Don't Mess with Claire Bennett

...

Listening to the mocking voices around her, Willow Lane's face turned ashen, her expression stiff, her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

She hadn't expected this to be the outcome at all.

She had wanted to frame Claire Bennett and get her thrown out of Maison Verne, but instead she herself got hit with a major disciplinary warning.

Thinking of Mr. Sterling's icy tone when he said those words just now, Willow Lane felt that if she really made another mistake, she would very likely be fired. If she then slunk back to Bennett Group in disgrace, she would probably become the laughingstock of everyone there.

Why was Mr. Sterling helping that bitch Claire Bennett?

Could it be that he still hadn't gotten over her?

After all, she'd stolen him from Claire Bennett, so of course Willow Lane felt deeply uneasy. Panic rose in her heart. She had to keep Mr. Sterling steady!

She could hardly wait to call Mr. Sterling and apologize.

Willow Lane didn't say anything more and simply turned and left.

After she left, only the other Maison Verne employees remained. The ugliest expression in the room belonged to Chloe Carter, because she'd thought Willow Lane had the powerful backing of Mr. Sterling and would definitely be able to drive Claire Bennett away. She never expected Willow Lane to end up like this.

Molly Lee glanced at Chloe Carter and said bluntly, "I wonder who it was just now saying that once Mr. Sterling got here, Director Song would be dead for sure. Well, Director Song isn't dead at all. On the contrary, Willow Lane's the one who died horribly!"

Chloe Carter's face turned livid when she heard that.

She didn't want to stay there any longer and endure Molly Lee's mockery, so she left with a dark expression, thoroughly humiliated.

Everyone now had a new opinion of Claire Bennett, and at the same time silently warned themselves to stay far away from her and absolutely not provoke her.

Claire Bennett looked at Molly Lee and said, "It's fine now. Go home. If you wait any longer, you'll miss the L."

This happened right before the end of the workday and had delayed things quite a bit.

Molly Lee nodded repeatedly and looked at Claire Bennett with a face full of gratitude. Her eyes sparkled as she said, "Director Song, you're amazing! From now on, I've decided to worship you as my idol!"

Hearing that, Claire Bennett smiled helplessly.

She hadn't expected that she'd accidentally charmed a young girl. The way Molly looked at her was full of admiration.

But all this precautionary planning had been bought with the blood and tears of past lessons.

What outstanding ability was there? She'd just been screwed over too many times, so this was an instinctive reaction.

Having one more little fangirl wasn't a bad thing, either.

At that moment, Wes Mercer returned to the office.

He stood respectfully in front of Julian Sterling and reported everything that had just happened. At the end, he added, "Mr. Sterling, the matter has already been handled. That video will also be released, and as for the issue with that designer, I'll continue negotiating and do my best to minimize the impact."

Actually, Wes Mercer felt a little uneasy. He didn't know whether Julian Sterling would be dissatisfied that he hadn't directly fired Willow Lane.

He nervously clenched his fists and waited for Julian Sterling's judgment.

After listening, Julian Sterling merely gave a faint "Mm" and then said, "Got it."

With that, he picked up his coat, stood, and left.

Seeing that Julian Sterling didn't pursue the matter, Wes Mercer immediately let out a sigh of relief, and all his taut muscles relaxed.

Thank goodness!

Julian Sterling hadn't held it against him.

As the city lights came on, the streetlights along both sides of the road had already lit up, and only a few scattered lights were still on in the office building.

Julian Sterling's car slowly pulled over by the roadside, and he lifted his eyes to glance in the direction upstairs.

The lights in the Maison Verne division were still on. Claire Bennett should be coming down soon.

At that moment, his phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Ruby Sterling. He swiped to answer. "Hello."

As soon as the call connected, Ruby Sterling's voice came through. "Bro, Grandma's birthday is this Sunday. You didn't forget, did you?"

Of course Julian Sterling hadn't forgotten. He had even instructed Wes Mercer to pick out an expensive gift for Mrs. Sterling.

"Mm, I didn't forget."

"Good. I thought you might have, so I called to remind you." As Ruby Sterling spoke, she seemed to think of something and asked, "Oh, right, are you going to bring Claire back with you?"

Julian Sterling's brows furrowed slightly, and he didn't answer.

He did want to bring Claire Bennett back to the Sterling family.

But he understood his grandfather's temper. Right now, his grandfather still held no small amount of prejudice against Claire Bennett. If he brought Claire Bennett back just like this, he was afraid Claire Bennett would be humiliated. He had to get his grandfather to let go of his bias first before he could introduce Claire Bennett to them.

A moment later, Julian Sterling said helplessly, "Grandpa isn't easy to deal with. Let's leave it like this for now."

"That's what I think too. Grandpa, that old fossil, definitely won't have a pleasant look on his face. Better not let Claire go there and take the abuse."

Julian Sterling's eyes darkened slightly. His grandfather was stubborn by nature. Getting him to relent really wouldn't be easy.

"Oh, right!" Ruby Sterling suddenly exclaimed in surprise and said, "I just realized something. Why has our family never had any dealings at all with the Bennett family? Every year at Grandpa and Grandma's birthday banquets, the Bennett family has never once been invited!"