4 Carat Christmas

Welcome to Flash Fest December!

I have some author friends who have joined me in this challenge, and are contributing to the prize baskets!

This week’s prize basket:

• $5 Amazon gift card
• Free ebook for Red Wine & Roses
• Swagbag
• ebook of Protected By His Grace

This is how the prize giveaway will work:

Leave a comment throughout the week on any blog post, whether it’s the blog hop, flash, guest spot, or weekend writing warriors. I will select one of the commenters through Randompicker and post it on Monday’s post. That person can contact me on Facebook or email me at: l.e.mcatee@gmail.com.

The challenge is to write a flash piece, 500 to 1000 words based on a Holiday tune as a prompt. The author was given the option to select their own or I would assign one. Trust me,  my list of holiday tunage is anything but traditional!

4 Carat by Kelly Clarkson

 

4 Carat Christmas

by Ellie Mack

Simone added the final ornament to her tree, then stepped back to admire her work.  It was perfect!

Staging houses around the holidays were her favorite. Her business was booming and she had a tidy account as well as investments. She was the most in-demand stager in the entire metropolitan area, and as such, she set her rates.

She moved to the kitchen, adjusting the red and gold blown glass bowl on the counter that she had acquired for super cheap at an estate auction. Auctions and estate sales were a great place to get stuff! She had several high-end collectibles and unique pieces in the old warehouse that she bought.

Walking through the newly remodeled home, no one would ever know what a trash heap it was when Cort bought it.  If it had been her, she would have had it razed.

He was due any minute. She hoped that this was the night he would pop the question.

Cort McClain was the top selling real estate agent in the region.  The Homes Channel was considering him for a series to begin in the spring of the following year. One of the executives discussed the idea that a married man would be considered more trustworthy than a single man. Simone took the opportunity to drop the hint for a 4-carat ring and a promising, financially smart match.

He wasn’t her only client by any means. She had contracts with the top four real estate offices in the area, working with over forty agents. She had dated a few of the men over the past three years of building her business when Cort caught her eye. Simone paid close attention to who were the top agents in any given office and used that information to zero in on the best candidate for her future Mister. She had even considered a couple individual homeowners as candidates, but they didn’t cut the muster.

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned, seeing Cort’s Mercedes in the drive. Warm fuzzies and a huge smile spread.

Wait! Was that?

She watched out the window as Cort leaned across to the passenger side, locking lips with a buxom brunette. “What the hell?”

“Hey, Simone! The place looks great as usual.”

He gave the area a cursory glance. “That rug looks great!”

“Who’s the brunette?” Simone asked as she pursed lips and folded her arms.

“Is that a Chihuly? Where did you get this one? Man, I would love to have this.”

He seemed anxious to leave and ignored her question. He’d seen the bowl before.

“Who’s the brunette, Cort?” She didn’t budge.

He laid the paperwork out on the counter to sign. “She’s an executive from the Homes Channel. We are negotiating a contract for my show.  Pretty much a done deal! Isn’t that great?” He clicked his pen to sign.

“And sleeping with that whore is part of the contract?” Her jaw was stern.

“No. Her name is Adrian and she’s one of the executives. Not the CEO, but pretty far up there.”

“Huh” Simone glanced out the window at Adrian making a duck face in the mirror admiring her ruby red lipstick. “So, . . I guess this means we’re through?”

“Yeah, sorry. I wanted to break it to you gently. Guess I failed at that.”

Simone wasn’t exactly the romantic type, but she sure as hell deserved better than this.

It took every ounce of self-control not to bash him over the head with the Chihuly bowl. She waited as he signed the forms and her check.

She wished she had never agreed to give him the friends and family discount rate. Which was a Cort only rate because she thought this holiday held a 4-carat promise for her, but she was obviously wrong.

As she held the check in her hand, reading it she saw that it should have another zero behind the three that were there.

“Next week I’ll have that house on Spruce ready to show. Think you can fit me in to stage that one?”

That was it. She couldn’t stand it as he babbled on about his career and Adrian. “You like the Chihuly?”

“Yes. Maybe I’ll buy it from you after the open house.  Or maybe, you can give it to me for a present?”  He tried to make a smolder and it just pissed her off.

“Sure! Merry Fucking Christmas!” She raised the heavy bowl and bashed him in the head with it as she spoke.

He crumpled like a ragdoll onto the floor in front of her and lay motionless. She kicked him a couple times for good measure before bending to feel his pulse.  Yeah, he was still alive. She went through the house trashing everything she could. Flinging the tree in the floor, throwing the towels in the floor,  turning the faucets on, and stripped the bed before dumping the vase of lilies. She overturned the furniture in the living room which surprisingly didn’t seem to take a lot of effort

When she had worked out her frustrations, she checked on him again before taking his pen and adding the zero to her check.

“The 4-carat ring would have been less expensive.” Just for good measure, she emptied the trash bin over him. The liquidy residuals from carry out Chinese splattered on his chest. She walked out to the woman in the car.

“Hi!  Cort is going to be a little longer.  He found some issues that need to be tidied up and a small leak in the bathroom. He said for you to just sit tight, he’d be out in about thirty minutes. Merry Christmas !” She forced a smile. “Oh, and make sure he uses protection. He tested positive last month.”

She sped off flipping them the bird.

Write on my friends, write on! Don’t forget to leave a comment!