<div style="text-align: justify;">Colette was relieved that Paul would allow her to help him out. While she could never be romantically involved with the man, she would like at least being his friend. Maybe, now that he was fired, he would stick around? Colette wasn’t the kind of person to hold prejudice against anyone, and Paul was a nice man, after all.<br/><br/>~“Deal”~, she replied firmly. ~“I promise I won’t put myself in harm’s way”~. After this comment, she stuck her hand in her pocket and took a pair of small bars of chocolate, the kind chambermaids left on the pillows when they tidied up. ~“Does it help make things a little bit better?”~, she asked in a friendly intonation.<br/><br/>For now, all she could do was to try and help make Paul relax a little until they could figure things out. <br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">********************</div><br/>Marie was really enjoying her time with Shane. He was such a nice boy, and obviously needed company. Hearing that he trusted her judgement made the woman happy. She did feel a very strong bond with Shane. It might be her failed maternal instincts kicking in, or anything else. It didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that she really liked this young man.<br/><br/>She couldn’t help but laugh when Shane asked if she got a big discount for being a friend. “Well, it depends. I do, sometimes, when things are rough”, she admitted with a smile. “I do make a point of always helping as I can, though”, the woman completed, keeping her kind intonation.<br/><br/>After these words, she waited patiently for Shane to tell her whether or not he liked the idea of the stew, so she could either order it or help him choose something else. <br/><br/>Once the young man made his choice, Marie gave him a bright and warm smile. “Good choice, I’m sure you will love it”, she replied, before ordering the food. “I have ordered the same for me, along with some wine and cheese”, she explained. “Don’t worry, as I said, the place is not expensive”. <br/><br/>After the woman who had brought the menu stepped away to place the order, Marie placed a gentle hand on Shane’s. “How are you feeling now, son? Are you a little less tormented?”, she asked, her intonation always kind.</div>