1 THE "F" WORD

"Ms. Z is coming! Get ready to be "Cruz-ifide"!", a member of the M.I. Department shouted to her officemates.

"YES, you will be all "Cruz-ified" if we don't get this Mighty Investor today! Now get into your tasks and in a minute we will begin our show. Today will be a great day!" , she seriously looked at everybody and her angelic face gave a devilish laughed. Then, she gorgeously walked into her office.

Her executive assistant followed her immediately.

"Ms. Z, we have 99% of getting our M.I. today. Excuse me miss, but I think you're putting too much pressure on them." Claire calmly said after closing the door.

"Oh cut the Ms. Z Claire!", She genuinely smiled at her. Claire has been her best friend since she came back to the country five years ago.

"I know we have the highest chance but I want them to be ready and never take easy on anything. We've been through this before we came where we are right now." Zowie opened her arms widely asking for Claire's hug which Claire never failed to give.

"Zowie, please don't get too workaholic. You should live you're life as well. This company will not die for you like how you are to this."

"I am! Oh yes, duly noted ma'am!"

"Really Zowie? Seriously?"

Zowie pouted her lips and struck a pose which made them both laughed. She always do this whenever she's sure of her answer but not quite, their kind of gesture for being silly.

"Thank you for everything Claire. You're the only family I have in here and I am very grateful to have you. And of course my Lance as well (She threw a teasing smile). Now, we should go to the conference room and wait for the investor there."

"About that, I can't be with you in the meeting. There's an emergency at home. My sister called me and mom started to get wild, having tantrums. You know she always look for me whenever this happen."

"Oh.. right, right! Don't worry, I already checked and prepared everything the other day. This transaction needs to be just quick because I also need to attend Lance' play. You should hurry now and don't let your mom wait. Kindly send to her my regards."

"Thank you Zowie. You're such an angel! I better go. Love you! " Claire immediately went out.

"Love you too!" She happily replied.

Zowie checked the time and went to instruct her team to set everything up. They waited in the conference room. She planned and studied this through except that she hasn't seen the investor. They got the rare chance to meet him for the very first time.

She was expecting a handsome Roman God with intricate taste and with intelligent dealing, assumed from the great reputation of the company she had known. But no one had ever proved it to be true since the CEO never dealt with businesses personally until now, made her wondered why. What is more important now is that this investor will be making it out with them.

"Ms. Z, they are on their way here.'' The news from her team member cut her thoughts and brought her composure back.

"Ok, thank you. This is it! Huh! " She exhaled with excitement.

She fixed herself and heard the door opened. She tried to stand still and remain calm as she saw a more than 4 feet tall man in an expensive suit trying to hold his fats with it, his lips were topped with moustache, surrounded by long beard, and his eyes were filled with lust.

'This man is disgusting! This smells like trouble." She thought before giving her sweet smile.

"Good morning sir, welcome to our company. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, this indeed is a very good morning." The investor replied while staring at her from head to toe.

'Yuck! Stop staring at me, your looks are tearing out my clothes! You better hold your mind maniac!'

"Ms. Cruz, I will leave the investor in your capable hands now. Mr. Sue, I need to go, I have a meeting to catch up."

"Mr. Chairman, I want to make this quick as well. I only want Ms. Cruz and I to deal with this privately. I believe she is capable of presenting by herself alone."

"Oh yes, Mr. Sue. Ask Ms. Cruz anything as you please. You heard it everyone, let's leave now."

"Thank you Mr. Chairman. And Ms. Cruz close and lock the door please."

Zowie could really feel the trouble and tried to be obedient so she closed and locked the door.

Two minutes passed by and the M.I. Department members were patiently waiting for the news at the lounge area near the conference room, when they heard a loud bang. It came from the conference room so they went to see what happened.

They saw Zowie came out with blood on her hands. She never said a word and head to get herself a water.

In split second, a scream was heard in the conference room. Everyone was panicking while Zowie was very calm about it. She was expecting that scream if anybody gets to see the bloody collapsed body she left in that room.

No, she didn't kill the investor. She just gave him a lesson.

'That psycho deserves it, I have never been this humiliated and disrespected by a man. Lucky for him I was still keeping myself up. Better be ready to be fired Zowie. Yup! It's better to be fired standing a fight than letting a perverted man live as if he owns the world.' She chuckled while thinking that she was so busted now.

"Ms. Z, the chairman wants you to be at his office." , an employee told her.

Zowie prepared herself for the worst now and immediately went to the Chairman's Office.

"Ms. Cruz, I am so disappointed of you! Our highest investor will be gone, I have to pay for the hospital bill and the company will face a case for the casualties you have done! What you did will definitely drag this company out from the lime light!!" The chairman exasperated right away.

"I am sorry Mr. Chairman but I think what I did was right. Mr. Sue asked me to take off my clothes, to give him what he wants and he will be very willing to invest. But when I calmly refused him, he attempted to assault me so I have to do what's necessary." , she explained.

"By destroying his face and breaking his hands and legs? I could not even recognize Mr. Sue from his face now. From your thin body and pretty face, no one would ever thought you're capable of doing such brutal act. No one would believe you were attempted for an assault because you are perfectly fine! This is a total mess Ms. Cruz!."

Zowie kept her face down and tried not to smile as she remembered how Mr. Sue begged not to touch his face.

"Look Ms. Cruz, I understand where you are coming but what you did is very unreasonable. You could have scream for help, file a complaint and not kick Mr. Sue on his ass. You almost killed him! You know that, don't you?."

'Yes, I know pretty well I almost killed him' , she remained silent.

"I have expected so much from you. You are our best employee and you are very good at your job. You even do jobs excellently beyond our expectations Ms. Cruz. But everything will have to end here. You are.."

Zowie started to reminisce her journey and all the achievements she had done and grown up with the company and for the company but it all momentarily stopped as his boss slowly threw the F word.

"… F..I..R..E..D! " , the chairman's final word.

'Ok! Got it! I am fired after everything I have given for this company!.' She finally realized that everything was really for real to her. She never expected she would be hurt this much by the F word even if she had prepared herself to face the consequences of what she did.

She hastily went out of the company and get into her car. 'I got myself "Cruz-i-FIRED" in the end huh.' She thought and laughed crazily.