This is who I am, nobody said you had to like me.

"You're fired".

"No, you can't do that".

"Watch me "

"I signed a contract, You cannot fire me before expiry of the contract." he answered smugly.

The corner of my mouth twitched upwards, it was fun to give people a reality check, especially such arrogant men who taught the sun and the stars were made for them.

"Let me get this straight, you steal from my company, you endorse my clients to my rivals and if that's not the cherry on top you give up my company secrets to others for money. Now give me a reason why your butt should not land in jail".

"Because you don't have proof Ma'am, and besides I have a employee contract to back me up" he sneered and proceeded to sit on a chair propping his feet on my desk. I raised my eyebrow. Poor fellow had no idea what was going on, I humored him and asked "So why did you do it, Mr Hall?"

The last thing I needed from this idiot was answers, once I have them see what happens.

"I deserve to be in a higher position, I need more money and fame. I did not get them in your company, so I found a means to get it by going against you. I'm an opportunist, I'm never on one side"He spat.

"Employee of the year" I mocked.

"Thank you" he answered proudly failing to pick up on my obvious sarcasm. He was blunt I tell you. "So you think you deserve a better position despite your lack of education and your betrayal to my company " I asked him.

"I'm a man, I can do things better than you do". He shot back irritated. Ohh he was one of those pigs, who taught they should be handed the world just because of their gender. Twenty eight years of my life gave me enough familiarity with such nut cases, now I have an idea of how to deal with them. I gave him a smile of sugary sweetness, time to pull out the big guns.

"Did you read the full contract Mr Hall ?" I asked. I noticed his mask of smugness and arrogance slip away for a second, but he recovered quickly trying to keep his face blank. He dismissivly raised an eyebrow.

"Clause 4 of the contract States that in case of any disloyalty to me or my company, I have complete right to withhold your paycheck and fire you immediately".

All the traces of haughtiness left his face. He looked shocked. I decided that this was a look I liked on his face. I smiled devilishly, and picked up a pen drive and kept it on my desk directly in his line of sight. Mr Hall looked up confused at me and then the pen drive.

"This pen drive has the cctv footage of you making a deal with one of my rivals. I'm glad I installed good ones. It recorded you and your voice in hd. So I believe we were talking about the lack of proof against you." I asked quite pleased when the smirk was wiped off his face.

The leg he had propped on my desk were taken down and he stood up. Yes, now we're getting somewhere. I took a sip of my coffee and resisted the urge to pat my back, feeling proud of myself. He opened and closed his mouth, his tiny brain not understanding the magnitude of the situation he was caught in. I pushed a paper towards him and placed a pen to it's right. "Mr Hall this is your confession letter, sign it or your footage will go to the police". I threatened.

Was it not an amazing feeling when you bring a man's ego down a few well deserved notches. "Wait, let me tell you what happens when if you don't sign the contract" I gave him set of possibilities.

"On grounds of the cctv I can keep back your paycheck and fire you this instant, your landlord is going to kick you out of your newly acquired apartment in less than four hours, when your homeless without a job. No one will hire you because your my ex employee I'll make sure of that. And if you use my money which you convinenetely stole you'll be arrested." "So Mr Jace Hall would you like spending your life on the streets or sign this confession letter and go to jail?. Choice is all yours". I offered him.

He can choose anything provided I get my money back. If there is one thing in the world I hate it's backstabbers. Mr Hall slumped down on a chair and put his hands on his head, sobbing quietly. I let him cry and sob and do everything he wants to do, poor thing tried to play a game, he could not handle.

"I'll a sign the confession letter"he said defeated. "Now we're getting somewhere" I responded sweetly as he shakily reached for the pen and signed his confession for his crimes.

"Go home for the last time, Jace Hall" the police will find you soon I hope. He left hanging his head dejectedly and muttering a quick apology he did not mean. He did not feel guilty for betraying me he felt bad for getting caught. I was better off without such employees.

"That must have been fun" I heard a soft voice around me. I turned to find my assistant Lisa leaning against the door.

"It was fun, until he started crying for Mommy" I responded which earned a chuckle from her.

"Why go through the trouble of getting him sign a confession letter, when you had proof?" Lisa asked confused.

I smiled wickedly at her and answered "The pen drive is empty, I needed good solid proof. I baited him into confessing".

Her jaw dropped, her eyes wide. After a moment Lisa burst out laughing. Wiping tears of mirth away she clarified" you tricked him into thinking you had evidence against his crimes, when all you had was an empty pen drive".

I nodded in approval and took my own sweet time going through the papers of my next deal. Mr Hall though stupid one I tell you, made me realise I had to be more careful in things. I will not depend on anyone. I will never give a chance for people to walk out on me.

"So, what's in my schedule?" I questioned finishing my coffee. "In ten minutes you have a meeting with the accountants" she replied quickly glancing through her notepad. I nodded and headed out with Lisa on my tail.

*******

I slumped down on my couch tiredly, kicking my pumps away. Who knew handling a company was so difficult? I pressed my fingers to my forehead and sighed.

Six years ago, on this exact day life pulled out the big guns on me. All the people meant to love me, stand by me, left me like a discarded tissue on a bench. The thick sense of betrayal coiled around me. I built up walls so high, that no one could reach. I would be damned if I let something like that happen again. It does not matter how deep you fall, what matters is how you rise. I rose to create an identity for myself, to prove to all the people that treated me like gum underneath their shoes. After all the best revenge is when your haters see your success.

I locked up the sweet, naive girl and became the cold hearted bitch people usually refer to me as.

"Forever Gems", was a small jewellery making company, my best friend and I started. We didn't have much at that time, only my savings and his designs. It took six years of tedious work to bring it to this level. I didn't have a place to stay, I have slept on my desk. I'm proud of what we made. Proud to call myself a self made billionaire. I was not daddy's princess or someone from the top class to get fame and name. I was what people treated like dust, and now I'm what they dream off.

Those days I promised myself to never let my guard down, to never let someone into my life. To never give someone the opportunity to hurt me. My Nana used to tell me 'the right guy' will break my walls and make my life even more beautiful. Long gone were these dreams of my knight in shinning armor who would take away all of my problems with a swipe of his hand. I realised I was never gonna be a damsel in distress. I will fight my own battles and never let anyone in.

Will I meet such a person?

Of course not.

I will never let anyone in.

'Even if it's the right guy.'

******************************

I never thought I would have to put a disclaimer in my story, but alas here I am being proved wrong. So, let's get some things straight before you continue reading.

1.

2. My story leads are decent human beings, my male character doesn't run behind everything in a skirt and my female protagonist doens't whine. If that is unrelatable and unrealistic to you, it's okay. I respect your opinion. Just don't leave any hate comments.

3. This story is a first draft, which means it's unedited. So there will be plot holes and typos, and I will correct it, just give me some time. Writing a book is hardwork, even if you don't want to agree on it. It took me a lot of time to write this, respect others work and think before you comment something rude. I'm not saying criticism is bad, there is a way to do that. If you still want to make immature and unnecessary comments I will straight out delete them and not even think about it

4.

😀