# Chapter 20: The Storm Before the First Day
The night had barely settled when the damage was already done. Under cover of darkness, a paparazzi carefully uploaded an edited clip to the internet—ten seconds of carefully curated destruction. No context. No explanation. Just the brutal image of Nicole Stanton standing over a man she had clearly beaten, her expression fierce, his form crumpled and pathetic beneath her.
The internet, ever hungry for scandal, devoured it whole.
By morning, the comments section had become a battlefield of outrage. "*Eric Ferguson's ex-wife had a rendezvous at a bar late at night and even beat someone up.*" "*How ruthless can one woman be?*" The hashtag trended within hours, pushing Nicole to the top of social media's most unforgiving spotlight.
But Nicole slept soundly through it all.
When she woke, her mind was clear. Today was her first official day at work, and she had an outfit to choose. The world could burn outside her door, but inside, she was preparing for something far more important than online gossip.
## The Fury of Friendship
The door burst open with the force of a small hurricane. Yvette Quimbey stood there, her face red with indignation, her keys still jingling from the frantic drive over.
"Nicole! All those people online are berating you again!"
Nicole paused mid-motion, a blouse half-forgotten in her hands. "Berating me? Why?"
Yvette shoved her phone forward, the video already playing. Ten seconds. That's all it took. Ten seconds of carefully edited violence that painted Nicole as the villain. The contrast was stark—Nicole's hostile, determined face versus the man's bruised and miserable appearance. The comments below were a chorus of condemnation.
But Nicole's face betrayed nothing. She turned off the screen with the calm of someone who had weathered far worse storms.
"It doesn't matter. It won't affect your mood if you don't look at it." She handed the phone back. "Now, go get ready for work."
"No!" Yvette's voice cracked with frustration. "I can't just let this be! I was there! I saw what happened! That man—"
"You don't need to care," Nicole interrupted gently. "I'll handle this. Let's go to work."
## The Priceless Problem of Being Too Rich
They were about to leave when Floyd Stanton's butler appeared at the door, standing with the perfect stillness of a man who had served royalty for decades.
"Miss, the driver is waiting for you outside."
Nicole's forehead creased. A Rolls-Royce pulling up at a corporate office would announce her presence louder than any press release. "No thanks. I'll drive to work."
The butler did not flinch. Instead, with the unhurried grace of someone who had anticipated this refusal, he produced a set of car keys.
"The Chairman specially selected the latest models of Maserati and Porsche for you. They're placed in your garage. He has also ordered a few models of Lamborghini and Ferrari from Italy, which will take a few more days to arrive, so he asks that you temporarily make do with these."
Yvette's eyes went wide. Her mouth dropped open. "*Wow... Uncle Floyd pampers Nicole so much that driving these cars worth millions of dollars is considered having to make do?!*"
She glanced at her own little convertible. The price tag probably couldn't even buy the tires of any car in Nicole's garage.
Nicole sighed, a sound caught somewhere between exasperation and affection. "I'm going to work as an ordinary person. I can't be too flashy. I don't want these. I'll just go with Yvette."
The butler hesitated. Then, with a graceful bow directed at Yvette, he said, "That's very kind of you, Ms. Quimbey."
Yvette found her voice again, beaming with genuine pride. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. It's my honor to be a driver for our dearest Miss Nicole Stanton."
The two women looked at each other and laughed—a warm, genuine sound that pushed back the shadow of the morning's scandal. Nicole grabbed Yvette's hand and pulled her out the door.
"Mr. Anderson is just as naggy as Dad!"
## The Throne That Was Never Meant to Stay Empty
The office of Stanton Corporation was a kingdom of glass and steel, but behind the polished surfaces, a quiet war had been brewing. The position of director had remained vacant for too long, and ambition had festered in the void. Everyone wanted it. Everyone thought they deserved it.
When Grant Stanton called the meeting to formally introduce Nicole as the new director, the air turned brittle.
She walked in with the quiet confidence of someone who had nothing to prove and nothing to lose. Her background was a blank slate—a strange and unsettling thing for a woman who had been married to Eric Ferguson. Beyond that label, there was nothing. No family connections visible to the public eye. No corporate history. Just... nothing.
The silence stretched like a wire about to snap.
Samantha Lindt rose from her seat like a blade being drawn. She had been the frontrunner for this position—the one everyone assumed would take the role. She had fought for it, schemed for it, waited for it. And now, this woman—this *ex-wife*—had parachuted in and stolen it from under her nose.
"Ms. Nicole, what qualifications do you have to assume this role?" Samantha's voice sliced through the room. "Do you think you can handle this position after three years of being Eric Ferguson's wife? I don't agree with this decision. And I won't stay in this company if someone like Ms. Nicole is a director."
The room held its breath. Eyes darted between Samantha and Nicole, waiting for a response.
But it was Grant Stanton who spoke.
He looked down at his watch, his voice flat and utterly unfeeling, as if he were discussing the weather rather than a senior employee's resignation. "Those who don't want to stay can hand in their resignation notice. I'll approve it."
The words landed like a guillotine.
Samantha's face went pale. She had expected support. She had expected the room to rally behind her. Instead, the Chairman had made it terrifyingly clear: *Nicole was not to be touched.*
The meeting continued, but the damage was done. The wolves had been shown their place, but the hunt was far from over. Some of them had already begun digging deeper into Nicole's past, desperate to find the weakness that would bring her down.
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**Reader's Impressions & Star Rating:**
This chapter is a masterclass in contrasts. Nicole's unshakable calm in the face of a manufactured scandal shows a woman who has been through far worse and survived. Her refusal of luxury cars to "blend in" is both endearing and ironic—here is a billionaire heiress who desperately wants to be ordinary, but her family's love constantly pulls her back into the spotlight. The confrontation with Samantha is perfectly calibrated: Grant Stanton's cold, absolute defense of Nicole is both heartwarming and terrifying. He doesn't argue. He doesn't explain. He simply dares anyone to cross him. The tension is building beautifully, and the promise of hidden investigations on Nicole's past suggests a political chess match that is only just beginning.
**⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rating: 4.7 / 5 Stars**
**Next Chapter Prediction:**
The paparazzi scandal will likely escalate, but Nicole's response will be surgical rather than emotional. Meanwhile, the corporate wolves—led by Samantha—will dig deeper into Nicole's background, only to hit stone walls and discover that the "blank slate" ex-wife of Eric Ferguson has connections that stretch far beyond what anyone imagined. Someone will try to exploit the scandal to force Nicole out, and they will learn too late that she is not just the Chairman's protégé—she is a Stanton through and through.