"Her Move"

by Michael Seese

While I was busy pondering "The Saving Breath" (sort of) and "Temptation," I saw that Janet Reid was offering a flash contest of her own. To celebrate Mette Ivie Harrison's The Bishop's Wife (which she loved) she tasked us with writing a 100-word story using

bishop

wife

secret

hammer

repent

Below is "Her Move."

Her words were a hammer to his ego. But Edward's facade refused to be dented.

"I'm leaving you," Madeline repeated.

He laughed.

"Please! This isn't one of your paperback romances, Maddie. You're no queen. And I'm not some fawning servant. I'm the CFO of a Fortune 500 corporation. I scraped you out of the mailroom. And I can toss you back," he said, completely unemotional, completely unrepentant.

Madeline had one move remaining.

"I know your secret. You're sleeping with your CEO. Wouldn't his wife – and the Board – love to hear that? Bishop to King 7. Checkmate, I think."