Picture Perfect?

ASHLEY'S POV :

What the hell is going on ? Dev went to go talk to some guy a few minutes ago , and even from across the room , it doesn't look like the conversation is going well . Her expression started out as mildly irritated , then changed to confused , then to utterly furious . That got everyone's attention , because I don't think any of us have ever actually seen her angry .Then as the guy walked away , she looked almost like someone had clobbered her with a 2X4 or something .
She finally walks up between me and Andy , and now I'm actually worried , because she's shaking , and almost in tears .
Andy puts a hand on her shoulder , and says "Hey ,sweetie , what's wrong ?"
"I need to get out of here , I can't do this right now ." , she says .
"Dev , darlin' , you're one of the exhibitors ." I remind her . "This is kinda your show ."
"I don't care , I can't be here right now !" , she repeats , and the tears start running down her face .
"OK , that's fine . Let's go get our coats , and I'll take you home ." , I tell her . For some reason , that doesn't seem to make her feel better .
When we get out into the lobby , Juliet puts her arms around Dev , and says , "Tell us what happened , hon . If we know what's wrong , maybe we can help ."
Dev turns her head , looks at CC , and sort of whispers , " What you said awhile ago . It didn't."
He slams his fist on the wall and says , "Fucking hell !" , while Jinxx sort of pinches the bridge of his nose and says , "Figures ! And stellar timing , as usual "
As the rest of us are standing here trying to decipher what they're talking about , I suddenly notice that all three of them are looking anywhere in the room except at me , and the light bulb goes on .
"Tanya's fucking around on me , isn't she ?" , I ask .
Dev still won't look me in the eye , but she nods and says , "Yeah , I'm pretty sure . If she isn't yet , she's seriously considering it . I went over to bitch Esteban out , and he told me that he'd seen pictures of her in Palm Springs .She never went to the shoot , she told him she was going with you . God , Ash , I'm so sorry !"
I wrap her up in a hug and tell her , "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for ,babe . You have done nothing except be my friend , and I sincerely appreciate that ."
Right now , I think that she may actually be more upset than I am . I've reached the point where I just about expect this to happen , so I'm probably not as shocked as most people would think .
"When we get back to the apartment , could you maybe wait a few minutes while I grab a few things ?" , she asks me . "I don't want to deal with her when she gets home , so I'm gonna grab a hotel room 'til I can find another place The lease is up next week , and I'm not renewing ."
"The hell you will !" Andy interrupts . "You'll stay with us ."
"We'll all go with you .That way we can get your stuff faster ." Inna tells her , and everybody nods in agreement .
"So is someone OK with me crashing at their place ?", I ask the guys , and we decide that I'll stay with CC and Tiff .
We all pile into our cars , and while I'm driving , Dev explains that CC and Jinxx called her over the holidays , because they had gotten suspicious . They asked her to help keep a lookout , because they didn't think that I'd listen unless they could get proof .
We finally get to her building , everyone parks , and Dev digs out her keys as we head inside .Tanya supposedly had a meeting to try to book a gig , which means that she could be pretty fucking much anywhere , doing who knows what . Or who . So it's kind of a surprise when Dev opens the door and Tanya is on the couch , wearing only a pink thong , along with a rather familiar looking dark -haired , bearded guy , also only in his underwear .
As they jump away from each other , Dev shouts , " Holy fucking hell ! Not just one cheating slut , but two !"

DEVLIN'S POV :

"You guys were supposed to be at the gallery !" Tanya squeals , as she tries to cover her tits with a throw pillow .
"Yeah , well , lucky you ! I ran into Esteban , and he filled me in on your little trip to Palm Springs !" , I say , and she turns pale . "Who the fuck does that ? What kind of a worthless human being are you ?"
"Hey , don't you speak to her that way !"
I turn my attention to the other bag of garbage on the couch , snatch the pillow from Tanya , and throw it directly into his face .
"If you open your mouth again , Giorgio , I'll toss your ass off the fucking balcony !" I inform him . "And if I can't manage it myself , I think I have plenty of help here . So put a sock in it !"
At that point , I notice that Juliet Alice , and CC all have their phones out , so I assume that at least one of them is getting pictures , if not video .
Tanya grabs her shirt and pulls it on , then turn to Ashley and give him this sad , pleading puppy - dog sort of look .
"Ash , please ? ...." , is as far as she gets before he says ;
"Don't even be stupid enough to think that's gonna work , you slut . You've made your choice , I'm just here to grab my shit . Oh , and the next time you feel like lying to everybody you know , you might want to go somewhere with fewer cameras . Palm Springs isn't exactly somewhere to go unnoticed, but apparently you weren't smart enough to figure that out either ." Then he walks into her room and flings everything into his bag , then rejoin us in the living room .
When he finishes packing , the girls and I go to my room and pack up as much stuff as we can reasonably fit into Andy's car , then carry it into the living room , and put it down near the door . I then walk over to Tanya and say ;
" I have three things to tell you , so you'd better listen very carefully . First of all , you have til next week to either find another roommate or pony up the full rent , 'cause I'm out of here . I'll be back for the rest of my stuff tomorrow ."
"Secondly , Esteban asked me to inform you that you will never work on one of his shoots again , and that goes for me , too . So your pathetic little story about being blackballed may be a little more accurate then you'd like ."
I pause for a second , and Tanya says , "So what's the third thing ?"
I flash her a big smile , then backhand her across the face and say , "The third thing is that if you ever come within arms reach of me again , I will ruin your fucking face ! People like you make me sick ! You both have people who care about you , and the only thing that you can think to do is treat them like crap ! Well , you've managed to screw with two of my friends simultaneously , and I promise that you will both regret it ."
I then grab a couple of bags and walk out the door , followed by everybody else , with the guys carrying my other bags , and everybody looking at me like I've grown a second head .
We go outside and cram my stuff into Andy's car , ten everyone heads out for their respective homes . Or ,in Ashley's case , CC's house . As we're driving to Andy and Juliet's , a thought suddenly pops into my head .
"Fuck ! Fucking hell ! Ignorant , useless BITCH !"
"Whoa ,there ,sweetie ! What brought that on ?" Juliet asks me , turning as far as she can in my direction without throttling herself with her seat belt .
"I just this second got what Jinxx said earlier ." , I tell her . "The thing about 'stellar timing' . Ash 's birthday is day after tomorrow ."
"Shit , that's right !" she says . "As if this this couldn't suck any more than it already does ."
Andy never takes his eyes off the road , but he says ; "I can see how you might think that . Ash may too , at least for a bit , but if he's one - tenth as smart as I give him credit for , he'll figure out pretty quick that shedding that dimwitted silicone bimbo is the best gift he could ask for ."

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