Laney wasn't Richard's best friend. He didn't have one. Or friends period. Everyone in his life was divided into two groups: useful contact or unfortunate acquaintance.
He didn't need people the way others seemed to. He didn't get any genuine enjoyment out of being around them. Simply annoyance most of the time unless he was getting the better end of a deal.
Obviously, his wife fell on the useful end of the scale despite the ongoing issue of being interrupted more often. He wouldn't be able to accomplish his ultimate goal without her. He really needed to figure out how to drive this act home without wasting more time than absolutely necessary.
How often would be enough? There had to be a minimum threshold that could be reached.
Laney saw Lissy after work every day and spent all day with her on the weekends. She was the bigger concern here. What would be enough to convince her?
