Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (14 page)

Sully
stared straight ahead, stunned and speechless.
 
He let go of Kit’s hand and sat back in
his chair.
 
He took a moment to
thank Edward and then slipped back into his daze.
 
Tilly had treated him with the same
regard as her grandchildren, and he was deeply moved by the gesture.

Before
Sully could fully grasp what had just been dealt to him, Edward continued.
 
“Moira O’Sullivan.
 
Are you still here?”

Sully’s
ears suddenly perked up as he heard the lilt of his mother’s voice on the
line.
 
She spoke clearly.
 
“Yes, Edward. I’m here.”

Edward
sighed.
 
“Moira, Tilly has spoken
very highly of you for quite some time now.
 
She viewed you as one of her own and
treasured your relationship.
 
She
felt very loved and cared for by you.
 
She told me personally that you were continually looking out for her
best interest.
 

“Tilly
wanted to make sure that you and your family would be comfortable for the
remainder of your years.
 
She called
me a week before her passing and asked for my help in determining what she
wanted to leave for you.
 
I advised
her of a few options, and she came to a decision.
 
Moira, Tilly has left you her art
collection, valued at four million dollars…”

Moira
gasped.
 
“Oh my goodness!” She
started weeping, overcome by Tilly’s generous gesture.

Edward
continued.
 
“And…”

Everyone
exchanged looks and in unison with Moira on the line they all asked “
And
?”

He
chuckled.
 
“And thirty million
dollars.
 
As I stated before, Moira,
you were a guiding light and very dear to her in her last year of life.
 
She held your relationship in high
regard and considered you the daughter she never had but always wanted.”

Sully remained
reclined in his chair again and let out a long, relieved sigh knowing that his
parents would never have to struggle again. He had been sending money home for
years since the band started seeing success.
 
He had always wished it was more and in
recent years it had been, but something this significant would change their
lives.
 

He ran
his fingers through his hair and shook his head, closing his eyes in disbelief,
feeling choked up.
 
Tilly had
blessed his family with an unimaginable gift. He felt relieved, yet overwhelmed
by Tilly’s generosity and wondered how his mother was coping with this
discovery.
 
She had a hard enough
time accepting his financial support.
 
He couldn’t imagine how she felt with Tilly giving her millions.

He
could hear the wavering tone in his mother’s voice as she struggled to come to
terms with this enormous windfall.
 
He thought back to the extremely lean years when his parents scraped and
sacrificed to feed six kids and put them all through parochial school.
 

Both of
his parents gave everything to their children, including him. He recalled how
they had bought him his first guitar from a second-hand store and paid for
lessons for guitar and piano because he was so passionate about both.
 

He felt
choked up again that they were finally getting their reward because of the
combination of two deeply generous people coming together—his mother and
Tilly.
 
His mother was rich in
spirit, gave away every penny she made and loved to serve others.
 
Tilly was also rich in spirit with
decades of inheritance and compound interest to draw from, desperate to share
with the world and make it a better place.
 
She lacked the love and support she ached for from her son, James.
 

Sully
sighed realizing that, in this case, water had been thicker than blood.
 
Moira unknowingly gave Tilly what she
needed, and now she was leaving something behind to pay her back for it.

He
forced himself to pay attention, hearing the call wind down, but the wheels in
his head were rapidly spinning.
 
He
had hit the millionaire mark on his own years ago, but being a millionaire on
this level was a completely foreign land to him. He felt extremely apprehensive
as old programs and associations of wealthy people being cold hearted filled
his mind.

Edward
wrapped up the call with final bits of information.
 
“Very well, then.
 
Sully, the Steinway is being flow across
the country today.
 
It should arrive
at your home tomorrow.
 
Tilly has
left instructions on how she’d like the piano to be maintained.
 
Those will be in the packet for you
along with her personal letter.”

“Got
it.
 
Thanks, Edward.”

Spencer
jumped in.
 
“We appreciate all your
work for our family, Edward.”

“Certainly.
 
I am truly sorry for your loss.
 
Tilly was a wonderful woman, such a
generous, loving, vibrant spirit.
 
I
enjoyed working with her all these years.”

Kit
nodded while struggling to hold back tears.
 
When she spoke, her voice trembled.
 
“She certainly was a light in this
world.
 
We plan to continue her
philanthropic efforts, Edward.”

“Excellent.
 
I can assist you in filing the necessary
paperwork if you’d like.”

“Yes,
we’ll need your help with that.
 
We’ll be in touch.”

Kit
leaned forward and hit the button to disconnect the call.
 
She couldn’t hold back any longer.
 
The grief she felt was immense.
 
As she broke down crying, Sully got up
and put his arms around her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
 

Spencer
got up and made himself a drink.
 
He
lit up a cigarette and took a sip as he stared out the window in a daze.
 
He was suddenly a very wealthy man, but
all he really wanted was his grandmother back.
 
He was glad he had flown out to see her
weeks ago and got the opportunity to spend quality time with her.
 
He was deeply saddened when he found out
she had passed away the following day after he had left.

Once
Kit got up and was calm, Sully ran off to another room to call his mother and
check on her.
 
He knew the news had
probably left her feeling a mixture of emotions as well.
 
Kit made a drink, lit a cigarette and
stood next to her brother.
 

She
looked up at him and forced a smile.
 
“Looks like it’s just you and me left, kid.”

He
nodded and held up his glass.
 
“To
Nana, the sweetest soul we’ll ever know.”

Kit
smiled through her tears and clinked his glass with hers.
 
“I’ll drink to that.”

He put
his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
 
“She talked about her a lot when I was
there.”

Kit
looked up at him.
 
“Who?”

“Moira.
 
I knew Sully was good people when I met
him, but his mom was amazing, taking care of Nana like she was her mother.
 
She was there every day when I was
visiting, and they had a grand old time. It was great seeing Nana laugh like
that.
 
Even though her health was in
rapid decline, she seemed very joyful and content in her last days.
 
Moira was kind of like the daughter Nana
always wanted.
 
Our mom certainly
never fit that role as a daughter-in-law.”

Kit snorted.
 
“I know.
 
Moira and Nana had a very special
connection.
 
One that was much
deeper than her relationship with her own son and grandson.”

He
sighed and shook his head in disgust.
 
“Pretty pathetic of Dad and James, that’s for sure.
 
And I’m glad she only left them a few
grand.
 
That’s a massive statement
to them from Nana.
 
Classic, sassy
move of hers.
 
She was all about
doing the right thing.
 
She despised
greedy people and well, I don’t have to get into it with you about Dad and
James’s obsession with greenbacks.
 
It’s
about time they get what they deserve.
 
Assholes.”

Kit
nodded and held her glass up again.
 
“Karma’s a bitch.”

Sully
walked back into the office looking overwhelmed and rattled.
 
Kit forced a grin and held her hand out
to him.
 
“Want me to make you a
drink, baby?”
 
He nodded silently
and Kit quickly poured his drink.
 
She handed it to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
 
He took a cigarette too and blew out the
smoke evenly.
 

Spencer
joked.
 
“Wow, we look like triplets.
 
Same drink, same smokes, same
inheritance.”
 
He grinned. “We
really are family.”
 
He nodded at
Sully.
 
“How are you holding up,
man?”

He
sighed and remained momentarily silent.
 
His steel blue eyes shifted with uncertainty.
 
“Honestly, I dunno.
 
I’m not sure how to handle all of
this.
 
My mom is freaking out.
 
I’m ashamed to admit this, but we don’t
know what to do.
 
This is like way
too much.”
 
He held up his hands in
a defensive gesture and then dropped them.
 

He
shook his head.
 
“Our family has
never seen money like this before, aside from my earnings.
 
I’m just barely getting used to what I’m
making with GT, but this whole inheritance thing is on a totally different
level I don’t understand.
 
I could
stroll out the door right now and buy a private jet cash, not that I would, but
that completely fucks with my head.
 

“You
hear about those people that win amounts like this in the lottery and then lose
it within a year.
 
I cannot have
that happen to my mom.
 
No way.
 
And seriously, this is the wealthy elite
America that I have never navigated nor know how to deal with.
 
I’m just a simple guy from Evergreen
Park when it all boils down.
 
I feel
like a deer in headlights right now.”

Kit
stared at him.
 
“Baby, that’s who
you are at your core, yes.
 
And
that’s what makes you great, but you are also a self-made millionaire.
 
And I’ve seen you in action.
 
You make wise choices with your
money.
 
You have the chops to
sustain this.
 
You’ll adjust.”

Spencer
patted him on the back.
 
“Sull,
it’ll be fine.
 
We’ll walk you
through it if you want us to.
 
And
you’re doing great so far. Tilly was part of that elite.
 
She was born into it, and she saw you as
an equal, a perfect match for my sister.
 
I saw it too the day I met you.”
 

He
stared into his eyes to make his point.
 
“You’ve got this.
 
It’s all
in the coaching, and we’ll get you there… And your mom too.
 
And I’ll let you in on a little
secret.
 
Money is a magnifier.
 
It will reveal what you’re made of and
who you really are.
 

“Like
your mom, you’re a giver and you like to make people feel good.
 
You like to spread the love.
 
With money, that force becomes bigger.
 
Tilly was well aware of that principle,
and I can guarantee that’s why my dad’s inheritance went to your mom and
rightly so in my opinion.
 

“Tilly
wanted love and good works to be spread for years to come and she knew, in her
heart, your mom would do that.
 
That
wouldn’t have happened with my dad.
 
My point is that you’re a good person, Sully.
 
With money, you’ve become even more
generous.
 
That will continue.
 
You told me when we first met that you
wanted to change the world.
 
Now you
have multiple platforms—your music and using this money to be a positive
force.”