Florienna Ellis took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger surging in her chest, while Teddy Carter had already discreetly tugged at the hem of Florienna’s shirt. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Finally, Florienna closed her eyes and said to Charlotte Thompson, "I’m sorry, Miss Thompson. This is my fault. It won’t happen again."

Charlotte didn’t seem to pay attention to Florienna’s words. She simply turned around and said to the designers behind her, "Let’s go back for the meeting."

Many people followed Charlotte as she left, but as they walked away, their gazes lingered on Florienna’s face.

Florienna felt as though those stares were pinning her to a pillar of humiliation.

Despite the bitterness swelling in her heart, she had no choice but to lift her feet and follow the crowd to the meeting room.

However, Florienna never expected what was about to come. As soon as she stepped into the meeting room, Charlotte’s voice wafted over from behind:

"Mr. Ellis, what are you doing here?"

Florienna froze mid-motion just as she was about to take her seat, staring at Charlotte in shock.

"I... I came for the meeting," Florienna stammered, unable to come up with a suitable reply.

"Didn’t you already request leave? Why are you attending meetings then?"

Charlotte tilted her chin slightly upward.

Suddenly, Charlotte felt like the persona of being unapologetically arrogant suited her quite well.

At this point, Florienna was trembling in anger from Charlotte’s words.

Just what was going on with Charlotte? Why had she suddenly started targeting her so blatantly?

The other designers in the room wore varying expressions. None of them were foolish; it was obvious to everyone that Charlotte was deliberately singling Florienna out today.

And yet, as they watched Florienna being verbally lashed by Charlotte, some couldn’t help but secretly curve their lips into a subtle smile.

After all, Florienna’s arrogant, domineering attitude in the office had long rubbed many people the wrong way. But she’d always relied on her backing, leaving others too intimidated to confront her.

Now that someone had finally stepped up to take Florienna down a notch, it was deeply satisfying to witness.

Florienna lowered her head slightly, though inside, she was seething with the desire to rip her opponent to shreds. On the surface, however, she could only feign an air of sorrow, even lifting her gaze with reddened eyes slightly brimming with unshed tears.

"Miss Thompson, I don’t know what mistake I’ve made today to warrant such hostility from you. I admit my abilities are still lacking, and sometimes I make errors that may upset you. But everyone makes mistakes—why must you push me to a dead end, Miss Thompson?"

"Do you seriously have to ask me what you’ve done wrong?"

Charlotte was utterly unmoved by Florienna’s pitiful act.

"Don’t bother playing the victim here. It’s working hours, and no one is interested in witnessing your melodrama. Besides, Miss Ellis, the one forcing you to the edge isn’t me—it’s yourself."

Charlotte paused after delivering her sharp words.

Suddenly, Charlotte felt like she’d become a robotic machine, effortlessly lobbing merciless zingers at people.

"In the workplace, if someone refuses to work hard, there’s no excuse they can use to shirk their responsibilities—unless they hand in their resignation immediately."

Charlotte’s words landed with a resounding impact, plunging the entire meeting room into a dead silence.

Today, they’d all truly grasped the meaning of "a quiet tiger is still far from being a weak cat."

The typically gentle, hands-off Charlotte Thompson had revealed just how terrifying she could be when she lost her temper.

"Miss Thompson, isn’t that comment a bit too much?"