by J. M. Nevins
Jonathan stood in the middle of the room and commanded attention. “As you had already suspected, we do have an angle behind pushing this single of Kit’s out so urgently. We’re changing the positioning of Diamond Records. For years, we’ve produced some of the best artists in the world. And we did pretty well up until Kit came on board as our CCO. Kit working closely with Pete turned Diamond into a powerful player in the marketplace on a level that most labels couldn’t touch. We found ourselves in the position to acquire other labels and become one of the frontrunners artists desperately wanted to work with.”
Jonathan continued. “With the advent of 360 deals, the landscape of the industry is rapidly changing. Labels are now getting gobbled up every day. 360 deals are no longer a differentiator. In the last six months, we’ve been avoiding acquisition by Majestic Entertainment. We thought that installing Kit as the CEO upon my exit at the top of the new year would help to further this intent. However, we’ve run into some opposition recently from some board members.”
She felt her blood start to boil with an underlying anger directed at Chris Diamond. She knew he was the one responsible for influencing the board members away from having her lead as CEO, mainly because she wouldn’t get on board with his aggressive acquisition strategy.
Sensing Kit’s discontent, Jonathan shifted his gaze to her. “It’s not that they’re in doubt of your abilities as CEO, they’re looking for a differentiator. My dad, myself and the majority of the board are unanimous that you’re the perfect fit as my successor. However, there are two other board members, one of which has a great deal of shares and more pull in the decision. They’re the swing vote and they’re making this election of a CEO much more difficult than it has to be. They’re playing the differentiator card.”
As Jonathan continued with suggestions on strategy and how to successfully achieve their agenda, Lew was busy observing Kit closely. Although he knew she was a perfect fit to be CEO of the very record company he built, something in his gut told him that it was her head making that decision, not her heart. He knew it was necessary to have a private conversation with her to get to the bottom of it.
Lew inched forward until he was on the edge of his seat and engaged her. “Kitten, do you still want the CEO seat? Or would you prefer to be an artist?”
His brown eyes seemed to twinkle when the word ‘artist’ rolled off his tongue and he suddenly became concerned that he was imposing his agenda on her. He reined himself back and reminded himself to remain objective.
Kit swallowed hard as the whole room seemed to cave in around her. She felt suffocated and backed into a corner. All eyes on her, anticipating her decision. Lew sensed her trepidation immediately.
He met eyes with everyone in the room individually. “Give us a moment privately, please.”
They filed out one by one, with Jonathan being last, giving his father a cautionary glance as he closed the door behind him. Lew patted the seat next to him on the sofa. Kit made her way over and sat next to him.
He gazed into her eyes. “I can tell you’re uncertain. You’ve wanted this position since you moved to L.A. It’s all you ever thought about. Yet now you’re doubting that with all the success of your single. You’re conflicted because deep down you wanted to be the artist since you were a kid. You let your fears get the best of ya and maybe you didn’t have the support you needed. Now you do.”
He took her hand in his. “You can have whatever you want. Know that. Do you need time to make your decision? Because, Kit, we’re talking more than a single here. Kit-Kat has the potential to be a wildly successful global brand and personality. You’ve got star power and that’s not something that can be learned or taught, it’s inherent.”
Lew spoke straight to her heart. She felt tremendously vulnerable and exposed, yet she knew she was in good hands. She trusted him. The question was whether she could trust herself to make the right decision. She was wrestling with it and doing her best not to give in to complete overwhelm.
She sighed. “My head is spinning to be honest.” She met his eyes. “Do I want to be an artist?” She shook her head and avoided his gaze and the question at hand again. She then continued. “Spence has been fielding offers. I still need to finish a demo.”
She frowned and met his eyes. “And what do you mean by more than a single? I’ve seen Sully’s career skyrocket. Hell, I helped him get there and I don’t know that I want to be out touring all year long. I don’t know if I’m cut out for it.” She sighed. “Lew, I don’t know how to be that successful global artist like Sully does.”
He chuckled. “Yeah you do, Kitten. C’mon, kid, give yourself some credit. You may be a little lost and a little out of practice, that’s true.”
He then raised his eyebrow. “I did my research on you well before we met, y’know. Anyone who gets up to the executive level at Diamond has been through a very stringent vetting process. We go a step beyond your standard background check. And then there are those that I have my eye on. You were one of those people before you even started negotiating with me for Gypsy Tango back in 1986.”
He met her eyes with an intensity that made her pay attention as he continued. “You and your band, Two Toned, were signed to RCA Records out of New York in the summer of 1983 based on a song that you wrote on your own called “Bye, Bye, Baby,” in late ’83. It was sold to the band Notorious because they were on the label and stupidly, RCA wanted a guy to front the song. They changed the arrangement and it ended up charting poorly. Landed at number seventy-two on the Billboard Hot 100.”
He met her eyes and could see the gut-wrenching disappointment. “You never intended for that to be a ballad, did you?”
She shook her head vehemently. “I wanted to do the song, but since there was so much trouble going on with my band, RCA said no. I wanted to do the song as an upbeat, catchy pop song with a rock flavor—guitars—y’know. It was never meant to be slowed down. I wanted something that would get into people’s heads. Something with a catchy hook that they would want to belt out in their car or sing in the shower.”
Lew grinned and nodded his head. “And I agree with you on that completely. We’ll get to that in a minute.”
He waved his hand to temporarily dismiss the thought as he continued. “Back in 1987, when we started discussions about you coming onto our legal team, I talked to the execs that signed you over at RCA. You were the bright star. Your band wasn’t on par and they saw that as a liability. Can’t say I blame ‘em, kid. You burn pretty darn bright.”
He let out a long sigh. “I heard about all the drama with them. I knew about the altercation with your boyfriend slash guitarist. I know about the police reports, the hospital time, the restraining order. I know you’re a first degree black belt that studied martial arts to protect yourself from that monster. I heard about how they dropped your band from the label and wanted to sign you as a solo artist, but you were too scared to do it for fear that your ex-boyfriend would kill you. And I know that’s what drove you away from being an artist.”
He placed his hand on her knee gently and looked deeply into her emerald eyes. “I get it. You almost died. You got the shit scared out of ya. You were young. You had two people in your corner from what I hear—Joe Arden and Alexa. Instead of pushing forward, you fell back on what you’re good at, but not necessarily what your heart called you to do or express in this lifetime. You took the safe route. And I can’t say I blame ya, kid.”
He chuckled and sat back, unable to wipe the grin from his face. “I saw this in you from the beginning. Day one. Everything those execs said checked out. You have always been that brilliant bright light, you’ve just been dimming it behind others and catapulting them to stardom instead of taking that leap again yourself. I’m here to tell you, Kit, that this time, you’re safe. That bastard that almost killed you—twice—is dead as a doornail and he ain’t coming back to haunt you.”
He chuckled and threw his hands up in the air in celebration. “The world loves you alr
eady! They fell in love with you when you shared a song that charted, then when you showed your face on an album cover in 1983 and most recently when you did that interview for Billboard last year. The world wants you out in front as a big brand. You can carry it.” He stared at her to make his point. “You, Kit.”
He shook his head and gave her a look of warning. “Don’t you think you almost dying at the hands of that same guy and living through it is a wakeup call? You left the artist side back then. Are you going to abandon it again? Or will you answer the call this time?”
He met her eyes. “You need to find your way back to the fold. Truly embrace it. It’s time. Luckily, you’ve got some pretty great handlers that can do that for you, myself included. I’d be honored to guide you and be your north star.” He grinned and winked at her.
She stared at Lew, not quite sure how to digest everything he had shared. She was stunned he knew her entire story this whole time and never said anything. Despite what he said, she still couldn’t shake everything she had worked for since setting foot in L.A. Letting go of her business head wasn’t all that easy. She wasn’t sure how to do it.
She cast her confusion aside and push past her heart that was screaming at her to step into and embrace her artistry now, allowing Lew to witness the transition firsthand. Despite Lew’s valid points, it just didn’t feel safe enough for her. Running Diamond Records did.
She blurted it out. “But I want to be CEO too. This is your legacy. And to be honest, Lew, I’ve kinda thought of you as my dad in a lot of ways. Like I’ve been part of your family. Like I’m the daughter that gets to carry on your legacy.”
He smiled as his kind brown eyes welled up with tears. “You’re tugging at my heart strings there, kid. You have been family and I have thought of you as a daughter many a time. As much as I would love to see you fully pursue being a top of the charts artist, I would be blessed to have you run the label that I birthed ages ago if that’s what you really want to do right now.”
He nodded. “I have full confidence that you could eventually be in my seat as chairman decades from now. It all started with Diamond Records. That led to Diamond Pictures and our other entities. And you get Diamond Records. You get it better than anyone I’ve ever known.”
He pointed at her. “That being said, I keep going back to you as an artist. I see something very special in you that I can’t let go of. This may be my own shit, but something in me tells me to keep at ya on it.” He surveyed her as she shifted in her seat and wrung her hands unconsciously.
He offered a friendly grin and put his hand atop hers in an attempt to soothe her. “I can tell this conversation is making you very uncomfortable. And I gotta tell ya, I can’t deny my gut instincts. That song you created is beyond words. It’s intentionally haunting, like it was written from the depths of your soul. An ache. A longing. A soulful cry that was dying to be heard… dying to be expressed… dying to be shared with the world. A song that clearly resonates deeply with an audience. I’m really proud of you, Kitten. You went to the depths. You went all the way to your creative limits. That’s why I pushed it out so urgently.”
He chuckled. “I expected to get a decent, well put together song from you that I could show off to the board and say ‘See, we’re giving her a deal ‘cuz she’s a decent artist. She gets it. She can take this and run with it for all our artists.’”
Unable to keep his enthusiasm under wraps, he became more animated, his eyes twinkling again. “But then you go and blow that idea out of the water! I hear it and I know—I fucking know, kid, it’s lightening in a bottle and I had to push it out. I couldn’t wait. Not even one hot second. I’ve been doing this for almost forty years, Kit. Forty goddam years. And when I hear magic, I hear it and I act on it.”
He stared deeply into her eyes. “Artists like you don’t come around often, y’know. I know it’s scary for you, but please keep going. Use the name Kit-Kat. It’s catchy. People will remember it.”
He waved his hand. “You can train someone to replace you as CEO eventually. Jonathan can help you with that. We’ll get the board to vote you in tomorrow. You pretty much know what the CEO position entails anyway. You’ll come back from medical leave in two weeks and we’ll get that transition started. And in the meantime, you can take it easy and allow creative ideas to start brewing.” He chuckled and rubbed his hands together.
She grinned, allowing herself to get excited about the possibility knowing she could ease her way into the pool. She found herself suddenly conspiring with him, getting drawn in, catching his infectious enthusiasm.
Her green eyes lit up. “I have so many ideas, Lew! I don’t think I’ll be able to fully kick back. I want to keep going while the inspiration is here.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Suit yourself, but promise me that you will take a vacation before you come back from medical leave.”
She nodded. “Deal.”
He grinned. “Good. Now, I want to be clear with you on my intentions. Initially, I know we talked development deal with Spencer, but I’ve changed my mind. I’d like you to think album.”
She felt her stomach drop. She hadn’t expected to hear that from him. An album was a big commitment and while she knew she had enough existing material to fill half of it, she wasn’t clear if it was going in the right direction. She knew the process—an album meant a tour too. Her eyes widened, feeling like it was all too much too soon.
He chuckled, as he shook his head and wagged his finger at her. “And before you get ready to shoot me down on that idea, hear me out. We’ll work a one album deal. That way, you’ll be in a power position after that to shop. As one of my last acting motions as chairman, I’d like to see this to fruition. Just like with the single, I’ll be your executive producer. Jonathan had a contract drawn up for you that outlines the terms I just shared with you. You’ll be reviewing that now in detail with him and Spencer. And yes, you can negotiate, but please, kid, don’t bust our balls on it.”
She shook her head. “Seriously? This is a full blown record deal? Lew, have you lost your mind? Have the bubbles in your sparkling water gone to your head?”
He chuckled. “Kitten, it’s one album. The contract is generous. Promos, touring, videos, all that will be negotiable. We’ll work it out.” He met her eyes. “I think you know how to do that pretty well.”
She sighed. “Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
He chuckled. “Don’t say anything, then, yet. Let’s get everyone else in here and figure out some angles. We’ve got some points to discuss so that Jonathan and I can have our guns fully loaded when we go into that board meeting tomorrow. Can you stay in New York for a few days? I’d like for us to have some studio time and get cracking on the tracks for your album. You can show me what you’re thinking for ‘Bye, Bye, Baby.’ We’ll put it on the album, your version. The way it should have been originally until RCA fucked it up. As far as your career as an artist, I’ll be guiding you along every step of the way. This time, Kitten, you’ll have full support. Kit-Kat will be a phenomenal success.” He met her eyes and nodded.
She smiled. “Thank you. I would absolutely be happy to stay in town. And I’d love to run some of my other songs by you if you’re game. I’ve got quite a few that I’ve written over the years and recently too already in the hopper.”
He winked. “I’d love that. We’ll do that tomorrow. If it’s anything like the ones you showed me in the hospital, this is gonna be one helluva album!”
Her head bobbed enthusiastically. “I don’t know that I would have ever done the single if it wasn’t for your nudge.”
He laughed. “Is that your nice way of saying that I kicked you in the patoot?” He shook his head, unable to wipe the smile off of his face. He hadn’t enjoyed himself like this in ages and he forgot how much he enjoyed Kit’s company. She truly was like the daughter he always wanted.
He nodded at her. “I like the executive producer credit on your single. I’ll happily take that Gra
mmy come February thank you very much.”
Her eyes widened. “What? I’m not sure the single will be eligible, Lew.”
He laughed loudly. “Ok. You can believe whatever you want, Kitten. I told you earlier that we’ve got retailers that want your single, which means that when we release you’ve got the sales. It’s the most requested song in two major markets nationally. Put the two together and you’re eligible, very eligible.”
She grinned and shook her head. “And you said my drop date is Tuesday?”
He smiled at her like a co-conspirator. “Tuesday, September twenty-ninth.”
She giggled. “The day before the cut off for Grammy submissions. Wow, Lew. You never cease to amaze me.”
He erupted into a jolly belly laugh. “Too bad you didn’t come up with this months ago or we’d be positioning your album for a Grammy too. Oh well, next year. It’s been over a decade since I’ve had a Grammy, Kitten. Haven’t been doing too much producing or development on the music side. Wasn’t inspired to until you came along. And by the way, I wouldn’t doubt if this song got a nod. I’m being serious.”
She frowned and shook her head. “Not for the single. Maybe next year if I work my ass off on my album.” She then thought about it for a minute. “You really think the single will make it for ’94? It’s only eligible if it’s submitted, released on a label, charting and making sales. Tight deadline on the production end.”
He chuckled. “All true. We put a rush on it. Production and disty are on high alert and they’re expecting the master first thing tomorrow, hence you going into the studio after our meeting here to do your vocals on your B-side. A-Dub and his team will work through the night to get it done. It’ll get pressed and be ready for Tuesday’s release. You’re good to go, kid. No doubt you’ll close in on gold on the first day. I predict platinum by the springtime at least, especially if you have any kind of Grammy buzz attached to it.”
She nodded, still taking in what he said. “Ok.”