He Came to Pick Up Claire Bennett

Those words snapped everyone awake!

They had thought something was wrong, but had never considered that possibility at all!

Some people couldn't help but start connecting it to what happened last time. Back when they were competing for the manager position at Maison Verne, Willow Lane had claimed that President Sterling was backing her, but in the end, the one who won was Claire Bennett.

Before, none of them had taken that matter to heart and had assumed it was just an accident. But now that they thought about it carefully, it really was very suspicious...

Although Willow Lane was standing too far away to hear everyone's discussion about her, she could vaguely hear a few soft laughs.

If the car in front of her still didn't make any move, she was afraid she was about to become Sterling International's laughingstock.

Her expression was starting to crack.

Just as Willow Lane was thinking about calling President Sterling, the car door in front of her suddenly opened.

"President Sterling..."

A look of delight appeared on Willow Lane's face, and she hurried forward.

Unexpectedly, when she looked up, she saw a cold, stern face. The tall man standing before her was actually Julian Sterling!

Willow Lane instantly froze on the spot, unable to say a word.

Julian Sterling held a black umbrella that came with the luxury car. In a white dress shirt and black slacks, he stood tall and straight, his whole person exuding a mysterious, aloof chill.

He didn't even spare Willow Lane a glance. Holding the umbrella, he walked right past her and headed straight toward Sterling International's entrance.

"..." Willow Lane stood there in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.

Everyone had thought the person opening the car door was President Sterling, but it turned out to be Julian Sterling!!

Everyone was completely dumbfounded.

Claire Bennett hadn't expected Julian Sterling to be in the car either. Just now, she had also assumed President Sterling was inside.

At that moment, Julian Sterling had already walked up to Claire Bennett. He said softly, "It's raining. Let's hurry home."

"...How is it you? Why did you drive... this kind of car here?"

Claire Bennett quickly pulled back her shocked expression. Not caring about everyone else's astonishment, she immediately asked the question.

"Get in first. We'll talk later." Julian Sterling offered no further explanation.

Claire Bennett had originally been waiting here for Julian Sterling, and there was also a crowd behind her making sarcastic remarks. She didn't want to stay any longer either.

So she stepped under Julian Sterling's umbrella.

Julian Sterling stretched out a strong arm and wrapped it around Claire Bennett's shoulders, leading her toward the luxury car. He tilted the umbrella toward Claire Bennett's side, not letting even a drop of rain touch her. He looked doting to the extreme.

Only after Claire Bennett had gotten into the front passenger seat did he return to the driver's seat.

The car quickly drove away from the scene, leaving behind Willow Lane, still standing there in the rain in a daze, along with the crowd that remained thoroughly stunned.

"..."

Wait... wasn't that car just now supposed to be there to pick up Willow Lane? It was actually there to pick up Claire Bennett!!

This twist was so shocking that no one had seen it coming.

Willow Lane had been utterly crushed and publicly slapped in the face by Claire Bennett. Her face turned green, then white, looking so twisted she was almost unable to hold it together.

At this moment, she was soaked through from head to toe, looking like a drowned rat.

Hazel Lewis's eyes flickered. She took out an umbrella and went over to hold it over Willow Lane. "Willow, the rain's getting heavier. You should get out of the rain."

Only then did Willow Lane come back to her senses from the shock.

The scene of Claire Bennett being picked up by the luxury car kept replaying before her eyes, making it impossible for Willow Lane to accept this reality.

She remembered clearly that Claire Bennett's man was supposed to be an assistant. How could he possibly have driven over in such a luxurious car?

Could it be that he had used President Sterling's car?

Hazel Lewis had witnessed Julian Sterling's appearance just now from start to finish. She was coming over now because she wanted to ask Willow Lane what exactly was going on.

Hazel Lewis probed, "Willow, why hasn't President Sterling come yet? Just now Claire Bennett and her boyfriend really stole the spotlight."

"He... he might need to wait a bit."

When Hazel Lewis heard that, a trace of coldness spilled into her eyes.

Just as she thought!

Willow Lane had definitely mistaken the wrong person, or else someone had impersonated President Sterling and deceived Willow Lane.

No matter how you looked at it, Willow Lane was a stupid woman who had been duped, and she wouldn't pose any threat to her. She could let Willow Lane go deal with Claire Bennett!

Hazel Lewis concealed the thoughts in her heart and said with a smile, "It's okay, then. Let's wait a little longer."

"Okay."

At this point, the shock on the faces of the people in the back had gradually faded, and they gathered together whispering like a pot exploding.

"Holy crap! What just happened? Claire Bennett got picked up in a luxury car?"

"No, shouldn't the key point be that we all thought President Sterling was in that car? Who would've thought it wasn't President Sterling at all, but the assistant by President Sterling's side."

Last time, when Julian Sterling had come in President Sterling's place to announce the news about the competition, quite a few people had learned his identity.

"Could it be that President Sterling let him use the car?"

"President Sterling has his own driver, doesn't he? How could he possibly let an assistant drive his car?"

"Could the car belong to that assistant himself? Quit joking, okay? With his salary, he couldn't afford that car even if he worked for a few hundred years."

...

With Hazel Lewis's help, Willow Lane returned to the entrance of Sterling International's lobby to shelter from the rain.

She wiped the rainwater from her face with a tissue, her face already dark. Hearing these people gossiping beside her ears only made her ugly expression grow even more grim.

In the end, Willow Lane couldn't take it anymore and felt too ashamed to stay, so she turned and left.

Yet after she left, everyone's discussion still didn't stop.

Everyone kept discussing and speculating in every which way, throwing out guesses, and didn't notice that the car they had just assumed was there to pick up Claire Bennett slowly drove away.

At that moment, the car circled around to Sterling International's underground parking garage.

The person driving was Wes Mercer.

He really had come to pick up Willow Lane; he just hadn't expected to run into Julian Sterling.

Julian Sterling really had lent him his luxury car for a couple of days before, and he had used that car to pick up Willow Lane as well.

Unexpectedly, through a bizarre coincidence, Willow Lane had mistaken the car for his, and because of the matter of him impersonating Julian Sterling, he had been unable to explain his situation.

Today, Julian Sterling suddenly told him that from now on, he no longer needed to pretend to be him.