Thanking Him in Person Is More Sincere

She pinched herself hard. When she felt the pain, she broke into a grin and muttered, "Manager Song, I never knew you had a move like that up your sleeve. No wonder when I said earlier that I couldn't find any investment, you weren't worried at all."

"..." Claire Bennett smiled.

If she really had a card like that to play, then after Ava Bennett mocked her today, she wouldn't have been so uneasy, so afraid that her launch event really wouldn't be able to go on.

But thankfully, the storm had finally passed.

And the investment Ava Bennett had gotten from Hudson Capital had now also been taken back by Landon West.

Today Ava Bennett had even told her to be careful not to become the laughingstock of Bennett Group. It looked to Claire like Ava Bennett ought to worry more about herself.

"It's getting late. Let's head back early today."

Molly Lee quickly nodded and said bye to Claire Bennett.

On the way back to her apartment, Claire Bennett kept feeling distracted.

Logically speaking, Julian Sterling had helped her. No matter what their relationship was now, basic courtesy meant she should properly thank him.

It was just that Claire Bennett was afraid that if they had too much contact, she wouldn't be able to bear leaving again.

After all, they hadn't originally separated because outside forces had forced them apart. Maybe it would be better to thank him through Ruby Sterling instead?

Claire Bennett took out her phone and dialed Ruby Sterling's number.

"Ruby, where are you right now?"

"I'm out shopping. What's up? Want to come join me? I can treat you to dinner later while I'm at it. It's been a long time since we've eaten together, hasn't it?"

Claire Bennett's eyes lit up. "All right then. Bring your brother along too."

If Ruby Sterling was there, she would probably help distract some of the attention.

Ruby Sterling let out a puzzled "Huh?"

"Claire Bennett! Are you hiding something from me?" Ruby Sterling immediately turned excited and nosy, pressing, "Did you and my brother get back together already?"

She never in a million years would have thought that Julian Sterling had just moved across from Claire Bennett, and in less than two days he had already won Claire Bennett over. That was way too fast!

Had Julian Sterling really become that impressive?

"No, we didn't get back together." Claire Bennett hurriedly explained.

"Then why are you asking me to call my brother too?"

Claire Bennett hesitated for a moment, but in the end she didn't hide anything and told the truth. "Here's what happened... Today I met Mr. West from Hudson Capital. He said he'd invest in my project, and only afterward did I find out he was actually brought in by your brother."

She paused. "So I want to treat him to a meal as thanks for helping me."

When Ruby Sterling heard that, she quickly said, "Claire! Don't you know that if you're thanking someone, doing it yourself face-to-face is the sincere way? Oh—right, I suddenly remembered I already made plans to have dinner with someone, so I won't talk to you anymore. Bye..."

After saying that, Ruby Sterling hung up directly, not giving Claire Bennett any chance to speak at all.

Claire Bennett looked at her phone, her face full of helplessness.

Now even Ruby Sterling wasn't helping her and was telling her to thank Julian Sterling face-to-face herself.

Claire Bennett took a deep breath and suppressed the unease in her heart.

Since that was the case, then she would properly thank Julian Sterling. It was just a meal; it wasn't as if they had never eaten together before.

After making up her mind, Claire Bennett focused all her attention on listening for the sound of the door across from hers opening.

She was waiting for Julian Sterling to come back so she could thank him in person properly for helping her.

...

At this moment, Ruby Sterling was shopping by herself.

As Julian Sterling's number one strategist, once she learned about Claire Bennett's situation, she naturally pulled out her phone at once to send Julian Sterling the news.

Only after she saw Julian Sterling's reply on her phone did she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Miss Sterling." At that moment, a surprised voice rang out.

Ruby Sterling lifted her eyes and looked toward the speaker. The woman before her was wearing a well-fitted dress, her hair falling smoothly behind her back. She carried herself with elegance, and overall looked very pretty and pleasing to the eye.

Very quickly, Ruby Sterling recognized who this person was!

Wasn't she Emma Young, the young lady from the Young family whom Grandpa had arranged on a blind date with her brother?

"Miss Young, what are you doing here?" Ruby Sterling asked in surprise.

That day, Ruby Sterling had told Julian Sterling to pretend to be sick, and later, when Emma Young left, Ruby Sterling had been the one to walk her out.

Ruby Sterling hadn't had a particularly deep impression of Emma Young, but she had sensed something in Emma Young's eyes that was different from other women.

After all, when other women saw her brother, their eyes all had that uncontrollable look of wanting to pounce on him and tear him apart.

And although Emma Young had of course also shown that she wanted to develop something with her brother, she hadn't acted clingy and relentless about it, which left Ruby Sterling with a fairly good impression.

After hearing Ruby Sterling's question, Emma Young said, "I came out shopping today..."

As she spoke, she glanced around Ruby Sterling's side. Only after realizing there was no one at all around her did she hesitantly ask, "Miss Sterling, are you here by yourself?"