Am I Dreaming?

Ava Bennett was overjoyed that Ethan Sterling had taken the bait. Men really were all the same.

Didn't that prove her charm was far greater than Claire Bennett's?

"Mr. Sterling, I'll have a drink with you. Don't be upset."

Ethan Sterling arched a brow and tossed back the drink in his hand in one go.

Claire Bennett turned a small circle in front of Julian Sterling, showing off what she was wearing, then asked,

"Do you think the jewelry I'm wearing can really win over those ladies?"

Julian Sterling smiled and nodded, reaching out to gently pinch her cheek.

"Have a little confidence in yourself. You're beautiful, and the jewelry is beautiful too."

What woman didn't like being told she was pretty? Especially by someone as sharp-eyed as Julian Sterling. If even he said it was beautiful, there probably wouldn't be a problem.

Seeing that the cocktail party had officially begun, Julian Sterling held out his arm to Claire Bennett, signaling for her to take it.

"Let's go."

Claire Bennett took a deep breath and followed him into the main hall. She had seen these big-name business figures before, except back then Julian Sterling had still been the president of Sterling Group. Whenever these people saw him, they would always greet him with smiling faces and take the initiative to come over and say hello.

It wasn't like now, when many people saw Julian Sterling and acted as if they hadn't seen him at all.

Claire Bennett felt a little upset when she saw that. She turned to look at Julian Sterling's sharply defined profile. He was so perfect, the kind of man favored by heaven. He shouldn't have to endure this.

"What's wrong? Still feeling nervous?"

Noticing Claire Bennett's gaze fixed on him, Julian Sterling lowered his head and asked.

His voice was gentle, and his eyes held encouragement too.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here for everything, so don't be nervous. If you don't do well, I'm still behind you. I'll help you."

Claire Bennett had been a little nervous at first, but hearing that, she burst out laughing instead.

"At the entrance just now, if it hadn't been for me, you would've been forcibly kept by some rich woman. So which one of us is helping whom, exactly?"

Julian Sterling smiled with a face full of indulgence.

"Alright, alright, you're helping me. I'll wait for my wife to make big money and keep me, and let me pick whatever projects I want. How's that?"

Claire Bennett gave a snorting laugh. "Now that's more like it."

The two of them pulled themselves together and went into the hall to start greeting people everywhere, and then Claire Bennett realized something: every person Julian Sterling brought her over to greet was extremely polite to him, almost no different from when he was still the president of Sterling Group.

On the contrary, the ones who didn't greet him were precisely the group Julian Sterling had always disdained to bother with.

"Mr. Sterling, you're truly blessed. Mrs. Sterling is really standing by you through thick and thin."

Julian Sterling's smile grew especially bright, clearly agreeing with that remark.

"I really am the lucky one."

"Ms. Lane, my wife recently started a jewelry brand. Let's see if there's a chance for us to work together."

The moment Ms. Lane heard that, she immediately turned her gaze to Claire Bennett. Claire Bennett had been a senior manager at Bennett Group before, so handling a situation like this was no challenge for her.

She practically picked up Julian Sterling's cue at once and naturally slipped into smooth conversation with Ms. Lane.

Ms. Lane's company wasn't involved in the jewelry industry, but when it came to jewelry, accessories, clothes, bags, and the like, women always had common ground to talk about.

Especially since business was involved, the conversation wasn't purely idle chatter; its nature was quite different.

Claire Bennett spoke gracefully, and her outfit and styling were very much to Ms. Lane's liking. She understood why Julian Sterling had brought her over to greet Ms. Lane, but understanding was one thing. Whether Ms. Lane would actually help depended on whether Claire Bennett truly had the ability to impress her enough to make her use her connections on Claire Bennett's behalf.

On that point, Claire Bennett did not disappoint Ms. Lane. Her jewelry designs really were distinctive, giving people a striking, refreshing feeling.

No matter how precious jewelry was, it was still made for people to wear. Just being pretty wasn't enough; it had to have its own character and be able to meet the needs of different people in different settings.

On that point, Maison Verne's designs could fully deliver.

Ms. Lane was pleasantly surprised. Maison Verne really was a promising prospect.

As soon as Claire Bennett and Ms. Lane got into conversation, Julian Sterling had already quietly stepped aside. In the way he looked at her, besides tenderness and love, there was also deep admiration.

Claire Bennett lived up to expectations. Ms. Lane brought over people from her own circle to introduce to her, and Claire Bennett successfully pushed both herself and the Maison Verne brand into everyone's view, winning quite a bit of favor.

By the time the cocktail party ended, Claire Bennett had happily drunk quite a lot as well.

This round of conversations lasted nearly two hours. During that time, four society ladies and two company executives all placed custom orders with her for Maison Verne's high-end jewelry.

Ms. Lane even took the initiative to tell her she wanted to invest in the Maison Verne brand and help it rise to the next level.

She hadn't expected attending this cocktail party to bring her such enormous gains, and things had gone unexpectedly smoothly too.

After seeing Ms. Lane off, Claire Bennett still felt like it wasn't quite real.

"Julian Sterling, hurry up and pinch me. Ms. Lane said she wants to invest 30 million US dollars in Maison Verne. Am I dreaming?"