Chapter 147
Starting at Sterling International
Claire Bennett shook her head and quickly shoved all that messy nonsense out of her mind.
She turned and walked toward Sterling International.
At the entrance, several card scanners had already been set up. Quite a few people were swiping their employee badges to enter Sterling International for work, and Claire Bennett stood behind them watching for a moment.
Before, you didn't need to swipe a card to get into Sterling International, so why had it suddenly gotten this strict?
What Claire Bennett didn't know was that because of Luna Brooks and Meng Lifen barging into Sterling International last time and even making it to the top floor, employees now had to swipe in and out, and security checks were extremely strict.
Claire Bennett vaguely remembered that when she signed the contract last time, Marcus Reed seemed to have given her a card, and she'd casually tossed it into her bag then.
Thinking that, Claire Bennett began rummaging through it.
Just then, a sharp, acid-tongued voice suddenly rang out behind her. "Hey, are you going in or not? If you don't have a card, then don't stand here blocking the way! Don't tell me you're trying to sneak in."
"Sorry."
Claire Bennett stepped aside a little and moved out of the way.
"You..." The woman, teetering on high heels and just about to go in, suddenly stared at Claire Bennett. She slowly narrowed her eyes. "You're Claire Bennett?"
Seeing the surprise on the woman's face, Claire Bennett lifted her head.
The woman was dressed in a designer dress, luxurious and expensive from head to toe, looking extremely stylish and pretty. Her whole bearing radiated arrogance and a look-down-on-everyone kind of haughtiness.
"What are you doing here?" The woman rolled her eyes and said disdainfully, "You're not here for a job interview, are you? Ha, what kind of place do you think Sterling International is? Take a good look at yourself first."
After listening to her carry on for quite a while, Claire Bennett finally remembered who she was.
The woman's name was Willow Lane, a senior designer in Bennett Group's design department. They had worked together for a while before. Why was she here?
Willow Lane looked Claire Bennett up and down, contempt showing in her eyes.
Claire Bennett was dressed so formally that she had to be here for an interview.
She gave a light snort and said bluntly, "A woman like you, who once made a major mistake and became notorious in the jewelry design world, actually dares to work in this industry again..."
"Do you think that just because other people don't know what happened before, you can pretend it never happened?"
Willow Lane said viciously, "I'll definitely expose you and let everyone know exactly what kind of person you are!"
At the mention of the past, Claire Bennett's face darkened.
That memory she had sealed away suddenly surfaced.
Back then, she had just graduated from St. S Royal Academy and entered Bennett Group full of ambition, wanting to make her mark. But later, her stepmother and stepsister joined forces to set her up, causing her to make a major mistake.
Victor Bennett didn't believe her at all, and even told her not to come to the company for the time being, when in reality he was indirectly firing her.
That incident dealt her a devastating blow before she had even truly entered the industry.
At the time, she felt like her whole world was about to collapse.
Then her mother had her accident, and Claire Bennett went to take care of her daily needs. Those were the darkest days of her life.
After leaving, she never worked in design-related fields again.
When she joined Bennett Group, because she didn't want people to know she was relying on family connections, she hadn't made her identity public then. No one in Bennett Group's design department, including Willow Lane, knew that she was the eldest daughter of the Bennett family.
If they had known, maybe they wouldn't have dared mock her so recklessly.
Remembering the past still made Claire Bennett's heart sting.
The angrier she was, the calmer Claire Bennett looked on the surface. She smiled and said, "Whether I apply to Sterling International or not is none of your business. A dung beetle yawning sure has a big mouth."
"You!" Willow Lane gritted her teeth.
At that moment, the employees entering Sterling International began moving more hurriedly, as if every second counted.
Willow Lane checked the time. She was already about to be late.
Forget it. There was no point arguing with Claire Bennett any longer and wasting her own time. As long as Claire Bennett didn't appear in front of her, that was enough.
So Willow Lane shot Claire Bennett a fierce glare, swiped her card, and entered Sterling International.
When Willow Lane swiped her card, the machine displayed all her identity information, including her position and department.
Claire Bennett saw that Willow Lane was a designer at Maison Verne Jewelry.
So they really were on the same side!
Claire Bennett remembered that Willow Lane had held a pretty good position at Bennett Group, so why had she suddenly jumped ship to Sterling International? Had Sterling International poached her with a high salary?
There was no time to think about it further, and Claire Bennett pulled her thoughts back.
She quickly found her own card in her bag.
Copying what everyone else was doing, she took out her card and swiped it, and the system displayed her information.
Design Director: Claire Bennett.
When she saw her title, Claire Bennett's pupils contracted, and she almost cried out in shock. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Her position wasn't designer, but design director?
Only after quite a while did Claire Bennett accept this pleasant surprise. She felt as though she had skipped over quite a few ordinary designers and become a top-level designer. It had to be said that Mr. Sterling really did trust her.
If it hadn't been for Mr. Sterling's help this time, she wouldn't have been able to clear her name so easily. She definitely would not let down Mr. Sterling's trust!
A surge of passion and hot blood rose in Claire Bennett's chest, and she was filled with drive.