Chapter 457
It Was Actually Someone from the Sterling Family
So he walked straight toward Old Mr. Bennett, planning to greet him first.
Ava Bennett had never seen this man before. Her eyes lingered on him for a long time before she finally pulled them away, and she impatiently tugged on Hannah Bennett and asked, "Mom, who is that man? Is he some rich family's son?"
The Sterling family and the Bennett family had basically never had any dealings with each other. Julian Sterling also had not yet inherited the Sterling family, so many people were unfamiliar with him.
Only a very small handful of people had seen him attending banquets with Old Mr. Sterling and recognized his identity at once.
People had originally thought the Sterling family and the Bennett family were on bad terms, but Julian Sterling's appearance had now shattered that rumor!
Of course, there were also quite a few people in the room, just like Ava Bennett, staring at Julian Sterling and making all kinds of guesses about who he was.
At that moment, someone beside Ava Bennett covered her mouth in surprise and said in a low voice, "Oh my God, that's the Sterling family's young master, Julian Sterling!"
Ava Bennett and Hannah Bennett were both stunned.
What?
He was actually from the Sterling family!
Hannah Bennett glanced at the middle-aged woman speaking beside her and recognized her as Mrs. Lee. Lee Group was considered no small company in New York, and Mr. Lee and his wife were exceptionally devoted to each other, often attending events together.
She asked in confusion, "Mrs. Lee, did you just say he's the Sterling family's young master?"
When Mrs. Lee heard Hannah Bennett's question, she quickly said, "Yes! Last time my husband and I attended a banquet, we saw Old Mr. Sterling personally taking him around to meet people. Looks like the Sterling family will be handed over to him in the future."
"I also heard that Old Mr. Bennett had been looking for a wife for him before."
As she spoke, Mrs. Lee sighed repeatedly in regret. "Sigh... too bad I only have a son. Otherwise, if I could marry a daughter to him, we'd become in-laws with the Sterling family, and then wouldn't the company rise to another level?"
Although Chicago wasn't all that far from New York, they were still two different cities, and information didn't travel all that smoothly. On top of that, Old Mr. Bennett wasn't satisfied with Claire Bennett, so even if any news did come through, he would step in and suppress it.
How could he possibly allow Claire Bennett to ruin Julian Sterling's reputation before he had acknowledged her himself?
That was why, in everyone else's eyes, Julian Sterling was still single. And since the Bennett family and the Sterling family didn't have much contact, the Bennetts knew even less about him.
Hannah Bennett was already tempted when she heard this.
If she could get her Ava married to Julian Sterling, wouldn't that put them one over Claire Bennett?
Then if the Sterling family and the Bennett family started interacting and cooperating, they would rise with the tide too. Why would they still need to worry about Claire Bennett coming back to fight them for the family property?
Hannah Bennett began scheming, and the more she looked at Julian Sterling, the more satisfied she felt.
She pulled Ava Bennett aside and said in a low voice, "Ava, you heard that just now too. He's from the Sterling family, and he's probably going to be the head of the family in the future. If you can marry into that family, it'll be a good thing for us."
Ever since Julian Sterling appeared, Ava Bennett's eyes had never left him.
Now that she heard Hannah Bennett's words, of course she didn't object.
"In a bit, find a chance to go over and get close to him. Maybe he'll notice you. Later, I'll have your father talk to him too and create an opportunity for you two."
Ava Bennett looked at the handsome, striking Julian Sterling, her expression a little shy, but she no longer cared about saving face.
As long as she could be with Julian Sterling, she would become the woman all other women envied. Being a little proactive now didn't matter at all.
The two of them were so excited that they never once connected Claire Bennett with Julian Sterling.
Or perhaps, deep down, they both felt that someone of Claire Bennett's status could never possibly have anything to do with Julian Sterling. His coming to the birthday banquet was probably just a coincidence.
At that moment, Julian Sterling was already striding forward with steady steps, slowly walking up to Old Mr. Bennett.
Old Mr. Bennett had noticed Julian Sterling earlier, and naturally someone by his side had already told him who Julian Sterling was.
Old Mr. Bennett naturally knew Old Mr. Sterling, but the two of them had personalities that simply didn't click.
Naturally, they did not interact much.
As for business matters, Bennett Group was now run by Victor Bennett, and Old Mr. Bennett didn't interfere much in whom Victor Bennett chose to work with. That, too, had led to the distance between the two families.
But Old Mr. Bennett did know of Julian Sterling.
Now that he had heard his identity, there was a bit more scrutiny in his gaze as he looked at him.
Julian Sterling handed over the gift in his hand and said, "Grandpa, happy birthday."
No one around them noticed that he had said Grandpa. Only Old Mr. Bennett heard it, and he felt that although the two families could be considered acquainted, Julian Sterling was not close enough to call him Grandpa.
Old Mr. Bennett gave a slight nod. "Mm, very thoughtful of you."
Little by little, more people learned Julian Sterling's identity, and after a while, everyone at the banquet knew who he was.
Whispers of discussion kept rising all around.
"That's the Sterling family's eldest young master. I can't believe he actually came to offer birthday wishes."
"I thought the Bennett family and the Sterling family didn't get along. In recent years it didn't look like the two families had any contact at all."
"Then now that Julian Sterling has shown up, does that mean the two families are going to start interacting again?"
When the reporters at the scene saw this, they grew excited as well, feeling that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe this was big news. They all pressed the shutters on their cameras one after another,
capturing Julian Sterling and Old Mr. Bennett in the same frame.