The atmosphere became frosty. Brenna's fingers tightened around her wine glass.
Janet smiled. "Mrs. Olson, you should keep your eyes open when you make friends. Mandy is not as sweet and obedient as you believe."
Brenna was annoyed but couldn't afford to lose her temper, so she simply forced a smile. "Mandy is a good girl, if a little hot-tempered. She probably did that because the designers in your studio bullied her."
"Mandy is your good friend. We would not dream of bullying her. Perhaps she was upset that we corrected her error?" Janet suggested gently. "But I understand that you love and support her. She's your friend. It makes sense. I only wanted to reassure the ladies present of the integrity of W Marks. If they want beautiful dresses designed for them, they need professional designers, and Mandy is too easily swayed by her emotions. She is used to a wealthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, this affects her professionalism. She is not the most able designer." Several ladies covered their mouths and chuckled. Brenna used her husband's position to control her friends. They hadn't seen Brenna look so depressed in a long time. Her distress gave them pleasure.
Hearing the faint laughter, Brenna frowned. She wanted to end the discussion as soon as possible. Today was a party to celebrate outstanding talents in town. Her husband was the host, and she could not be rude.
Brenna forced a smile and said, "It seems that there is a deep misunderstanding between you and Mandy, Mrs. Larson. I will ask Mandy to explain it
later. We should not allow these trifles to affect W Marks."
The ladies looked at each other and whispered, "See? She's finding an excuse to back down."
"What a powerful woman Janet is! She can force Brenna to eat her words."
Everyone knew Brenna was lying. They snickered secretly.
To save Brenna's face, Janet held her hand and said, "Let's sit over there and chat. I've read a lot of articles about you, Mrs. Olson. I heard that you recently returned from London, a city I like very much."
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