Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (11 page)

He
sighed and looked away temporarily.
 
Kit could sense his apprehension and wondered if she had pushed too
far.
 
He shifted his attention back
to her and continued.
 
“GT is our
hottest artist right now, Kit.
 
They’re our moneymakers.
 
I’d
love to give you your own label and back you in distribution, but until we have
replacements for that revenue stream I can’t release them from their contract
and rewrite them under an imprint.
 
Unless you have a plan that you haven’t mentioned yet?”

She
grinned.
 
“Funny you should ask,
Lew, because I do.”

Lew
nodded and looked at Jonathan.
 
“See
Jon, this is why we love her.
 
Ok,
Kit.
 
Lay it on us.”

She
giggled and grinned like the cat that ate the canary.
 
“We acquire Templeton Records.
 
They’ve got some great artists that I’d
love to take over and develop.”

Jonathan
donned a cautionary grin.
 
“And
they’re in pretty big financial trouble right now.
 
We’d probably be able to get them for
next to nothing.”

She
nodded.
 
“I say we poach the artists
first and get them out of their contracts.
 
If that doesn’t work or is too difficult, then we look at acquiring
Templeton as a whole.
 
Do you think
our balance sheet could take the hit?”

Jonathan
sighed.
 
“I gotta run the numbers
with Jason and get their most recent financials.
 
The last I heard they’re in the
toilet.
 
That ass, Blake Templeton,
clearly does not know what he’s doing.
 
It’s sad.
 
He ran that
company into the ground.
 
A few
years ago, when Paul was still at the helm, they were one of our biggest
competitors.
 
Now, they’re mediocre
and going downhill fast, but I agree that they do have some top talent that
would be great for us.
 
It’s
definitely an opportunity for Diamond as far as I’m concerned.”

Lew
nodded and exchanged looks with both of them.
 
“You two pull that off and Kit you’ve
got yourself a label.
 
We’ll release
GT from Diamond and put them over at your imprint.
 
Your offices and staffing will still
remain Diamond Corporate until we see the profitability, and then we’ll talk
again about the staffing requirements for Flat 5.”

She
nodded.
 
“Of course.
 
And I still intend to play within all of
the Diamond corporate guidelines, just under a different imprint.”

Jonathan
stared at her, slightly concerned.
 
“How are you going to run that with all the other things you have on
your plate?”

She
smiled at him.
 
“With your help, Jon.
 
If you’re game.”
 
She winked.

Her
beauty worked to her favor in this case, and Jonathan was mesmerized.
 
He grinned like a shy schoolboy.
 
“I’m game.”

“Ok.
 
I wanna make sure that this is as
seamless as our other imprints.”

He
nodded.
 
“I’ll oversee all the
imprints anyway, so there won’t be any problems, but for political reasons,
we’ll list you as the acting CEO of Flat 5 Records.
 
In that case, you’ll be a
figurehead.
 
We’ll be relying on you
to do your job as CCO for both Diamond and Flat 5 Records.
 
Do you think you’re up for that?”

She
grinned with certainty.
 
“Yes, I
am.”

Jonathan
nodded.
 
“We’ll give you access to
the company jet.
 
You’ll need it for
travel, but you can’t use it for touring.”

She
shook her head.
 
“I won’t.
 
We always charter a private jet for GT’s
tours.
 
So, when do I start?”

Lew
held up his hand.
 
“I want Jonathan
and Jason to look at Templeton first.
 
If, for some reason, we aren’t able to get the artists we want from them
or are unable to acquire them, we’re going to have to change the terms of the
imprint situation.”

Kit
raised her eyebrows.
 
“To what?”

“If the
Templeton idea falls through, you can’t take GT over to a new imprint until you
find two artists of their size or greater to replace them.
 
Diamond can’t afford to take the hit.”

She
nodded.
 
“Ok, that makes sense.
 
You’ve got a deal.”

Jonathan
nodded.
 
“I’ll put in calls today about
Templeton.
 
Expect a call from me by
the end of the day.
 
I’ll let you
know my findings. It’s going to come down to seeing how deeply they are in debt
and if we can handle it.
 
Do you
know who the artists are that you want to steal from them?”

She nodded.
 
“Yes.
 
There are three.
 
I have no way into two of them, but with
one I have connections that I can work.
 
I’ll hop on the phone and see how far I can get.”

“Good.
 
We’ll regroup via conference call at
six.
 
Does that work for you?” She
nodded as Lew stood up.
 

“Well,
Kit-Kat, I’m outta here.
 
I’ve got
some stuff to tie up and calls to make.
 
I’m gonna leave you and Jonathan to your scheming.
 
Pop your head in before you leave the
floor today, ok?”

She
nodded and smiled.
 
“You got it,
Lew.”
 
She focused her attention
back to Jonathan.
 
“What are we
working on now?”

“Legal
implications of this whole scenario.
 
Let me go grab Daniel.”

Jonathan
strolled back into the room moments later with Daniel in tow.
 
They jumped into their meeting
promptly.
 
Two hours later, they had
developed two solid strategies for both possibilities.
 
Jonathan was pleased. After Daniel had left
the room, he looked at her and grinned.
 
“Come with me.”

She
followed him out of the boardroom and over to the northwest corner of the floor
where his office was located.
 
She
followed him in and noticed it was in various stages of disarray.
 
He had already started removing his
things and transferring them to Lew’s office.
 
Kit couldn’t take her eyes off the
remarkable view.
 
She could see the
entire Sunset Strip with the floor to ceiling windows.
 

He held
his arms out and smiled.
 
“Welcome
to your new office, Kit.
 
This is
where you’ll be living at corporate.”

She
laughed.
 
“Wow!
 
Really?
 
This office is huge, and the view is
amazing!”

He
nodded.
 
“Trust me, you’ll need
it.
 
You’re going to have top
artists in here working major deals.
 
I’m moving into Lew’s office, and the new COO is moving to the southeast
corner.
 
Think you’ll be happy
here?”

She
smiled.
 
“That’s an
understatement!
 
I love it.”

He
snickered. “Good.
 
Before you leave
today, you can go ahead and move your stuff in.
 
I noticed that there wasn’t much leftover
from your office.”

She
nodded.
 
“Yeah.
 
I’ll bring it in.
 
I didn’t have much need to be in the
office before nor did I want to sit behind a desk.
 
But now, with me as CCO and working with
the artists, I’ll love entertaining in here.”
 
She couldn’t help admiring how handsome
Jonathan was when he smiled.
 
She
chuckled to herself at the realization in the first place and was tickled by
the thought of an innocent workplace flirtation, knowing they would be working
so closely together now.

He
nodded.
 
“Excellent.
 
We’re having a wet bar put in here for
you next week.
 
Your office is going
to be a mirror image of Dad’s… er… Mine… Except on a bit smaller scale.
 
It will be fully stocked with everything
you need to keep your artists happy.”
 
He met her eyes.
 
“
Everything
.”

Kit
nodded, understanding him perfectly well.
 
It was all about the creativity and if a little indiscreet pick me up
could get them there, they were happy to oblige.
 
It was a practice Kit wasn’t entirely
invested in as a good idea but honored as part of corporate culture. “Got
it.
 
Hey, Jon.”

He
looked at her as he continued to pack a box.
 
“Yes?”

“Is
there any way I can bring Giselle with me in this transition?
 
She’s been such a great assistant.
 
I’d hate to lose her to Daniel.”

He
nodded.
 
“Won’t be a problem.
 
I’ll have her moved out here next to
Mindy by next week.
 
It’s a
promotion for her, so I’m sure that will make her happy.
 
Do you want to have her available to you
at your home office as well?”

Kit
grinned.
 
She didn’t even know that
was an option, but was happy Jonathan presented it.
 
“Yes, please.
 
I would love to have that girl on 24/7
if she’s game.”

Jonathan
nodded.
 
“I’ll talk to her, don’t
worry about it.
 
We’ll make it
happen some way and if she doesn’t want to do it, we could always have two
assistants for you.
 
Lew does.”

Kit
frowned.
 
“He has two?
 
I’ve only ever dealt with Mindy.”

He
nodded.
 
“Mindy works for him daily
from six a.m. to six p.m.
 
After six,
he has an assistant on call, Emily.
 
She works remotely or at my parents’ house.”

Kit glanced
at her wristwatch.
 
Four hours had
passed quickly.
 
She looked at Jonathan.
 
“Are we done here?
 
I need to go.”

He
nodded.
 
“Yeah.
 
I’ll call you later with updates.”

“Thanks,
Jonathan.”
 
She hurried out and down
to her car.
 
As she got in, the
reality of what transpired in the meetings fully set in. She couldn’t wait to
share her news with Sully.

CHAPTER 6

Twenty
minutes later Kit was home and quick to shed her professional duds in favor of
a relaxed outfit consisting of cut-off jean short-shorts and a black
halter-top.
 
She drifted into the
kitchen pleasantly surprised to find Maxine eating an apple.

She
squealed loudly and pounced on Maxine.
 
“You’re home!”

Maxine
laughed and hugged her tightly.
 
She
pulled back seconds later and smiled.
 
“It has been ages… Well for us.
 
I haven’t been here in over a month.
 
It’s good to be back.
 
New York was amazing.
 
Splitting my time between two awesome
couples was fun, but got to say that third wheel feeling was kicking in.
 
Nashville was the bomb.”

She
smiled.
 
“Ok, so give me the
deets.”
 
She started opening cabinet
doors, searching.

Maxine
frowned.
 
“What the hell are you
looking for?
 
Maybe if I can help
you find it, we can head out to the terrace and catch up?
 
Juliana will be here soon.”

She
giggled.
 
“Sorry.
 
I’m looking for the alcohol.
 
I have no idea where anything is in
here.”
 
She frowned.
 
“Who the hell is Juliana?”

Maxine
laughed loudly. “That’s because you’re never in here.
 
The kitchen to you is a foreign
land.
 
And the liquor is not in
here, Sully keeps the bar well stocked in the entertainment room.
 
Juliana Melton.
 
Duh, remember? Lex’s chief editor.
 
She’s out here this week, and we’re
going to talk some stories.
 
Shall
we?”

She
grinned and linked her arm in Maxine’s.
 
“Wow!
 
Ok, clearly I had a
major brain fart there.
 
Sorry.
 
Juliana is great.
 
Glad she can join us.
 
Show me the way to the alcohol.
 
Obviously you’ve got more of a handle on
this than I ever will.”

Maxine
winked.
 
“I still live here too,
y’know.”

Once in
the entertainment room, she found a new bottle of Patrón tequila behind the bar.
 
She and Sully had taken a fondness to
the fairly new premium brand of tequila.
 
Fred, their main sound engineer, mixer and a lover of fine tequila, had
introduced them to it one night when he was over for a visit.
 
She set the bottle down when she heard
the doorbell ring.
 

Maxine
grinned.
 
“I’m sure that’s
Jules.
 
C’mon, we’ll grab the Patrón
in a sec.”
 
She made her way to the
front door and threw it open, embracing Juliana enthusiastically. “Hey, girl!”

She
smiled wide and joked.
 
“Max!
 
It’s been a whole twenty-four
hours.
 
Feels like it’s been
ages!”
 

They
both erupted into giggles as Maxine led her along.
 
She motioned to Kit.
 
“Jules, you remember Kit McKenna,
right?”
 
She frowned and looked at
Kit.
 
“Or is it Kit O’Sullivan?
 
Or Kit McKenna-O’Sullivan?”

Kit
laughed and shook her head.
 
“Not
sure yet.
 
Let’s say all of the
above.
 
She reached out and hugged
Juliana.
 
“Great to see you again,
Jules.
 
C’mon in.
 
You’re just in time.
 
We’re going to do some margs on the
terrace.”

Juliana
giggled.
 
“Sounds like fun.
 
Looking forward to catching up with both
of you.”
 

Moments
later, they were headed out to the terrace with a bottle of Pátron in hand and
all the other fixings to make Cadillac margaritas.
 
Kit brought additional shot glasses just
in case.
 
She handed one to Juliana
first who was now sitting across the table from her.
 
She put her sunglasses back on, poured
herself a generous shot and kicked it back.
 
She did another one in quick succession
and then sat back.
 

She let
out a sigh of contentment. “That’s a nice cure for jet lag.
 
I suddenly feel much better.
 
Now I’d like a drink.
 
Will you please make one for me?”

Kit
giggled and looked at Maxine.
 
“While
you were doing your shots, Maxine already did.
 
Remember, she’s skilled.
 
She was a bartender at the Rainbow once
upon a time.”
 
She pointed to the
drink.

Juliana
giggled.
 
“Oh, there it is!
 
I’m sure it’s delicious, Max.
 
So delicious I may finish it in one fell
swoop!”
 

Maxine
smiled.
 
“Go for it.
 
It’s five o’clock somewhere in the
world, right?”

Kit
grinned and nodded at Juliana.
 
“Have you met my husband?”

She
shook her head.
 
“Officially,
no.
 
Maybe in passing at an industry
party, but I can’t recall it.”
 
She
giggled.
 
“I know who his is and
he’s pretty amazing.”

Maxine
chuckled.
 
“Everyone knows who Sully
is.
 
Especially women.”

Kit
nodded and pointed at Juliana.
 
“Ooh, he is gonna love you.”

She
frowned and exchanged looks with Maxine and Kit.
 
“Why?”

Maxine
looked at Kit and giggled, picking up on the subtle cue.
 
Juliana was an attractive redheaded girl
with big brown eyes.
 
Her long red
hair was styled similarly to Kit’s.
 
She stood several inches shorter and was petite.
 
They both knew Sully would instantly be
attracted to her hair color like a moth to a flame.

Kit
smiled at her.
 
“You’re a gorgeous
redhead and that’s a major weakness for him.”

Juliana
burst out laughing.
 
“Oh wow!”
 
She shook her head.
 
“I’m not naturally a redhead.
 
My natural hair color is putrid
dishwater blond.
 
The red is
new.
 
Just changed it from platinum
blond a few months ago.
 
I like it.”

Kit
nodded.
 
“He’s not gonna know it’s
dyed.”
 
She chuckled.
 
“He’s not gonna care.
 
Trust me.”
 
She looked at both of them.
 
“Excuse me for a sec.
 
We’re missing music.
 
I’ll be back.”
 
Moments later, Lenny Kravitz came
blaring out through the speakers that faced the backyard.

She ran
back out and was about to take a seat, noticing Juliana and Maxine chatting
animatedly and laughing about a recent actor that Maxine had done a photo shoot
for.
 
Kit was about to jump into the
conversation when she looked beyond the terrace out toward the pool and noticed
Sully. He had stopped swimming and was resting his arms on the edge watching
the three of them.
 

He
quickly resumed his routine of swimming laps back and forth.
 
Kit watched him and thought it was
cute.
 
He was so serious about
getting back into shape that he was pulling out all the stops, dedicating hours
of his day to a variety of workouts.
 
On the other hand, she had the best of intentions with her fitness
routine but was clearly getting smoked by him.
 
She had fallen behind and was not
pleased with her follow through as of late.
 
She made a mental note to change that.
 
She glanced over at Juliana, who was
still trying to catch her breath after a bout of intense laughter.

Kit
grinned.
 
“Need another drink after
that?”

Juliana
nodded. “Max has already taken care of me.
 
She’s makes a mean marg, my friend.”

Maxine
smiled and raised her eyebrows.
 
“Thank you, but let me share a little-know fact.
 
Kit, here, taught me how to make that
mean marg.
 
She used to be a
bartender back in Philly when she was in college.”

Juliana
raised her eyebrows.
 
“Oh,
really?
 
I can see it, definitely.”

She
grinned politely, not wanting to revisit her life in Philadelphia by any means,
but knew Maxine’s alcohol intake had blown the top off of that.
 
She decided to honor it rather than shut
down the conversation.
 
She was
about to open her mouth when Juliana’s next comment saved her.

“By the
way, nice choice in music, Kit.
 
I
love the mix.

She
smiled.
 
“Thanks.
 
I try to keep it over all genres, so I
don’t get pigeonholed in rock.
 
Diamond counts on me to know my shit.”

Maxine
looked at her.
 
“So, is KMK back on
now officially, with Spence at the helm?”

She
nodded her head and took a sip of her drink. “Yep.
 
At least I can trust him.”

Maxine
grinned.
 
“No doubt.
 
Spence is smart too.
 
What’s going on with that sleazebag
Dante anyway?
 
And what about Blake?
 
What an asshole.”

She
sighed and noticed Juliana sitting on the edge of her seat now, ready to
pounce.
 
Kit prayed this wouldn’t
end up plastered on the pages of
Platinum
anytime soon and made a mental note to make sure that wouldn’t happen.
 
“I have to meet with some Federal agents
next week about Dante’s case.
 
Looks
like that guy is going to end up in the slammer doing time for a while.
 
I probably won’t see a dime of my money,
but if he’s locked up that’s cool.
 
We’ll just rebuild bigger and better.
 
And as far as Templeton goes, he’s got
his coming.
 
I’m working on a plan.”

Juliana
exchanged a look with Maxine, giggled and licked the salt off the rim of her
glass.
 
“Ooh, you’re just like
Lex.
 
No wonder you two are best
friends.
 
Ruthless.
 
I would not want to be on your bad side,
Kit McKenna.”
 
She winked.
 

Kit
donned a half grin and shook her head.
 
“This is all off the record, Jules, got it?”

She
nodded.
 
“Oh yeah, sister.
 
I gotcha.”

Feeling
a good buzz now, Juliana glanced over and noticed Sully getting out of the
pool, toweling off and did a double take as he started heading their way.
 
She kept her eyes trained on him and giggled
evilly.
 
“Kit, how in the hell do
you get anything done with
that
around?”

Kit followed
Juliana’s gaze and turned to notice Sully, whose sultry appeal naturally oozed
as he sauntered across the freshly cut green grass below the terrace.
 
His tan, chiseled chest practically
glowed in the sun, reflecting a few errant beads of water missed by the towel
that was now loosely hanging on his hips, with the subtle threat of falling off.
 
He grinned at Kit, his steel blue eyes
looking intense, yet dancing with contentment.
 
His wet hair was slicked back, a few
water droplets rolling down his chest.
 

She
sighed and grinned.
 
There were
times like these where she saw it—the intense, raw sex appeal that her
husband possessed.
 
She got lost in
admiring him and couldn’t remember what Juliana had asked.
 
She kept her eyes trained on Sully and responded
with a faint, “Huh?”

Juliana
kept her focus on Sully too as he approached them and quickly squeaked out,
“Exactly.”

Maxine
folded her arms and frowned. “Sorry, I mean he’s cute and all, but I don’t feel
that sexual attraction you do.
 
I
guess it’s that brother from another mother thing.
 
He’s too much like a real sibling for me
to feel that attraction.
 
Now Jimmy,
on the other hand…”