Claire Bennett Pulled Strings Too

Seeing Molly Lee's expression, Claire Bennett guessed what she was thinking.

She curled her lips into a faint smile and rubbed Molly Lee's head, comforting her. "Molly, don't be sad. We'll still have chances in the future."

Just then, Mr. Grant walked out of the conference room.

He had heard the conversation between Willow Lane and the others. His brows knit slightly, and then he cut everyone off, saying, "I'm very sorry, but the person I've chosen is Miss Song. She's extremely outstanding and fully meets all the qualifications a leader should have."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings fell abruptly silent.

Everyone looked at each other, seeming to suspect they'd heard wrong.

What had Mr. Grant just said? The one he had chosen was Claire Bennett, not Willow Lane?

What the hell was going on?

Hadn't Mr. Sterling already arranged everything for Willow Lane? If he had just announced that Sterling International had won the opportunity to cooperate, then that had to mean Willow Lane had won too. How had it turned into Claire Bennett instead?

The smile froze on Willow Lane's face. Her voice suddenly rose as she demanded, "What did you say? You chose Claire Bennett?"

Her shrill voice made Mr. Grant frown deeply. "That's right. Everyone saw it just now—Miss Song was exceptional. Compared to you, she's far more outstanding. I haven't shown any favoritism whatsoever."

Mr. Grant hadn't wanted to say something so harsh in public, but Willow Lane's dissatisfied tone in questioning him made him extremely unhappy, so there was no need for him to be polite to her anymore.

Then Mr. Grant turned to Claire Bennett, and his attitude instantly softened, as though he'd changed faces. In a gentle voice, he said, "Miss Song, my wife very much wants to meet you. I was wondering if you're free to have dinner together tonight?"

"Uh... yes, I am." Claire Bennett was somewhat flattered.

If Mr. Grant's wife was a professor at the academy, then she really did want to meet her.

Now she was a little curious which professor Mrs. Grant was. Maybe she even knew her.

Hearing this, Willow Lane finally realized what was going on.

Could it be that Claire Bennett had pulled strings too?

Impossible!

Mr. Sterling's status and position were so powerful—was Mr. Grant really not going to give Mr. Sterling any face at all?

At that thought, Willow Lane couldn't help abruptly standing up and unwillingly pressing the matter. "Mr. Grant, have you made a mistake? I'm Willow Lane. Didn't Mr. Sterling say anything to you? How could you choose Claire Bennett?"

When Mr. Grant heard the accusatory tone in Willow Lane's voice, his face darkened in displeasure.

He said coldly, "Miss Lane, do you have some objection to my choice? Bertha has never engaged in favoritism or corruption. Every selection just now was completely fair and impartial. There is absolutely no problem, and I would never go easy on someone for anybody's sake. Please don't talk nonsense and affect our company's reputation."

After hearing Mr. Grant's words, Willow Lane's face turned ashen and pale by turns. She had lost every last bit of face.

She hadn't expected such a mistake to happen. Claire Bennett must have used some kind of tactic to bewitch Mr. Grant, which led him to ignore Mr. Sterling's instructions and pass over her to choose Claire Bennett as his partner!

When Molly Lee heard Mr. Grant's words, her little mouth fell open in shock.

She murmured, "Oh my God! What a twist! I never thought Director Song would actually win! Mr. Grant is really fair! This is just wonderful!"

At first, she'd thought that with Mr. Sterling backing Willow Lane, everyone else was bound to be crushed under her.

The others were probably thinking the same thing as Molly Lee. Now this unexpected outcome left them stunned, and they all began whispering among themselves.

"So what if Willow Lane has connections? Looks like ability is what really matters!"

"Hahaha, Willow Lane looked so smug just now. Why do I find this kind of satisfying?"

"Exactly. Who told her to be so high-profile? Now she's really made a fool of herself. Mr. Grant didn't buy it at all."