by J. M. Nevins
Giselle tried her best to give Sully a welcoming look that made him feel more at ease. “Sull, why don’t you have a seat here next to Kit?”
He sat down next to Kit and met her gaze. She tried to force a grin, but it came out looking more like a half-assed smirk. He focused his attention back to Giselle. “What’s up?”
She folded her hands and set them on the desk in front of her as she leaned forward. “Sully, we’ve got a problem. There is a paternity suit being filed against you in the state of Indiana. We’re trying to stop the suit from being filed, but we need your help to do it.”
His eyes widened. He looked at Kit in horror and then back at Giselle. “What the fuck? This is a mistake! It has to be a mistake. There is no way. I don’t have any kids out there; I’m married for God’s sake!”
Giselle knew he would be upset, but hadn’t anticipated he’d reach this level. She had never seen him so angry. She used a calm tone of voice in hopes of smoothing his feathers. “Sully, the claim states that the child was conceived before you were married.”
He shook his head vehemently. “There’s no fucking way. It’s not mine. Does this girl want money? This is so fucked up!” He turned to face Kit, his eyes alert and insistent. “Babe, you know this is complete bullshit, don’t you?”
She looked at him and sighed. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m not sure that it is.”
He stared at her, immediately feeling a jab of betrayal and disappointment. His heart ached as he gazed into her eyes for that reassurance he always received—the look that told him everything would be ok even when things were crazy and chaotic, but it wasn’t there. Her eyes reflected worry and sadness, making him even more confused. He shifted his attention to Giselle. His steel blue eyes blazed with rage, his voice thick with anger when he spoke. “Who is this fucking bitch? What’s her name?”
Giselle stared at him and wondered what his reaction would be after seeing Kit’s earlier response to the name. “Phoebe Peterson.” Upon hearing the name again, Giselle noticed Kit almost shrivel in her seat, putting her hand over her eyes.
Sully’s eyes widened, and he immediately became enraged. He stood up and yelled, throwing his hands in the air. “That gold-digging whore! She is not getting a fucking dime of my money. She’s lying! That kid is not mine! No fucking way.”
Giselle stared up at him as he hovered over her desk. “Sully, calm down. Sit back down, please. We’ll get this worked out.”
Kit looked at him and tried to stay as levelheaded as possible. “Sull, are you going to sit there and tell me you didn’t bang her when we were on tour? I seem to remember many nights when the two of you went back to your suite together and put out the do not disturb sign. I don’t know what went on behind closed doors, but baby, I know you better than anyone. Sex is a vice of yours, and my intuition tells me she tapped into that weakness pretty successfully. She was a manipulator and knew exactly what she was doing.”
He stared at Kit silently for a long moment. He was still breathing hard and trying to keep his temper in check. He looked over at Giselle. “G, can you give us a minute alone, please?” Giselle met eyes with Kit, who nodded in confirmation, giving her the go ahead to leave the room. She scurried out and shut the double doors behind her.
Sully focused his attention back to Kit. “Are you saying you don’t believe me?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno, Sull. All I do know is that it only takes one time and if you weren’t careful, which I’m sure you weren’t, then you’re done and she’s knocked up.” She looked up into his eyes. “How do you think I got pregnant, huh? It was because we weren’t careful. We got completely caught up in the moment, and it happened. It really is that easy.”
He shook his head and stared at her. “I cannot believe you don’t trust me. I was careful. I remember being super careful with her, especially her. I used protection, Kit. I’m not that stupid. And don’t be putting any shit on me that I cheated on you because you were with Simon at the time, and I was hanging out with other girls. We were on a break.” He pointed at her accusingly and then started pacing.
She shook her head. “You’re going to bring that into this now? Wow. I don’t even know what to say to that. Want to talk about how I lost our baby too? May as well just keep hitting below the belt tonight, Sull. You’re on a roll.”
He stopped dead in his tracks, closed his eyes and shook his head. “Ok, ok, I’m sorry, I’m just so frustrated and angry right now.” He blinked his eyes open and stared at her, his steel blue eyes speaking volumes. “You have got to believe me, Kit.”
She noticed the pleading look in his eyes and wanted to believe him, but her head was still spinning. “Babe, I know you probably were careful, ok? But, at that time when we were on the road, we were all partying pretty hard, except me ‘cuz I was pregnant.
“I’m not judging you for this, believe me there were plenty of nights where I was drunk and high too after I lost the baby. It’s easy when you’re that drunk and that high to have a slip-up and I’m afraid that’s what happened, and now she’s trying to capitalize on it.”
Sully looked away and shook his head. “No.” He met Kit’s eyes. “That kid is not mine. I know it in my gut. I was careful. I didn’t make a mistake.”
She gazed at him, the reality of the situation finally hitting her hard. She saw the conviction in his eyes but knew how groupies could be. With tears welling up in her eyes, she put her hand on his knee. “You may have, babe.”
He stared back at her and got choked up. He shook his head and swallowed hard. “No, this cannot be real. That kid is not mine. The first child I bring into this world will be ours Kit, and that’s how it’s going to play out.”
She couldn’t hold back anymore. She broke down crying. He took her into his arms and held her, while he gently spoke into her ear. “I’m going to prove this to you, babe. This is all a big mistake. I’m going to make this nightmare go away.”
She pulled back to look at him. “What are you going to do?”
“Well, first I’m going to talk to her.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re going to call Phoebe?”
He nodded. “She probably wants money and attention. I’ll talk to her nicely and she what happens. If she doesn’t come clean, then we’ll have to do the next obvious step, which is me taking a paternity test.”
Kit let out a sigh. “Ok. I’m not feeling good about you calling her, but if you think you may be able to sweet talk her out of this, I’ll go with it.”
He took her hands in his. “How about you listen in on the call? It would actually make me feel better if you heard everything.”
She nodded. His proposed idea made her feel a bit better and had the potential to offer her reassurance. “Ok. Do you have her number?”
He shook his head. “No. We’ll have to get her number. I haven’t talked to her since our show in Philly.”
Kit raised her eyebrows. “That was well over a year ago.”
He stared at her intently. “Baby, it’s like I told you. She was just there when we were on the road. I saw you with Simon at the time and felt jealous. I wanted to show you that I really could handle being on a break.
“I remember seeing her backstage at our show in Indy, and she looked like you, so of course I was instantly attracted to her. And she seemed ok to play around with for a bit, but ultimately she wasn’t you, obviously. I found that I was getting farther away from what I truly wanted, so I cut her off. Kicked her off the tour in Philly, and that was that. It wasn’t the best way to handle it. I should have been nicer, but I had made up my mind. I wanted to clean up my act and find my way back to you, and nothing was going to stop me. She was in the way, so I had to let her go.”
Kit stared at him and knew every word he had spoken was the truth. “Babe, please tell me she was at least legal.”
He nodded. “Yep, but barely. At the time, she was eighteen. She had just graduated high school, so her being out on the road with a band and all th
at was a big deal to her. The bottom line is she’s young, and she’s dumb. She sees me as a big meal ticket for her and her kid and she’s probably still pissed at me for dumping her on the road.”
Kit let out a long sigh. “Two million dollars of vengeance plus monthly payments of ten grand.”
He shook his head. “Baby, that’s not gonna happen. I’ll fix this… For us. I promise you. Ok?” He kissed both her hands.
She nodded. “Ok, let’s get a plan rolling. I’m going to tell G to get her butt back in here so we can figure it all out.”
Sully sat at Kit’s large desk the next morning and positioned the phone in between them. She stared at him from across the desk and took a sip of her coffee as he reached out for her hand. He used his other hand to dial the phone number that Giselle had given him moments earlier, acquired from Phoebe’s attorney. He pressed the button to activate the speaker function, giving Kit a grin as he squeezed her hand. They listened intently as the phone rang.
Seconds later a girl’s voice answered the phone. Sully spoke up. “Pheebs? It’s Sully Foxx.”
She sounded shocked and excited to hear his voice. “Sully? Oh my God! How are you, gorgeous? I’ve wanted to talk to you so bad! I had no way of calling you.”
He turned on the charm. “Hey, darlin’, it’s good to hear your voice. I’ve been super busy recording my new album. How are you?”
“I’m really good. Like really good. Sull, I have something to tell you, and I’m not sure how you’re going to take it.”
“Lay it on me, sweetie.”
“You know how we were like together for a while on the road?”
He exchanged a look with Kit. “Yeah.”
Phoebe continued. “Well, I, um like, got pregnant. And now you have a son.”
Sully played dumb. “I do? But how’s that possible Pheebs? We were super careful. Are you sure he’s mine? You’re so beautiful. You’ve probably got guys lined up down the block for you.”
She giggled. “Oh, Sull, you’re so sweet. It’s gotta be yours. I’m like ninety-five percent sure.”
Sully and Kit’s eyes met, and she couldn’t help but grin. He nodded and grinned back at her. “Ninety-five percent sure, huh? That’s a pretty high percentage.”
“Yeah, it is. I’m pretty sure it’s yours ‘cuz I only did it with my ex-boyfriend like one more time and well, you and I did it a whole lot more when I was on tour with you. You’re an animal!”
He chuckled, entertained at how ridiculous this girl was. He quickly put himself back in check to take care of the situation at hand. “Thank you, Pheebs. So, you think I’m your baby’s daddy, huh?”
“Yep. Sull, I’m in a lot of trouble. I’m struggling. My mom kicked me out when I got pregnant, and I’m living in this crappy apartment trying to take care of this screaming baby and get work. It sucks. I need your help. Can you send me a check?”
“Hmmm. I don’t think I can, Pheebs. See, I’ve got these really strict business managers and attorneys and stuff and it’s hard for me to access my money without them making a stink about it.”
“Oh. Maybe I should have my attorney talk to you then.”
He played dumb. “You have an attorney? You can barely make rent, and you have an attorney?”
She ignored his questions. “Y’know Sull, maybe it’s better if your money people talk to her. And then once we get everything squared away, you can come out here and see your son. He’s super cute. Or maybe you could fly us out to your place in California?”
“I’ll talk to my money people today, Pheebs. I’ll have them call your lawyer.”
“Cool!” They could hear the baby fussing in the background. “I have to go; the baby needs to eat. Call me later, ok gorgeous?”
“Talk to you later, Pheebs.”
He pressed the button to disconnect the call and looked at Kit. “Well?”
She chuckled. “You were so sweet to her. Nicely done. I’ll call her attorney right now. I want to see how quickly we need to get you out to Indy.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Indiana? Why?”
She stared at him. “You’re gonna need to take a paternity test and results will stick better if you take the test in the same hospital where the baby was born. If we let her attorney determine the location and the test proves that you are not the father, there will be no contest. You’ll be off the hook. If you have your blood drawn here and sent out there to compare to the baby, it’s going to make it harder for the results to stick.”
His eyes pleaded with her. “Will you come with me?”
She shook her head. “Babe, I can’t. We’re in crunch time with this album, and I need to be in the studio. I’m going to send Daniel Thomas with you. I already talked to him. He’s doing it as a favor.”
Sully frowned. “Name sounds familiar. Who is Daniel Thomas again?”
“My successor at Diamond. He’s chief counsel now. It will look good—better than if Bill Sykes or I went with you. It will look like Diamond is trying to protect you, and that’s exactly how we want to look to for Phoebe’s attorney. Intimidation is a key tactic here. I did a little research on her. She’s a high-powered attorney out of Chicago and guess whose firm she works for.”
Sully shook his head in disgust, knowing exactly where this was going. He stared at her and spoke flatly. “No way. Are you serious?”
Kit forced a grin. “Yep, you guessed it, hon. McKenna, Dunagan, and Grant employs her. I did a little digging. She’s a fourth-year associate on the partner track. I don’t know if my dad or my older brother know about this suit or are behind this in any way, but I have a feeling they might be. As you well know, they’re both a piece of work. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say it’s my brother behind this more than my dad. My dad is way too busy slaying corporate Goliath’s to be bothered by a fly in the ointment like this.”
Sully sighed. “Does he really hate me that much?”
She stood up, folded her arms in front of her chest and didn’t miss a beat. “James Junior? Yep. Think about it. In his eyes, you stole his inheritance. Nana gave you a huge chunk of change that I can bet was originally his. And as far as I’m concerned you earned every red cent of it.”
He forced a grin. “Thanks, babe. Ok, what do you need me to do now?”
“Go take a shower, start your day. Ask G to come back in here. She and I will get to work. You can chill for the next hour. We’ll call you back in when we need you, just don’t wander off too far.”
He got up, walked around to her side and kissed her on the cheek. “I won’t. Thank you, babe.”
“You’re welcome.”
He picked up her mug and looked at it. “You could use some more coffee. Let me get some for you.”
She grinned. “Thank you.” She got up and sat behind her desk again. He returned with a hot cup of coffee and placed it in front of her prepared exactly how she loved it. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek again as Giselle was entering the room.
He gazed into Kit’s eyes. “I love you, baby.”
She nodded. “I love you too.”
As Giselle was walking up to the desk, Sully looked at her and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for getting me that number. It helped us out a lot.”
She nodded. “Sure.” As Sully left the office, she looked at Kit. “I take it he called Phoebe.”
Kit motioned to the chair. “Have a seat. Yes, he called her on speaker, and I listened in. The girl is dumb. This should be open and shut, hopefully.”
She stared. “According to Sully it’s a shut case.”
Kit shrugged her shoulders. “He’s not willing to acknowledge the margin of error. His state of mind may not have been thinking straight that night and his memory of the event may be faulty. I love my husband, but sometimes he can’t see his blind spots. He thinks he’s invincible, and he’s not.
“He and I weren’t together at that time. It was really rough on both of us. I want to believe him, God do I want to believe him
, but we’ve got a fifty-fifty chance here that I cannot ignore. And until I see the results of that paternity test, I’m not going to sleep well.”
Giselle frowned. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“Not really. Sully and I watched TV for a bit. He went up to bed at one, and I went out to the studio to work. I was out there until about four and took a quick catnap on the sofa in here until six. Got back on the boards and worked until eight when you got here and gave us that number. We may have to get him on a plane to Indy today. Get on the phone with NetJets and see how quickly they can get him out and back. It’s going to be him and Daniel.”
“Daniel Thomas?”
“Yes. Make sure to get limo service from the airport to wherever in Indy he has to go for his blood test.”
Giselle nodded. “I’m on it.”
“Thank you. I have to head back out to the studio. Fred is due here any minute, and I’m close to finishing this song. Call me with any hot developments.”
“You got it.”
Kit headed out to the studio, unable to hold back from chain-smoking again. She knew it was a nasty habit, and she needed to stop, but couldn’t seem to do it. She opted for a glass of scotch in the studio even though it was only nine in the morning. She hit the playback button and was leaning over the boards, listening intently. She noticed Fred come in out of the corner of her eye.
He took a seat next to her and grinned. When the song finished, he chuckled. “Starting early today, Kit?”
She grinned and nodded. “Yes. Oh, Fred, you have no idea what the last twenty-four hours have been like.”
He laughed. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. And trust me, you do not want to know. Let’s roll on this. I want to make sure we make some headway before the band comes in. We have ‘Touch Me’ on the schedule today. We’re going to have to start it without Sully. I think I’m going to have to cut him out of the schedule for today and tomorrow, and we’ll make up his vocals in the end. I’ll do his rhythm guitar parts, so we don’t lose time.”