Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (18 page)

She
frowned and shook her head.
 
She
honestly didn’t have regrets or issues with their relationship.
 
She was deeply in love with Sully, but
memories of Kirby had been filling her mind, haunting her existence.
 
She forced herself to push him and their
relationship out of her mind and heart.
 
“I’m totally fine with the nature of things with Sully.
 
I don’t want my ego to get the best of
me again like it did back then when he and I had that fight.
 
I turned into a monster for a few months
there.
 
It wasn’t pretty.”

Alexa
chuckled.
 
“I understand your
concern, Kit.
 
First of all, Sully
has been pushing you to do this for a while, and he’s very proud of you.
 
He knows you’re talented and has wanted
this for you as much as you’ve wanted it for you.
 
If anything, he’s going to be supportive
of you stepping into the spotlight next to him, not competing against him.
 
It’s not like you’re an artist.
 
And you learned from your mistakes
before.
 
Keep your ego in check and
the cocaine out of your nose, and you’ll do just fine.”

She
nodded and shuddered, thinking about her sordid past.
 
“No shit.
 
I haven’t touched blow since that awful
time, and I don’t plan to again.
 
Sully and I made a pact when we got married, no more drugs—ever.
 
Not even recreational use.
 
It’s too risky for us at this point—too
much at stake for both of our careers and our relationship.
 

She
sighed.
 
“I guess you’re right.
 
He has been pushing me toward this for a
while.
 
He wants to see me get to
the top of my game, where he’s sitting right now.
 
I guess in a lot of ways, the
relationship is evolving and mirroring the dynamic I once had in my past.
 
I like that.
 
Ultimately, though, I would feel better
if I could run this by him before I give you a solid yes.
 
Cool?”

“You
got it, baby. I would love to continue our convo, but I have to run.
 
I have one of the execs from New York
now sitting on hold for me about a retraction.
 
Can you give me an answer by the end of
the week?”

“I’ll
have an answer for you by tomorrow.
 
I’ll talk to Sully tonight.”

“Good.
 
It’ll be fine, Kit.
 
You’ll see.”

The
clock on the digital display in her car had just struck eleven as Kit pulled
into the garage.
 
She proceeded into
a dark house, feeling the fatigue of her day promptly catching up with her.
 

She
looked around and wondered if Sully was out in the studio.
 
When she approached the hallway, she noticed
a faint glow coming from the TV in the entertainment room.
 
She walked in and chuckled quietly at
the sight before her. He was lounging on the couch with his guitar, in
mid-snooze, in front of a turned down TV.
 
She leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss.
 

He
opened his eyes slowly and smiled.
 
“Ooh, I like that.
 
I must
have dozed off.
 
Where did you come
from, you gorgeous creature?
 
Who
let
you
in?
 
We better hurry up, can’t let the wife
find out.”
 
He put his guitar aside
and pulled her toward him, kissing her deeply.

She
giggled.
 
“Newsflash, I am your
wife.”

He snickered.
 
“Even better.
 
How was work, babe?”
 

“Good.
 
The days always seem longer when I work
at that office and not here.
 
Maybe
because I don’t get breaks with you.”
 

He
grinned.
 
“Maybe.”

She
gazed into his eyes.
 
“How was your
day?”

He
shrugged his shoulders.
 
“Ok, I
guess.
 
I’m still having trouble
with the bridge on ‘Road Warrior.’
 
Been working on it all night.
 
Hitting a wall.”

She
stroked his long, messy locks.
 
“Sorry,
babe.”

He
shrugged his shoulders. “It’s ok.
 
It’ll work itself out.
 
Any
interesting things today at the office?”
 
He reclined and folded his hands, resting them on his stomach as he
smiled like a cat that ate the canary.

Kit
scrunched up her nose and then grinned.
 
“Alexa called you, didn’t she?”

He nodded.
 
“Of course she did.
 
I told Lex you’d figure it out.
 
She called me a few hours ago after she
talked to you.”
 
He sat up and
noticed her apprehension as he took her hands in his.
 
“Do the cover story, babe.
 
It’ll be great for you.”
 
He grinned and met her eyes.
 
“And I totally support this one hundred
percent.”

She wasn’t
convinced.
 
She wanted to make sure
she didn’t step on his toes and cause world war three between them.
 
She surveyed him closely.
 
“Really?
 
You’re the big star in our
relationship.”
 
She watched and
waited for his reaction.

He
grinned.
 
“Listen, I’ve always
known, since I met you, that you were destined for something really big.
 
When I married you, I knew eventually
you’d be in the spotlight with me, and I’m totally ok with that.
 
I’m not one of those assholes that will
feel threatened by it.”
 
He leaned
forward and stared deeply into her eyes.
 
“Baby, do this.
 
It’s time.”

She
chuckled.
 
“Just as long as I don’t
turn into an asshole.”

He
laughed loudly.
 
“Babe, you won’t do
that.
 
C’mon!
 
I think you learned from what happened
last time.
 
I think we both did.”
 
He shook his head remembering the out of
control escapades that led to the temporary demise of their relationship.

She
grimaced.
 
“Oh yeah.
 
I certainly don’t want a repeat of that.”
 
She grinned, and her emerald eyes
twinkled.
 
“And besides, I can’t do
it without you anyway.”

He
kissed her hand and gazed at her lovingly.
 
“Thank you for that, but I think you underestimate your power.
 
It’s time you step into it.”

She
gazed into his hopeful steel blue eyes and suddenly felt safe.
 
She nodded.
 
“Ok, I’ll do it, but on one condition.”
 
She pointed at him.

He
raised his eyebrows.
 
“What?”

“You
come to the photo shoots with me for support.”

He
nodded contently.
 
He was happy she
wanted him to accompany her.
 
“If
you can work it into our recording schedule, I’ll absolutely do that for you.
 
I’d be honored to.”

She
grinned.
 
“I’ll work it in.
 
Thank you.”

He
suddenly got more excited and animated thinking about the possibilities.
 
He leaned forward on the edge of his
seat and his eyes lit up.
 
“Kit, think
about this.
 
It would be a great
opportunity for you to plug the new non-profit foundation we just set up.
 
Y’know, get the word out in a big
way.
 
It could get us some fantastic
exposure.
 
We could get more people
behind us, totally engaged.
 
We
haven’t had a chance to get that off the ground since we created it right after
Nana passed away.
 
C’mon, the
momentum alone would be amazing and get people interested in donating.
 
We can change lives with this, babe.”

She
thought about it carefully and nodded.
 
“That’s a good one, babe. I could spin an angle for the Lindley-McKenna
Foundation.
 
I love it!
 
You’re a genius.”
 
She leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

He
snickered when he pulled back.
 
“Really loving you calling me a genius.
 
You just made my night, babe.”
 
His grin faded when he looked at his
wristwatch.
 
“I’m not going to be
able to get to sleep anytime soon.
 
My head is still swimming with a series of notes and musical phrasing.
 
Will you help me with this bridge
tonight?
 
I need your powers of
musical discrimination.”

She
nodded and grinned.
 
“You got it,
babe.”

CHAPTER 10

The
unopened padded envelope sat innocently on Kit’s desk, beckoning her and patiently
awaiting her attention.
 
She stared
at the return address, frozen.
 
The
contents inside were from
Platinum
Magazine
.
 
Alexa had called her
earlier that morning and told her to expect it, but wouldn’t give her any idea
of the headline on the cover or which photo had been selected.

Giselle
watched her carefully knowing what was in the envelope and fully understood
Kit’s hesitation.
 
She thought maybe
a gentle prodding might help the situation.
 
“Do you want me to open it for you?”

She abruptly
shook her head.
 
“No.
 
I’m waiting for… And there he is.”
 
Her eyes lit up.
 
“Baby, come here!”
 
She yelled to Sully as he walked by.

He
backtracked and entered her office looking disheveled and sleepy.
 
He wore only pajama bottoms that fit
loosely and hung low on his hips, showing off his tanned, well-chiseled chest
and strong physique.
 
Giselle had
never seen this view of him before and couldn’t help but stop and stare for a
moment.
 
A faint grin of desire
crept up on her face, and her hazel eyes danced.

He
sleepily grinned at Kit.
 
“Good
morning, baby.”
 
He leaned over the
desk and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

She
handed him the padded envelope.
 
“Can you please open this for me?”

He silently
nodded and seconds later pulled out the October issue of
Platinum Magazine
, due to hit the stands in two weeks.
 
He stared at it as a wide smile formed
on his face slowly.
 
“Wow!
 
You look fucking hot!”

She remained
in her chair and grimaced.
 
“I can’t
look.
 
What does it say?”

He
looked up from the magazine at her and shook his head.
 
“Oh c’mon, babe.
 
Lex did you good; you gotta admit
that.
 
You knew she would.
 
She’s your best friend.”
 
He threw the magazine down in front of her.

She
stared at it.
 
They had painted her
in a favorable light, and she was pleased.
 
Even more pleased with the slight airbrushing they had done.
 
The front cover was a headshot of Kit
with a devilish half grin, her green eyes vivid and a sharp contrast to her
wild red locks that they had curled and teased to make bigger for the
shoot.
 

The
headline screamed in big bold letters “Red Hot!”
 
Kit let her eyes travel down to the
bottom right-hand corner where it continued. “The best badass in the music biz,
Kit McKenna.”
 
She giggled and
looked up at Sully, who had already made his way behind her desk and was
waiting with open arms.

He held
her in a long, tight embrace and kissed her on the cheek.
 
“I’m so proud of you, babe.”

Giselle
watched them, bubbling over with suspense.
 
She couldn’t handle it anymore.
 
She hopped up from her desk.
 
“Let me see it.
 
I’m dying
over here!”
 
Sully chuckled and held
out another copy that she snatched from him and took back to her desk.

Kit
gazed into his eyes.
 
“I couldn’t
have gotten here without you.
 
I’m
so grateful for you, babe.”

He
stroked her cheek and gazed into her eyes.
 
“Thanks for giving me some credit here, but I’m pretty sure you could
have done this on your own.
 
As they
said, you are a badass.
 
I knew that
the minute I first saw you.
 
It was
pretty obvious.”

She
grinned graciously.
 
“Thank you,
babe.”

He
playfully swatted her on the butt.
 
“I’m gonna grab something to eat and get myself dressed because we’re
gonna have the guys here in less than forty.”

She nodded.
 
“Yep.
 
I better shake a tail feather too.
 
I have a conference call with Spence.”

Kit
noticed the steady stream of Gypsy Tango members an hour later as they trailed
by on their way back to the studio.
 
She was running much later than anticipated and tried to focus on the
call, but was sorely failing.
 
Things were busy at KMK and Spence had
lots of good news to share.
 

He
couldn’t contain his enthusiasm.
 
“Kit,
you have to meet her.”

She
frowned.
 
“Who is this again?”

“Her
name is Tabitha Kiernan. She has a great reputation on the Strip.
 
One of her bands is starting to blow
up.
 
I want to bring her on with her
band.”

Kit
shuffled papers on her desk, looking for a sheet of information she needed and
only half listened.
 
She did take
enough notice to be skeptical of Spencer’s last statement.
 
“Who is the band?”

“She’s
got two. Sweet Justice and Blood Brother. She had another band named The Axe
Grinders, but she dropped them a few months back.”

“Smart
girl.
 
I heard about that
fiasco.
 
That band is blackballed in
the industry right now.
 
So, which
band is blowing up?”

“Blood
Brother.”

Kit
shook her head and continued her search, losing interest in Spencer’s
ramblings.
 
“Never heard of ‘em.”

“They’re
headlining on the Strip, selling out shows, doing showcases.
 
I think we should strike while the iron
is hot.”

Frustrated,
Kit finally stopped what she was doing and huffed.
 
“Spencer, why are you asking me
this?
 
You’re the CEO.
 
You make the call.”

“Kit,
like I said, I want you to meet her.”

She
smiled and waved to Bryan as he popped his head in.
 
He mouthed hello, and she nodded,
pointing to the phone.
 
She realized
she had left Spencer hanging and quickly recalled his words.
 
She flatly retorted, “If you’re so
uncertain, don’t sign her.”

“No,
Kit, I want you to meet her because she reminds me of you back in the day.
 
That fire, that drive.
 
Seriously, you have to meet her.
 
Come out tonight.”

Kit
laughed and thought now he was being ridiculous.
 
“You’re funny, Spence.
 
I’m in a session tonight.”

“C’mon,
you can wrap up a sesh and make it down the hill in time.
 
You’re the fucking producer.
 
I’ll send a limo for you.”

She
rolled her eyes.
 
“I don’t want to
go solo and I can’t bring Sully with me.
 
He’ll get mobbed.”

“You
won’t.
 
I’ll be with you.”

She
could feel herself starting to cave in.
 
She couldn’t deny the intrigue of a new possibility.
 
“What time do they go on?”

“Midnight.”

She let
out a long breath and thought she would be cutting it close, but threw caution
to the wind.
 
“Shit… ok.
 
But Spence, if you like this girl
because you’re fucking her or want to, I’m going to be really pissed.”

He
laughed loudly on the other end of the phone.
 
“I can assure you that my relationship
with her is strictly platonic and professional.
 
She is hot, but that’s beside the
point.
 
I don’t shit where I eat,
unlike someone I know.
 
Don’t you go
accusing me.
 
It’s like the pot
calling the kettle black, sis.”

She giggled.
 
“Touché, little brother.
 
You are a hard-driving scoundrel aren’t
you?”

He
chuckled and retorted sarcastically.
 
“Finally figured that out did ya?”

“Smart
ass.”

“Better
than being a dumb ass.”

“True.”

“Ok.
 
I’m picking up your badass at
eleven-thirty.
 
Be ready.”

She
rolled her eyes.
 
“Whatever.
 
And how do you know about the badass
thing?
 
Did you see the cover?”

“What
cover?”

She
frowned.
 
“The cover of
Platinum Magazine
that I’m on.”

Spencer
chuckled.
 
“You made the cover of
Platinum
?
 
Classic.
 
Since when?”

“It
hasn’t hit the stands yet, but since you called me a badass I thought you had
seen it.
 
They refer to me as a badass
on the cover.”

“Right.
 
You’re yankin’ me.”

She
grinned.
 
“I am not.
 
I’ll show it to you tonight when you
come by.
 
I gotta go.
 
I’m late for my sesh.
 
See you tonight.”

Kit
hung up and bolted out to the studio where the band was running through one of
their new songs.
 
She was relieved
they were self-disciplined at this point in the game.
 
They were now getting into a groove, and
things were flowing much more smoothly than they were at the beginning.
 
She didn’t recognize the song and waited
until they were done.

She got
on the mic.
 
“Hey, guys.
 
Sorry, I’m late.
 
What were you playing?”

Sully
spoke into the mic in front of him.
 
“Against the World.”

Kit
frowned.
 
“What?
 
That’s not on the sheet for today.
 
Is this like that bullshit of you
changing set lists on tour at the last minute?”

The
band howled with laughter as Sully scowled at all of them, shaking his head in
annoyance.
 
Jimmy chuckled and jumped
in.
 
“Kit, I convinced Sully we
should play it for you.
 
It would be
great to include it.
 
I think it’s a
strong song.”

She
raised her eyebrows.
 
“Ok.
 
That would take us to lucky thirteen for
the album.
 
That’s fine.
 
Are you guys rehearsed with it?”
 
They all nodded.
 
“Ok then, we’ll track it and see.
 
Fred, start her up.”
 
She looked at the guys and pointed.

Upon
hearing the first few notes of the song, she liked it.
 
Then she listened the to the
lyrics.
 
She watched Sully intently,
tilting her head to the side.
 
The
words reminded her of the beginnings of their relationship, and it all
clicked.
 
Her father’s lack of
approval of their pairing had served as inspiration and she was happy to see
that he had channeled it positively into a song that could potentially soothe
others in the same situation.
 
She
grinned and winked at him, nodding her head.
 
He picked up on the non-verbal cue and
smiled wide, mouthing “I love you.”

The
song ended and before they could ask Kit what she thought, she hopped on the
mic.
 
“Guys take five; we need a
minute to regroup and figure out the best way to track it.
 
Hang tight.”
 

Sully
returned to the control room and hugged her tightly.
 
“Wrote that one for us way back when.”

She
giggled and gave him a quick kiss.
 
“It’s brilliant and still stands the test of time.
 
Let’s make sure to do it some proper justice.”

A few
hours had passed working with Remo and Tony on the song.
 
She felt like she was starting to lose
her mind.
 
She looked at Fred.
 
“Is it just me?
 
Am I communicating properly?”

He
chuckled.
 
“You are.
 
Let’s set up a click track.
 
Hopefully, that will do the trick, and
we’ll be able to get it.”