Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (36 page)

Kit
nodded.
 
“I’ll call your office
myself.
 
Performances and coaching
only—no soundchecks, correct?”

“Correct.”
 
He looked at Sully.
 
“You need to rest.
 
Exhaustion and dehydration are
exacerbating your condition.
 
I
understand you’re on tour, but you have to take care of yourself, or you may
end up in the hospital.”

Sully stared
at the doctor and nodded solemnly.
 
The doctor promptly administered a steroid injection to Sully and then shifted
his attention to Kit.
 
“And you’ll
call the office to schedule the surgery?”

“Yes.”

Sully
waved to get his attention and scribbled something on a piece of paper.
 
The doctor read it and looked at
him.
 
“I can’t predict how the
surgery will go at this point, but you are out of alternatives.
 
You still have a few more months on the
road, and it will depend on how your vocal chords have faired.
 
I’ll be able to give you a more accurate
assessment when you come in for surgery.”

Sully
nodded sadly and shifted his eyes down while Kit stood up to walk the doctor
out.
 
Sean exchanged a look of
concern with her as she left the room.
 

She
walked down the hallway with the doctor, hoping to glean more information. “I
understand that he has to have the surgery, but I think he’s afraid of it.
 
This is his livelihood.
 
It’s what he loves to do.”

Dr.
Franklin nodded his head.
 
“That’s
usually the case with most of my celebrity vocalists.
 
Kit, I can tell you that the success
rate has been pretty high in most cases.
 
I’m hoping it’s the same for him, but I won’t know until I get him into
surgery in May.”

She
nodded her head.
 
“Ok.
 
Thanks again for making the trek out
here.
 
We appreciate it.”

He
stepped onto the elevator and forced a grin.
 
“See you soon, Kit.”

The
elevator doors shut and she sighed.
 
She shook her head, thinking this had to be some cruel joke.
 
They were at the height of their
popularity.
 
They had just won a
Grammy for album of the year, and now he had to have vocal surgery.
 
It all seemed too twisted to comprehend,
and she felt completely uneasy.

She returned
to the room where Sean was on the phone and the vocal coach talked with
Sully.
 
He was listening intently
and nodding, fully engaged in the conversation although only whispering.
 

Sean
hung up the phone and turned his attention to Kit.
 
“Can you check with us today until we
figure out a solution?
 
Jimmy’s been
quite dodgy lately, and I’m not certain he’s the right candidate anyway.”
 
She reluctantly nodded her head in
agreement while Sean continued.
 
“Kit, does he need to have the surgery?”

She
lowered her voice.
 
“Yes, it’s
bad.”
 
She shook her head, feeling
overcome by remorse.
 
“I should have
come out here sooner.
 
He told me at
Christmas that he wasn’t feeling good.
 
I thought he was just tired and being overly sensitive.
 
I didn’t realize it was this bad.
 
He didn’t lead onto it specifically.”
 
She glanced over at Sully.
 
“He seems to be listening to what the
vocal coach has to say.”

Sean
nodded.
 
“This coach is a good
one.
 
You got one of the best in the
biz.
 
I’ve heard about him, but how
did you get him?”

“I
called Clive Davis.
 
He gave me the
guy’s number.
 
Said he was the ultimate.
He just finished working with Crimson Harris.”

“That
guy has a killer voice!”

She
nodded.
 
“Yep, he does.
 
The coach was telling me he’s seen cases
like this before and that he can help Sully. The timing is ironic, though.
 
Right after our Grammy win?”
 
She raised her eyebrows and shook her
head.
 
“Truth is stranger than
fiction, Sean.”

He
chuckled.
 
“No shit.”

She
glanced at her wristwatch.
 
“I gotta
call the doctor’s office to get this appointment for Sully.
 
What time are we checking?”

“Five.”
 
He held up his finger.
 
“Only one song today.”

She
sighed.
 
Doing Sully’s soundcheck
for him was the last thing she wanted to be doing, but knew they were out of
options.
 
“Ok.
 
I’ll be there.”

The
band assembled on stage, getting comfortable in their places and adjusting
their instruments to make sure they were just right.
 
They watched Kit carefully as she
strolled onto the stage, happy to see her and completely unaware of the fact of
why she was there instead of their lead singer.

She
walked up to Sully’s mic and glanced over at Jimmy, who was staring at her.
 
He raised his eyebrows.
 
“So, is the king of the castle blowing
us off today?
 
Has something better
to do than a soundcheck with the commoners?”

She
refused to feed into his sarcasm.
 
“He
can’t make it, Jim.”

He
snorted and glared.
 
“Oh and here
goes the star treatment, primadonna shit again!”

Remo
chimed in, twirling his drumstick.
 
“No big, it’s not like he’s been hitting those notes lately anyway.
 
You’re the one doing that for him,
Jimmy.”

Tony couldn’t
sit back passively now.
 
He had to
toss his hat into the swirling ring of negativity too.
 
“Yeah, that’s because his balls finally
dropped.”

They
all laughed loudly.
 
Kit spun around
and glared at each of them.
 
“Shut
the fuck up!
 
Are we here to
soundcheck or bash the leader of this band?
 
It’s not easy to be a frontman.
 
I’d like to see any one of you try
it.
 
How old are you guys
anyway?
 
Shit, it’s like dealing
with ten-year-olds.
 
I told you he
couldn’t be here and I’m stepping in, case closed.
 
Let’s get to work!
 
You hear me?
 
Now, what song are we doing?”

They
stared at her with shocked expressions, resembling ashamed children that had
been scolded for their bad behavior.
 
Jimmy was the exception to the rule.
 
He remained unfazed as he glared at her,
his defiance still fully intact.
 
“Why does he have you doing all his dirty work, huh, Kit-Kat?
 
Was that part of the agreement when you
two got married?
 
Is he too big a
star these days to bother?”

She had
reached her boiling point and was determined to put a stop to the trash
talking.
 
She marched up to Jimmy
until her face was mere inches away from his. Her green eyes narrowed
dangerously, and when she spoke, her tone was curt and angry. “What the fuck is
your problem, huh Jim?
 
You’ve had a
stick up your ass since I got here.
 
You guys just won a Grammy, and you’re the one afraid it’s gone to
his
head?”
 
She let out a sarcastic chuckle, shook
her head and met his eyes again.
 
“Look in the mirror, Jimmy.”
 

Her emerald
eyes continued to glow with rage as she surveyed the rest of the band.
 
“I am sick of this shit from all of you!
 
Don’t think I haven’t heard about what’s
gone on out here on the road.
 
There
are eyes and ears that report to me, and I am not referring to the lead singer
that all of you love to hate right now.
 
I suggest you all start acting like professionals.”
 
She turned on her heel and walked back
to Sully’s mic.
 
When nothing
happened, she pointed at Remo and yelled, “Dammit!
 
Count it off!”

After
soundcheck, Kit left the stage, still angry. Sean ran to catch up with her.
 
“You ok?”

She
shook her head.
 
“You weren’t
kidding were you?
 
They’re
monsters.
 
What the hell?”

Sean
shrugged his shoulders.
 
“Kit,
that’s them being nice and on their best behavior.
 
It’s been a whole lot worse than
that.
 
Usually Remo and Tony are
yelling at each other, Bryan keeps to himself and Jimmy and Sully are usually
egging each other on, but not in a good way.”

Kit
pulled out a cigarette and Sean lit it for her.
 
She took a drag, exhaled slowly and
closed her eyes, massaging her temples, then promptly stubbed it out finding it
made her feel nauseated.
 
“This is
all turning into one huge nightmare that’s giving me a very big headache.
 
I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

Bryan
approached them and put his hand on Kit’s shoulder.
 
He looked at her, and she could see
remorse in his kind gray eyes.
 
“Hey, Kit. I’m sorry about all that.”

She
forced a grin and put her hand atop his.
 
“Thanks, Bry.
 
Just be a pro,
ok?
 
That’s all I ask.
 
You’re the best keyboard player and
performer out there, and we need to see that from you.
 
You’re part of the glue that holds this
band together.
 
Don’t let me down.”

He
nodded.
 
“I won’t.
 
Is G back at the hotel?”

She
nodded.
 
“Yep.”

Sean watched
Bryan walk away, headed toward the exit, to make his way down to where the
limos were.
 
“He’s so in love with
her.
 
Seems things are working out.”

She
nodded.
 
“So far so good.
 
Bryan is the least of my worries right
now.
 
He’s easy to manage.
 
You’re telling me Jimmy’s a problem out
here on the road, and I can tell you that his life back home is in
shambles.
 
Is he using?”

Sean
sighed.
 
“He wasn’t at first but
then it became a bump here and a bump there and the demand seems to have picked
up significantly.
 
I don’t know for
sure, however.
 
Jimmy’s one of those
guys who uses for a little while and then cuts it out.
 
He seems to be partying hard, though.”

She
searched his eyes.
 
“Is he screwing
around on Diana?”

He
shook his head.
 
“Honestly, I dunno.
 
I’ve seen the normal groupie
stuff—the girls hanging on him, flirting, maybe kissing him, but that’s
all I’ve seen.
 
He seems to cut ‘em
off before anything gets out of hand.
 
As far as I know he’s kept his dick in his pants, but don’t quote me on
that.”
 
He pointed to her.

She
nodded.
 
“I better go check on my
ailing vocalist.
 
I’ll be here for
the show tonight.”

“Ok,
Kit-Kit.
 
See ya.”

“Later,
Sean-Bon.”

Kit
tiptoed into the hotel room, careful not to make any noise.
 
Sully was quietly snoozing and looked
peaceful.
 
She climbed onto the bed
and watched him sleep, reaching out to stroke his cheek.
 

His
eyes slowly fluttered open upon feeling her gentle touch.
 
His voice was a faint whisper as he
struggled to grin at her, sleepily.
 
“Hi.”

“Hey,
babe.
 
Go back to sleep.
 
You need the rest.
 
I’ll wake you up for the show later,
ok?”

He
nodded groggily and pushed his lips out to her, anticipating a kiss.
 
She leaned forward and gave him a gentle
peck.
 
His eyes shut quickly, and he
was out cold again.
 
She closed the
curtains and went into the living area of the suite to unwind.