Star Maker (26 page)

She
took a drag off her cigarette and slowly let the smoke out. “I’d have this
jerk replaced, but Pete swore up and down he’s one of the best producers out
there right now. I’m not so convinced. We’re already behind on our recording
schedule because of him.”

Jimmy
shrugged his shoulders. “He’s ok. He hasn’t really blown my socks off yet.”

Sully
chimed in. “Me neither.”

Jimmy
looked at her. “Maybe you should talk to Pete. Get Ed replaced?”

Kit
shook her head. “No way. It’s January and we start mixing in two weeks. You
guys are almost done tracking. It’s not a wise choice to switch producers this
far along and we don’t want to get further behind. One of my other bands did
that and it was disastrous. I vowed to never let any of my bands do something
like that again. And especially not you guys. We’re on a tight schedule.
This needs to release in May at the latest. We have got to be ahead of G ‘n’ R
on your release. They’re releasing in July from what I hear from my contacts
at Geffen. You guys need to build momentum going into the tour so that when
they release you’re already out there and charting.”

Jimmy exchanged a look with Sully and stared at Kit. “Then that’s
what we’ll do. We’ll talk to him, Kit. We’ve got your back on this.”

Kit was
a little frazzled when she walked through the door around six that evening.
She had a half-day of meetings briefing her on the latest and greatest at her
company, KMK Management. She was pleased that Dante had turned out to be such
a great managing partner, affording her the time to remain dedicated to Gypsy
Tango and school. With Sully out for the night, she opted to allow herself a
good night’s sleep knowing what the next day held.

She
promptly arrived with the band for their call time of eleven a.m. The rest of
her day was spent at a video shoot for one of the songs on Gypsy Tango’s
upcoming album. She did enjoy the fact that she got to see Sully in action,
making love to the camera, and oozing tremendous sex appeal, charm, and
virility. It was no wonder so many women went nuts over him. He knew how to
please a woman just by smiling at her a certain way. There was no doubt that
his onscreen presence was as vibrant and commanding as his stage presence. It
turned Kit on to no avail. Times like these made her happy knowing he would
end up in her bed at the end of the night. Sully was a performer extraordinaire
in more ways than one.

When
she arrived home early that evening, she opened one of the large front windows
and admired the brilliant colors on display above through the screen. The sun
was making its slow descent behind the hills, gradually shedding hues of
orange, pink, and lavender throughout the sky. Kit then noticed the
surrounding apartment buildings in close proximity and felt a melancholy pang.

She
loved the apartment, but felt like it was time to let it go. Alexa was barely
there; she was usually at Wes’s condo on the West Side while Kit split her time
between the apartment and Sully’s condo on La Cienega. She realized they were
outgrowing the small place. Their lives were expanding and it was time to
explore other options.

Kit
made her way over to the answering machine and listened to the various messages
that were left during the course of the day. According to her message, Alexa
was due home at any moment. Kit also knew that one of the new bands she was
managing was going to be coming over with Dante to discuss business matters.
Gypsy Tango would be there later too with their entourage that was now so large
it needed to be managed on its own. Tonight certainly wasn’t going to be a
restful evening, and she realized once again that the apartment was too small
to be entertaining regularly on such a large scale.

One
thing for sure, she was pleased knowing that Sully would step up and help her
out. On nights like these, he always did. They were partners in every sense
of the word. Their relationship was growing stronger every day and Kit was
falling more deeply in love with him. The Sully and Scarlett publicity angle
had run its course and had been abandoned mutually a few weeks before with
Rock City News
proclaiming Sully a hot
commodity, back on the market.

By ten
o’clock that night, their cluttered apartment was filled with about forty
people, chatting away, and spilling out into the hallway and down the stairs.
Kit abandoned her conversation with one of her neighbors to join up with a new
band signed to KMK she had been unintentionally neglecting.

Alexa
was sitting on the sofa talking with the new band. They were in awe that she
worked at Diamond Records and were asking her the requisite twenty questions.
Kit overheard one of them as she entered the circle of conversation. “What’s a
bullet?”

Kit
immediately jumped into the conversation. “The trades, for example
Billboard Magazine
, have their own
charts that rate records. They base those rates upon sales and airplay for
that record. A bullet is a dot or a star next to a record’s number on the
chart and it typically means that the record is strongly moving up the charts.
If a number doesn’t have a bullet, it means that the record is weakening or is
on its way down the charts. So basically boys, what you want to aim for is
number one with a bullet. You can’t do anything better than that.”

Alexa
stared at her, grinning with admiration, while the awestruck new band stared at
her like she was a human oracle chock full of answers to make their career the
best it could be.

Kit
frowned. “What? Why are you staring at me like that, Lex? Do I have
something on my face?”

She
giggled. “Come here, I want to tell you something.”

Kit
walked over to the corner where Alexa stood, giggling. She triggered a round
of giggling between them. “What?”

She
smiled. “It’s you. Standing there explaining what a bullet is so eloquently
to those little boys who are hanging on your every last word, desperately
hoping you’re the one that will take them up the charts to have that bullet in
the first place. The irony, Kit, is that
you
are the bullet. Do you see it? Do you get it yet?”

Sully
overheard what Alexa was saying and stood next to Kit, smiling from ear to ear.
“She’s right, you know. I’ve seen number one with a bullet written all over
you from day one. You are that bullet now. Hit city, baby.”

Kit
laughed. “Thank you. I appreciate the compliment from both of you. There may
be some truth to your statement, but as all of us know when you get to the top
it’s even tougher to stay there. I may be number one with a bullet today, but
unless I’m number one with a bullet again next week it won’t mean shit. I have
no desire to be a one-hit wonder. I’m determined to work my way into
consistency.”

Sully
laughed. “Babe, you never were and never will be a one-hit wonder. You’re
gonna stay on top. I’ll make sure of it.”

She
looked at him and grinned, getting lost in his eyes. She gave him a suggestive
grin. “Mmm. Really?” She started leaning in to kiss him.

He
giggled and leaned back so that he was out of reach for a kiss. “Watch
yourself, babe. We’ve got an audience.” He giggled again, gave her a quick
kiss on the cheek and disappeared into the crowd of people.

Alexa
smiled. “He’s right. You’re no one-hit wonder. You’re number one with a
bullet all the way. Stay at the top, babe. I know you can do it, star maker.”
She playfully swatted her on the butt, winked, and walked away.

CHAPTER 20

Kit
walked around surveying the property. She sighed and grinned, holding tears
back. It was still as idyllic as she remembered from her childhood. Shortly
after she contemplated talking to Alexa about moving, she received a call from
her late grandfather’s attorney. He informed her the eight-bedroom, Hollywood
Hills, beaux-arts styled mansion that had been in the family for decades had
been willed to her. Her grandmother had done her best to push it through as
quickly as possible.

The
attorney had flown out from Chicago and personally delivered the keys to her.
She moved in right away and brought Alexa with her. They both encouraged
Maxine to abandon her loft so all three of them could live there sensing this
would probably be the last time they would be together. Their lives were
changing rapidly and all of their futures held promising results.

Now
that they had been settled for a few weeks, she felt comfortable enough to
throw a party and the last minute details were in full swing. She made her way
back to the guesthouse to check on Fred, a sound engineer that had been working
on Gypsy Tango’s debut album. He was helping her convert the guesthouse into a
professional recording studio. She was pleased his supervision of the workers
was going smoothly. She kindly asked him to wrap up within the hour to keep
noise at a minimum so there were no distractions during the party. She
returned to the house to check on how things were fairing.

Alexa
walked into the kitchen and put a large box down on one of the kitchen
counters. Kit turned around and smiled. “Is that the last one? You should
have waited for the guys to get here, Lex. Those boxes are heavy.”

“Oh,
there are plenty more boxes. This is the last box of Stoli. I’ll let the guys
bring in the other boxes of booze outside. What time are the caterer and
servers arriving?”

Kit
glanced at the clock. “Any minute now. I think we’ve got everything squared
away. I just need the guys to arrive.”

As Kit
finished her sentence she heard Sully’s voice echo in the foyer. “Kit?
Kit-Kat, where are you?”

She
laughed as she greeted him with a kiss. “Hi, babe. You’re reasonably on
time.”

He
chuckled. “Yeah, I guess. Valets tonight, babe? This is going to be quite a
party.”

She
smiled. “You better believe it. Are you okay with making sure that the
caterer and servers arrive and get set up? The bartender and DJ should be
arriving soon too.”

Sully
nodded. “We’ve got it covered. Go do whatever you have to do.” He gave her a
playful swat on the butt as she walked away.

Three
hours later, the party was in full swing. Over two hundred guests had shown up
including industry executives, publicists, and bands galore. Kit grinned and
took a moment to admire her successful, A-list, music industry party that she
had personally thrown to celebrate Gypsy Tango’s soon to be released and much
anticipated debut album. Their official album release party was still
forthcoming and would be hosted by Diamond Records in a week.

She
made her way out to the backyard where several people were drinking and
mingling by the pool. She spotted Alexa and headed over. Alexa grinned and
motioned Kit into her small group. “Kit, over here.”

She
smiled. “Hi.”

“Kit,
these are my friends from the promotions and publicity department. Everyone,
this is Kit McKenna, your hostess for the evening.”

Malcolm
Rossi grinned. “Great to see you again, Kit.”

Kit
smiled. “You too, Malcolm. Glad you could be here.”

“Wouldn’t
have missed it.”

Before
Kit could become fully engaged in the conversation, she was pulled away by
Jenny Myers, the new publicist for Gypsy Tango, who knew everyone who was
anyone in the Hollywood music biz. “Kit, I really think you should meet this
guy. He’s high up in the A&R food chain at Templeton Records, and from
what I hear he knows the Templeton family personally. Y’know, it’s that keep
your friends close your enemies closer thing?”

She
shrugged her shoulders. “Sure. I’ll play the game. Introduce me.”

Jenny
tapped a good-looking man on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled. “Hey,
Jen, good to see you.”

“You
too, Bart. I’d like to introduce you to Kit McKenna. She has a management
company that handles quite a few bands in Hollywood right now and she
single-handedly closed the biggest deal of last year for Gypsy Tango.”

He
shook her hand. “Nice to meet you personally, Kit. Heard a lot about you.”

Jenny
looked around the party and then back to Bart. “I thought you came with Blake.
Weren’t you two supposed to come together tonight?”

Bart
nodded. “We were, but he’s sick with the flu. He wasn’t able to make it.”

“Bummer.
I need to mingle. I’ll see you two later.”

Kit
chuckled. “Okay, Jenny.” She felt like she had been set up and felt awkward.
Jenny had no idea that she and Sully were involved with each other aside from a
professional relationship. They hadn’t yet gone public with their
relationship. “Jenny is a funny gal,” she nervously struggled to make small
talk.

“That
she is. So, Kit, tell me which bands your company currently manages. Anyone I
would be interested in?”

She
raised her eyebrows. She loved when opportunity presented itself. “Oh,
there’s one or two that might fit the bill for Templeton. Let me find the man
for you.” She spotted Dante in the crowd and waved him over. She introduced
him and looked at Bart. “Dante is your man. He’s my managing partner and
really the one that handles operations for my management company, KMK. He can
connect you with the bands personally.”

Bart
grinned. “Cool. Tell me all about them, Dante. If they’re bands I’ve already
seen or heard, then maybe we can work a deal on the spot.”

He
nodded. “Absolutely, Bart.”

She
grinned and knew that was her cue to duck out of the conversation. She
politely excused herself and headed to the bar for a drink. She was taking a
sip of her scotch when Sully came up behind her and hugged her. He kissed her
on the neck and whispered in her ear. “You look beautiful tonight.”

She
turned around and looked at him. “Thank you. How much have you had to drink?”
She could tell he was very drunk and definitely high.

He
chuckled. “A lot. Don’t tell anyone. Shh.” He put his finger up to his lips
suggestively and grinned.

Kit
giggled. She couldn’t help it. Sully was definitely one of those people that
could be categorized as a happy and often entertaining drunk. “What are you
on?”

He
winked. “I’ll never tell.”

She
stared at him. “What is up with you?”

He
shrugged his shoulders. “Got a lot on my mind, y’know. New album coming out,
a tour starting next month, and this.” He pulled a small box out of his jacket
pocket and showed it quickly to Kit before stowing it safely away again. “I’ve
got lots on my mind, babe. Trust me.”

She
pulled him aside and into her office inside the house where no one could see or
hear them. She steadied him and stared into his glassy eyes. His pupils were
dilated. He was clearly high on something. “Sully, what was that in your
pocket?”

He
grinned and took it out again, showing it to her briefly, and teasing her with
it. “What? This?” He put it back into his pocket and giggled.

“Yes,
that.”

He
shrugged his shoulders. “It’s nothing.”

She
stared at him and could feel frustration creeping up. “You’re telling me it’s
an empty box.”

He
shook his head playfully. “No, I never said that.”

“Sully,
what’s in the box?”

He was
suddenly distracted, staring out the window at the party in full swing. He
noticed Mark Revelle from Scorcher entering the party. “Mark is here. I gotta
go say hi. Plus, I need another drink.”

She
shook her head. “You’re not going to tell me what’s in that box?”

He spun
around and looked at her. He spoke firmly. “Listen, I told you it’s nothing.
You’re killing my buzz. Drop it.” He stormed out of the room and headed back
into the party.

Kit
walked back into the party annoyed as Maxine approached. “This is a great
turnout! This party is a huge hit. No pun intended. What’s wrong?”

She
shook her head. “Sully. He’s not himself. Too much mixing. Brings up bad
memories.”

Maxine
took the hint and knew Kit was referring to Joe when she looked over and
noticed Sully off in a corner with Mark and a few others. She sighed. “Too
much blow is what’s going on. I can tell you that for sure. Sully’s over
there doing the bump and I don’t mean the dance move. Takes one to know one.
You remember me last year.”

She nodded.
“And Joe the year before that. I never thought I’d see it from him, though.
He was bummed when Joe was in the depths of his addiction. It put a huge
strain on their friendship and… Forget it. I’m not even gonna go there.
Obviously he’s not making that connection.”

Maxine
looked at her. “He’s under a lot of pressure right now. When I talked to him
a few days ago he was telling me how stressed out he was. Fear of failure is
breaking him down big time.”

She
nodded again, keeping her eyes focused on him. He was now the life of the
party with a whole gaggle of groupies surrounding him, fawning over him as he
laughed, flirted, and carried on. Stage or no stage, he was in performance
mode. The spotlight was on him and he loved it. She frowned. “He doesn’t look
so broken down at the moment.”

Maxine
turned to look at him. “Like I said earlier, that’s Sully after a few bumps,
clearly. And the groupies, well, they’ve always been there and they always
will be. Comes with the territory, Kit. You know that. Is it bothering you?”

She
shook her head. “No. The groupies don’t bother me, it’s the cocaine that
does. The album hasn’t even hit the charts or gotten any serious airplay yet.
Not to mention the tour that’s starting in six weeks. I hope he’ll be able to
handle it. We cannot have another Joe situation on our hands. The last thing
we need is Sully going off the deep end. He’s the band’s rock.”

Maxine
shrugged her shoulders and looked at her. “Sweetie, you’re the band’s rock.
And Sull, he may go off the rails, but he’s strong enough to float back up.
He’s not like Joe. And if I could pull myself out, then Sull can and trust me,
Kit, he’s much stronger mentally and emotionally than Joe and me combined.
He’ll be able to handle the success. You need to let him adjust to it in his
way and in his time.”

The
next morning wasn’t greeted with enthusiasm, but a throbbing headache and an
empty bed. Kit groaned, not surprised after a very long night of drinking.
She rolled over and frowned wondering where Sully was. She glanced at the
clock and noticed it was noon. There was no way he was awake before her. She
got up, threw on her silk robe and glanced outside at the pool area. She shook
her head, noticing all the passed out bodies, some in various states of
undress. She wondered if he was one of them.

She
padded down the hallway and heard a girl giggle loudly from one of the guest
bedrooms, calling out to someone in the room. “No, don’t go yet. C’mon. I
want you to do me, baby. You never got your turn after Mark last night. As
far as I’m concerned, we have unfinished business.”

She
glanced briefly into the room and noticed a naked, blond girl with enormous
silicone breasts sitting up in bed, continuing to plead with the longhaired guy
standing in front of her. He had wrapped a sheet around his lower half and was
holding onto it tightly while she was desperately trying to pull it off of him.
She knelt at the end of the bed and looked up at him. He bent down and started
kissing her.

Kit was
about to move on, but stopped in her tracks when she heard the girl’s voice
coo, “Oh, Sully, you’re such a great kisser. I knew you would be. I can
hardly wait to find out how you are in bed.”

She did
a double take. At that moment, Sully glanced over. He was so high, it took
him a long moment to fully register that Kit was standing there. Then
suddenly, a flash of sobriety set in. His eyes widened and he pushed the girl
away. Kit glared at him. She shook her head and walked away.

Sully
frantically rushed out of the room and down the hall. “Kit! Kit, wait!”

She
spun around. Her green eyes narrowed and seethed with anger and betrayal. She
pointed toward the stairs. “Get the hell out, Sully! And don’t come back.”

He
dropped down to his knees in front of her and looked up at her, his eyes
pleading for mercy as they welled up with tears. “Please, Kit. Let me
explain. Please.”