Chapter 439
Julian Sterling Has His Own Considerations
Hazel Lewis hadn't expected Claire Bennett to be so shameless. She had originally wanted to mock Claire's status, but she hadn't expected a single sentence from her to leave her speechless, and all she could do was stew until her face darkened with anger.
Claire Bennett couldn't be bothered to say anything more to Hazel Lewis and turned to leave.
Watching Claire Bennett's retreating figure, Hazel Lewis ground her teeth in secret. Old Mr. Sterling didn't like Claire Bennett anyway, so she was going to use her status to snatch Julian Sterling away!
Claire Bennett got into Julian Sterling's car.
After what had happened before, Julian Sterling no longer hid his real circumstances and drove his own luxury car.
To give Claire Bennett some time to prepare herself mentally, he hadn't had Marcus Reed drive. Instead, he picked her up and dropped her off himself, planning to ease her into accepting it little by little.
The luxury car shot through the streets like a meteor. Claire Bennett sat in the passenger seat, looking at the car with a heart full of mixed emotions, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Julian Sterling glanced at Claire Bennett.
He asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Hearing his voice, Claire Bennett quickly snapped back to herself and said unhappily, "Hazel Lewis is the woman your grandfather arranged for you. She's been eyeing you all along, and she even came to warn me just now, trying to crush me with her status!"
Actually, Claire Bennett didn't want to throw a little tantrum, but thinking of running into Hazel Lewis just now, and how she'd keep showing up in front of her in the future, made her feel incredibly annoyed.
Even if there was nothing going on between Julian Sterling and Hazel Lewis, any woman would be unhappy with another woman eyeing her man right in front of her every day.
Claire Bennett had just said last night that she would win Old Mr. Sterling's favor.
She felt that going back and forth like this was pretty bad, but she simply couldn't control her emotions.
Actually, Claire Bennett wasn't trying to make Julian Sterling do anything. She was confident she could compete with Hazel Lewis, but she just didn't want her staying at Sterling International.
After all, Hazel Lewis had the Lewis family behind her. If it weren't for Julian Sterling, how could she possibly have come to Sterling International?
Even if Julian Sterling ignored her, just having to watch her wander around all day causing trouble for her was infuriating enough.
After hesitating for a moment, Claire Bennett asked, "Julian Sterling, can you make Hazel Lewis leave?"
After saying that, she looked at Julian Sterling hopefully. "I'll still keep competing with her, just don't let her stay at Sterling International."
The car slowly drove into the Sterling family estate, and Julian Sterling parked in the garage.
Neither of them got out. After a moment of silence, Julian Sterling sighed and said, "Claire, I know you don't like Hazel Lewis, but I'm afraid I can't get rid of her right now. Later on, I'll have her leave. Can you bear with it a little longer?"
Julian Sterling had his own considerations.
He believed in Claire Bennett's ability to handle things. If Claire Bennett beat Hazel Lewis in this competition, then even if he removed Hazel Lewis from Sterling International, there would be no problem. But right now, he couldn't.
Their competition was in full swing right now. If he really did that, he was afraid his grandfather's side would react strongly.
Julian Sterling could tell that Old Mr. Sterling was already starting to soften. With just a little more effort, he would be able to agree to Claire Bennett's situation.
He hoped Claire Bennett could enter Old Mr. Sterling's field of vision, rather than staying in Chicago for the rest of her life.
Seeing Julian Sterling hesitate, Claire Bennett fell silent.
She didn't understand Old Mr. Sterling's side of things as well as Julian Sterling did, and only felt that his hesitation meant he couldn't bear to send Hazel Lewis away. A wave of pent-up anger instantly rose in her heart.
"Why can't you right now? Do you have feelings for her?"
Other than that, Claire Bennett couldn't think of any reason.
Julian Sterling sighed helplessly. "Claire, don't overthink it. If I really had anything for Hazel Lewis, what place would there be for you? Don't think too much, okay?"
Claire Bennett felt angry and stifled. She was not overthinking it!
Seeing Claire Bennett sulking to herself, Julian Sterling quickly reached out and pulled her into his arms. In a low voice, he said, "I'll separate your departments a bit more. You won't have any chance to run into each other. Would that work?"
Right now, Nia and Maison Verne were on adjacent floors in the Sterling International building. Claire Bennett and Hazel Lewis were bound to keep running into each other, and that really would cause some unhappiness.
This was the best solution he could think of.
Claire Bennett said sullenly, "Fine. You decide."
Actually, she still minded the matter with Hazel Lewis a little, but Julian Sterling had already compromised now. If she kept pressing the issue, she'd just be making trouble out of nothing.
Claire Bennett opened the car door and got out, leaving Julian Sterling alone in the car.
Watching her leave, Julian Sterling clearly realized she was unhappy. His brows knit tightly together, and he sat in the driver's seat thinking for a long time.
At dinner, when Ruby Sterling saw Claire Bennett looking glum, her eyes shifted, and her inner Sherlock Holmes came out.
Something definitely happened between Claire Bennett and Julian Sterling!
Originally, after Julian Sterling's identity was exposed, Claire Bennett hadn't fought with him, and everyone had been happy. But how much time had even passed before they started having a spat?
She quickly shot Father Sterling and Mother Sterling a look of inquiry.
Ruby Sterling: "What's going on with my brother and my sister-in-law?"
Mother Sterling: "If even you don't know, how would your father and I possibly know?"
Seeing Mother Sterling's puzzled expression, Ruby Sterling secretly let out a sigh.
She lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth, deciding that after dinner she would properly grill them about what exactly was going on between the two of them.