Star Maker (5 page)

She
giggled. “Thanks, Jeff.”

He
noticed someone waving to him. “Hey, I need to go talk to that guy really
quick. Come find me before you jet tonight.”

She
nodded. “Will do.” She watched him walk away and was about to search for
Alexa and Joe when she noticed someone approaching. She smiled wide, excited.

Sully
and Jimmy walked side-by-side looking like a duo of big hair and tight pants,
headed toward the beautiful, redheaded guitarist. Sully nudged Jimmy. “Look,
she’s smiling. She’s excited to see us!”

David
kindly pushed his way through Sully and Jimmy, headed toward Kit. She ran over
to him and threw her arms around his neck. “Baby! You made it! Did you see my
set?”

He
nodded. “I caught the last two songs. You were amazing!” He kissed her
deeply.

Jimmy
looked at Sully. “He was standing behind us. Looks like we won’t be meeting
her tonight. C’mon, let’s go find someone that we have a chance with. Look
dude, she’s with a suit. He’s older, has money, probably a cool pad, and a
nice car too. Not only that, but didn’t you say she’s friends with that guy
from Steel Pony? Crap. We’re out of the running. She’s out of our league,
completely.”

Sully
nodded, regretfully. He started walking away with Jimmy and looked back one
more time to see his new favorite guitarist all lit up, talking to her
boyfriend and laughing. He shook his head. He wasn’t ready to admit defeat.
He headed back in her direction before Jimmy could stop him.

Sully
approached her and smiled. “Hey.”

Kit
stared at him, her smile fading slightly. Her green eyes searched his urgently
as she tried to jog her memory in hopes of discerning if she knew him in any
way. Coming up empty-handed, she tilted her head and responded awkwardly.
“Hey.”

He
couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. His enthusiasm was uncontainable.
“Your set was awesome! Your playing was impressive. You can really shred.”

She
smiled warmly and nodded. “Thank you, that’s sweet.” There was something
about this guy that she immediately liked. She couldn’t place it, but wanted
to find out who he was. She was about to ask when her boyfriend interjected,
interrupting Kit and Sully’s slowly unfolding introduction.

He
gently grabbed her arm. “Honey, we need to go. Alexa and Joe are waiting for
us at the door. I got us a table at the Roxy.”

She
nodded to him and looked at Sully one last time. “Thanks again. I appreciate
the comment. That was really nice of you to take the time to tell me.” She
couldn’t understand why she suddenly didn’t want to leave. She wanted to talk
more with this kind stranger in front of her that had a way about him that
completely intrigued her. Noticing the look of impatience on David’s face, she
opted instead to reach out and gently touch his hand. She turned around one
last time and grinned at him as her boyfriend led her away. She gave him a
flirty wave and secretly hoped she’d run into him again.

Jimmy
walked up and handed him a beer. “And down in flames he goes. She called you
sweet? That’s the kiss of death, man. Good effort, buddy. She was with a suit
and has a friend that’s a rock star. You didn’t stand a chance.” He slapped
him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you go talk to that brunette over there who
has a thing for you.” He pointed to a cute brunette girl sitting at the bar.
She smiled and waved to him.

Sully
nodded and smiled, putting on the charm as he headed over. No sense in
dwelling on the redhead with a boyfriend when there was a perfectly attractive
brunette calling him over to buy him a drink.

CHAPTER 4

The
line outside the Roxy was long and stretched down the boulevard. Kit giggled as
the people waiting went into a frenzy seeing Joe strut by. As she made her way
past the line and into the club on David’s arm in tow of Joe, she was amazed at
how much he was recognized. Alexa laughed as she watched him get stopped
several times to sign female body parts with a pen while David led them to the
reserved table off to the side.

Once
they were seated, Kit leaned over and yelled to Joe over the music. “Nice
entrance. I guess this is how Hollywood is gonna be for you now, huh?”

He
grinned but wasn’t exactly sure he was comfortable with it. He swallowed hard.
“I guess. I’m gonna grab a drink.”

She
stopped him. “No. Stay here. We have a waitress.”

He
shook his head. “Naw. I wanna walk around. I’m antsy. See if any of our
peeps from Philly are here.”

She
frowned and sensed something was wrong. Joe hadn’t been himself since he
returned from the road. She noticed it on the drive over to her soundcheck
earlier in the day and realized she would need to carve out some time to get to
the bottom of things. Tonight wasn’t the time. She nodded. “Ok.” She
watched him walk away, out of sight.

Joe was
about to head to the bar when he noticed his girlfriend Janine and two of her
friends coming through the door. His eyes lit up and he made a beeline for the
entrance. Janine squealed with delight and threw her arms around his neck,
planting a kiss on his lips. He pulled back and smiled. “What luck? Told ya
we’d run into each other at some point tonight.”

She
giggled. “You were right. Baby, can you work your magic? Tina has a guy with
her that she met earlier at Madame Wong’s and the bouncers are saying it’s too
packed in the club to let them both in. She just met him and really likes him.
Do something, please?”

Joe
nodded and leaned out, straining to find Tina, who he had never met. A cute,
brunette gal waved to him frantically. He motioned Janine over. “Does she
have brown hair?” She nodded.

He
leaned out again and smiled, noticing that his new friend from earlier, Sully,
was with Tina. Sully recognized him and laughed, waving. Joe looked at the
bouncer and grinned. “If you can let those two in,” he pointed them out with
his finger and then looked at him again, “I will make it very worth your
while.”

The
bouncer stared at him unfazed. “You big rock stars think you rule the roost,
don’t you?”

Joe
slipped him two hundred dollar bills. “That enough?”

The
bouncer’s eyes widened and his face lit up. He stared at Joe and smiled from ear
to ear. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.
Those two. Let ‘em in. I’ll take it from there.”

He watched carefully as the bouncer stepped out and motioned to Sully
and Tina. Moments later, they were walking into the club. Tina hugged him and
said thanks while Sully shook his hand again, smiling. “Thanks, man. That was
really cool of you. Let me buy you a drink.”

Alexa
answered the door and smirked. She shook her head. “I sure am glad we didn’t
give you a key. If we did, you’d just walk right in.”

Joe
rolled his eyes. “You shouldn’t lock the door during the day. Makes it harder
for me to intrude.” He brushed past Alexa and looked around. “Where’s Kit?”

She
strolled into the living room in a robe with her hair wrapped in a towel atop
her head and chuckled. “Who wants to know?”

He
plopped into the chair and grinned. “I’m paying you a visit, girl. Get your
ass dressed. I’m taking you to lunch at Rock ‘n’ Roll Denny’s.”

Alexa’s
eyes lit up. “Are you taking me to lunch too?”

He
stared at her, straight-faced. “No.”

She
frowned and playfully punched him. “Jerk.”

He chuckled.
“I’m joking. Of course you’re welcome to join us. You’ve never struck me as
a Rock ‘n’ Roll Denny’s kinda girl, though.”

She
grinned and shook her head. “I can’t go anyway. I have a paper to research.
I’m headed to the library.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun.”
She left the room.

Kit
appeared in jeans and a T-shirt moments later, pulling her wet hair back into a
ponytail. She smiled. “Let’s go. Walking or driving?”

He
smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Driving, of course.”

Ten minutes
later they were seated in a booth at Rock ‘n’ Roll Denny’s on Sunset Boulevard.
Kit chuckled at the fans that approached Joe shortly after they sat down. She
grinned when they walked away. “Welcome to your new life.”

He
nodded and became serious. “I dunno about all this, Kit. It’s happening too
fast. I think the Eagles were onto something when they wrote ‘Life in the Fast
Lane.’ It’s a lot.” He bit into an onion ring.

She
frowned. “You’re fine. You were born ready for this. Is that what this lunch
is about? You going to tell me you’re the reluctant rock star? Well,
boo-hoo.”

He
shook his head. “I bought a place.”

Her
eyes widened. “You what? Where?”

He
grinned. “I have a girlfriend now, Kit. I wanted us to have privacy. No more
roommates, so I bought one. Plus, having good parties comes along with the
gig. I can’t very well throw a party in a cramped apartment with Aaron.
You’re welcome to live there when I’m on tour if you’d like.”

She
frowned. “Isn’t your new girlfriend going to live there? Who is this girl?
Was she the one hanging all over you at the Roxy the other night? Groupie you
met on the road?”

He
scowled. “Groupies are cool, Kit. And yes, I met her backstage on the road.
She’s a nice girl. Her name is Janine. And no, she’s not gonna live in my
place while I’m gone. She’ll probably be with me. You’re welcome to, though.”
He grinned.

She
shook her head. “Joe, give it up, ok?”

He took
a sip of his beer and stared at her. “Give up what, Miss Conceited? When you
rejected me, I was done. I have a girlfriend now. I was merely offering that
to you as a friend. Totally platonic, egomaniac.”

She surveyed
him carefully. “Ok.”

He
leaned forward and sighed. “Kit, I wanna see you happy.”

She
rolled her eyes. “Oh no, here we go. That statement alone implies that you
think I’m not.”

He
stared at her. “It’s time you moved on and found a good guy. Your stuffy
A&R guy isn’t right for you, Kitty. No way. Not by a long shot. He’s got
the Darren gene, I can tell. I don’t like that possessive streak he has. Kit,
I’m gonna get real with you.” He leaned forward more intently. “This business
is brutal. Fucking cutthroat. It’s hard enough as it is when you’re a guy,
but you’re a chick. You’re going to be fighting an uphill battle. You’re
gonna need a good guy that will have your back, not try to fight you for
position.”

She
huffed and folded her arms in front of her chest. “Oh and I suppose you have
someone just perfect for me? Like you!”

He sat
back in the booth and grinned. “No, not me. We’ve been through that. There
is this new buddy of mine. Sully’s his name. He would be perfect for you.
Great guy. Hard worker. He’ll make it. I can see it already. His band,
Gypsy Tango, is pretty good. Diamond in the rough for sure. They need some
work, but in a year or two, they’ll be on top if they can get the right
manager. I tell ya, Kit, even if you don’t like him, check out that band. You
may want to add them to your roster. Sully has star power. If I weren’t in
Steel Pony, I would have told him to ditch his guitarist and pick me. He’s
that good.”

She sat
back and watched him carefully. She wondered why he was doing this and then
remembered he had been pulling this stunt for years. He had always hated her
ex-boyfriend Darren from the moment she was first with him. He had warned her
repeatedly and he had been right. She wasn’t quite ready to give up David
though, nor was she ready to add another band to her roster. Regardless, she
decided to pacify him with a blanket statement. “I’ll check him out sometime.”

He
grinned. “How about Monday night at the No Bozo Jam? They’re in the first
slot at the Whisky. Plus, I’d really like you meet Janine, officially. I told
Sull I’d be there. You should meet us there.”

She
sighed. “Monday night? I can’t. Study group.” It was a complete lie. She
didn’t want to go. She hated when Joe attempted to interfere in her life. “If
this guy is as good as you say he is, I’ll run into him in due time. In the
meantime, I’m quite happy with David. How about we address all the blow you’ve
been snorting instead? I was afraid this would happen. Joe, you got thrust
into this. It’s not good for you to deal with it this way.”

He stared at her with wide eyes. She had busted him. He wasn’t sure
how he was going to get out of this one. The pressures of the road and his
newfound stardom were taking a heavy toll, one that definitely was not good for
him.

Kit’s
attempts at a long-term relationship with David, the A&R manager, failed
miserably. She had been distracted and wrapped up in her own little world,
even more so after her chat with Joe weeks before. As much as she wanted to
learn from David and hang out with him for his connections, it wasn’t working.
With law school in session, she found herself under the weight of intense
pressure of the worse kind—her own.

Her
session work as a guitarist combined with social time, managing bands, and
David wasn’t conducive to her first semester of law school. Her future was at
stake. She was determined to start her law school career at UCLA with a bang.
She found that using excuses about time limitations was perfect for lessening
the blow with David.

In
truth though, she wasn’t feeling it. She felt no heart connection with David,
whatsoever. She found him to be too trapped by his materialism and social
climbing mentality. He gazed at his Bulgari watch and the keys to his BMW more
lovingly than he did her and it proved to be a major turn off. His only
redeeming quality was his career ambition, but it wasn’t enough to keep Kit
interested.

Her
bank account was rapidly dwindling. She didn’t have the advantage of a robust
trust fund like Alexa and Joe or a job with a steady row of gigs like Maxine.
Her session work was sporadic at best and her artists were all penniless pay to
play bands leaving her to venture out for work to offset the expenses bleeding
her savings account dry on a daily basis. She fell back into what she felt
comfortable with, waiting tables. It would have to do until she could get one
of her bands to pop or land a great paying internship at an entertainment law
firm or a record company.

On the
way home from a fun night out at the Rainbow Bar and Grill with Alexa, she
noticed a help wanted sign in the window of a popular café across the street.
Feeling tipsy from too many cocktails and more daring than normal, she ran
across Sunset Boulevard and weaved her way in and out of the cars, a few
narrowly missing her.

Alexa
stared in horror from the opposite side of the street. When Kit had an idea
there was nothing that could stop her. She had seen her do these kinds of
things before. Kit was definitely one of the smartest people she knew, but was
also a complete klutz and at times lacked common sense. Case in point that night.

Her
bold move proved successful. She marched into the restaurant and demanded to
speak with the manager who was about to shut down the café for the night. He
refused to see her. She refused to accept that as an answer and searched the
kitchen and back room until she found him. She sold him on her experience,
flashed her smile that no man could resist, and by the time Alexa crossed the
street safely and entered the café, Kit had a job.

She
giggled, feeling victorious. Café L.A. was one of the hottest places to hang
out. It sat in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Sunset Strip club
scene where some of the best and brightest new rock bands dwelled. Before
shows or on days off they would often come in. Kit saw it is a win-win. Not
only did she score the waitressing job, but the possibility to discover the
next big rock band to add to the fold of the bands she already managed. The
world was spinning in the palm of her hand.

Her
drive and enthusiastic attitude were her saving grace. She was struggling.
School had been in session for weeks now. She threw it into rotation with all
the other items she was juggling and wondered how it would work. She was
pulling it off, somehow, but it was proving challenging.

She
hadn’t seen her old friend, Maxine, since she returned from San Francisco and
was happy she had come over for a visit. Maxine had disappeared into the
apartment and Kit resumed what she was doing—getting absorbed in the law
books in front of her and taking copious notes that left her hand feeling
fatigued.