Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (31 page)

“Spencer.
 
He’ll explain.
 
Just call him.”

She
laughed.
 
“Ok.
 
This ought to be interesting.”
 
Kit listened intently as Giselle got on
the phone.
 
She winked at Kit as she
started.
 
“Spence, you got my
attention.
 
What do you want?”

Kit
glanced at her wristwatch and scribbled a few notes into the pocket scheduler
she had laid out in front of her on the table.
 
She glanced up and noticed Tabitha walk
in and happily waved to her, relieved she was early.

Tabitha
sat down seconds later and easily shifted into small talk.
 
Kit knew the clock was ticking and
decided to get down to business.
 
She leaned forward and met her eyes.
 
“Tabitha, Spence tells me you’re
thinking of blowing out of dodge.
 
What’s up?”

She
immediately launched into her reasoning.
 
Kit listened to her and realized that this girl was up against all the
same things she dealt with seven years earlier with Gypsy Tango and her other
bands.
 
She wouldn’t want to repeat
those years filled with grief and frustration for all the money in the world.
She felt for Tabitha.
 
Suddenly, her
overbooked afternoon schedule was the last thing on her mind.
 
She favored supporting Tabitha as much
as possible to keep her part of what she, Alexa and Maxine had coined ‘the
sisterhood.’
 

Two
hours passed quickly and after going through all the details, Kit decided that
maybe Tabitha just needed a break.
 
She had the perfect idea and was eager to share it.
 

Her
emerald eyes twinkled.
 
“I
understand your plight, Tabitha, but I think maybe you’re just dealing with
burnout here.
 
And believe me, I
know burnout.”
 
She chuckled.

Tabitha
grinned as tears welled up in her brown eyes.
 
She nodded her head and grinned in
agreement.
 
Kit’s words were hitting
home.
 
She listened intently
desperate for Kit’s suggestion and hopefully, solution.

She
leaned forward.
 
“Let me give you a
little insider information, here.
 
Music
chooses you.
 
You don’t choose
music.
 
It’s part of your
lifeblood.
 
If you run away, it’s
just going to try harder to pull you back in.
 
It will always find a way.”
 
She grinned.
 
“I know this well, honey.
 
I went to law school for three years
trying to run away from it and go the business route and what am I doing
now?
 
Not using that law
degree.
 
I’m writing songs, doing
arrangements and developing artists.
 
And I see the same abilities in you.
 
We have similar backgrounds.
 
I know you’re a musician.
 
I get that you want to run away, but
please don’t.
 
How about you take a
break?”

Tabitha
shrugged her shoulders.
 
“I
dunno.
 
I feel like if I take a
break, I’ll never find a way back in.”

Kit
sipped her drink and shook her head.
 
“That’s bullshit.
 
You’ll
always have an in with me, so wipe that lie from your mind.”
 
She stared at her.
 
“What do you want to do, Tabitha?
 
Aside from music, what’s the real driver
in you?
 
Is it fame and fortune or
is it changing lives and making a difference?
 
What’s your motivation?
 
Help me understand that.”

Tabitha
grinned.
 
“I want to change lives
and make a difference.
 
Something
that inspires others, y’know?”
 
Her
brown eyes came alive, and she nodded.
 
“Sounds a little pie in the sky idealistic.”

She
shook her head and offered an encouraging grin.
 
“Not at all.
 
I like your motivation and I had a
feeling that would be your answer.”
 
She folded her hands on the table.
 
“So, that being said, how would you feel about taking a break from KMK
to head up the L.A. office for our non-profit foundation?”

Tabitha’s
eyes widened, and a grin spread across her face.
 
“I would love that!
 
Really?”

Kit
giggled.
 
“Yes, really.
 
And we’d work around your school
schedule.
 
It’s important that you
finish what you started at UCLA.
 
You’d be working with my mother-in-law, Moira.
 
I’m certain you two will hit it
off.
 
She’s pretty amazing, as are
you.
 
So, how ‘bout it?
 
I think Moira will be in town later this
week.
 
We recently secured an office
in Mid-Wilshire, and she’s going to be signing the lease.
 
You game for meeting her and seeing if
it would be a fit for you?

Tabitha
smiled wide.
 
“Yes!
 
Oh Kit, I am so grateful that you’re
considering me for this.
 
Maybe
you’re right.
 
Maybe I just need a
break from the boys’ club, y’know.”

She
laughed and rolled her eyes.
 
“Oh, I
know, sister.
 
Hell do I know!”
 
She grinned.
 
“So, next steps will be for you to call
Giselle, my assistant.
 
She’ll get
everything set up.
 
I’d love to be
in the meeting, but I’m not sure I can swing it.
 
Things are a little crazy in my world
right now.
 
Regardless of that, I
want to hear from you after the meeting.
 
Giselle will be able to give you all that contact information.”
 
She glanced at her wristwatch.
 
“My apologies, I do need to head out.”

Tabitha
nodded.
 
“No need to apologize, Kit.
 
I’ll walk out with you.”
 

The
valet pulled up in Tabitha’s car first, and she smiled at Kit. “Thanks again,
Kit, for everything.
 
Your sound
advice made me feel so much better.
 
I appreciate it.
 
And I’m
very excited about this new opportunity with your foundation.”

Kit
gave her a friendly grin and nodded.
 
“You’re very welcome.
 
We
need more women like you in this business, Tabitha.
 
Don’t forget that.”
 
She gave her a warm hug and a kiss on
the cheek.

She
nodded and forced a grin.
 
“Thanks,
Kit.
 
I’ll touch base with you later
this week.”
 
She waved as she got
into her black sports car and drove away.

Kit
watched her car merge into traffic and felt pleased.
 
She just gained a stellar new employee
for her foundation that could potentially run the whole thing nationally, or
she would eventually gain a successor she could groom for her position at
Diamond or Flat 5.
 
She giggled to
herself, satisfied that the afternoon had turned into a win for both of them.

CHAPTER 17

Kit lightly
snoozed on the couch in the entertainment room.
 
It was the first time in several months that
she didn’t have something on her schedule.
 
The house was quiet, and she was looking forward to a nice night alone
with a bowl of popcorn and a chick flick.
 
She made it halfway into the movie before conking out again.
 
The phone rang and roused her out of her
sleep.

She
reached over and grabbed the extension in the room.
 
“Yeah.”

“Kit.”

She
recognized Sean’s voice immediately and sat straight up, suddenly alert.
 
“Sean, what’s up?
 
Is everything ok?”

“No.
 
Sully is in a lot of pain.
 
He got charged by a large group of
lunatic fans when he was attempting to get out of the limo to go into the radio
station for an on-air interview.
 

“The
radio station had announced exactly what time the band would be arriving and
where to see them pull up.
 
Security
for the station wasn’t doing their job and to be quite honest, we probably
should have brought more bodyguards to handle the crowd and protect him.
 
He got thrown against the limo.
 
Danny, the driver and me plus two
bodyguards were able to get the fans off him and get him back into the car
until the situation was under control, but he reinjured his back.”

She
shook her head and buried her face in her free hand.
 
“Did he do the show?
 
I’m guessing that he did because you’re
calling me now.
 
Where are you guys
again?”

“We
were in Jackson, Mississippi.
 
Yeah,
he did the show.
 
The doctor cleared
him.
 
He popped some ibuprofen and
drank a lot of whiskey and did just fine.
 
When he was on stage, you would have never known.
 
The adrenaline took over.”

She
frowned.
 
“The doctor didn’t give
him anything stronger than ibuprofen?”

“He
did.
 
Sully didn’t want to take
it.
 
He didn’t want it to mess up
his performance.
 
He said the last
time he was on Vicodin for his back it made him feel weird and loopy.
 
He didn’t want to risk going on stage
like that.
 
He may have changed his
mind after the show was over, however.
 
I don’t know for sure.
 
We
hopped a flight over to Birmingham, Alabama.
 
After we got off the plane, he went
straight back to the hotel and threw on his do not disturb sign.
 
I’m guessing he passed out or just
doesn’t want to be bothered.”

“Did
you get him a chiropractor?”

“We
called in a local guy who took a look at him and gave him an adjustment, but
Sully didn’t like him.
 
He wants his
chiropractor from L.A.”

“Ok.
 
I’ll have Giselle call him first thing
in the morning and fly him out.
 
You
guys are in Alabama now?”

“Yeah.
The guys don’t have a show tomorrow night.
 
Sully’s scheduled for press, but I’ve already canceled it.
 
Jimmy and Remo are going to do it
without him.
 
Tony and Bryan will
keep their engagements.”

“I’ll
have G send a massage therapist out too.
 
And I’m going to have Bill file a suit for damages against the radio
station.
 
They shouldn’t have made
that kind of announcement in the first place.
 
The fact that they didn’t have the
proper security to handle it makes them completely liable.
 

“I hate
dealing with stations in smaller markets. They never get it right.
 
They underestimate what happens with the
fans.
 
It’s one thing for the fans
to be able to find out on their own, it’s another to broadcast it and not give
us fair warning.
 
I know he’s in
pain, Sean, but how is he doing with this?
 
Was he freaked out when it happened?”

“No.
 
He’s been really cool about the whole
thing.
 
He knows it’s part of the
job. He was pissed that the station announced it.
 
We heard it on the way driving over. In
hindsight, I should have been in the same car with him to tell him not to, but I
was in the limo that was following behind.
 
I’m sorry, Kit.”

“You
did the best you could under the circumstances, Sean.
 
I’ll fly out tomorrow.
 
I’ll see you then.”

“Ok.”

She
hung up the phone and shook her head.
 
She felt helpless sitting there at home at ten at night.
 
There was nothing that could be done
until the morning, except for one thing.
 
She called Sully’s room.

He
answered on the fourth ring, sounding groggy.
 
She was happy to hear his voice, but
felt bad, thinking she may have woken him.
 

“Baby,
hey.
 
How are you feeling?”

He
groaned.
 
“Like shit.
 
Who told you?”

“Sean.”

“It was
like something twisted you’d see from a movie.
 
It was like the fucking Hitchcock movie,
‘The Birds’ but with fans.
 
I’ve
never seen anything like it.
 
Should
have fucking listened to Danny, but just like when we were kids, I didn’t and I
got out of the fucking limo.
 
Stupid.”

“Did I
wake you up?”

“No.
 
I’m in a Vicodin daze.
 
I got back to my room after the show,
had a big argument with my brother.
 
He reminded me how stupid I was, so, I kicked him out and then took a
hot bath hoping that it would help and it didn’t.
 
I was still in a lot of pain, so I took
what the doctor prescribed to me.
 
Didn’t want to, though.”

“I
know, baby.
 
It’ll help you feel
better.”

“Makes
me feel weird.
 
I feel incoherent
like I’m in this big fog and seriously slow on the uptake.
 
Sucks.”

She
sighed, feeling bad for him.
 
“I
know, baby.
 
I’m sorry.”

He
slurred slightly.
 
“I wouldn’t take
it before the show.
 
I couldn’t let
all those fans down.”

“That
was very honorable of you, babe.
 
I’m super proud of you.”

His
voice was trailing off.
 
“Uh-huh.”

“Baby,
do you want to go to sleep?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Ok,
goodnight. Try to get some good sleep.
 
I love you, Pit-Pat.”

His
words were even more slurred when he spoke.
 
“Love you too, Kitty-Kat.
 
Nighty-night.” He hung up the phone.

She
shook her head.
 
For some reason,
Sully and Vicodin did not mix well.
 
She recalled the last time he was in town and how he pleaded with her to
go back on the road with him.
 
She entertained
the thought that maybe he was right, and there was something more intense about
this tour that she was glossing over.
 
She knew she couldn’t stay with him for more than a few days although
she wished she could.

Kit
stood in front of the door to Sully’s suite and knocked the following afternoon.
 
She ignored the ‘do not disturb’
sign.
 
After knocking twice and
receiving no response, she pounded.
 

Moments
later, his door opened a crack, and he peeked out, looking disheveled and half
asleep.
 
He squinted from the bright
light of the hallway and then noticed her.
 
His lips curled into a smile.
 
“Baby, is that you?”

She
smiled.
 
“It is.
 
Are you going to let me in?”

He
giggled, threw open the door and hugged her tightly.
 
“Thank you for coming here, thank
you.”
 
He continued to hold her,
completely grateful.

She
finally pulled back and looked at him.
 
She gave him a gentle kiss and gazed into his eyes, stroking his
hair.
 
“How are you feeling, babe?”

“Achy
as hell.
 
This fucking sucks.
 
I have the day off today, Sean canceled
all my interviews, but I don’t want to take that Vicodin shit again.
 
I’ll end up sleeping all day or being
totally out of it.
 
It fucks with my
head.
 
No thank you.
 
What time is it?”

“It’s
noon.
 
Dr. Winters is flying in, and
he’s bringing a massage therapist with him.
 
And Dr. Stone will be here by the
evening.”

Sully’s
eyes lit up.
 
“Are you serious?
 
My chiro, my acupuncturist, and a
masseuse all in the same day?
 
Oh my
God, baby, that’s the best news I’ve heard aside from me waking up and finding
you pounding on my door.
 
What time
will they be here?”

“Winters
and the masseuse will be here by three and Stone will be here by six.
 
By the evening, you should be feeling
better babe, without that crappy Vicodin you hate so much.”

He
popped four ibuprofen and took a sip of water.
 
“This is like a dream come true.”
 
He hugged her and kissed her.
 
“You’re the best.”

She
smiled.
 
“I can’t take all the
credit.
 
All I did was leave notes
and phone numbers for Giselle.
 
She
arranged everything while I was flying here this morning.”

He
nodded.
 
“We need to do something
nice for that girl.
 
She takes good
care of us.”

“I
know.”

“Is
there anything she needs?
 
Anything
we can do?”

She chuckled.
 
“A vacation for one.
 
I need to get someone to sub for her,
and I think I may know who.
 
And
secondly, I think she needs a new car.”

Sully
raised his eyebrows.
 
“Let’s buy
that girl a nice car and send her on a five-star vacation.”

Kit
grinned.
 
“The car we can do
immediately.
 
We can give that to her
as a Christmas present, but I think that she may want to wait for that
vacation.”

He
frowned.
 
“Why?”

Kit
giggled.
 
“So she can go with a
certain someone once he has a break.”

He
chuckled and grinned.
 
“They’re
really into each other now, aren’t they?”

She
smiled.
 
“They are.
 
They got very cozy on the last break and
have been doing the long distance thing very well.
 
Maybe we should send her on vacation
during your Christmas break.
 
Do you
know if he has Christmas plans?”

Sully
shrugged his shoulders.
 
“I have no
idea what Bryan is planning on doing for the holidays.
 
He may be going to Long Island to see
his parents.”

She
frowned.
 
“Hmm, that may not
work.
 
Oh well, we’ll figure it
out.
 
I’ll see if I can figure out
what kinds of cars she likes.”

Sully
took a sip of his water and looked at Kit.
 
“Oh, that’s easy.
 
She likes
Beemers.”

Kit
chuckled.
 
“She wants a BMW?
 
How did you find that out?”

He smirked.
 
“I can’t remember.
 
We were having a conversation one time,
and I was telling her how buying my Ferrari was like a dream come true, and her
dream is a dark green, convertible, three series BMW.”

Kit
grinned.
 
“That was easy.”

He
nodded and grinned.
 
“Yep.
 
Make that one happen for Christmas,
babe.”