Behind Closed Doors

Behind Closed Doors Copyright © 2023 by Elle Gray | K.S. Gray All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or intro-duced into retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and in-cidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fic-titiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Author's Note Also by Elle Gray Grayson Worth was waiting for the gossip. That was his job, after all. As the stars of the evening walked the red carpet, waving to their fans and posing for pictures in their beautiful dresses that cost more than his yearly salary, Grayson tried not to look desperate as he waved each star over to him with a sickening smile. He was used to butt-kissing at this point, but it was still the least favorite part of his job. He wanted to catch the big fish of the night, and that meant the stars of Starless Night, the clear front-runner for every major award of the evening. Grayson had seen the movie and thought it was fine. The cinematography and performances were good enough, but the plot was hacky and the script was abysmal. In his opinion, it was all the controversies the film had brought to light that had given the movie such a buzz. The affairs, the arguments, the passive aggression… the thought of it sent a shiver down Grayson’s spine. But that was showbiz, wasn’t it? The celebrity, the glamour, the dazzling Hollywood lights blinding out everything but the most sensational drama. Who cared about how good a movie was when people could catch up in the tabloids? He managed to catch the eye of his first victim: Sebastian Morales. He’d been fending off photographers and reporters all evening and had been doing everything in his power to avoid Grayson’s gaze, but Grayson had a way of luring people in. He swore he saw a sigh escape Sebastian as he walked over, adjusting the jacket of a designer suit that clearly cost upwards of ten thousand dollars. Must be nice, Grayson thought. “Hey there, Sebastian. Thanks for joining me tonight!” Grayson said, widening his grin until his face hurt. “Sure, good to be here,” Sebastian muttered with zero conviction. Someone won’t be winning the Best Actor award tonight… “May I ask what you’re wearing tonight, for your fans?” Sebastian pursed his lips, looking down at the black-and-green floral-patterned jacket as if he’d just picked it out of a dumpster. “Oh, I couldn’t tell you. My stylist deals with all of that. Something expensive, no doubt.” Grayson smiled. On one hand, dealing with guys like Sebastian was tedious, but on the other, it made it easy to be rude about them later in his column. At least that way, he didn’t have to feel guilty about spilling the tea. “Well, I’m skirting around what people really want to know anyway. Let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth… what’s really going on between you and Landon Brown? I hear there was some pretty vicious fighting on set…” Sebastian’s cheeks turned red, and Grayson smirked to himself. He knew there was more going on between the two actors than some petty fight on set, but he didn’t need to say that out loud. It was one of the few secrets he was willing to keep. “There’s always talk from the media when a new movie comes out,” Sebastian said, his jaw clenched. “They spin stories about what the actors do and talk about on set.” “But there was undeniable tension, right? I mean, from what the director, Frank Fisher, has described…” “Are we here to talk about on-set drama or about my work?” Sebastian asked coldly. Grayson smiled. “Both, darling. Always both. But a simple ‘no comment’ will suffice…” “No comment,” Sebastian muttered, looking away from Grayson. Both of them knew that those two simple words spoke louder than any others anyway. Sebastian turned on a dime, plastered on a grin for the cameras, and walked off without another word. Grayson couldn’t blame him. He worked in a cutthroat business. Unnerving men like Sebastian was part of the job. But he had to admit, the rumors surrounding the production of Starless Night had him more curious than most. So little had been said in the public eye, and yet everyone knew something strange was going on during that movie. The public hungered for it, and Grayson was determined to feed them. It wasn’t long until Grayson hooked his next catch of the day. She looked glamorous as ever, but underneath the expertly-applied makeup, Miranda Morgan had bags under her beautiful blue eyes. As she drifted over to speak with him, Grayson offered her a sympathetic look, to which she averted her gaze. “Miranda… you look absolutely stunning tonight. Is that a Romano design I see you wearing?” Miranda smoothed down the cream silk of her dress. It was simple yet stunning. Miranda never needed to try to look like the most beautiful woman on the red carpet. “Good eye, Grayson. It’s good to speak with you again.” Grayson knew that