Proving It to You Through Actions

Claire Bennett paused, her eyes bright as she said, "I want to become an independent woman who can stand shoulder to shoulder with you."

It wasn't that she doubted Julian Sterling's ability; she was afraid of becoming dependent. Claire Bennett wanted to grow and improve on her own.

Julian Sterling was silent for a moment. He looked at Claire Bennett and said, "Mm. If you run into a problem you can't solve, remember to come to me for help. Don't tough it out by yourself."

Claire Bennett knew this meant he had agreed. She smiled and said, "Okay. You're my husband. How could I possibly stand on ceremony with you? If I run into some problem I can't solve, I'll immediately hug your leg tight!"

That line greatly pleased Julian Sterling. He pulled Claire Bennett into his arms and kissed her on the lips.

Outside the doorway, Molly Lee had just come looking for Claire Bennett to report on Maison Verne matters, but she hadn't expected to walk in on something like this. She couldn't help blushing and hurriedly backed out.

When she turned around, she ran into Marcus Reed, who had also been planning to come report in. The two of them stared at each other, wide-eyed.

They both laughed at the same time.

...

After Claire Bennett decided on a direction, she began busying herself with her brand.

Back when she was at Bennett Group, she had successfully held a launch event, but Maison Verne's promotion had not gone very well. Bennett Group was Ava Bennett's turf after all, and Claire Bennett had been obstructed in every way. After the launch event, everything immediately went quiet, and there was never any response afterward.

Now that she had gone independent, she was no longer tied up and constrained, and could finally go all out.

The first thing was to open Maison Verne's flagship store. As the brand's first storefront, there were many requirements. First, the location had to be somewhere with heavy foot traffic, so it could build up recognition. Second, they had to run some events first to get Maison Verne's name out there. Finally, they had to create a whole series of brand effects.

But all of that would have to be done gradually. The very first thing she needed to do now was open the flagship store.

Molly Lee brought the materials into the office. She said to Claire Bennett, "Boss, this is the information I gathered on the major shopping malls. Take a look and see what you think."

Claire Bennett picked it up and glanced through it. It listed the ranking of each shopping mall, nearby customer traffic sources, and so on. Molly Lee had once been just a minor assistant, but now that she had been by Claire Bennett's side, she had become more and more capable. Being able to compile so much information together made Claire Bennett very satisfied.

She pointed at one of the shopping malls and said, "How about this one?"

Molly Lee leaned over to take a look. "Oh... this mall is in the central area of New York. Even though it was just built, because of its location, the shops inside are in extremely high demand. It's already gotten to the point where people are bidding against each other to grab spaces. It's definitely very good, but I think there may be a lot of competition."

A bidding format...

Claire Bennett knew that a good location naturally had to be fought over. Maison Verne's first step couldn't be careless, or else they might spend the money and still see no results.

With almost no hesitation, she made the decision on the spot. "No need to keep choosing. This is the one. Get ready—we're going to bid."