Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (6 page)

Kit
nodded.
 
“Most likely to Blake
Templeton.”

“Yep,
bingo.
 
Right now, it’s looking like
you can get Dante on embezzlement and possibly money laundering, but I’m no lawyer.”

She
sighed.
 
“I’ll talk to my
attorney.
 
Thanks for your
help.
 
I appreciate it.”

“Sure.
 
If you need anything else, you know how
to find me.”

Kit
hung up the phone and reached for the pack of cigarettes in her desk drawer.
She had woken up only a half hour before.
 
It was still early morning, but she didn’t care.
 
She needed something to calm her
nerves.
 
She lit up and exhaled as
she ran her fingers through her long red hair.
 
She shook her head thinking about Dante
and Blake and the mess they had made in her life.

After
finishing her cigarette, she was relaxed enough to go for round two. She picked
up the phone and called her attorney.
 
She braced herself awaiting the news he had for her.

“Ok,
Kit.
 
Are you ready for this one?”

She
nodded.
 
“Lay it on me, Ron.”

“This
guy must be a grade-A idiot.
 
He
completely violated his non-compete.
 
I’m staring at the documents he signed for you when he took over as CEO.
 
You put a pretty staunch, airtight,
non-compete clause in here.
 
I
honestly think he underestimated how enforceable this is. Kit, you could sue
the pants off him and win by a landslide.
 
His balls are on the chopping block now.
 
How do you want to proceed?”

She
sighed and closed her eyes slowly.
 
She still deeply felt the sting of Dante’s betrayal.
 
Although what he did was not warranted
in any way, she hated the thought of suing.
 
It brought up bad memories of her
litigiously motivated father.
 
She
had seen glimpses of him in her personality, and she didn’t like it.
 
She remained afraid of becoming like
him.
 

Even
though she and Sully had long since healed from the explosive argument that had
broken them up for six months, she never forgot those venomous words he spewed
at her that night.
 
He fully implied
she had become her worst nightmare—a money hungry, sue happy attorney
that took triumph over other people’s demise, just like her father.
 

She
shook her head and snapped back into the moment to answer the question at
hand.
 
“I’m not sure yet, Ron.
 
Give me some time.
 
I’ll hit you back later.”

“Cool.
 
By the way, Scorcher dropped their
claim.
 
I talked to Bud.
 
You’re in the clear.
 
Your documentation stood up.
 
They’re backing down—no case
against you or KMK.
 
They don’t have
a leg to stand on.”

She let
out a sigh.
 
“Well, that’s a relief.
 
At least one thing is going right.
 
I’ll let you know about Dante
later.
 
Thanks.”
 
She hung up.

She sat
contemplating everything one more time.
 
She knew a civil case would swing her favor, but felt defeated knowing
there was a bigger picture involved here—white-collar crime.
 
Regardless of what had happened, she
didn’t feel confident she’d ever see that money again.
 
If they did locate Dante, he would be
headed to jail, not to the civil courts to duke it out with her.

* * *

Blake
gloated enthusiastically.
 
“This was
almost too easy, dude.
  
See, I
told you everything would be fine.
 
Look at our roster now.
 
This
is fantastic!”

Dante
was indifferent as he shrugged his shoulders.
 
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool, I guess.”

He
frowned.
 
“Why the long face?
 
You’re going to be a very rich man.”

Dante
shoved a document across the desk.
 
“Maybe not.
 
Look at this
shit.”

He
picked it up and scanned it quickly.
 
“So, the bitch is suing you for violation of your non-compete, huh?
 
Wow, thirty-mil for violation and ten for
damages?
 
That’s pretty
aggressive.
 
Ballsy bitch.”
 
He looked up donning a sinister grin.
 
“Don’t worry about it, man.
 
I’ve got amazing lawyers that can get
you out of anything, and I really mean, anything!”

Dante
glared.
 
“Blake, Kit
is
a lawyer and a damn good one.
 
She didn’t get her post at Diamond as
chief counsel because she was kinda good, and Lew liked her.
 
She got it because she’s fucking
brilliant when it comes to contracts and legal angles in this business and
she’s probably already saved the company millions upon millions.
 
I sure hope your lawyers are better than
she is because I don’t have forty million fucking dollars!”

He
rolled his eyes.
 
“Calm the fuck
down, D.
 
It will be fine.
 
She’s just trying to rattle your cage.
 
It’s a little bump in the road.
 
Remember,
we
have the artists.
 
She doesn’t.
 
She’s the one
that’s screwed.
 
She’s pissed.
That’s why she’s suing you.
 
We’re
already making money hand over fist.
 
Kit McKenna is a little blip on the radar screen of your life.
 
Chill out.”

The
voice of Dante’s assistant called out over the intercom on the phone sitting on
the desk in front of him.
 
“Dante,
you need to come out here right now.”

He
huffed.
 
“Alicia, I’m in a very
important meeting, not to be disturbed.
 
I told you that.
 
I don’t
care who the fuck it is.
 
Tell them
to go away, and I’ll deal with them later.”

Blake
shook his head and sighed, faking a compassionate smirk.
 
“Hard to get good help these days, isn’t
it?”

Before
Dante could comment, two FBI agents stormed into the office with Alicia in tow
trying to stop them.
 
One of them
spoke up.
 
“Dante Bellini?”

His
eyes were wide, and he looked like a fearful deer in the headlights of a truck speeding
toward him.
 
He slowly stood
up.
 
“Yeah?”

The
other agent went around his desk and stood behind him, grabbing his arms, while
the agent in front of his desk continued, flashing credentials.
 
“I’m special agent Mills of the
FBI.
 
Mr. Bellini you’re under
arrest for embezzlement, fraud and money laundering.”

Dante
scowled at Blake as the FBI agent led him out of the office handcuffed.
 
He yelled back to him.
 
“You fucked me, Templeton!
 
Think your hot shot attorney can get me
out of this shit?”

Blake
stood stoically staring at Dante unfazed while a faint grin started to spread
across his face.
 
His plan had
worked out perfectly.

* * *

Sully
watched Kit as she slept in the seat next to him.
 
The private chartered jet sailed
effortlessly through the sky bound for home, and he felt uneasy.
 

He got
up and decided to head to the back of the jet.
 
The flight attendant approached, as he
got comfortable on the sofa.
 
“Mr.
Foxx, can I get you anything?
 
Another drink?”

He
nodded and grinned.
 
“Yes,
please.
 
Thank you.”
 
He sighed as he stared out the window.
 
The flight attendant served his drink,
and he nursed it.
 
His mind was
reeling.
 

They
were returning from a week at Kit’s grandmother’s estate in Lake Forest.
 
While he loved connecting with her
grandmother, Tilly, a bevy of doubts had erupted in his mind.
 
There were so many unanswered questions
about Kit’s past that dwelled in his swirling mind.
 
Some of the statements Tilly made during
their visit only served to magnify the issue.

He knew
how Kit worked.
 
If he confronted
her directly, she would shut down, but his curiosity was too much to bear.
 
Tilly had mentioned things that Kit had
alluded to in the past that didn’t rattle his cage.
 
Items that sounded vaguely familiar that
she didn’t want to elaborate, like her mother’s constant urging for her to be a
pageant girl and a model.

But
what disturbed him was the surfacing of ex-boyfriends that, according to Tilly,
had dramatically shaped Kit into who she was for better and for worse.
 
He learned about the ex that drove her
away from music because of creative differences, and Sully suspected that
contributed to her hesitation of fully putting herself out there with music.

He
wanted the backstory and knew he could get to that fairly easily if he prompted
her in the right way.
 
He felt
confident in his strategy there.
 
He
knew he could find an in.

It was
the other ex that Tilly mentioned that he knew would be harder to access.
 
And this was no ex-boyfriend who she
dated for a while and then parted with.
 
This was supposedly her first love and someone she had planned to marry
at one point—a guy named Kirby.
 
Sully never got the chance to learn why they ended their relationship,
but the fact that Kit was once engaged and elected to keep that information
concealed didn’t make him feel all that great.

He
shook his head recalling the smattering of details Tilly provided, which wasn’t
much to go on.
 
He knew that Kirby
was best friends with Joe, and they all went high school together.
 
More than ever, he wished Joe was there
so he could ask him.
 
Joe was always
a straight shooter that had no problem sharing the truth, even if it stung a
little.

The
blank page on the notebook in front of him brought a sudden solace.
 
He decided to work through it the best
way he knew how, on paper.

Kit
awoke as the jet started its final approach into Santa Monica airport.
 
She glanced over and noticed Sully had
disappeared.
 
She stood up and
looked at the back of the cabin, noticing him tucked on the sofa, writing away.
 

She
grinned and started to approach.
 
“Making any headway?
 
Any new
songs cooking?”

He
looked up and chuckled.
 
“I dunno
yet.
 
Just jotting down some
thoughts.
 
Did you sleep well,
babe?”

She
leaned forward and kissed him.
 
“Yes.
 
Much needed.
 
As much as I loved seeing my grandmother
and your parents, I’m pretty tired.
 
I just hope that wasn’t the last time I’ll see her, y’know?
 
She was pretty frail.”

He held
out his arms to her, and she took a seat with him, falling into his
embrace.
 
“I know.
 
She’s a fighter though.
 
Who knows what will happen?
 
Maybe she’ll beat this.
 
I still cannot believe she and my mom
are so close.”

Kit
giggled.
 
“Isn’t that great?
 
Your mom is friends with Abigail now
too.
 
The three of them hang out all
the time.
 
I’m glad she spends so
much time with my grandmother.
 
I
know she loves the social interaction.
 
Abigail has always been a constant, but she does travel quite a bit with
Joe’s dad, and they spend a great deal of time in France too.
 
Your mom is much more consistent, and I
think that’s what Nana needs, especially now.”
 
She gazed up into his eyes.
 
“I’m grateful for that.
 
I made sure your mom had known before we
left.
 
She’s got that beautiful
spirit shining through just like you.”