by J. M. Nevins
She glared and shook her head. “Oh, I won’t. I think that’s where you’re wrong. I do know what it’s like. And I also know how fleeting it all is. You snort too much blow one night and you could fall off that stage or even worse, you could O.D. Clean up your act, Patrick. I’m telling you this because I love you.”
He shook his head, annoyed and frustrated. “I love you too, Keni, but I can’t believe I’m getting a fucking lecture from you of all people. I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
He turned on his heel and headed down the steps to his Ferrari. He got in, gunned the engine and crept out of the courtyard past the privacy gate.
Kendalle let out a concerned sigh as she watched him speed out onto the private road that lead to Pacific Coast Highway. She said a silent prayer that he would get home safely. She swallowed hard and rubbed her abdomen, feeling a wave of nausea hit her again.
They stood side by side in the elevator, embracing the silence. Sully glanced over at Janine, Jonathan Diamond’s new assistant, who had come down to the lobby to retrieve him and take him up to the executive floor. It had been nearly two years since he had been in the building.
Once the doors opened, Sully followed Janine to Jonathan’s palatial corner office where she opened the door and led him in. Jonathan stood up and forced a grin extending his hand. “Sully, take a seat.” He looked at Janine. “Hold my calls, please.”
She nodded. “I’ll send Spencer McKenna in when he arrives. He called to say he got stuck in a meeting and is running a few minutes behind.”
Jonathan took his seat and gave Janine a nod. “Thank you.” He shifted his attention to Sully as she shut the door behind her. He knew why Sully was there—to talk about the tour and he wasn’t pleased about it, but decided to keep his personal loyalties out of it.
Kit was still recovering and he strongly felt that Sully should be with her during the entire process rather than headed back out. He couldn’t help feeling that way. Kit was like a sister to him and he felt protective. Regardless, he was wise enough to know that resisting Sully’s ideas wouldn’t bode well.
Jonathan leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his center. He grinned. “I can guess why you’re here.”
Sully moved to the edge of his seat, jittery and wired from too many lines done in the bathroom before heading up to the Jonathan’s office.
He nodded. “I think it’s pretty obvious. It’s time to get the tour re-established. Kit is fine. She came home from the hospital a week ago. She told me she’s on the mend and feeling good. It isn’t just me that wants this. The whole band is unanimous. We want to finish out what’s remaining for the tour and make up the dates on the back end. From what I figure, that will take us into early November to finish it out completely.”
Spencer entered the office hearing the end of Sully’s sentence. He knew better than to jump to conclusions. He exchanged looks between both of them. “Hey. So, Sull, you were saying.” He took a seat.
Sully bobbed his head. “I… I mean we want to resume as soon as possible. All we need is buy off from Diamond.”
Spencer stared at him. “And your management company.”
Sully sighed. He could see the disapproval in Spencer’s eyes. He shifted his gaze to Jonathan who stared back with complete neutrality. Sully then realized that Jonathan had his poker face on and he was way too high to try to decode it.
He nodded. “Yes.” He looked at Jonathan and went in for the sale. “This makes Diamond revenue. We both know touring is lucrative. And then let’s not forget the fans. The fans have paid money to see us, to get that once in lifetime experience. Let us finish this out.”
He then shifted his attention to Spencer. “And Spence, let me take it over as manager. I can do it. I can get Sean and Giselle to help me through. We’ve got roughly three months of shows left on the schedule and we have two more weeks on top of that to make up. I think it’s best we get back out there and finish this up. If we bail out now, we’ll really piss off our fans and everyone will lose a lot of money. I get that we have insurance, but since Kit isn’t technically part of the band, we may run into some issues with it—I talked to Sean about it earlier and also ran it by our attorney. Bottom line, we can be wheels up… as soon as today.”
Spencer sat back and folded his arms across his chest. His voice drawled of disapproval. “As soon as today, huh? That’s quick.” He glanced over at Jonathan. “What do you think of all this?”
Jonathan sighed. He didn’t approve, but knew it was a personal, not professional motivation. If it was any other band, he would be pushing them back out. Being true to his position as CEO of the label, he opted to approve it.
From a business and profitability perspective, Sully was right. It would be a big revenue generator and would help them exceed their quarterly numbers. He swallowed hard and hoped Kit would forgive him for it.
The house buzzed with activity. Ariana, the housekeeper, watched in awe as a steady stream of traffic came through the front door. She recognized many of them and was surprised to see them until she realized Sully was leading the charge. Kit had been released from the hospital the week before and was sleeping soundly upstairs. She didn’t approve of the noise and chaos, but kept her mouth shut.
She apprehensively led Giselle into the office where Jay and Sully were talking amongst the entire entourage. She felt like Giselle was a sacrificial lamb and didn’t want to leave her alone, but knew she had to.
She reminded herself she was just doing her job, although her intuition screamed otherwise. There was a crazy look in Sully’s eyes—one that she had been seeing more frequently when he was home and it frightened her.
She glanced at Giselle. “Ms. Machado, if you need anything, please let me know.”
She nodded and gave Ariana a friendly grin. “Of course, Ari. Thank you.” She froze in her tracks, unable to erase what had happened in that office a little over two weeks before. She didn’t want to be in there, but Sully had called an emergency meeting and she was required to be in attendance.
Once two more people arrived, Sully started the meeting. Within minutes, Giselle learned they were going back out on tour. Sully was barking orders as the new acting band manager, stripping Kit of her title flippantly. Giselle could tell he was flying high, in a cocaine infused frenetic pace, gesturing, commanding, jumping from point to point.
She watched him with extreme apprehension, like one would watch a speeding freight train that was about to derail, but just kept chugging along oblivious to the wreck that was inevitably coming. Sully was solely focused on getting them all on the same page of his agenda.
She exchanged a look of concern with Bryan who was standing across the room. He met her eyes and shrugged his shoulders. She’d heard enough and left the office temporarily to get some air.
She wandered into the room off of the kitchen, where she knew Ariana would hang out when she had a break. She offered a friendly grin. “Ari, is Kit awake yet?”
Ariana nodded. “I don’t think she could rest well with all the noise down here. I just took her lunch up.”
She sighed. “Do you think she’d be ok with me visiting her?”
Ariana grinned. “I’ll call up to her room. Give me a moment.” She returned seconds later and smiled. “Go on up.”
Giselle headed into Kit’s bedroom cautiously. She noticed her sitting up in bed, sipping tea and finishing off her sandwich.
She grinned. “You look good. Are you feeling better? Looks like your appetite is back.”
Kit nodded. “Yes. Little by little. Still not at one hundred percent energy wise, but definitely feeling better overall. Are you ok, G? I didn’t expect to see you in this house for a while.” She waved her over.
Giselle sighed. “I don’t want to get into that now. There are bigger things. Kit, you’re not gonna like this.”
She frowned. “Not gonna like what?”
Giselle nodded. “Sully’s been in some meetings lately. And he calle
d one this morning. You probably hear it going on downstairs. They’re going back out. Everything is rebooked to finish out the tour. We’ll be gone for about three and a half months.”
Kit’s eyes widened. “What? How? Who did this?”
She sighed. “Sully is acting as manager. He’s enlisted Sean and I to help out with the execution. I don’t know what’s up, but there’s a definite bee in his bonnet. He’s been really stubborn and unyielding. Kit, I found out that he met with Jonathan personally yesterday morning.”
She was about to continue when the black walkie-talkie in her hand went off and she jumped. Sully’s voice could be heard jumbling something in a heated fashion, attempting to get the attention of Sean who was outside of the office somewhere in the estate. When Sean didn’t respond, he yelled after Giselle.
She hit talk and responded calmly. “There in two minutes, Sull. Bathroom break.” Giselle held up the walkie-talkie and shook it. “And this shit just happened like an hour ago. I have one, so does Sean, as you heard. He’s been yapping at us like some rabid purse dog.” She shook her head. “All this for one fucking meeting. I think he’s getting off on his power. It’s insane. We’re not even back out on the road yet!”
Kit closed her eyes and let out a frustrated groan. She couldn’t shake her uneasy feeling. It was an uneasy feeling she’d had all morning and wasn’t willing to admit, yet it continued to worsen. Her inner wisdom was screaming at her to stay in bed, but she cast it away without a second thought. Fight or flight had taken over and her body coursed with undue anxiety.
She sighed and set her tray aside. She swung her legs over to the side of the bed and paused. She closed her eyes for a moment. “Damn.” Her green eyes fluttered open and she stared at Giselle. “I am in no condition to be working or traveling right now. I’m still recovering.”
Giselle nodded compassionately and gently reached out to give her wrist a reassuring squeeze. “I know, gatinha. Stay in bed. Sully asked me to step in and help—he said he wanted me to be the front line, especially when he has to focus on performances, which is the majority of the tour.”
Kit’s furrowed brow spoke volumes. She shook her head and sighed. “Shit. Ok. I think we need to have a little chat.”
She slowly got up, threw on her robe and headed toward her closet. She looked at Giselle. “Can you hang out for a minute and head downstairs with me?”
Giselle nodded and rushed to Kit’s side, gently grabbing her arm. “I can help you dress if you want.”
She shook her head. “No, I can manage that. I just want to take it slow going down the stairs and I’d feel better if someone was with me.”
Giselle forced a grin. “You got it. I’ll be outside in the hallway when you’re ready.”
Kit grinned. “Thank you.” She threw on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt with her slippers, tying her long red hair back quickly.
She left her bedroom and stepped into the hallway where Giselle was waiting as promised. She beckoned her to follow and headed for the office—the one place in the house she never wanted to set foot into again. She felt like it was too soon, but pushed the thought out as they made their way in.
When Kit entered, she noticed Sean, Jay and Sully huddled in a discussion. The rest of the band and crew were in the backyard by now, enjoying the sunny day just beyond the French doors.
Giselle gently held onto her arm steadying her as she quietly stood before them a moment. When they didn’t notice her, she spoke calmly, her words smooth as silk with a frosty undertone. “Gentlemen, good afternoon. I’ve learned that the tour is proceeding.”
Sully shifted his demeanor from tyrannical, tour dictator to sweet, doting husband. He approached Kit and took her into his arms.
He kissed her on the cheek and pulled back to stare into her eyes. “Baby, you should be resting upstairs. You shouldn’t be down here. We’re taking care of everything so you don’t have to. Giselle, Sean and the team will do all the heavy lifting under my direction. You won’t have to lift a finger, just focus on getting better. I’m saving the day for us. Don’t worry.” He attempted to give her a reassuring pat that she found patronizing.
She felt a flood of emotions course through her body—a mix of disgust, anger and confusion. She stared into his eyes and loud warning bells went off in her mind. She recognized the unhinged look in his eyes, the dilated pupils that were so large and black they dwarfed the normally stunning steel-blue irises of his eyes. She knew exactly what was going on.
Sully’s demeanor raised a red flag that rocked her to her very core. She didn’t like it and knew this was the most inopportune time to address the matter yet she couldn’t wait.
She decided it was more important to address him privately at that moment than iron out the logistics for the band. They could wait. Their personal conversation could not. As unpleasant as she knew it would be, it had to be acknowledged now.
She shifted her focus to the team. “Can you excuse us for a moment?”
Sensing the intense gravity of Kit’s words, they all nodded silently in unison as she seized Sully’s hand. She led him out of the office and into the entertainment room.
CHAPTER 5
Sully sniffled as he folded his arms in front of his chest and watched her carefully. “You’re mad, aren’t you? And don’t say you’re not, ‘cuz I can tell.”
She sighed and faced him, doing her best to stay composed and keep her tone even despite the flurry of emotions coursing through her. The last thing she wanted at this point was an argument.
Her confused emerald green eyes met his. “You made all these decisions without me?” She shook her head. “Listen, Sully, I have no intention of going back on tour. Not a one. I plan to stay here and manage the band remotely as I had been doing. Whether Giselle wants to stay or go is her decision. I’ll support it either way. I can’t neglect my responsibilities to Diamond either, I…”
He didn’t hesitate to interject. “And we can’t sit by and lose millions of dollars just because you got shot by your crazy assed ex-boyfriend.”
She stared at him for a moment, stunned by his words, before she shut her eyes and shook her head. “Wow, ok. Let’s let that one go, shall we?” Her eyes fluttered open to stare into his again. “Sully, do not be difficult now, ok?”
He let out a sarcastic chortle. “I’m being difficult because I’m getting the tour back in gear? Oh wow, that’s choice, Kit. Shit, why am I surprised? Sounds exactly like something you’d say. It’s always my fault. It’s my fault I wasn’t here to protect you from that asshole. Figures. I’ve been the fucked up one in this relationship since the day we met.” He folded his arms in front of his chest.
She swallowed hard and stared. This was turning into a standoff. She had wanted to avoid an explosive disagreement, but knew that he was already there deeply entrenched in his victimhood. It didn’t matter if she engaged or not, his fuse was lit and she felt like she was bracing for the big boom.
His demeanor and tone were speaking volumes of a story she was scared to know again. She thought this was something that was well behind them and completely beneath him. At least she had been telling herself that.
Deep down inside she knew better. The sting of betraying her own inner compass felt worse than the looming confrontation with her strung out husband. Ignoring her inner promptings had probably been going on much longer than she cared to acknowledge.
She easily recalled Sully had spun out of control with cocaine before while touring and he course corrected. He was able to quit. This had happened a few times, but now the frequency was at an alarming rate.
She hadn’t seen him this unraveled since right before they broke up, years before they married. She swallowed hard and couldn’t shake the gut feeling that history may be repeating itself, putting their marriage on the chopping block this time.
Another sniffle from him and she was unable to ignore it, even though every part of her was screaming inside to unleash her anger. Exercising self-contr
ol, she opted to tread lightly.
She surveyed him closely and decided to lead with giving him the benefit of the doubt first. “Are you coming down with a cold?”
He stared at her and raised an eyebrow. “No.”
She tried another angle. “Allergies?”
He frowned, chuckled dismissively and shook his head. “No. What is up with you? Why the third degree?”
She sighed and cast her eyes down, doing her best to hold back tears now. She shook her head slowly. She couldn’t face him as the words rolled off her tongue. “Sully, I want you to answer the next question honestly.”
She paused and met his eyes. “If you lie to me, I’ll be able to see through it. You know that.”
He stared at her and shifted his feet. He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and braced himself. He knew what was coming and he couldn’t lie. She was right. She would see right through it. He was about to get busted for what seemed like the ten millionth time in his life.
He nodded. “Ok.”
She met his eyes. “Are you high right now? Did you at any point today do a line of blow? Or maybe several?”
He turned his gaze away from her and stared out the window carefully contemplating how to back his way out her question. Realizing there was no way he could, he knew he had to be honest.
He nodded his head slowly and uttered yes so faintly it was barely audible to her. He finally faced her. When he noticed the tears in her eyes and the look of anguish on her face, he felt his heart breaking.
Tears welled up in his own eyes and he lunged toward her, grasping for her hands. “I’m so sorry, Kit. Please, please, I won’t do it again.”
She recoiled, freeing her hands from him. She stepped away and closed her eyes, hoping to seal in the tears, but it was too late. They were streaming down her cheeks.
She knew that despite his best intentions, in all likelihood he would do it again and again, especially on a grueling tour that needed to be concluded. She didn’t know what to do.