STEPHANIE:

      Leaving Ray to sulk on the couch, the rest of us gather around Ash to hear what he has in mind, but before he can say anything, my phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket, and see Lylah's number on the screen, so I say, "It's Lylah. She and Mace are supposed to be collecting the folks from the airport in just a few minutes. You don't think there's been an issue with the flight or something, do you?"

      "You won't know unless you answer, babe," Ash observes. "This can wait a few minutes until you get done."

      I accept the call, saying, "Hey, Lylah! What's up?"

      "Funny, I was just about to ask you the same fuckin' thing," she retorts. "Is everything okay over there? And is Ash with you, or have you talked to him in the last little bit?"

      "Yeah, he's standing about two feet away from me, as a matter of fact," I reply "And it has been a bit of a weird afternoon so far, so that depends on your definition of 'okay'. Did you have something specific in mind?"

      "Yeah, you could say that. But since you seem to be reasonably calm, and I don't hear any signs of Ash freaking out, you're apparently not up to speed yet. So why don't you suggest that he check out the company website real quick? I think he might find it pretty damn interesting." I hear a voice in the background, and Lylah says, "Gotta go, hon, the plane is getting ready to land. Gimme a call in a bit if you figure out what the hell is actually going on, 'kay?"

      I agree to the request, then relay her idea to Ash, and he dashes across the room to fire up his laptop, so everyone can view the site. As the home page comes into view, our jaws collectively hit the floor, and Ash practically growls, "You have got to be fucking kidding me here! How the hell did she manage to pull this off?" Then he pauses for a second, glancing back toward the couch, then at me, and adds, "That was a completely stupid question, wasn't it?"

      "Kinda sorta, yeah," I reply. "She obviously got numb-nuts over there to give her access, because there's no chance in hell she's smart enough to figure out how to hack in on her own. But you know that's typical Cyndee; get someone else to do the scut work, then sit back and try to reap the benefits while her stooge du jour takes the fall for whatever mayhem ensues."

      It turns out that what has everyone so freaked out is the fact that Cyndee has somehow managed to hijack the company website and post a rather lengthy message proclaiming herself to be not only Ashley's new girlfriend, but also the sole female model for APFI, beginning tomorrow morning. She also states that "Going forward, I'll be taking an active role in management and promotion of the company, bringing in a new team to keep things moving, which will leave Ash free to concentrate on his designs, as well as his musical endeavors."

      Max lets out a snort as he reads this, and declares, "I'd be willing to wager a years salary that Rod or Helen actually wrote this bullshit out for her. There's too many big words, and the sentences are actually coherent."

      "And whaddya bet that at least one of them is part of that 'new team' she's blathering about?" I add. "I mean, who else could she find who'd be willing to end up running the company into the ground just to try to make everything go her way, or bleed it dry by using company funds as her own personal piggybank?"

      Everyone in the room can tell by the look on Ash's face that he's working to process everything that's been dropped on him in the last few minutes, so we wait quietly until he finally lets out a deep breath, then says something rather surprising. "Well, this obviously means a few changes to my original idea, but in a way, I think she may have actually done us all a favor," he announces.

      The room is dead silent for several seconds, until everyone bursts out with:

      "Say what, now?" from Markie.

      "Excuse the fuck outta me?" Shannon blurts

      Max adds, "Were you aware that you're dating a lunatic, Sis?"

      I raise an eyebrow and inquire, "Do you suppose you can clarify that statement just a little bit, babe? Cuz if not, I may be forced to agree with Max."

      He leans in and drops a kiss on my forehead, then says, "You know as well as I do that if I try to deal with her over the phone, or, God forbid, let her come here, she'll end up putting her own spin on anything I say or do, and who knows what kind of rumors and misinformation will wind up getting out in the media. So I'm just gonna cut her off at the pass and set the record straight myself." He pauses, and looks around the room at all of us, his eyes stopping on Ray, and a wicked grin spreads across his face as he continues, "Because I don't know about y'all, but I think such a momentous, life-changing event deserves a press conference. Or at least a live-stream on my social media accounts. Don't you agree?"

      We all pause to consider his words, and Max is the first to react, reaching out to give Ash a clap on the back and declaring through a burst of laughter, "You bet your ass I do, bro! If you have witnesses when you shoot down her little fantasy, there's no way that she or her enablers can deny the fact later. I like how you think!"

      Before Ash can respond to this, Ray's phone, which is laying next to his laptop, sends forth another message from Cyndee, which reads, "Hellooooo! What's taking you so long? Are you going to give me the address so I can take Ash's mind off his problems, or did you manage to fuck things up?"

      He pauses for a few seconds, then starts tapping out a response, holding up the phone so we can read the message before he sends it out. It reads; "Not just yet, gorgeous. He's decided that he wants to have a press conference to make the official announcement, so we're still hammering out the details. I'll send you info on time and place when it's finalized."

      "Of course he does! I should have thought of that myself!" she replies. "Be sure to let me know the absolute second he gets everything set, I want to make sure I have plenty of time to get ready. Need to make sure I look totally smashing for pics."

      Ash, as "Ray", assures her that he'll do just that, then shuts off the phone and says "All right, here's my idea." He outlines his plan, which changes a bit due to contributions from Markie and Max, and once all the details have been hammered out, we go into action. Ash posts an alert on all of his social media accounts to let the fans know that he will be doing a live-stream at five thirty this evening to "further clarify" the things that Cyndee posted. While he does this, the rest of us take to our phones to make calls or search the internet, and we have everything pretty much finalized in less than thirty minutes. 

      When I finish my calls, I say, "I just talked to Henry, and he says that he's got a friend here in LA who might be able to help out."

      "Really? How so?" Ash inquires.

      "I'm not really sure, he was being a bit mysterious about the whole thing," I continue. "He asked me for the address where everything was gonna take place, then said that he was gonna call his friend as soon as we finished talking, and that he'd try to have the dude show up there if he could actually do anything useful."

      Ash pauses for a few seconds, then shrugs and says, "What the hell, the more the merrier. And if whatever Henry and his buddy have up their sleeves is gonna inconvenience Miss Thing in some form or fashion, I don't really need to have all the details. I'll just be pleasantly surprised along with everyone else."

      "Hon, if whatever's up Henry's sleeve wouldn't create some degree of difficulty for the 'bargain-bin bimbo', as Talia likes to call her, he wouldn't even bother mentioning it, so it's bound to at least have some entertainment value," I inform him. "So whaddya say we get this party started, so everyone can hear the real story, and witness one of the epic meltdowns that always accompany Cyndee not getting her way.  Then maybe we can finally get around to getting you acquainted with the rest of my family."

      "Sounds good to me," he says, as he snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me in for a quick kiss. "And, if we're really lucky, maybe we can get her out of our lives once and for all."

      "Y'know, that would be the second-best dream-come-true that I could ever possibly hope for."

      He gives me a slightly puzzled look, then grins, and inquires, "Only the second? What's the first? Maybe I can help you with that one, too."

      I look into his eyes, and reach up to run my fingers through his hair as I reply, "You already have, darlin'. I'm looking at it."