Noah's unexpected suggestion. Shortly after that, Olivia who had barely touched the food she had brought to begin with, almost stopped eating altogether. Once Noah appeared to have had enough, she started packing what was left in an attempt to run away. Making up some silly excuse that she could not stay any longer since she did not want to disturb him during a busy day. Saying how she had suddenly remembered, that she had promised her mother that she would come visit and help her with something. Of course Noah did not stop her from leaving but he did put on a little act.