The Uninvited Guest

Hazel Lewis walked in gracefully, and at a glance she saw Julian Sterling standing there.

But she wasn't afraid Julian Sterling would get angry. Old Mr. Sterling had already agreed to her request and had even sent Uncle Ming, one of the important people by his side, with her.

Uncle Ming had helped Julian Sterling last time, and afterward Old Mr. Sterling had punished him. But considering he was one of the Sterling family's longtime old retainers, he hadn't been fired. Now he had returned to Old Mr. Sterling's side again.

He had to handle this matter well this time, or there was a good chance he would no longer be able to stay.

Hazel Lewis lifted her eyes to Claire Bennett, then curled her lips into a half-smile and said, "Claire Bennett, congratulations on becoming the person in charge of Maison Verne."

Claire Bennett narrowed her eyes warily, feeling that Hazel Lewis's smile carried bad intentions.

What was she trying to stir up this time?

Hazel Lewis gave Uncle Ming behind her a look, signaling for him to step forward and speak.

Uncle Ming nodded and stepped forward, then said in a stiff, formal manner, "Hello, everyone. Sterling International has a new internal business adjustment to announce..."

Hearing about an internal adjustment at Sterling International, everyone grew even more confused.

Uncle Ming didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Sterling Group has decided to launch an additional new jewelry brand under Sterling International, fully expanding Sterling International's jewelry business. From now on, the new jewelry brand will be entirely under Miss Lewis's charge!"

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

It was as if everyone couldn't quite process the news and had no idea what this Miss Lewis who had parachuted in was all about.

Willow Lane was President Sterling's girlfriend, so what kind of powerful background did this Miss Lewis have?

Even President Sterling's girlfriend had to compete with Claire Bennett. She lost to Claire Bennett and failed to get the position of head of Maison Verne, yet Hazel Lewis showed up and immediately got an entirely new brand carved out for her. Just what kind of power and backing did she have?

Had Willow Lane fallen out of favor?

Quite a few probing and gloating looks landed on Willow Lane as everyone secretly speculated.

Willow Lane was still in shock!

Hazel Lewis had previously said she wanted to invest in Maison Verne, but she hadn't gotten the position of Maison Verne's person in charge. Now Hazel Lewis had actually obtained a position like this. It made her both jealous and envious. Having a good family background really did come with that kind of privilege.

Only after quite a while did someone finally react to what exactly was going on.

"No way? Sterling International is launching a new brand, and it's a jewelry brand too? Wouldn't that make it a competitor to Maison Verne?"

"Exactly. It's really kind of baffling. There was no need to do this, right?"

"Is there some inside story we don't know about?"

"Tell me... is it possible that Willow Lane has fallen out of favor, and this Miss Lewis is President Sterling's new girlfriend?"

...

That made everyone feel like they'd hit on the truth.

If that weren't the case, then how else could they explain how Hazel Lewis, a mysterious outsider, had received this kind of preferential treatment the moment she arrived?

At once, quite a few people's looks toward Hazel Lewis changed.

Some quick-minded people had even already started secretly thinking about how to curry favor with Hazel Lewis.

Amid all the discussion and speculation, Hazel Lewis didn't explain a single thing. She just stood there quietly with a faint smile.

After the sound of everyone's discussion quieted down a little, she finally smiled and said, "My new brand is called Nia. Nia is currently lacking outstanding talent. If anyone is willing to join Nia, you can let me know. I'll give priority to arranging your positions, and I definitely won't shortchange anyone."

The moment those words came out, Maison Verne's employees instantly erupted.

Their positions at Maison Verne weren't all that high to begin with, and in the short term they probably had no chance of being promoted.

Now that Hazel Lewis was publicly extending an olive branch, everyone was itching to make a move. They all wanted to try their luck with her—who knew, maybe they'd luck into a stroke of dumb luck?

Molly Lee clenched her fists.

The moment this woman appeared, she was already the manager of a new brand, and it was even the same type of brand as theirs. Didn't that make her their sworn enemy?

And she was even poaching people from Maison Verne right in public. She clearly hadn't put Claire Bennett in her eyes at all!

Worst of all, quite a few people at Maison Verne were actually tempted.

Willow Lane had originally been somewhat unhappy about everyone's speculation about her, but now, after hearing Hazel Lewis's words, she immediately said, "Hazel, I'm going with you!"

She and Claire Bennett were completely at odds. Now that Claire Bennett had become Maison Verne's manager, if she stayed under Claire Bennett, her fate would only be to get targeted by her. What future could she possibly have?

She might as well go over to Hazel Lewis's side. Maybe there would even be some new opportunities for development.

Hazel Lewis smiled and said, "That's wonderful, Willow. Since you're willing to come help me, then I'll make you design director. From now on, all of Nia's designs will be under your charge."

My God! Everyone was stunned.

They hadn't expected Hazel Lewis to so easily become the design director of the new brand.

They immediately all started speaking up, afraid of being one step slower than everyone else.

"I'm going too!"

"I'm joining Nia too!"

"Me too!"

In the blink of an eye, with Willow Lane taking the lead and egging everyone on, everyone on Maison Verne's side left completely!