Chapter 198 Stunning
The next day.
While Nicole was fixing a design sketch in her office, she received a visit from Anna and Wendy.
She quickly got up from her seat in surprise to greet them. “Mrs. Gardner, Miss Gardner, what brings you two here?”
Wendy’s gaze happened to land on the sketch that Nicole was fixing, and her eyes instantly lit up. With that, she strode toward it and became elated after she had a good look at it.
“Nicole, is this my coming of age dress?”
Nicole nodded at that. “But it’s still a work-in-progress. I still have to fix some details. If there’s anything you don’t like about it, I can make the changes immediately.”
Wendy hurriedly shook her head, saying, “No, no, not at all. This dress is stunning! Mom, come, take a look.”
Nicole had only sketched the outline of the dress at this point.
Anna was a designer in her youth, but even her eyes brightened upon seeing the sketch, her gaze filled with admiration. Joy enveloped her face as she looked over at Nicole while praising, “Nicole, this dress sure is something! As expected from F&M’s Chief Designer.”
Despite Anna’s praise, Nicole was still humble as she shook her head. “You flatter me, Mrs. Gardner. I just designed it according to Miss Gardner’s requirements.”
Seeing how modest Nicole was, Anna’s adoration for this young woman grew by the minute.
However, recalling what Olivia said back at the Gardner Residence, she could only sigh.
She adored Hayden as well, but Colton and Nicole insisted that the child had nothing to do with Colton, and they even had a DNA paternity test to prove it. So, she couldn’t force it anymore, could she?
“Wendy and I came for one more reason, actually,” Anna said.
With that, Nicole sat down next to her and listened attentively.
After taking a gander at Nicole, she continued, “Olivia—my husband’s sister, that is—went to you yesterday, didn’t she?”
Nicole nodded honestly, surprised that Anna had come to talk about this. “Yeah, she did.”
At that, Anna sighed and explained, “She’s quite blunt with her words, but she has a good heart. If she said anything mean to you, please don’t take it to heart.”
Nicole shook her head in two shakes. “I won’t.” She could still tell her rights from wrongs. Olivia may have been blunt, but she wasn’t pretentious. Thus, her words weren’t worth holding against although they sounded unpleasant in the beginning.
Anna heaved a sigh of relief, seeing that Nicole wasn’t upset. Then, she apologized with a hint of sadness. “It’s all my fault. I wouldn’t have made such a blunder if I didn’t jump to conclusions and take Hayden with me, giving everyone the wrong idea.”
Nicole hurriedly comforted her. “Mrs. Gardner, please don’t blame yourself. You wouldn’t have been mistaken if Hayden hadn’t simply addressed you. It’s all okay now that we’ve made everything clear.”
Seeing Nicole was high-minded, Anna couldn’t help wishing how great it’d be if Hayden were indeed Colton’s son.
However, just as she wanted to say more, a knock came at the door.
“Miss Lisa, I’ve gathered all the sketches. Would you like to take a look…”
Right after knocking, Joanna entered and saw Anna and Wendy as she looked up.
She froze for a split second, pretending that she had just discovered their visit before quickly greeting the two, “Wendy, Mrs. Gardner, what a pleasant surprise.”
However, in reality, Lexi had gone to her to report that Anna and Wendy had arrived and went straight to Nicole’s office. As she felt a little uneasy, she knocked on the door at the perfect time and feigned coincidence.
Seeing it was Joanna, Anna kept her smile on her face but swallowed her words. To Joanna’s greeting, she dipped her head in response.
