Deanna was surprised and delighted to hear Julia's words.
"Zackery and Norah are back? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me so I could visit them?"
Back when she had her accident, besides Julia, Zackery and Norah had helped her a lot. Especially during the time she was having her baby, if it weren't for Norah helping to take care of her, she might have ended up with health issues. She had great respect for Julia's parents. However, their work kept them abroad most of the time, so she never had the chance to repay them.
Julia was unaware of Deanna's thoughts. After hearing Deanna's words, she pouted and said, "My dear lady, please spare me. If you visit them, I won't be able to go home anymore."
"Is it that serious? What did you do?" Deanna asked curiously as she led the two little ones to the sofa in the living room.
Julia pouted and followed her to the sofa, sitting down with a sullen expression. "I didn't do anything. It's just that they see you about to get married while I'm still single. They're anxious and forcing me to go on blind dates. Can you believe it? In just three days, I've met almost a hundred people. I think my parents have gone mad."
By the end of her rant, she couldn't help but complain. Deanna was stunned by her words. She never expected her best friend to have such a miserable experience, but for some reason, she didn't feel any sympathy. Instead, she found it quite amusing.
Seeing the smile on Deanna's face, Julia knew she was being laughed at and immediately got angry. "Oh, you dare laugh at me? Watch out for my unbeatable tickle attack!"
With that, Julia pounced on Deanna. Caught off guard, Deanna was pinned down and tickled until she trembled with laughter, repeatedly begging for mercy. "I was wrong! Let me go... Ah, stop tickling, it's so itchy..."
Julia sat triumphantly on Deanna's waist and looked down at her. "Will you still laugh at me?"
"No more laughing, I beg you," Deanna pleaded again. Only then did Julia get off her.
The two little ones watched and made sarcastic comments from the side. "Mommy is so weak; she can't even beat Godmother."
"Mommy is indeed a bit weak."
Hearing these words, Deanna felt both amused and exasperated. She glared at the two little ones and scolded with a smile, "How dare you say that? When Mommy was being bullied by your Godmother just now, why didn't you come to help?"
"The teacher said we shouldn't take sides. If we helped Mommy, Godmother would be pitiful with no one to help her."
The two little ones looked over innocently, not admitting that they were just too engrossed in watching the fun.
Seeing this, Deanna understood their little schemes and couldn't help but laugh.
Julia, seeing the two little ones siding with her, was about to boast to Deanna when she caught sight of Lance standing nearby out of the corner of her eye. Her heart skipped a beat. Oh no, she had just bullied Deanna in front of Mr. Mercer. Given how much Mr. Mercer cared about Deanna, he surely wouldn't let her off easily.
"Well, it's getting late. I'll take the little ones to rest. Deanna, you and Mr. Mercer should rest early too."
With that, Julia planned to make a quick escape.
Lance saw through her guilty behavior and raised an eyebrow. "It is indeed late, but a few words won't hurt. Miss King, Deanna and I are planning to host a social gathering. Since your family wants you to meet people, why don't you join us? It will save your parents from forcing you into blind dates."
Surprisingly, his words seemed to be helping Julia.
But Julia didn't believe Lance could be so kind-hearted. After all, she had just bullied Deanna in front of him.
Deanna was unaware of Julia's doubts. Hearing Lance's suggestion reminded her of the plan and she agreed enthusiastically. "That's a great idea! Our research institute and Jones Group have many elite individuals; there must be someone you'll like."
Julia looked at her excited expression and wanted to dampen her spirits by saying, "What if there's no one I like?" But before she could voice her thoughts, Deanna had already decided for her. "It's settled then. Tomorrow I'll go to the institute and add your name to our list."
Julia had no choice but to accept the arrangement.
With both sides' lists finalized, the date for the social gathering was set for this weekend at a hotel owned by Mercer Group.
Soon enough, the day of the gathering arrived.
Deanna and Lance had made all the arrangements but did not attend the event themselves. Given their status, their presence would likely make everyone too self-conscious to enjoy themselves.
Although Deanna didn't attend, she was well aware of what was happening at the event thanks to Lance. He had arranged for the hotel's surveillance footage to be streamed remotely.
Deanna observed the scene mainly to see if anything interesting would happen with her best friend but found that Julia rejected one high-quality man after another.