Behind Closed Doors (2 page)

Chapter 2

I looked in the mirror and scrutinized the girl staring back at me. I barely recognized the reflection as my own. My lips looked big and pouty with a pale pink lip-gloss painted on them. My cheeks were flushed, but I couldn’t tell if that was the effect of my nerves or a little too much blush. My deep blue eyes were framed by black eyeliner and charcoal eye shadow and I suddenly wished I’d gone for a more natural color on my lids.

I let my long blonde hair dry naturally, so it set into a natural loose wave, which was beginning to look a little untamed and messy. I wore a charcoal gray sweater dress cinched in at the waist with a patent black belt. I had sheer black leggings on underneath and topped the look with charcoal ankle boots with a 3-inch heel.

The outfit looked expensive by itself, but my curves cheapened the look a little. My big breasts, small waist and decent sized ass meant the length of the dress was much shorter than it would appear on most. I found myself pulling at the hem often, uncomfortable with the way the dress continued riding up my thighs. I turned my back on the mirror. Changing my outfit was not an option now, so there was no point dwelling on it.

It was one week since I found my boyfriend of two years cheating on me. My heart was still aching like an open wound and it pained me to think of him. I decided it was time for me to grow up and change the path my life was taking.

My boss had laughed when I phoned him the next day and asked for some time off. He thought I was playing a prank on him. Eventually he agreed to let me have the rest of the week off, but not without some convincing. I thanked him whole-heartedly for being so understanding, but he just grunted into the phone before hanging up on me.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I had a job to go back to when I returned to Seattle. It concerned me that the thought of losing my job caused me no anxiety. On the contrary, I was quite excited by the prospect.

So, there I stood, waiting for my turn to audition for the reality singing show,
Dreamers
.

Music had always been my escape. Whether I was sitting at work with my iPod playing a little too loudly in my ears or if I was on the open road, driving my car with music blaring through the speakers as I sang at the top of my lungs. As cliché as it sounded, when I was listening to music it was the only time I felt truly alive.

When my best friend, Rebecca, had seen the flyer calling for singers to audition for the reality show she signed me up without asking me first. Once I got over the initial shock and had stopped yelling at her, I allowed myself to get excited about what was to come.

“You need to do this Kyla,” Rebecca told me. “You need to start enjoying your life. You hate your job, your relationship just ended, you need to start living again.”

Rebecca wrote a column and blog for a local foodie magazine. She reported on new restaurants and bars that recently opened in Seattle. When I ventured out with Bec, it often led to amazing service and a free night out. Her name was prominent in the food industry and I envied how much she loved her job.

“I don’t think I can sing in front of people, Bec,” I argued.

“You sing in front of me all the time.”

“I was referring to people that I don’t know and not to mention singing in front of the camera.” One of my biggest fears.

“You need to do this, Ky. This could be your chance.”

“My chance at what?”

“A do-over.”

So there I was, taking a chance and attempting a
do-over
as Rebecca so aptly named it.  The auditions were held in Los Angeles over a three-day period. Rebecca and I flew down the morning of the first auditions. We watched the previous season religiously, pretending we were the at home judges, often the singers’ worst critics.

The show was straightforward. People auditioned and the coaches would pick seven singers each for their team. There would be twenty-one contestants in the competition, which ran over two months. There was no sure-fire way to be chosen. If a coach liked you, they had a ten second window to press their button and get you on their team. It was a first come, first served type of scenario.

Each week there was a performance show, in front of a live audience. All singers performed and at the conclusion of each show, the coaches would eliminate the least impressive singer from their team. After several weeks there would be three singers left, one from each team, then America would vote and decide who the next
Dreamers
star would be.

There were many singing shows on television and
Dreamers
was the newest addition to the television schedule, only beginning its second season. But that didn’t make the prizes second-rate. The winner would receive a recording contract along with $100,000. The money would be nice, but the chance to record my own music was the ultimate prize.

As I stood backstage, my feet were beginning to throb from the constant pacing so I propped myself up against the wall, taking some pressure off my feet. The person who auditioned before me, had been in there for at least ten minutes. It caused my nerves to spiral out of control. Waiting had never been one of my strengths.

“It’s time, Kyla,” one of the production assistants tapped me on the shoulder and pointed toward the room. I silently said a prayer as I pushed through the door and walked into the room where the three judges sat, smiling cordially at me. There was a red X on the floor indicating where I was supposed to stand. I made my way over to it as my heels clicked noisily on the wooden floorboards beneath me. There was a boom hanging just above me and I spotted two cameras pointed in my direction. The bright lights shining above made the room warm and I felt a bead of sweat form at the small of my back.

Nadia, the host of the show, approached me from the right, a fake smile spread across her face. I studied her profile as she stood next to me. Her brown hair was straightened, framing her face. Her eyes were dark brown, almost black, but my attention was instantly drawn to her lips. They were painted a vibrant red that suited her spray-tanned complexion. She looked flawless in person and I envied her self-assurance.

“Here we have Kyla Quinn,” Nadia paused, looking down at the cue card she held in her hand.

“Kyla is twenty seven years old and lives in Seattle working as a lawyer.”

I heard the female judge, Pixie, gasp and clap her hands excitedly. “Brains and beauty, we have the full package here boys.”

I felt my face flush as the two male judges chuckled at Pixie’s comment. Pixie was the only female judge and I was a little star stuck as I looked at her sitting before me. She had bleached blonde hair that she wore long and wavy. Her eyes were light blue and popped on her tanned complexion. She was extremely petite and seeing her in person, I realized how thin she really was. She got her big break being a part of a girl band called Tutu. There were four other band members, but Pixie had recently branched out on a solo career. She had a reputation for being down to earth and of all the coaches, I hoped to be picked by her.

To Pixie’s right sat Dion Starr. He was a solo artist who could sing anything from Frank Sinatra to Tupac. Having watched him on the show, I could tell that he had a fantastic sense of humor and a great passion for music. He was dark and attractive in a bad boy kind of way.

Then there was Jayce del Valle, the lead singer of the rock band Artificial. He was world-renowned for his music and his fame was a great selling point for the show. His trademark look of messy hair and an unshaven jawline gave him a rough edge that made most women swoon.

I felt my cheeks warm when he looked in my direction. His gaze was intense. He had these deep, hypnotizing green eyes, which I hadn’t noticed before. Even from a distance, I could see them sparkling as his lip turned up at one corner into a subtle smirk.

I heard Nadia shift her weight from one foot to the other and I quickly tore my eyes away from Jayce.
Had I been staring? Had he noticed?
I pleaded with myself to quit acting like a star-struck teen. I didn’t want to embarrass myself before I’d even had a chance to sing.

“Kyla, over to you.” Nadia brought my wayward attention back to what I was there to do. I took a deep breath to steady myself. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. Having to sing a cappella was daunting and I knew it would be challenging to hide any vocal flaws.

I was singing Ryan Adam’s song
Desire
. It was a risk. It wasn’t as recognizable as the usual songs featured on the show, but I knew the song well and thought it might set me apart from the other performances.

I started shaky, I could hear it in my voice, but I recovered quickly and pretended I was at home, singing in my living room. I found myself tapping my foot on the floor as I sang my heart out. I was so caught in the moment that only when I stopped singing did I realize that my eyes were closed for the majority of the song. I opened them hesitantly and saw three smiling faces staring at me.

“Brains, beauty and she can sing. Yep, definitely the full package,” Pixie smiled at me.

“You’re a great singer, I think we’d be privileged to have you on the show,” Dion said, flashing perfectly straight and unnaturally white teeth at me.

“What do you think, Jay?” Pixie asked as her and Dion glanced to their left at a silent Jayce.

I glanced at him. He was looking in my direction, but he seemed to be in his own little world. He was silently contemplating something, perhaps how to critique me without sounding too harsh. I wrung my hands together in front of me as I felt the air around me become thick and humid, from my own stubborn nerves if nothing else.

After an uncomfortably long silence, he finally spoke.

“That happens to be one of my favorite songs. I’m surprised and excited by your choice of song and you definitely did it justice with your performance.” Jayce gave me a tight smile before glancing back at Pixie and Dion.

“Okay coaches, Kyla is up for the taking right now,” Nadia announced.

Within seconds, Jayce had slammed his hand down on his button. Pixie’s mouth formed a big O as she gave Jayce an annoyed look.

“I wasn’t ready yet!” she hit Jayce’s shoulder.

“You were too slow,” Jayce chuckled softly.

I was going to be on Jayce’s team?
I was in shock and my heart was beating so hard, I thought it might burst through my chest.

“Kyla, you will be on Jayce’s team,” Nadia said, prompting Jayce to rise from his chair. He walked over to me and held me in an awkward side embrace. My body tensed instantly and Jayce looked down at me with kindness in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after you,” he said.

I thought it was for the benefit of the camera, but he said the words so softly, I was sure no one else heard them.  

And that was it, the moment where my life changed its direction, after one day in Los Angeles and a two-minute audition.

I made my way to the foyer where the other singing hopefuls were gathered with their families. My parents weren’t there. They didn’t even know I was auditioning and I dreaded the phone call where I would tell them I made it on to the show. They would probably disown me.

'Music is not a career, it’s a hobby,'
my father’s words rang in my ears.

I shook the thought from my head and walked toward Rebecca who was sitting on a lounge chair with a coffee in her hand. She stood as soon as she saw me approach.

“Well?” she asked, jumping up and down on the spot.

I tried to hide the smile on my face, but I failed miserably.

“I’m in!”

Rebecca screamed so loud that the whole room turned to look at us. She hugged me, almost pulling us both to the ground.

“I can’t believe it, Kyla. I’m so proud of you!” She tucked her auburn hair behind her ears, as a million thoughts trickled out of her mouth. “Oh my god, you’re going to be famous. I mean, really famous! Can I move to LA with you? How are you going to tell your parents?”

I sat down on the lounge chair as Rebecca continued to rattle off questions.

“Wait!” she shouted, causing groups of people nearby to turn their heads and look at us again. “Whose team are you on?”

I hesitated for a second, pre-empting her outburst when she found out which coach had chosen me.

“Jayce del Valle.”

She shrieked again as she sat next to me and her face all of a sudden turned serious.

“Oh Kyla, do you realize how hot he is?”

I paused looking at Rebecca’s face as tears welled in her eyes. She was more excited about the news than I was.

I wasn’t sure if I truly understood what I had just signed up for and how in two short months, my former life would be nothing but a distant memory.

Chapter 3

I walked through the front door of the statuesque house. This house was to be my home for the foreseeable future, along with the other
Dreamers
contestants.

I had left Seattle after a teary farewell with Rebecca at the airport. My parents decided not to see me off. They were upset about my decision to appear on a TV show for amateur singers.

It was ‘
a career ending decision and signified the end of anyone in the law world taking me seriously
.’ Well, that’s how my father put it anyway. My mother was a little less dramatic, but still felt the need to warn me not to make a fool of her on national television.

As I stood in the large entry hall, my eyes scanned the area. To my right there were several suitcases piled next to the striking marble winding stairs. I left my two cases next to the others, but kept my purse on my arm. I turned and walked to my left, into a massive living room. A large flat screen TV hung on the wall and was surrounded by three large beige sofas, which put my IKEA furniture to shame.

I heard talking coming from the back of the house, suggesting some other contestants had already arrived. I walked through the living room into an open-spaced kitchen and dining area.

The clean granite kitchen countertops were filled with stainless steel appliances and two double-door stainless steel fridges sat side by side. The dining area included another television and a huge dining table that ran the length of the room. Floor to ceiling windows lined the open spaced area, which led out onto a deck where I spotted a pool and jacuzzi with a gorgeous view of Holmby Hills and beyond.