It Was All a Misunderstanding

Naomi Pierce looked at him with watery eyes, tears shimmering, and choked out, "Ethan, could it be that you still can't forget Claire? If that's really the case, I can step aside and let you two be together!"

Hearing that, Ethan Sterling panicked.

He quickly pulled Naomi Pierce tightly into his arms and explained, "What nonsense are you talking about? How could I still be hung up on Claire Bennett? Everything just now was a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Naomi Pierce raised her tear-blurred eyes and looked at Ethan Sterling in surprise. "How could it possibly be a misunderstanding?"

Ethan Sterling said with complete certainty, "I only saw that Claire Bennett is having a hard time right now, so I lent her a place to stay. I didn't expect all of you to misunderstand!"

Naomi Pierce was half convinced and half doubtful.

Ethan Sterling continued, "Claire Bennett was even capable of framing you. Just now, she deliberately made that recording because she wanted to ruin us. If you really believed it, then you fell right into her trap!"

Hearing that, Naomi Pierce gave a distracted response.

She knew things might not be that simple, but whether it was true or not, she would never hand Ethan Sterling over to someone else.

Leaving Claire Bennett in Chicago was a disaster waiting to happen.

She had to think of a way to make it impossible for Claire Bennett to stay here!

A trace of gloom overflowed into Naomi Pierce's eyes.

...

With Marcus Reed no longer getting in her way these past two days, Claire Bennett sped up her progress and directly finished Sterling International's giant mural.

What she painted was in a relief style. The simplicity of the distant view and the delicacy of the foreground, along with the sharp contrast between warm and cool colors, made the detailing extremely precise.

Claire Bennett had painted a pastoral landscape. In a boundless golden rice field, there was a rainbow. On a small path in the distance, a few cattle and sheep were walking about, while birds rose and fell nearby.

The entire painting had a broad perspective, grand composition, accurate depth, and highly three-dimensional, realistic brushwork that made people's eyes light up.

At this moment, it was just quitting time, and quite a few Sterling International employees stopped to admire Claire Bennett's painting.

"Wow, it's so beautiful!"

"It's practically a visual feast. I pass by every day and saw her painting. Watching it get completed bit by bit felt like seeing a building go from foundation to finished construction. Our company is probably going to become some internet-famous check-in spot, right?"

After hearing that, quite a few people's eyes lit up.

"Then before too many people show up, we'd better hurry and take pictures first! Otherwise later it'll be so crowded we won't be able to squeeze in, and we'll have to wait in line."

As they spoke, many people went up to take selfies, or had coworkers take pictures for them to post on social media.

Seeing this, Claire Bennett revealed a relaxed smile.

Another order completed perfectly.

She turned on the camera, took a picture of herself with the wall behind her, and also posted a note about finishing the job.

Actually, posting it was also an indirect way of telling others that she was available for her next order.

The president's office.

Marcus Reed sorted out all the photos the Sterling International employees had posted and handed them to Julian Sterling. "Mr. Sterling, Ms. Bennett has already finished the mural."

Julian Sterling lowered his eyes and took a look, his brows knitting slightly.

Claire Bennett had said that she was going to leave Chicago.

Was there really no way to make her stay?

Just as he was lost in thought, Marcus Reed's voice sounded by his ear. "Mr. Sterling, we've already finished setting up the jewelry brand with Bennett Group."

Julian Sterling looked at Marcus Reed. "Jewelry brand?"

Seeing Julian Sterling's expression, Marcus Reed scratched his head and said, "Yeah. I already told you about it before, and at the time you told me to handle the whole thing."

Hearing that, Julian Sterling's brows drew together slightly.

It did seem like there had been such a matter.

At the time, he had been troubled by Claire Bennett's affairs and hadn't cared much about such a minor issue, so he had left Marcus Reed fully in charge.

Julian Sterling asked, "Are we recruiting designers?"

"Yes. Next, we need to recruit capable jewelry designers from around the world to join us, and the Bennett family will also assist us."

At that, the corners of Julian Sterling's mouth slowly lifted.

Perhaps he knew how to keep Claire Bennett in Chicago now.

...

Naomi Pierce had been promoted to manager of Sterling International's jewelry brand and now had her own office.

At this moment, she was sitting in her office.

Her assistant Yoyo pushed the door open and walked in, saying, "Manager Pierce, I saw the thing you asked me to check downstairs, and I took quite a few pictures too."

After saying that, she took out her phone.

When Naomi Pierce saw a crowd of people gathered around Claire Bennett's huge mural, her face darkened.

At that moment, Yoyo was still talking. "Manager Pierce, a lot of people were praising Claire Bennett's mural as beautiful. They even took pictures and posted them to their social feeds. It looked like a lot of people were commenting too."

Naomi Pierce's gaze turned icy.

Yoyo sighed and said, "I do think she painted it really well. Since we're recruiting designers right now, should we invite—"

Unexpectedly, before she could finish, Naomi Pierce slammed her palm down hard on the solid wood desk with a loud smack. "Invite what? Before you came to work here, didn't you ask around about me? Don't you know Claire Bennett and I are sworn enemies?"

This little assistant had only just joined the company and didn't know about the grudge between Naomi Pierce and Claire Bennett. Just now, she had only casually praised her.

She hadn't expected it to cause such serious consequences.

She was quick-witted too, and immediately changed her tune. "That was my mistake, Manager Pierce. Please don't take it to heart. I don't think Claire Bennett's painting is all that great anyway. Those people are all blind."

Hearing that, Naomi Pierce's expression eased somewhat.

But the sinister look in her eyes still lingered for a long time. She simply couldn't stand seeing Claire Bennett steal the spotlight.

And it was obvious that Ethan Sterling still couldn't let go of Claire Bennett. If she kept Claire Bennett nearby, wouldn't that just be giving her an opportunity?

Thinking of those things Ethan Sterling and Claire Bennett had said, Naomi Pierce still felt unwilling to accept it.

There was still no news from her belly. If she could successfully get pregnant, she would have one more bargaining chip.

Suddenly, Naomi Pierce froze, as if she had thought of something.

A calculating look appeared in her eyes, and then she slowly curled her lips into a smile.

Perhaps she knew how to deal with Claire Bennett now!

Naomi Pierce stood up from her seat and said casually, "Since this mural is so beautiful, then naturally I should go take a good look at it."

After saying that, she clicked away on her high heels and walked outside.