Winner Takes it All

"Does Lenae really think life is that easy?" Janette thought as she went behind the auditorium. She clenched her fists in anger, thinking about what she could do next. "I can't allow her to sell her art. She's not even gone through half of all I've gone through. I can't stand it!" She vented out loud.

Janette looked through the opening to the art submission office. Some staff members were still there accepting late entries. "So much for benevolence," she thought.

An idea struck her, "I could create another fate for Lenae's poor art." Janette said. She walked into the art submission office with a smile on her face.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The female staff asked.

"Hi. I'm sorry, I have to adjust something on my art. I almost forgot to include the glitter. Wouldn't want to mislead Bloom and all the audience." Janette lied.

"Alright. Your name please? And kindly show me your pass."

"Lenae Grims." Janette replied, handing her Lenae's pass, which included Lenae's name and signature.

"Alright. Be right back." The staff walked to another office and brought back Lenae's art then handed it to Janette.

"Thank you, I'll be right back," Janette said. She exited the office, with a smile of triumph plastered on her face. She found a little corner then unwrapped Lenae's art. "It's almost too marvellous," she muttered.

Janette took off her heels and ripped the painting all over, slowly. "Not yet my darling. You'll sell, but me first my love." She whispered as she ripped it even more.

"I guess that was why we were told to keep our enemies closer. I wouldn't have had this chance if I had kept you away, would I?" Janette said, raising Lenae's painting with both her hands.

Meanwhile, Ray's phone rang in the hall and he excused himself. "Hello?"

"Hi Ray. Your father wants to speak with you." Ray's dad's assistant said.

"Hey, son. I'm not spending another minute here. Do something please."

"Okay Dad. Happy anniversary."

"You too. I'm proud of you son." Ray's heart leaped for joy. He had yearned to hear those words all day.

"Thanks Dad." The call ended, but Ray continued smiling.

Tim walked up to him. "Is all well sir?" Tim asked.

"Yes, thanks. My dad wants to leave the hospital today. Arrange some men to get it done please."

"Okay, sir." As Tim turned to leave, Ray's shocked gasp caught his attention. "What is it?" Tim asked and Ray shushed him, pointing at a lady in a corner.

"What is she doing? Why ruin her art?" Tim was just about to approach her when Ray stopped him.

"Don't do or say anything."

"But why?" Tim's heart was breaking with every tear the lady added to the painting.

"I want to see where this leads to. Why ruin a perfect story?"

"But," Tim tried to protest, but Ray grabbed his arm, making him leave.

"What you need to do is find out all you can about that lady and the painting. I'll be waiting for your report," Ray said.

Meanwhile, Janette carefully rewrapped Lenae's painting and resubmitted it to the staff at the counter. They exchanged pleasantries and Janette walked back into the hall. It was still beaming with light-hearted activities.

Ray had waited for Janette to leave, and He checked the office with Tim. Tim asked the question, "Who just came by?"

"An artist. She needed to make some adjustments to her painting." She constantly looked from Tim to Ray as she spoke.

Ray wasn't convinced. "What's her name?" He asked.

She checked the register to confirm "Lenae Grims." She said

Tim checked Ray's tab for her profile. He looked up at Ray the moment he caught a glimpse of what the real Lenae Grims looked like.

 "Good work," Ray told the lady and motioned to Tim for them to leave.

 "That wasn't her painting sir," Tim said, heartbroken.

 "I know. A woman would do anything to get exactly what she wants."

 "What do we do about this? We could lose a lot of money."

 "We may have already lost a lot of money, Tim."

 "So what do we do now?" Tim asked.

 "Absolutely nothing," Ray said.

Tim was perplexed. He stared at Ray, totally unsure of what was running through his mind. He has good judgment at the end of the day, Tim thought, trying to convince himself.

"For a woman to do that to her friend, she must have an outcome she wants to see. I want to see her get that outcome. Women are crazy, if she doesn't get it now, she'll try to get it again some other time." Ray explained, winning Tim over.

Tim nodded to himself till they got back in the hall. "Okay sir, I'll trust you."

"I need you to help send the other woman a message," Ray told Tim. "Just a note to keep her conscious of the surrounding person."

"What's the message sir?"

"She's your Devil.' That's all." Ray said plainly. "We will allow her do whatever she wants after that. However it goes, we will settle them both with the money one of them males today."

Tim was even more relieved when the money part was settled. "At least, we won't get to settle the poor miss from our pockets." Tim thought.

Tim sent Lenae Ray's message through a waiter. Lenae was just sitting in her seat, enjoying the anniversary dinner, when a waiter approached her and refilled her cup. "Thank you," she said. "I was just about to ask."

"You're welcome," The waiter said, beaming at her.

"I feel so appreciated." Lenae thought as she took a sip of her drink. She noticed a note near her drink. "This wasn't here before." She thought to herself.

She looked around to check if she would meet eyes with anyone, or even the sender, but everyone else was focused on the activities. She opened the note, "She is your Devil." It read. She smirked, thinking it was just a lame joke. "Someone has enough time in their hands." She muttered under her breath.

Janette returned to the table, looking much better. "What did I miss?" She asked Lenae.

"Only the jokes and laughs. Someone also walked us through the history of Bloom with a rendition. It was perfect," Lenae replied.

"That's amazing," Janette said.

"So you feel better?" Lenae asked.

"I do," Janette said with a grin.

"It's a good thing your stomach is settled before you're called to talk about your art."

"Right?" Janette asked. "You know, there are a lot of handsome men in this place," she added, changing the subject.

Lenae giggled, and thoughts of the man she had bumped into flashed in her inner mind. He's way out of my league, Lenae thought, pushing the thoughts away.

"The decor is really amazing," Janette said, drawing back Lenae's attention. "Remember when I really wanted to learn interior?"

"Sure, I do. You didn't want to do it anymore, so you gave it up," Lenae replied.

Janette thought, "That's what I told you, but I just didn't have the money." She looked over at Lenae and they both smiled at each other.

"You can still do something in that line though, that's if you want to do it." Leane said.

A bell rang, and the anchors got back on stage. They drew everyone's attention to themselves. "Who's ready for the next segment?" The female anchor asked.

"We were born ready." The male anchor replied.

"Alright. It's time for the auction." She announced to the audience. Everyone paid even more attention. Lenae looked over at the artworks as they were brought on stage, and anticipation built within her.

"The auction is a personal highlight for me," the male anchor said.

"Me too," the female anchor responded.

"We have twenty-three artworks here today. And any one of them could be yours. Anyone." The anchors said. "These art pieces were carefully chosen by the Bloom management based on originality and quality. Any piece of art you see here today is highly recommended by the Bloom management."

Tim stole glances at Ray. "Aren't we risking ourselves here?" He thought. Ray just smiled at Tim and then focused on the auction.

"Alright," the anchors continued, "as we've all heard, each artist will get a chance to talk about their art for three minutes."

"And for the first art piece, a timeless watch by Ben Tom!" The anchors announced. A round of applause followed.

Lenae smiled at Janette in the applause. "It's a good thing they're excited about the auction," Lenae said.

The watch was brought into the hall on a rolling table. It was sitting magnificently on a sculpted hand. "Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, join us, and we welcome the artist, Ben Tom!"

A nice-looking young man walked forward and was handed a microphone. Lenae and Janette stole glances at each other and smiled. Ray looked over at Lenae and Janette from time to time. His seat was almost opposite the audience, so it wasn't difficult to look at and not seem suspicious.

"Hello everybody,'' Ben Tom started. "I'm Ben Tom, the privileged designer of this timeless watch." The audience gave another round of applause. Ben Tom continued, "Thank you. I call this watch timeless because it was designed in a unique, lasting style, as you can all see, and also made with exquisite materials that can never go out of style. Being one of a kind watch, no other exact watch exists anywhere in the world."

Lenae noticed the audience's interest peaked at the thought of owning a one-of-a-kind piece. "I had better add something similar to my speech," she thought.

"So join me," Ben Tom continued, "get the opportunity to love on this watch as I have. Thank you." The audience gave another round of applause.

"Let the bidding begin!" The anchors announced in a chorus.

Someone in the audience raised his placard and the anchors pointed at him. "Our first bidding is two hundred thousand dollars," The male anchor announced.

Tension rose in the hall, especially amongst the artists present. "Do we have another bidder?" The female anchor asked. Someone else in the audience raised his placard. She announced, "Another bid, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!"

"Do we have another bidder?" This time, the male anchor asked, "going once," he added after a while. Someone else in the audience raised her placard, "Four hundred thousand dollars!" The anchor announced.

"Going once," the female anchor said. "Going twice." She added. "Gone." The two anchors chorused. "The exquisite timeless watch is sold to the beautiful lady in black for four hundred thousand dollars!" She announced. A round of applause followed.

The watch was rolled out of the stage and another piece was rolled in. The male anchor announced, "Next, we have another exquisite piece, a sculpture made by a renowned artist, Frederick Gram."

The artist walked forward and was also handed a microphone, "Hello everyone," he said. "I'm Frederick Gram, also a privileged sculptor. While I thought of this design, I was at my lowest point. I almost gave up everything about life and art. One night, just as I was about to end it all, it occurred to me. All I needed to do was face my difficulties instead of finding the easiest way out, losing my life. I got up and decided to be resilient in my outlook on life, and that's how this lion-shaped sculpture came to life. Thank you."

A round of applause followed. Lenae was learning from the speeches of the other artists, and now I know the speech I rehearsed is just right. She thought to herself.

"Do we have our first bidder?" An anchor asked. Pointing at someone with his placard raised, he added, "Three hundred thousand dollars!"

Another person raised her placard, "Four hundred thousand dollars!" The female anchor announced. "Going once," she added after a while.

Someone else raised his placard, "Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars!" The male anchor announced. "Do we have another?"

Someone raised his placard at a corner of the hall, "five hundred and forty thousand dollars!" The female anchor announced. "Going once," she added after a while. "Going twice." No other placard was raised. "Gone." The anchors chorused and a round of applause followed.

"The wonderful sculpture is sold to the man in a frilled blazer, for five hundred and forty thousand dollars."

Lenae looked at Janette, with her mouth agape. Janette was elated, this is indeed where my life changes! Janette screamed on her inside.

Someone walked up on stage and whispered something to one of the anchors. "Alright, the latest addition." He announced. "The audience gets the chance to ask the artist two questions regarding their art piece."

Ray looked over at Janette, who also looked at Lenae. Ray smiled to himself, "women," he thought. "When they mean for your end, it most probably will be. They'd stop at nothing to get exactly what they desire."

Janette laughed on her insides, "Lenae doesn't know what's coming for her. This twist is the perfect ice on the topping." She rejoiced. Yet locking hands with Lenae, she pretended to be tense and Lenae patted her hand.

"We're okay,'' Lenae said, trying to calm her down.

"I am, but you on the other hand, are not," Janette said to herself, snickering.