Claire Bennett Takes Office Directly

Willow Lane in particular was full of anticipation and got to the office a whole hour early, because today was the final round of the competition to select Maison Verne's person in charge.

Last night, Willow Lane had spent the whole night acting spoiled with "President Sterling," hinting that her last failure was all because of Claire Bennett and Mrs. Grant, and hoping he would step in and help again.

Later, President Sterling had even comforted her very gently, saying there would be opportunities in the future. She had no idea whether he understood what she meant.

In fact, Willow Lane thought she was seducing President Sterling, but it turned out to be Wes Mercer, who was temporarily filling in for Julian Sterling.

Wes Mercer told her there would be another chance next time because he knew Julian Sterling would give Claire Bennett special treatment, allowing her to use some other opportunity for promotion later.

But Willow Lane mistakenly thought he meant that it didn't matter if she had failed the first time; he would help her in the next selection.

In other words, this time, with President Sterling's help, she would defeat Claire Bennett!

The people in the design department gathered together in small groups, and under everyone's eager gaze, Julian Sterling—mistaken by them all for President Sterling's assistant—appeared.

Claire Bennett had just been intimate with him last night, and now, seeing him and trying to maintain a calm attitude was truly no easy thing. She felt her cheeks grow hot even from looking at him once.

Whenever she looked at Julian Sterling, some amorous images inevitably floated into her mind.

And the feeling of his warm hands roaming over her body, of her being like a lone boat on the sea, drifting as he took the helm...

Claire Bennett hurriedly shoved those messy thoughts back down.

What was she even thinking about!

Fortunately, she adjusted herself again very quickly, and at least on the surface, nothing unusual could be seen.

Expressionless, Julian Sterling took out a document and announced in public, "According to the decision of Sterling International headquarters leadership, Claire Bennett has performed exceptionally well. There is no need to continue with the upcoming selection. From now on, Maison Verne will be placed entirely under Claire Bennett's management."

Whoa!

Everyone at Maison Verne was stunned. They had never expected such a turn of events.

The final selection was canceled, and Claire Bennett was becoming the person in charge of Maison Verne?

Even Claire Bennett herself was completely dumbfounded and had no idea what was going on.

Ever since the matter with Mr. Grant, things had seemed to go especially smoothly. It was as if she had some powerful backer giving her cheat codes.

Willow Lane had still been gearing up for a big fight, but Claire Bennett skipped right past her and took office directly, instantly leaving her dumbstruck!

At once, Willow Lane shouted loudly, "Impossible! Is there some mistake?"

Naturally, Julian Sterling didn't take Willow Lane seriously at all.

If she hadn't been sent by Bennett Group, and if not for Wes Mercer's sake, he would never have kept her around that long.

The last time she framed Claire Bennett was enough for him to clean Willow Lane out of Sterling International, so how could he possibly let her stand over Claire Bennett's head?

Julian Sterling didn't even spare Willow Lane a glance. He walked straight toward Claire Bennett, then handed her the appointment letter in his hand and said softly, "Claire, congratulations on becoming the manager of Maison Verne Jewelry's department."

Claire Bennett stood frozen in place, blankly taking the appointment letter. It still felt like a dream.

The employees nearby were also the sort who went whichever way the wind blew. Seeing Claire Bennett become the person in charge of Maison Verne, they immediately stepped forward to flatter her, each of them offering congratulations.

"Director Bennett, congratulations on becoming the person in charge of Maison Verne!"

"Oh my! Why are you still calling her Director Bennett? Now you should call her Manager Bennett!"

"Right, right, I wasn't paying attention for a moment. Let's all greet Manager Bennett together."

Hearing that, everyone immediately called out in unison, "Hello, Manager Bennett!"

Listening to the greetings all around her, Claire Bennett slowly processed what had just happened.

She had actually... become the person in charge of Maison Verne?!

Molly Lee was the happiest of all. After all, she was Claire Bennett's assistant. Now that Claire Bennett had become the person in charge of Maison Verne, she would rise along with her too. "This is wonderful! Director Bennett, you've finally defeated everyone else and risen from director to Manager Bennett. This speed of promotion is seriously so enviable!"

Hearing that, Willow Lane's face darkened to the extreme, as gloomy as if water could drip from it.

When Molly Lee said she'd defeated everyone else, wasn't she talking about her?

Very soon, Claire Bennett stopped acting coy and generously accepted everyone's congratulations. After all, she had entered the competition for Maison Verne's person in charge precisely because she wanted to become Maison Verne's leader. Now that she could move straight into the position, she should be happy.