Chapter 154
Claire Bennett and Willow Lane Know Each Other
The next day, Claire Bennett dragged herself out of bed sleepily.
Last night, she had tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Later, she drifted off in a haze and had no idea whether Julian Sterling had come back or not.
She glanced at the spot beside her. There were slight wrinkles in the bedsheet, proving that Julian Sterling had slept there.
Had he gotten up early this morning?
After washing up, Claire Bennett walked out of the room, and at a glance she saw Julian Sterling sitting in a chair in the living room.
He was still dressed simply in a white shirt and black dress pants. The stark black-and-white contrast was striking, and his whole person gave off an invisible chill that made people not dare approach.
For some reason, Claire Bennett kept feeling that something was off about his mood.
Could it be that he got up too early and was grumpy from waking up?
Claire Bennett spoke up in greeting. "G-good morning..."
Julian Sterling lifted his eyes and looked toward Claire Bennett. Only then did she notice the faint shadows under his eyes, making him look full of exhaustion.
It was as if he hadn't slept well last night.
Claire Bennett reined in her thoughts and walked over, then sat down in the chair next to Julian Sterling.
At that moment, she noticed quite a few delicate breakfast dishes laid out on the table. They looked nutritious, and like they had been bought outside.
Had Julian Sterling gotten up early just to buy breakfast?
Could it be that he was worried about her and didn't want her to have to work so hard?
At once, Claire Bennett's heart warmed. She turned to look at his handsome, tired face, and felt even more heartache for him.
...
In the manager's office at Maison Verne, Naomi Pierce sat in her chair with a dark expression.
Now, just seeing Claire Bennett made her heart ache with fury.
Everything originally prepared for the airborne design director from Sterling International had all been enjoyed by Claire Bennett. What gave Claire Bennett the right?!
Yoyo stood off to the side, not even daring to breathe too loudly, afraid of provoking Naomi Pierce.
A moment later, she said carefully, "Manager Pierce, it seems like Claire Bennett and Willow Lane knew each other before..."
Naomi Pierce turned to look at her. "How could someone from Bennett Group know Claire Bennett? Are you mistaken?"
"That's just what I heard them say. They saw Claire Bennett talking to Willow Lane, but I don't really know the exact situation."
Hearing that, a vicious gleam flashed through Naomi Pierce's eyes.
From the way Willow Lane had looked yesterday, she didn't seem especially close to Claire Bennett. If there was some grudge between them, then Naomi Pierce would be more than happy to make use of it. That way she wouldn't have to dirty her own hands. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?
"Go look into it right away."
Very quickly, Yoyo went out and cozied up to Willow Lane for a bit, then found out about Claire Bennett's situation. She immediately returned to the office to report.
Naomi Pierce said, "Claire Bennett used to work at Bennett Group, but she was fired because of something?"
Yoyo immediately nodded. "Yes. As for what exactly it was, Willow Lane didn't tell me. She seemed a little wary."
Back then, Victor Bennett had ordered that the matter not be spread around.
Although Willow Lane had come to Sterling International, she was still, in the end, one of Bennett Group's people. She dared to suppress Claire Bennett in front of her, but she didn't dare say too much about that matter.
Naomi Pierce's eyes shifted. "Hurry up and find out exactly what happened!"
"Okay." Yoyo went out again.
Naomi Pierce curled her lips into a cold smile.
Who would have thought Claire Bennett had that kind of past? She had never told Naomi Pierce about any of it. Since Naomi Pierce had managed to catch hold of a weakness, then Claire Bennett couldn't blame her. Claire Bennett was just too damn annoying!
At this moment, Claire Bennett was resting her chin in her hand, sitting at her desk absentmindedly.
Her grand plan to show concern last night had failed.
Failing on her very first attempt really made her feel deeply frustrated.
Then what else could she do?
Suddenly, she thought of Ruby Sterling. Ruby loved reading novels so much in her spare time that she surely had plenty of good ideas. Thinking that, Claire Bennett took out her phone and sent Ruby Sterling a message.
Inside the president's office.
Julian Sterling was in the middle of handling work when the phone on his desk started ringing like crazy. He glanced at it. It was a call from Ruby Sterling.
He picked it up and swiped to answer. "Hello."
"Bro! Why did you take so long to answer? Do you know something huge has happened? Ugh, I'm dying of anxiety here!"
Julian Sterling's brows furrowed slightly. "What is it?"
"Just now, Claire... she sent me a message, and do you know what she said? She actually asked me how to build feelings with a man and told me to give her some ideas. Do you think after meeting Sean Shaw, her old feelings have really come back to life?"
Ruby Sterling sucked in a sharp breath. "Could it be that she wants to build feelings with Sean Shaw? Oh my God!"
"..."
Julian Sterling said nothing. His brows merely knitted tighter, and his face darkened.
"Bro, you have to think of something! Is my sister-in-law really just going to be gone like this? It took me forever to get things to this point."
Ruby Sterling was so anxious she was about to lose her mind. She had known that Claire Bennett seeing that white moonlight of hers would mean nothing good. And now, sure enough, something had happened!
Julian Sterling pressed his thin lips together. "Got it."
Then he hung up the phone.
Thinking about Claire Bennett's strange behavior last night together with what she had said to Ruby Sterling today, there really were signs to follow.
Sean Shaw had previously taken his benefits and agreed to back out. Now that he had gotten what he wanted, he had started entertaining other thoughts.
It seemed this man not only had no sense of responsibility, but also had no credibility whatsoever.
And yet Claire Bennett still cared about him that much.
Sean Shaw hadn't done anything directly. He had only secretly met Claire Bennett once behind the scenes, and perhaps said something that made her change her attitude.
At this moment, he was actually starting to regret not putting a time limit on Claire Bennett's employment contract. He should have set it for fifty years!
Just then, Marcus Reed happened to knock and come in to report on work.