Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) (21 page)

Emily, a nurse he had befriended
at the beginning of his residency and quickly became his confidant, appeared
out of nowhere and playfully shoved him. “Wake the fuck up!”

He laughed and gently shoved her
back.
 
“Please tell me it doesn’t
show.”

She giggled.
 
“It doesn’t, but I know you well enough
now to see it.
 
I would say drinks
after our shifts, but I think you’d end up collapsing into your beer.”

He chuckled.
 
“We’ll see about that.
 
I may get a second wind.”

They continued to chat as she
took her seat behind the large station.
 
She handed him a chart and nodded.
 
“Need your John Hancock on this, sir.”

He quickly perused the chart,
signed his name in a flourish and handed it back.
 
She continued her line of conversation,
but something caught his eye.
 
He
noticed one of the nurses, obviously on a quick break reading
Platinum Magazine
.
 
When she turned the page and opened the
magazine again so he could see the full cover in view, his breath caught in his
throat, and he dropped his coffee.
 

The warm, dark liquid spilled onto
the floor around him, and Emily jumped into action with a few of the other
nurses while Kyle stood frozen.
 
She
seized his arm and pulled him away.
 
“Are you ok?
 
What just
happened back there?
 
Maybe you
should cut your shift early.”

His beeper went off, and he shook
his head as he glanced at it.
 
“I
gotta go.”

She shook her head and looked up
to meet his troubled sage green eyes.
 
“You look rattled.
 
What the
fuck just happened?”

He swallowed hard, and his tone
was urgent.
 
“Can you get me a copy
of that magazine that Helen was reading?”

She nodded.
 
“Of course I can, but why?”

He shook his head.
 
“Em, I have to go.
 
We’ll talk later.”
 
He scurried off and stowed away in the
supply closet for a moment to collect his thoughts.
 
He buried his head in his hands.
 
That magazine cover triggered the past
that he still wanted back.
 

Seeing Kit McKenna in
well-deserved, music industry regalia made him tremendously proud on one hand
and desperately depressed on another.
 
His heart ached so deeply for her he felt paralyzed to move out of the
moment.
 
He yearned to reach out to
her and knew that was impossible—it could never be done.
 
He shook his head, rubbed his eyes,
composed himself and walked back into the hallway, into the hustle and bustle
of the hospital.
 
Burying himself in
work was the only answer.

The sound of seventies and
early-eighties classic rock served as a nostalgic soundtrack as he sat on his
sofa hours later, grateful to be alone, sans a roommate that night in his
apartment.
 
A lone lamp illuminated
the two magazines that lay open next to him.
 
He sipped his fourth glass of straight
bourbon with the bottle in close range, knowing he was completely drunk at this
point and not caring.
 

He stared at both articles about
Kit once more and sighed, then flipped to the front of
Platinum Magazine
reviewing the details about the publication.
 
He stared at Alexa’s name in print as
CEO and founder.
 
The discovery
triggered a faint trace of a grin on his face.
 
He remembered how hard she worked on
The Chicago Maroon
when she was a
student at The University of Chicago and how determined she was to have her own
media empire one day.
 
He was happy
to see her dream came true and was still thriving.
 

He had been so severely out of
touch for countless years now.
 
He
told himself it was because he was wrapped up in his climb within the medical
community, but he knew that was a thinly veiled excuse.
 

He turned a blind eye on purpose,
so his heart could heal from a devastating loss that still hadn’t gotten any
easier.
 
He felt like his heart got
ripped out all over again earlier that day.
 
He thought the adage that time heals all
wounds was a cop out and sorely overrated.
 

He had been plodding along quite
nicely in his denial for years until those magazines entered his life, and now
all those wounds were reopened and he felt like he was slowly bleeding out
again.

He buried his head in his hands
for a moment, then reached out to make a call.
 
His true past haunted him and while he
knew he couldn’t talk about it, having company would keep him from taking any
extreme measures.
 

He didn’t like the road his thoughts
were traveling down.
 
He knew
Emily’s presence would keep him from doing something stupid. Calling a private
eye to hunt down Kit or Alexa or both of them and pry for information was
tempting.
 
Despite his driving
desires, he couldn’t take action even if he wanted to.
 
He still missed Kit everyday and
wondered if it would always be this way.
 
He sadly knew it would.
 
Seeing her on the cover ignited all of those feelings he had pushed down
for years.

Emily arrived ten minutes later
and walked into his apartment.
 
She
stared at him.
 
“Crap, you’re
stinking drunk.
 
Kyle what is going
on with you?
 
This is so not like
you.”
 

She approached and noticed the
magazines.
 
“Ok.
 
What’s up?
 
I understand that these are the
culprits.”
 
She picked up
Platinum
and pointed to Kit.
 
“Do you have a thing for her?
 
Is this like some weird celebrity crush
or something?”
 
She scanned the
article and chuckled.
 
“Dude, she’s
big time.”
 

His continued silence had her
concerned as he stared straight ahead, his sage green eyes glazed over.
 
She took a seat next to him, placing both
magazines face down on the coffee table.
 
She placed her hand on his knee.
 
“You look like your dog died.
 
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so sad in all the years we’ve worked
together.
 
What happened?”

He shook his head and chuckled,
gazing over at her as he slurred his words.
 
“If I told you, I’d have to kill
you.
 
Can we just talk about
something else? Not the magazines, not the girl on both covers… Yeah,
not
the girl on the covers.
 
Anything but her.
 
Make me laugh.
 
You’re good at that, Em.”

He snuggled up to her and closed his
eyes as he clung to her.
 
She
chuckled and shook her head.
 
“I
think maybe I should be telling you a bedtime story instead.
 
Here goes, buddy.”
 
Moments later, he was passed out cold.

CHAPTER 12

The
clean resonance of the ‘A’ note on the piano string captured Kit’s attention,
and she grinned.
 
She was sitting at
her grandmother’s Steinway that now belonged to her very own husband.
 
It had been tuned, and the notes sounded
beautiful and rich, eager to inspire a composition.
 

She
played a quick song, nothing fancy, simply something to make sure the piano was
in tiptop shape.
 
She and Sully had
been spending so much time in the studio out back that the exquisite instrument
had been more neglected than usual.
 

It was
now November, and they were approaching the end of the year at lightning
speed.
 
The recording of the album
had been fast and furious without any breaks.
 
For the most part, she, Sully and Jimmy
had been working on it daily.
 
Writing, reworking problem areas, re-track after tireless re-track all
to get the songs just right.
 

Kit
kept pushing them, able to see the finish line that they struggled to
perceive.
 
Two more weeks and they
could lay off.
 
Then her life and
Fred’s life would become fully engulfed with mixing.
 

Producing
this album had served as more of a challenge than she had originally
anticipated.
 
The process pushed her
to the edge constantly.
 
She found
herself writing, singing and creating like she never had; her inspiration
motivated from joyful experiences rather than a way to channel emotional pain
as it had in the past.
 

She
felt excited and overwhelmed at the same time.
 
She remained wholly grateful knowing she
had Sully by her side.
 
If she hadn’t,
she was certain she would have lost her mind by now.

The
press and media attention that ensued as a result of her featured covers on
Billboard
and
Platinum
magazines had finally died out after six solid weeks.
 
During the height of the media circus,
Playboy Magazine
had called and wanted her
to be Miss December, posing in a naughty red Santa suit.
 
She politely declined despite the band
encouraging her to do it for sheer entertainment value.
 
She and Sully were in agreement that it
was a big no-no.
 

She and
Giselle were relieved and grateful that the phones had quieted down.
 
Now, they had to start plotting for the
next perfect storm that would soon be upon them.
 
The album was still on schedule to
release in February and provided all mixing sessions with Fred went smoothly;
the album would drop in the first week.
 

Tour
planning was upon them, and this was the week when it all started.
 
Kit and the band were in consensus that
they should push out immediately, a week after the album dropped. Suddenly
feeling overwhelmed, she elected to avoid it all.
 
Playing the Steinway in the front room
sounded like much more fun.

Giselle
walked out and grinned when she saw Kit playing.
 
She almost didn’t want to interrupt her,
but knew it had to be done.
 
She
walked up to the piano and leaned against it.
 
“You play beautifully, Kit.”

She
looked up at Giselle and grinned.
 
“Thanks.”
 
She continued to
play, but more softly.
 
“Are you the
work police coming to tell me I’m in trouble and to get back to my desk?”

Giselle
chuckled.
 
“Kind of.
 
There’s something I want to run by
you.
 
You know I normally try to
figure out situations before I give them to you.”

She
continued to play and nodded her head.
 
“Yeah.”
 
She loved that
Giselle very rarely came to her with stupid questions and was gifted at putting
pieces of the puzzle together to present a whole scenario.

Giselle’s
face became more serious.
 
“I can’t
figure this one out, Kit.
 
And it
involves Sully.”

She
stopped playing and stared at her.
 
She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
 
Her expression shifted from whimsy to
concern.
 
“Have you talked to him
about this?”

“No.
 
I wanted to talk to you first, Kit.
 
You probably know things I don’t know
and frankly, my loyalty is to you.”

Kit
took a deep breath and let it out evenly.
 
This wasn’t sounding or feeling good to her.
 
“Ok.
 
Why don’t you show me what you
got?”
 
She got up from the piano and
headed into her office.
 
She sat
down in the chair across from Giselle’s desk.
 
“Talk to me.”

She
started.
 
“This has been going on
for about two weeks now.
 
At first I
thought it was nothing, you know how the press can get.
 
I kept blowing them off.
 
And then I got a call from an attorney
today.”

Kit sat
back, suddenly feeling more comfortable hearing that there was an attorney
involved.
 
If there was anything she
knew how to navigate well, it was legal situations.
 
She spoke calmly.
 
“Is someone trying to sue him?”

She
nodded, still looking grim.
 
“Yes.”

Kit
frowned.
 
Giselle was a happy go
lucky and downright sarcastically funny girl.
 
She very rarely looked this solemn and
Kit didn’t like it.
 
“For what?
 
Is this a copyright infringement
deal?
 
‘Cuz if it is, it will be no
contest.
 
I’ll be able to…”

Before
Kit could finish her sentence, Giselle cut in.
 
“Kit, it’s a paternity suit against Sully.”

She
stared at her for only a moment and then shifted her eyes down to the ground
trying to comprehend the complexity that lie in the innuendos beyond the words
spoken.
 
Her head was spinning, and
she wanted to run from the room to escape the ominous thoughts that hung in the
air above her.
 
She took a deep
breath and let it out evenly.
 
“And
you believe this is actually credible?”

Giselle
shrugged her shoulders.
 
“Let me
tell you what I’ve got and we can go from there.
 
For the past two weeks, the same two
reporters from
Star Magazine
and
The National Enquirer
have been hitting
me up.
 
They’re asking for our camp
to comment on Sully’s alleged illegitimate child with some girl he apparently
was involved with during the ‘Dangerous Curves’ tour.

“They
want to leak the story but they’re having trouble confirming his side or
establishing credibility from the girl.
 
That’s where I’ve come in.
 
I
keep telling them we have no comment.
 
Because of that, they refuse to leak it, luckily.
 
They’re afraid we’ll sue them.”

Kit
nodded, struggling to remain calm.
 
“Good.
 
You did the right
thing there.”

“And
then I got a call last week from this attorney, Arielle Gibbs.
 
Apparently she’s representing the girl
who’s making this claim, and she wants a meeting with Sully and his attorney to
settle.
 
I got a second call from
her this morning.”

Kit
didn’t like how the scenario was unfolding.
 
“You haven’t talked to her aside from
taking the messages?
 
You don’t know
what the terms are or how much this girl is asking for?”

Giselle
shook her head.
 
“Kit, I didn’t even
know if it was true.
 
I’ve only known
you and Sully as a monogamous couple.
 
Are you telling me that there’s maybe a possibility that this is true?”

Kit
went into a daze sadly recalling those six excruciating months they had been
apart like it was yesterday.
 
It was
a part of her life that she never wanted to repeat, and she was confident he
didn’t either.
 

She
pulled herself back into the present moment and met Giselle’s wide eyes.
 
“Yes, unfortunately.
 
It’s possible, G.
 
Do me a favor and get the facts from
this attorney.
 
Tell her you’re my
associate.
 
Poke around to see if
she knows I’m Sully’s wife.
 
If she
does, that could be sticky, but if she doesn’t, we’ll be good.
 
Also, poke around with the tabs, see if you
can find out where they got this info from.
 
If they give you any trouble at all,
tell them we’re going to sue their asses for libel and slander if they even
think of printing anything.”

Giselle
nodded.
 
“I’ll get on it, Kit.
 
Are you back out to the studio?”

She
sighed.
 
She had no idea how she
would concentrate on the session now.
 
“Yeah.
 
I noticed the guys
come in as we were talking.
 
Call me
on the bat phone.
 
This is the top
priority for today.
 
I’ll take them
out of session if we have to in order to get this resolved as quickly and
quietly as possible.
 
Discretion is
key.”

“I
understand.”

Kit got
up and started heading for the door when Giselle called out to her again.
 
She stopped and glanced over at
her.
 
“Yeah?”

Giselle
sighed and gave her a sympathetic look.
 
“I’m sorry about this mess.”

She
forced a grin, admiring Giselle’s thoughtfulness and compassion, trying to make
her feel better for a mess that neither of them were responsible for.
 
“Thanks, G.”

Kit
went into the kitchen, grabbed a new pack of cigarettes that was lying on the
counter and lit one up.
 
She shoved
the pack into the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt and headed out to the
studio.
 

She
walked in, passed the control room where Fred and Sully were engaged in
conversation without pause and immediately headed into the lounge where she
poured herself a double scotch on the rocks.
 
She took a large gulp, lit up another
cigarette and headed back into the control room to find Sully sitting in her
chair.
 

He
looked up at her and grinned.
 
“Hey,
babe.”
 
He stood up, pulled out the
chair for her and leaned forward to kiss her.

Still
grappling with the news delivered only a half hour ago by Giselle, she went
cold and pulled back.
 
She moved her
face quickly to the right, leaving Sully’s lips to land on her left cheek.
 
“Hey,” she murmured and took her seat.

He
frowned and took a moment to regroup, confused by her chilly reception.
 
He leaned forward.
 
“I think our session is going to be
great today.
 
The guys sound really
good, and they’re totally fired up.
 
We may even be able to finish in the next few days.”

She
kept her attention staring forward at the boards, making adjustments with the
knobs in front of her.
 
“Great.”
 
She refused to look at him for fear that
all of her emotions would come pouring out.
 
She prayed he would just leave her
alone, but that didn’t happen.

Sully
shook his head again, trying desperately to figure out what was going on.
 
He leaned forward again, speaking in a
hushed tone.
 
“Is everything ok,
babe?
 
Are you ok?”

She
couldn’t hold back any longer. She felt like a ticking time bomb, and he had
just triggered her.
 
She spun around
and stared at him, her green eyes a sordid mixture of betrayal, disappointment,
and anger.
 
Her lowered tone was
harsh and sharp.
 
“No, and no!
 
And I do not want to talk about it in
this studio.
 
Are we clear?”

His
eyes widened, taken aback by the wild look in her eyes and the tone of her
voice.
 
He swallowed hard and
nodded.
 
“Yes.
 
Is there anything I can do for you right
now?”