Being famous certainly had its rewards. I was constantly offered free shit because someone wanted to use my name to advertise their product, I didn’t have to wait if I wanted to go somewhere, and people tended to ask how high when I said jump.
On the other hand, there were far too many noses in my business. It didn’t matter what I was doing, someone was always there to watch me, to attempt to catch me off guard. They were waiting for me to make a mistake, do something inappropriate, pick my nose, chew with my mouth open. I could say I’d gotten used to it, but that was a lie. I fucking hated the intrusive paparazzi and their need to be all up in my business. But I had learned to deal with them.
A few minutes later, when I heard the alarm system chime, signaling someone coming into the house, I reached for the remote and turned to click off the television. I stopped when I saw my picture flash across the screen. Yep, and there I was again.
Curious as to what story they were running now, I clicked the volume up.
“Yes, that’s right, Linda. We recently learned that Trent Ramsey’s assistant has moved into his Texas home with him. According to the company who handled the move, it was a rush job. Which makes me question how close the two of them are,” the male reporter stated.
Wow. That was fast. I hadn’t expected them to pick up on that for at least a couple of days.
“I’d say they’re pretty close, Mario. I mean, Troy Shelton has been working for Trent for three years, but even Trent’s past assistants were never invited to move in with him.”
It killed me that they referred to me by my first name as though we were friends.
“Exactly. Even Hilda Krause, the woman who worked for him the longest, never lived with him. So, I think this one must be special.”
Linda giggled. “Maybe Trent’s doing things differently these days. What with his salacious ventures into the BDSM club scene, perhaps he needs someone to be a little closer. Were you able to find out anything?”
“I was. As most people know, the intensely private assistant to Mr. Ramsey is Troy Shelton, the only child of Franklin Shelton, CEO of Kryptic Technologies. I was able to find out that Troy has experienced a series of break-ins recently. The police reports I was able to get my hands on stated nothing was stolen and no one was hurt.”
“Repeated? As in more than one?”
“At least eight confirmed, although one report said Troy had not reported all of them.”
“I assume he wasn’t home during them,” the woman said.
“Not that we’ve uncovered. Although that doesn’t lessen the seriousness of the situation.”
“I agree,” she added. “Were you able to get a statement from his family?”
“We reached out to his parents, but we received no comment,” the male reporter explained.
“Is it true that Troy and his father had a falling-out a few years ago?” the woman asked, obviously not as interested in facts as she was gossip.
“It’s true,” the man confirmed. “Troy resigned from his position with his father’s company, and not long after that, he was working for Trent.”
“Which begs the question, is that the reason he went to work for Trent?” the female reporter asked. “Or perhaps Trent is the reason they had the falling-out in the first place. Maybe a relationship between the two caused issues between Troy and his father.”
Footsteps sounded behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see Troy and Clarissa stepping into the room.
“We’re—” Troy’s words were cut off when a picture of him flashed up on the screen. It was one they must’ve snapped yesterday during the move, because he was talking with a man wearing the moving company uniform.
“I’d say that’s a possibility, Linda. According to someone close to Troy, we’ve learned that he has a way with not only the ladies but also with men. Our source—a young man employed by Kryptic—was more than willing to divulge a past relationship with him. An intimate relationship.”
“So, it’s feasible to think that Trent and Troy have taken personal assistant to a whole new level? A relationship, perhaps?”
“Precisely. It’s an interesting turn of events. Considering Trent is thirty-five and he’s never been married, I have to wonder whether or not he’s been in the closet all these years. Maybe this is his way of coming out.”
“Perhaps this was the reason for his meeting with the lawyer,” she continued.
“Honestly, I don’t think the two are connected. While we don’t have all the details yet, we’ve learned some new things about Miss Tinsley.”
Knowing they would likely start bashing her because that was what they did, I clicked the television off and turned to face Troy and Clarissa.
