chapter1460

Lauretta didn't beat around the bush. "You and Joshua are all over the news."

Too many things had happened to Stella recently, and even Lauretta could sense something was wrong.

The Williams Group's stock value hadn't even recovered from the "real vs. fake heiress" scandal. This latest series of incidents, capped by the bombshell news story, sent it plummeting to an all-time low.

At Lauretta's urging, Stella immediately checked the news. Photos of her and Joshua had been leaked online.

The headline screamed: "Exposed! The real reason for the Williams Group's recent troubles? Heiress Stella Cameron's unprofessional affair with her male assistant, leading to disastrous decisions!"

"Is Stella's string of bad decisions due to a man, or is it because... she's not the real Williams heiress and has simply decided to let it all burn?"

"I hear this Joshua is impossibly handsome a real heartbreaker!"

Stella scrolled through the accompanying pictures. They were all of her and Joshua.

A few, taken from their training session at the gym, were shot from specific angles to make their physical contact look intimate and romantic.

As one of the people in the photos, Stella knew he had been teaching her professionally, not taking advantage of the situation in any way.

The story had only been up for an hour and was already trending.

Stella and Joshua were both single, so the news wasn't exactly scandalous, but it gave people plenty to talk about.

An heiress and her male assistant-it was the kind of clich , dramatic story that sent imaginations running wild.

The online commenters, always eager for drama, had their own takes.

"Stella is beautiful and capable. I used to really admire her, but to think she's stooped this low..."

"If she wanted to keep a boy toy on the side, no one would care. She can

afforefit But mixing business with #

pleasure like this is just

Ou

disappointing."

"But you have to admit, that assistant is gorgeous. I've seen my fair share of handsome men, but he's on another level!"

"The Williams Group has been having a lot of problems lately. Maybe it's because Stella's lost her way. Sigh, my idol, ruined."

"Yeah, Stella used to be so perfect. Now... is it true that women lose their minds when they fall in love?"

"Well, would Stella even look at him

if he weren't that good-looking?

het

The

gorgeous heiress like her must have incredibly high standards. .net>

"Heiress? I'm not so sure. Wasn't there a story a while back about her being a fake?"

"But can we just agree that the guy is ridiculously attractive? With a face like that..... who could resist?"

The comments weren't overly vicious, but the story was still terrible for both Stella's reputation and the Williams Group.

Stella immediately summoned Aicken. "Aicken, kill this story now. And make sure no other outlets publish anything about me and Joshua."

Just as she finished speaking, the

landline on her desk rang shrilly. On the other end was Jonathan Williams's cold voice. "Board meeting in thirty minutes."