Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (5 page)

Spencer
followed Kit’s instruction and had carefully stowed the platinum records out of
view when Sully caught a glimpse of him.
 
He stopped and did a double-take.
 
“How long have you and Kit been back?
 
Is she here?”

Spencer
walked out of the office and into the hall, leading Sully toward the
entertainment room.
 
“We just got
back.
 
She’s upstairs changing.
 
Rough day of meetings, bro.
 
Be good to her.
 
She said all she wanted to do tonight
was drink scotch with you.”

Sully
chuckled. “Ah.
 
One of
those
nights.
 
Ok, gotcha.
 
Let me put my attentive husband hat on.”

Spencer
nodded.
 
“Mandated.”

Kit
wandered into the entertainment room.
 
“What’s mandated?”

They
exchanged a look and chuckled.
 
Sully approached her.
 
“Nothing, babe.”
 
He hugged
her tightly and gave her a long kiss.
 
“How was your day?
 
Want me
to make you a drink?”

She
flopped down onto the large sectional sofa.
 
“Yes.
 
The stiffer, the better.”

Sully
raised his eyebrows and snickered.
 
“Are we still talking about a drink?”

Spencer
groaned.
 
“I’m outta here.
 
You guys are gross.”
 
He left the room.

Kit
giggled.
 
“Maybe.
 
Maybe not.
 
But for the moment, it’s a drink.
 
Later may be a different story,
babe.”
 
She raised an eyebrow and
grinned.

He
handed her the drink moments later and took a seat next to her, putting his arm
around her.
 
She snuggled up against
him.
 
“Can we spend the night in the
condo tonight?”

He
kissed her on top of her head.
 
“Sure.
 
Whatever you
want.
 
Is there company that’s going
to pop by that you’re trying to avoid?”

She
shook her head.
 
“Not
necessarily.
 
I just want a change
of scenery.
 
It’s more intimate
there.
 
Sometimes this estate is too
damned big.”

He
grinned, agreeing with her sentiment completely.
 
“I get it.
 
Want to have a nice dinner in
there?
 
We can have something
delivered.”

She
smiled up at him.
 
“Sounds
great.
 
I’m going to finish this
drink, and then let’s pack our bags and head out.”
 
She patted him on the knee.
 
“I have a surprise for you too.”

He
raised his eyebrows and grinned.
 
“Oh really?

She giggled
and took a sip of her drink.
 
“Really.”

An hour
later, they were headed to their penthouse condo on La Cienega.
 
It had been months since they had been
there, and they spent a good thirty minutes getting resituated.

Sully
pointed to the wrapped rectangle that leaned against their bags.
 
“What is that?
 
Did you bring that in?”

She
nodded and grinned.
 
“I did.
 
Let’s save that until after dinner.”

He
nodded.
 
“Ok.
 
Want me to leave it out here?”

“Yep,
please.”
 

He did
as she asked and carried their bags back into the master bedroom.
 
She looked around and recalled
bittersweet memories.
 
She, Sully,
and Joe had some fabulous times there.
 
She opened the sliding doors and admired the panoramic view of the city,
the lights twinkling back at her, winking their approval.
 
She stared at the table and chairs on
the balcony and remembered talks with Joe.
 
Her eyes welled up with tears remembering him well and realizing he had been
gone almost five years.
 

Her
thoughts drifted even further back to Kirby, Joe’s best friend, and her first
true love.
 
She was very much in
love with Sully and loved him deeply, but the depths of love she experienced
with Kirby seemed surreal and unrealistic to ever to find again in this lifetime.
 
He had been gone almost eight
years.
 
She felt an ache in her
heart and her mind started spinning out of control, still unwilling to accept
Kirby’s death.
 
She shoved it out of
her mind and returned her focus to the sparkling dance of the city lights.

She
felt Sully’s arms wrap around her from behind, and she leaned back into his
strong chest as he squeezed her tightly.
 
He spoke gently into her ear.
 
“You miss him too.”

She
nodded and turned to face Sully.
 
She threw her arms around his neck and gazed into his steel blue
eyes.
 
“I do.
 
And I know you do too. We had some fun
times with him here.”

Sully
snickered.
 
“Oh yes, we did.
 
And there were times when Joe and I got
into lots of trouble when you weren’t here.
 
I’ll leave those stories in the
vault.
 
He was a friend like no
other.
 
I kinda like when we’re
here. It’s like I can feel his spirit.
 
That fun-loving, happy, friendly, easy going, creativity he had.”

She
grinned and nodded.
 
“I think you’re
onto something there.
 
Let’s order
some food.
 
I’m starving.”

He
nodded and kissed her.
 
“I’m on
it.
 
You relax.
 
You’ve had a day.
 
Want me to make you a drink before I
call?”

She
shook her head.
 
“No.
 
I’m good.”
 
As she made her drink at the bar, she
started to recall Sully’s words about Joe’s spirit dwelling in the condo.
 
There was truth to it.
 
At times, she still felt like his
presence was there.
 
She swallowed
hard wondering why that never happened with Kirby.
 
He had been flooding her thoughts
lately, and she didn’t like it.
 
She
felt haunted by his memory and the life they had shared all those years ago.

After a
relaxing candlelight dinner, Kit headed over to the wrapped rectangle and
brought it over to the table.
 
She
carefully handed it to Sully. “This is for you.”

As he
worked to unwrap it, she entered the kitchen and quickly found the hammer and
nails she desired.
 
She returned as
he finished pulling the last of the brown paper wrapping off.

He
stared at it, speechless for a full moment.
 
A small grin started spreading across
his face, and he looked up at Kit with childlike wonder.
 
“Is this for real?”

She
chuckled.
 
“Totally legit.
 
Got them today when I was at
Diamond.
 
There’s a whole slew of
them in the office at home for the rest of the guys and two more for us.
 
One for the office and one for the
studio.
 
I ordered one for your parents.
 
It’ll be in two weeks from now.”

He
stared at it again and shook his head in amazement.
 
He then carefully set it down, walked
over to Kit and pulled her into his arms.
 
He held her tightly and spoke into her ear.
 
“Thank you.”

She
pulled back and grinned, giving him a gentle kiss.
 
“You’re welcome and thank you too.
 
Let’s get this thing up on the
wall.”
 
She picked up the hammer and
handed it to him.

Moments
later, Sully hammered the nail into the wall and seized his framed platinum
record.
 
He hung it and stepped back
a few feet.
 
He called out to Kit,
keeping his attention fixed on it.
 
“What do you think?”

She
stood several feet back.
 
“Move it
to the left a bit.”
 
He did as she
said, and she nodded excitedly.
 
“Yep, that’s it.
 
Come here!”

He snickered
and ran back to where she was standing.
 
He put his arm around her and they both stared for a solid moment,
silently taking in the sight of the lone platinum record that hung on the wall.
 
He finally glanced over at her and
waited until she met his gaze.
 

She
nodded as tears welled up in her eyes.
 
She stroked his cheek and smiled.
 
“You know he’s looking down from heaven on you right now and he’s so
damned proud.
 
He saw this coming
for you too.
 
I wasn’t the only
one.”

Sully
could feel himself get choked up, fondly remembering his best friend. He nodded
and shifted his gaze back to the platinum record; misty-eyed, as he recalled
the day he stood in front of that blank wall with Joe shortly after he bought
the condo.
 

He had
slapped the wall playfully and exclaimed to Sully that it was his platinum
wall.
 
He had every intention of
cluttering it with platinum records.
 
He never got the chance.
 
His
life was unfairly cut short.
 

When
the condo was willed to Sully after Joe’s death, he made a promise to Kit that
he would fulfill Joe’s promise of a platinum wall.
 
He had finally started coming through on
that vow.

He
smiled at Kit through his tears.
 
“God, there are times I wish he were here.
 
This is one of ‘em.
 
I miss him, still…”

She
grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
 
“I know, babe.
 
Me too.
 
But, like you said earlier, he is here,
in some form or another.
 
One that
we probably can’t even begin to comprehend.”

He
nodded, gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and gazed into her eyes.
 
“He would have been proud of you
too.
 
You helped me get this.
 
He knew that.
 
He knew we’d be a powerful combination.”

She
sighed and grinned.
 
“That he
did.
 
We’ll have to pour some more
drinks and salute him.
 
We haven’t
been here since…”

He
chuckled.
 
“Before the tour and
before we married.
 
I know.
 
I was living here with Maxine,
remember?”
 
He shook his head and
looked around.
 
“I was thinking of
selling the place, but now…”

She
giggled and shook her head.
 
“No,
don’t sell it.
 
The security in this
building is like Fort Knox, and that’s key for us now.
 
Plus, it’s a nice asset on your balance
sheet, babe.”

He
smiled.
 
“You mean,
our
balance sheet?”
 
He chuckled.
 
“I like your idea of a secret love
nest.
 
Ok, mind’s made up.
 
We’re keeping it.”

She
wrapped her arm around him again, rested her head on his shoulder and stared at
the gleam of the platinum record hanging on the wall that symbolized more than
album sales.
 
It represented a
beautiful victory for them; a dream come true—one they had always wanted
and had achieved together.

CHAPTER 3

“Kit, got
a minute?”

She
chuckled.
 
“Try me, Pete.
 
What’s up?
 
Is this corporate related or GT?”

“GT.
 
They’re still working out the re-org
here in corporate and luckily I’m still the executive VP of A&R.
 
I hope the asshole I have to report to
doesn’t give me the ‘retire early’ talk.
 
I mean, I have sights to retire in the next few years but…”

She
giggled.
 
“Pete, they’re not going
to do that.
 
Even if your new boss
tries it, Lew won’t let that happen.
 
He’s loyal, and you’ve been a fantastic company guy.
 
You’re not going anywhere.
 
A&R would crumble without you.”

“Not
so.
 
First off, Lew may be moving
over to Diamond Pictures, and we’re getting a new CEO.
 
Secondly, regarding A&R, I’ve heard
rumors.
 
Whoever they’re bringing in
is a hotshot, a closer and a high-level star maker from what I hear.”

She was
immediately intrigued.
 
“Names,
please?
 
Like who?
 
There aren’t too many of those types
legitimately existing in this town.
 
There are lots of talkers, but not producers.
 
I’ll tell you if they’re a hotshot or
not.”

He
chuckled.
 
“I don’t have names, just
word circulating that we’ve got an ace coming in.
 
I haven’t met this ace yet.
 
They may be from New York.
 
Who knows?
 
Believe me, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Ok.
 
So, what’s the call for today if it’s
not corporate related?”
 

“I’m
approaching you strictly as an A&R guy to a manager.”

She
giggled.
 
“Ok, taking my Diamond
consultant hat off.
 
Let me grab my
manager hat.
 
Done! As GT’s manager
what can I do for you?”

“We
need the guys to go back into the studio to work on their third album.”

She
frowned.
 
“When?”

“Like
yesterday.”

She
sighed.
 
“Oh, Pete, c’mon.
 
They’re tired.
 
I can’t push them back in yet.
 
They’re not ready.
 
They need recovery time.
 
We’ll burn out Sully and Jimmy if we
push ‘em too hard.
 
If we want their
best work, we’re going to need to give them some time to recover from the tour
and get their creative juices flowing again.”

“Ok,
two weeks.”

She
laughed.
 
“Um, no.
 
Try four months, Pete.
 
As I said, they’re tired.
 
They need family time too.”

“A
month and a half.”

She
huffed. “Pete, seriously?
 
Why are
you guys pushing this so hard?
 
What’s going on at Diamond besides the re-org?
 
Is there something I should know that
you’re not telling me?
 
‘Cuz if you
don’t start talking, I’m gonna put a call into Lew and get some answers.”

He
sighed.
 
“Kit, Diamond is not
hitting the numbers they need to right now.
 
Revenues are down. It’s got Lew and
Jonathan spooked.
 
Some of the
releases from our top acts aren’t fairing well in sales or on the charts.
 
We need a major overhaul of our artists,
and we need fresh blood.
 
It’s
easier to work with bands like GT because they’re hot—much easier than
trying to mine gold with an unknown.
 
GT is one of our cash cows, and we did give them a very generous new
contract.
 
Frankly, they make our
balance sheet look good.
 
And right
now that’s a big deal.”

Kit
frowned.
 
She knew that the large
multi-million dollar contract they signed out on tour would come back to bite
them in the ass in some way, but she didn’t expect it to be so soon.
 
“Why, Pete?
 
Give me specifics.”

“They’re
looking at all kinds of things.
 
There are artists we’re definitely booting out.
 
There are trends they want to
explore.
 
They want to be more
cutting edge, and GT was in the right place at exactly the right time to
solidify that idea in their heads.
 
They saw those tour numbers and the records sales, Kit.
 
The board is on top of Lew to push GT
into the studio, and now he’s on top of me, almost hourly.”

The
wheels turned in her head, and she suddenly wondered again what was going on at
corporate.
 
“If Lew is so on fire
about this, why hasn’t he discussed this with me yet?”

“I
dunno the answer to that question, Kit.
 
Bottom line is we need the guys in the studio pronto.
 
Make it happen.”

She
shook her head in disbelief. “I’ll talk to them, but they’re not going into the
studio next week or the week after that, I can assure you.
 
Pete, I don’t think I have to remind you
of what happens when you put on too much pressure.
 
The whole thing could blow, and I’m
positive that’s the last thing you guys want to do to your cash cow.”

“Point
taken, Kit.
 
See what you can
do.
 
Call me back.”

“Ok.”

She
hung up and phone and sighed.
 
She
shuddered as the fairy tale of the golden goose suddenly came to mind.
 
She recalled her conversation with Pete
again, regretfully.
 
She had no idea
how to motivate the guys to get back into the studio so soon.
 

In her
heart, she didn’t even think it was the best idea.
 
Once again, she felt stuck in a quandary
between her loyalty to the band and her loyalty to Diamond.
 
This time, though, the answer was clear
to her.
 
Loyalty to the band and protecting
her husband’s best interest came first no matter the consequences.

The
band was in the backyard with their girlfriends and wives, enjoying the
sunshine and the pool to the fullest.
 
Kit felt like the bad guy calling them to attention.
 
Not an easy feat on a beautiful, warm,
summer day that had reduced the guys to a bunch of obnoxious, loud, scheming
teenagers collectively, their chronological ages flying out the door.
 

When
they heard her voice, the splashing in the pool ceased, water guns were fully
surrendered, and beer bottles were set down.
 
They quickly and quietly assembled in
the chairs and chaise lounges in front of her, towel-clad, and ready to hear
what she had to say.
 
She chuckled
to herself as she watched them, feeling like a cross between their mother and
their grammar school teacher.
 

She
scanned all of them with her eyes, quickly noticing how tanned, content and
rested they looked for the first time in months.
 
She hated to broach the subject matter,
but as their manager it had to be done.
 
“So, guys, any thought of when you want to head back into the studio?”

Sully’s
chair was so close to Kit’s it was practically on top of it.
 
He flashed his most charming smile, put
his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek, nuzzling her with his nose.
 
He spoke breathlessly, trying not to
laugh.
 
“Whenever you want, baby.”

Bryan
shook his head, smiled and yelled.
 
“Kiss ass!”

Remo
chimed in using a mocking tone.
 
“Teacher’s pet!”

The
whole band erupted into uncontrollable laughter leaving Kit to shake her head
and stare at all of them contemplating their true ages once again.
 
She was eager to get the meeting over
with so they could all get back to fun in the sun.
 
She raised her voice over the barrels of
laughter, struggling to hold back her own.
 
“Guys, focus!”

They
all looked at her, still grinning from their jokes and carrying on.
 
Although they all looked like wide-eyed
schoolboys awaiting her distribution of gold stars, she tried not to
laugh.
 
This was serious business
and her feeding into their antics wouldn’t help either of them. “Guys,
seriously, have you given any thought to when you want to go back into the
studio to record your new album?”

Jimmy
shrugged his shoulders.
 
“Whenever.
Sull and I have already started working on some stuff, and I know you two have
worked on a song.
 
We’ve got tons of
material we could use.”

Kit
raised her eyebrows.
 
“New stuff?”

He
continued.
 
“New to our fans.
 
Sully and I have written some songs that
got shelved for one reason or another, and we wrote some stuff on tour.
 
We could take a look at those and see if
any of them would be a good fit for the new album.”

Sully
looked at her.
 
“Even if we don’t
find anything we want to use in the old stuff, between you, Jimmy and me, we
could get at least a dozen to start with and add more later.
 
We’ve got two so far that are album-worthy.”

She nodded.
 
“Ok.
 
So Remo, Bryan and Tony what do you guys
think?
 
Any ideas on when you’d want
to record?”

Tony
spoke up.
 
“Anytime, really.
 
This break is nice and all, but we came
off that tour with such fierce momentum.
 
We’re really hot right now.
 
I’d hate to wait too long and lose that.
 
I think you guys all feel the same,
right?”

They
all looked at each other and nodded.
 
Tony continued.
 
“Maybe we
could get back into the studio as soon as the writing’s done?
 
We could hash out a few of the songs,
see how they work and play with ‘em a bit before the formal tracking.
 
We’ve got a recording studio at our
disposal.
 
It’s not like we have to
worry about paying for studio time when we’re playing around.
 
We can track everything and see what
comes through.”

Sully
leaned back in his chair.
 
“I think
we could pull off writing in a month, two at most.
 
Does that sound right, Jimmy?”

He
nodded in agreement.
 
“Oh yeah.
 
I think we can do it. Tone’s right.
 
We should take advantage and strike
while the iron’s hot.”

“Ok,
guys.
 
Then I’m going to let Diamond
know you’re writing.
 
Let’s aim for
getting back into the studio at the end of August.
 
Sound good?”

They
all agreed, and Kit was relieved.
 
Negotiating a recording date for late August was a whole lot easier than
aiming for October.
 
While the band
went back to frolicking in the pool, she headed inside to give Pete a call and share
the good news.
 

She sat
in her office downstairs and listened to all the messages on her answering
machine.
 
She had two urgent messages,
one from her attorney, Ron, who now handled all things KMK, and one from the
private investigator Nicky and Frank had recommended to her.

She
decided to start with the investigator and was happy to get him on the phone
with little effort.
 
When he started,
she listened intently.

“Ms.
McKenna, I tracked Sam Price to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
 
He left the country with five million of
your dollars.
 
Chances of getting
him back to the states and proving he embezzled it are slim to none.
 
And the remainder of the missing money
did end up in Dante’s hands, but it seems that it went into a few odd
businesses in New York tied to money laundering in the past.
 

“The
guy didn’t clean up his trail well.
 
Not too smart, in my opinion.
 
I was able to track it pretty easy. The money looks like it went from
Sam to these businesses too and trickled back again to Dante who took these
funds and deposited them into various accounts, one of which was a new account
named DBBT Management.
 
Sam also
wrote a pretty substantial check to Templeton Records, and it doesn’t square
with the books.
 
Looks like it was a
payout.”