CHAPTER 88: CHAPTER 88: CLAIRE HAS THIS IN THE BAG

Serena Jennings gave a slight smile and asked Claire, "How much did Ms. Shaw spend to hire President Lockwood as an assistant, is it also two hundred?"

The word "also" from Serena made Claire’s smile slightly stiffen.

She proactively took Caleb Lockwood’s arm, "Caleb, why would Serena talk about you this way, how could you be so cheap?"

"Anyway, he only charged two hundred to drive," Serena deliberately brought up this matter.

Judging from Claire’s reaction, she clearly didn’t know that Caleb drove Serena home that night.

Serena was going to divorce Caleb.

But it didn’t stop her from enjoying seeing Claire uncomfortable.

Claire’s gaze at Caleb was clearly curious about what the deal was with the two hundred between him and Serena.

Unfortunately, Caleb’s gaze remained on Serena’s face all along.

"I charge two hundred not only for driving but also for sleeping together."

Caleb said this casually, and now it was Serena who felt a bit uneasy.

However, the one who felt the most uncomfortable was Claire.

She barely maintained her smile but inside she wished she could tear Serena apart.

Why was it that, even though Serena and Caleb had been separated for so long, Caleb still wanted to sleep with her?

Claire gripped Caleb’s arm too tightly, drawing his attention.

"Claire, are you feeling unwell?"

"No..." Claire came back to her senses and shook her head, "Maybe the sun is affecting me."

Caleb reached out his hand to shield Claire from the sun.

Watching the shadow of Caleb’s large hand cast on Claire’s face, akin to a blooming smile, Serena pushed her suitcase and silently stepped away.

"Isn’t Peter here for your finals?"

Not expecting Caleb to still be speaking to her, Serena casually replied, "He has a meeting in the afternoon."

Peter initially wanted to come, but as a director of FY, he couldn’t skip a board meeting just for Serena.

"Let me take that!"

Without waiting for Serena’s agreement, Caleb took her suitcase away.

He held a suitcase in each hand and walked into the hall first.

Claire and Serena faced each other.

"Caleb is just so thoughtful."

"Because he’s my husband, who else would he be thoughtful for if not me."

Serena’s retort made Claire’s expression change suddenly.

"Serena, Caleb doesn’t love you; the one he loves is me!"

Claire proclaimed fiercely.

Serena felt nothing inside.

After all, she already knew this long ago; it was nothing new.

"Wait until he actually marries you, then it’s not too late to say that."

After leaving this remark, Serena walked into the hall.

Today was the finals; it wasn’t worth getting distracted by Claire and Caleb.

All ten finalists were in a large enough preparation room; Caleb handed one suitcase each to Serena and Claire.

At that moment, Leo Grant and Ronan Ross arrived.

Seeing Caleb, they were not surprised.

"President Lockwood is successful in business and still so considerate to his girlfriend."

Leo teased Caleb.

Caleb smiled politely without saying much.

They didn’t specify who the girlfriend was, but Serena knew well that Caleb’s public girlfriend was definitely not referring to her.

"I’m about to catch a flight, contact Mr. Miller if you need anything, I’ve left him here."

Caleb said softly to Claire.

Serena recalled that Caleb used to bring Mr. Miller, his special assistant, on every business trip; unexpectedly, he made an exception this time for Claire.

"If there’s anything you want, just send me a message on WeChat, I’ll buy it for you."

"No need, I don’t want anything, plus you’ve already given me so many things."

"This time is different... it’s to celebrate your victory..."

As Caleb spoke, he glanced at Serena, meeting her gaze unexpectedly.

Serena immediately withdrew her gaze, pretending to organize her luggage.

Caleb’s smile widened.

Leo and Ronan both felt that Caleb and Claire’s reluctant-to-part look was just like a young couple in love, marveling at the beauty of youth.

"You’re... the one Peter recommended..."

It was only at that moment that Leo noticed Serena.

"Chairman Grant, Mr. Ross..."

Serena greeted them proactively, but Leo’s gaze at her was full of disdain.

"You were the one who actively asked me for a chance, but ended up not even submitting a final product."

Leo’s words took Serena’s memory back to when her uncut ruby gemstones were taken by Caleb.

After modifying her design back then, she thought there was no point in submitting a finished product since she heard Leo had already given a recommendation letter to Claire.

"I’m sorry..."

Serena apologized sincerely, but Leo didn’t accept it.

Even Ronan sighed in disappointment as he brushed past her.

They each gave Claire words of encouragement before leaving the preparation room with Caleb.

Seeing Serena’s unpleasant expression, Claire’s eyes once again filled with the joy of victory.

The finals began.

The ten designers entered the stage one by one, bringing with them their prepared materials.

In the audience, Quentin Xavier sat with Sharon Sanders and Nancy Young.

The dim lighting made Quentin’s smug smile less obvious.

This time, Claire was destined to win!

Quentin had already foreseen the result.

He was well aware of the other designers’ level through the preliminary and semi-final rounds.

And Serena...

Quentin looked up at Claire Shaw, who was shining on stage.

Quentin had been sending Claire Serena’s designs meant for the finals, from the first draft all the way to the thirty-first.

With each revision, he sent it to Claire.

As long as Claire perfected and supplemented Serena’s final design with some unique creativity, like in the preliminaries, then Serena’s final score definitely wouldn’t surpass Claire’s.

Claire was preparing her necessary materials when she inconspicuously looked up, and even in the dim audience, she immediately spotted Quentin.

When Quentin saw Claire throw him a bright spring-like smile, he felt his heart melt.

These days pretending to be a double agent by Serena’s side was worth it.

Since crafting a high-end jewelry piece takes a lot of time and effort, the finals require making finish products not entirely from the ground up.

The final round was set for five hours.

Participants had to complete their brought semi-finished pieces within these five hours.

Claire prepared her assorted auxiliary stones and finally took out her pre-made semi-finished work—

A robot earring compatible with headphones.

She was extremely curious if Serena would be able to continue when she saw her design mirrored in Claire’s.

The ranking positions for the ten designers on stage were based on the last semi-final scores.

Serena was first, Claire was second.

Thus, their worktables were adjacent.

Claire couldn’t resist turning her head to look at Serena.

Finally seeing her take out her own semi-finished piece from a box.