Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (45 page)

Kit
smiled.
 
As Lew put the call on
speaker and Edwina’s line was ringing, she sat back pleased.
 
This was what she wanted.
 
Edwina was pleasant yet seemed to be a
hard driver.
 
She didn’t instantly
jump on the Sully Foxx bandwagon as all the others had.
 
She was more concerned about true talent
and longevity.
 

Lew
sweet talked her, and she agreed with the caveat that Sully had to take lessons
with an acting coach of her recommendation and that he meet with her when he
was back in town.
 
Kit agreed to the
terms on his behalf, and the call ended.

Lew donned
a satisfied grin.
 
“And that’s how
it’s done, Kitty-Kat.
 
Anything else
you need?”

She
shook her head.
 
“No, just your attendance
at my gala on Friday night.
 
And
aside from that, I wouldn’t mind spending some extra time with you to catch
up.”

He
nodded.
 
“Sounds good.
 
How about I give you tour of the
lot?
 
Have you ever been on set
before?”

She
giggled.
 
“No.
 
Only for music videos, but I know that
doesn’t count.”

He
smiled and shook his head.
 
“No, it
doesn’t.
 
It’s time I give you an
education.
 
I sense a migration to
this side of the biz in your future.
 
We’ve got a big action film in production right now on the back lot.
 
I’ll take you over there.
  
You can get a feel for what Sully
will be doing soon.”

She
nodded.
 
“I’d like that.”

Lew
winked.
 
“Good.
 
And after we’re done with that tour I’ll
take you to lunch, but you’re driving.
 
I want to get a ride in that sweet, new car of yours.”

She
laughed.
 
“Absolutely, Lew.”

CHAPTER 24

Giselle
quickened her pace in order to get to the door without dropping the packages
she carefully balanced in her arms.
 
She managed to get the front door open and grinned at the attractive
gentleman with a rocker edge standing on the front step.
 

He
flashed a charming smile.
 
“Hello.
 
Can I help you out there?”

She
giggled, overcome by his chivalry and good looks.
 
“Actually, that would be really nice.
 
Thank you.”

He effortlessly
took all of the packages into his arms.
 
“Where do you need them?”

She
pointed to her car.
 
“Right over
there.”

He
nodded and became curious.
 
“Oh, on
your way out?”

She
nodded and grinned.
 
“Yes.
 
It has been a crazy day.
 
I guess they haven’t finished fixing the
gate yet?
 
Seems you had no trouble
getting in.”

Before
she could continue, he interjected.
 
“You’ve got an intriguing accent—very mellifluous.
 
Where are you from?”

She
smiled wide.
 
“I was born in Brazil,
but my mom is American.
 
Moved here
when I was a teenager.
 
I love
it.”
 
She tilted her head to the
side, trying to place him.
 
“What’s
your name again?”

He flashed
a warm, inviting smile and outstretched his hand. “I’m Darren and I love
Brazilian women.”

She
felt herself go weak in the knees.
 
He had a rugged look with a bad boy edge
that she couldn’t resist.
 
He easily
towered over her, and she figured he had to be well over six feet tall.
 
His worn, black leather motorcycle
jacket hung from broad shoulders that framed a toned, yet wiry, physique
Giselle could easily see through his thin, white T-shirt.
 
His spiky black hair and big brown eyes
only served to sweeten the pot and keep her attention.
 

She
wondered who he was and where he came from.
 
She snapped back into the present moment
and figured he was an artist—one that Kit would soon be working with as
they often dropped by unannounced.
 
He certainly looked the part.
 
She grinned.
 
“Here to see the boss lady, I presume?
 
I don’t remember seeing you on her
schedule for today, Darren.”

He grinned
and avoided her reference to a missing appointment.
 
“Yes, I’m here to see Kit.”
 

She
glanced at her wristwatch noticing she was quickly reaching the six o’clock cut
off time to send out packages for Fed-Ex.
 
She let out a frustrated sigh.
 
“I have to go.
 
I am so
sorry.
 
Normally I would walk you in
and get you settled…”

He
shook his head and raised his hand to stop her.
 
“Don’t worry about it.
 
I’ll see myself in.”

Moments
later, he vigilantly watched Giselle’s car headed down the driveway and out to
the street.
 
He walked into the
foyer and looked around, surveying the place.
 
When he heard Kit’s voice echoing
through the home, a sinister grin spread across his face.
 
His eyes narrowed as he headed in her
direction.

Kit
chatted happily on the phone with Moira, discussing last minute details for
that evening—the gala for their foundation.
 
With Sully on the road and Spencer in
New York, she would be attending with Giselle.
 
She planned to meet up with Moira a
little early to review information on the board, including brushing up on the
details of the doctor that Moira had been gushing about for months.
 
Kit was happy to learn that he would be
present that night, and she would finally get to meet him in person.

She
giggled.
 
“Yes, I do love my
dress.
 
In fact, I need to shake a
tail feather and start getting ready.
 
I have my face on, and my hair done, but I’m standing here in my
robe.
 
The traffic just getting
across town is going to be murder.”

“It
is.
 
Luckily Jack and I are staying
down the street at the Beverly Wilshire, so it won’t be so bad for us.
 
Tabitha is meeting us here at the suite,
and we’ll all go over together in the limo.
 
I’m so excited about this, Kitty.
 
I can hardly wait for you to meet
Kyle.
 
He’s quite a looker and such
a wonderful guy.
 
If you weren’t
married to my son, I’d be pawning you off to him.
 
He’s quite a catch!”

Kit
laughed loudly.
 
“Who is Kyle, Mom?”

“The
doctor that helped us grow this foundation in the first place.”

She
grinned.
 
“Oh ok.
 
Even if I was single, Mom, I’m not into
older guys.”

“Who
said he was older?
 
He’s your age, I
think.
 
He’s young and extremely
successful.
 
He’s a surgeon, you
know.”

Kit
raised her eyebrows, now intrigued and wanting to learn more.
 
“A surgeon around my age, huh?
 
He must be sharp.
 
He doesn’t have his own practice or
anything, does he?”

“No,
no, honey.
 
He’s a resident.
 
And I’ve heard rumors in the medical
community that there’s a good chance he’ll be selected as chief resident soon.
 
That would be wonderful.
 
He’s got a heart of gold.
 
He cares deeply for people and our
foundation.
 
I can hardly wait for
you to meet him.”

“I look
forward to it.”
 
As Kit was
finishing her sentence, she glanced up and saw Darren standing in front of her
desk, smiling from ear to ear.
 
She
remained frozen with wide eyes while Moira talked on the other end of the line,
oblivious to the fact that Kit had been distracted.
 
She swallowed hard and interrupted her.
 
“Um, Mom, I’m gonna have to call you
back.”

She
hung up the phone and stared at him, not moving a muscle.
 
She could feel the adrenaline pumping
through her body as her heart thumped in her chest.
 
She struggled to speak, terror shutting
down her normally cool demeanor.
 
“What are you doing here?”
 
Her body started to tremble slightly, and she shifted in her seat as her
feet tapped an anxiety-ridden, imaginary staccato beat under the desk.

He pulled
out a chair and sat down across from her, putting his feet up.
 
“Aw, Kit, now that’s not a very nice way
to greet an old boyfriend you haven’t seen in years.”

Her
eyes frantically darted around the room.
 
“How did you get in here?”

He
shrugged his shoulders and folded his hands in front of his stomach, appearing
to make himself more comfortable as he donned a victorious grin.
 
“Front gate being repaired, distracted
assistant, unlocked front door.
 
And
from what I hear, a brother that’s out of town, a husband that’s on tour and an
annoying
friend
, Joe Arden, who has
been dead and buried for years.
 
Fucking
asshole, may he burn in hell.”
 

He
leaned forward and his eyes took on a dangerous intensity as he stared into
hers.
 
“He can’t save you now,
sweetie.
 
Looks like it’s just you
and me,
Kathryn
, and we have
unfinished business.
 
No
interruptions.
 
Just how I like it.”

Kit
mustered all of her willpower to convert fear into rage to trigger more fight
than flight.
 
She was not the girl
she once was when Darren knew her.
 
She was much tougher now, and she had no intention of backing down.
 

Her green
eyes narrowed as she spoke angrily through clenched teeth.
 
“I’m only going to say this once,
asshole.
 
Get the fuck out and don’t
you ever come back.
 
I could have
you arrested right now.
 
You know
that, right?
 
You’re violating the permanent
restraining order.
 
Remember, the
one I filed against you?
 
I’m sure
your parole officer would be happy to hear that you’re here in my office.
 
How did it feel to serve time for
attempting to murder me, huh?”

He
sighed and shook his head.
 
“Oh, Kit,
see, you didn’t have to be so hostile.
 
It’s a whole lot easier for you to get rid of me than that.
 
Thinly veiled threats don’t work
anymore.
 
Believe me, you don’t want
to bring the cops into this again do you?
 
You know what I want.”

She
glared.
 
“You’re sick.
 
I’m married.
 
You aren’t getting shit from me.”

He
removed his feet from the desk and set them on the ground, leaning forward
angrily in his chair.
 
“Oh yeah,
that husband of yours.
 
Now, he’s a
problem.”
 
He pointed up to the
platinum records that were hanging on the wall behind her.
 
“That should have been us, Kit, but you
fucked up real big and cut me out of the deal.”

She
shook her head.
 
“No,
I
didn’t cut you out of the deal, the
record company did, you idiot.
 
I
told you to leave, now get the fuck out!”

He
shook his head and stood up, pausing for a moment before he pulled out a gun
and aimed it at her face.
 
“I’m not
going anywhere, Kit.
 
Not until I
get what I want.”

She
tried to remain calm as she stared down the barrel of his gun.
 
She realized cooperating to a certain
extent might be in her best interest.
 
“Ok.
 
You can stay.”
 
Although she tried, she couldn’t hold
her sarcastic tongue.
 
“Want me to
get you some lemonade and cookies too, sweetie?”

He
cocked the gun.
 
“I can do without
your crappy attitude.
 
You always
were a snotty bitch.”

She
stared at him.
 
“What do you want?”

He
shook his head and laughed.
 
“I
can’t believe you’re even asking!
 
You ruined my career, bitch!
 
I should have been the one that’s on tour right now selling out arenas,
and making platinum albums with you, but no… You had to cut me out of all of
that.
 
Selfish, fucking rich
bitch.
 
You cut me out, move to L.A.
and give it some other sorry ass with no talent walking down the street.
 
What does he give you, huh sweetie?
 
How did he reel you in? Does he let you
call all the shots?
 
Does he let you
walk all over him just like Kirby did?”

She told
herself to remain focused.
 
He was
purposely pushing her hot buttons.
 
The sooner she could get rid of him the better.
 
As she stared into his eyes again, she
could tell he was high.
 
She spoke
calmly.
 
“Darren, what do you want?”

“Twenty
million dollars.
 
I heard that your
precious grandmother kicked the bucket earlier this year and finally gave you
that damned money.
 
It’s about
fucking time.
 
Word travels fast in
Lake Forest, Kathryn.
 
Seems you
make enough now on the band you’ve made superstars.
 
You don’t need it.
 
So, pass it along to me.
 
I need it, and you owe me… big.”

She
stared at him defiantly.
 
“No.”

He laughed
loudly and reached for her phone.
 
She tried to stop him, but he dialed a number from memory and seconds
later said, “Go ahead with our plan. Take Sully out.” He hung up, looked at her
and chuckled.
 
“That pretty boy
husband isn’t going to be so pretty anymore, except maybe in his coffin when
they cover up all the bruises and bullet wounds.
 
I hear those morticians can do a pretty
bang up job.”