Platinum

by J. M. Nevins

  Sully glared. His voice was flat when he spoke. “She has a boyfriend.”

  He rolled his eyes. “So what? The guy is temporary. If you weren’t acting so crazy, I’m sure she would be with you already. So, like I told you before, get it together and propose. Shit, I’m going back to L.A. in a few days. You better get your shizzle together if you’re gonna make this happen. I am not leaving until I see you back on track.”

  Sully somberly stared into Spencer’s eyes. “I don’t have your father’s blessing.”

  He frowned. “Huh? What do you mean?” He chuckled. “No offense, Sull, but you never did. He made that pretty clear when you came over for Christmas that one year. Nothing has changed. You didn’t let that stand in your way before.”

  Sully cast his eyes down and shook his head. “I didn’t have a dime to my name back then, Spence.” He looked up at him. “I can see why he threw me out of his house. But, now I’m an internationally famous rock star and a millionaire and he still does not approve.”

  Spencer sipped his beer and watched Sully carefully. “Huh? You lost me.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “The whole ring thing started at your graduation. I was talking to your grandmother that day. To make a long story short, I told her how much I still love your sister and she told me to come get the ring so I could make things official. Great, done, right?” Spencer nodded, hanging on Sully’s words. “So, I decided to make a day of it. Take your grandmother to lunch and pay your dad a visit. I called ahead of schedule and he agreed to meet with me at his office.

  “I showed up on time, in a suit and a tie, and we got down to brass tacks. He basically told me that I wasn’t good enough for Kit. When I provided a rebuttal, which he loved by the way, I could see that sick gleam in his eye, he barked that he wanted a copy of my financial statement and even that wouldn’t guarantee his blessing.”

  Spencer interjected. “Sull, I can do your financial statement. I just need a little bit of info and a computer. I can do it for you in a few weeks. This is workable. I’ll even call Dad and put in a good word.”

  He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter, Spence. I did get that financial statement to him. Wes helped me. His answer was still no. He hates what I do for a living and thinks it’s a second-class joke. I’m simply not good enough. I have the wrong pedigree. I may be beloved by millions of fans on track to make millions upon millions of dollars and have a Grammy on a shelf in my condo, but he still sees a scrub from Evergreen Park. Can’t shake that shit.”

  Spencer shook his head in disgust. “I can’t believe you let his messed up opinion cloud your judgment. Don’t give him any power. Fuck what he said, Sull! If you love Kit and you want to spend the rest of your life with her, do it. You have my blessing and you have Nana’s blessing. Done!” He smiled wide and then chugged his beer.

  Sully laughed. “You’re pretty awesome, man. So, you’re cool with being my brother in law? Having me as a part of your family, officially?”

  He nodded enthusiastically and grinned. “Absolutely, but you need to clean up your act, like pronto. You gotta win Kit over legitimately and be consistently good to her for like ever. I know you can do it.”

  Sully smiled. “You think so, huh?”

  He nodded knowingly and held his beer up in salute. “I know so, buddy. Let’s make a plan on how you can get her back, starting tomorrow.”

  Sully reached across the table and shook his hand. “You got it. Thanks, man.”

  The shrill chirp of her beeper went off and she didn’t move. The bed felt so warm and comforting as Kit snuggled up to her pillow, laying sprawled out alone in the king sized bed in her hotel room. She was fully relishing a day off and had plans to sleep late.

  The beeper went off again and she ignored it, seizing her other pillow and putting it over her head. She grinned as she slipped back into sleep. The phone on her bedside table started ringing. She groaned, yet didn’t move. She wondered why the front desk was putting through a call. She had specifically asked for ‘do not disturb’ on her phone until that afternoon.

  She began to drift off again, but someone pounding on the door was enough to make her sit up. She glared at the door thinking that someone obviously had trouble reading the ‘do not disturb’ sign dangling from the exterior knob. She jumped out of bed, threw on a robe and stormed toward the door, ready to fling it open and rip someone a new one. She stopped when she heard the pounding again followed by Maxine’s voice. “Kit, open up please!”

  She frowned and opened the door. “Maxine, what the hell? Didn’t you see my sign?” She pointed to it.

  Maxine nodded. “I did. Lex has tried paging you twice and asked the hotel manager to ring through to your room. She said you didn’t answer, so here I am. It’s urgent.”

  She rolled her eyes, still cranky she had been so jarringly awakened on her day off. She welcomed Maxine in and shrugged her shoulders as she yawned. “Ok. What’s going on? Is Lex ok?”

  Maxine smirked. “She’s fine, but Sully’s not gonna be when he reads this.” She shoved a fax toward Kit.

  She frowned and started reading. It was a clipping from the most recent edition of The New York Post, hot off that morning’s presses. The article was from Page Six and when Kit read the subject line, she felt her stomach churn with anxiety. In bold letters it read, “Sully’s Darkest Secrets Revealed.”

  She sighed and knew she had to sit down in order to read the article. As she scanned the contents, she shook her head. It was an exclusive interview with Rachel, Sully’s former love interest. When she finished reading, she let out a long breath and buried her head in her hands for a moment, figuring out next steps. Maxine silently watched her and waited for the explosion of anger. When it wasn’t coming, she stood before her, confused.

  Kit took a deep breath and looked up at Maxine. “Is this what Lex was calling about?”

  She nodded and watched Kit carefully. “She thought you may want to do damage control with the publicist. She tried to use her connections to pull it when she found out about it last night, but they said it would be a great exclusive. I only scanned a few lines of it, Kit. I didn’t want to read it. It looks bad.” She grimaced.

  Kit grinned. “It certainly doesn’t paint a pretty picture of Sully, that’s for sure.”

  Maxine cocked her head to the side. “You’re not mad?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “At Sully? No.” Her eyes then narrowed. “At Rachel, hell yes.” She shook the sheet of paper. “Maxine, this is bullshit! Sully would never hit a girl. Ever. He doesn’t have it in him. And some of her other claims are questionable. Yes, Sully has been crazy lately, but not this crazy. She’s spinning a web of lies to make him look bad. Let me call Lex and then we’re going to pay Sully a little visit.”

  Maxine took a seat on the small loveseat in Kit’s hotel room. “Whatever you want to do. I’ll help in any way I can.”

  The wheels in Kit’s head turned. “I may just take you up on that.”

  Ten minutes later, Kit and Maxine made their way down the hall to Sully’s room. Kit had a briefing with Alexa and the band’s publicist who were waiting for a call back. She had to get all of her ducks in a row before planning a counterattack. She stood in front of Sully’s door and knocked. She glanced at Maxine. “Let’s hope he’s alone.”

  He opened the door and smiled, seeing both of them. “Good morning, ladies. How can I help you?”

  Kit couldn’t stifle her giggle. There were moments, like this one, where Sully’s charm got the best of her. She forced herself to be serious. “Sull, are you alone?”

  He shook his head. “No. Why?”

  Kit let out an annoyed sigh. “Can you please ask the naked girl or girls to leave? We have a pressing matter to discuss.”

  He burst out laughing and flung the door wide open. Kit looked past him to notice Nicky Campo sitting on the loveseat plucking away on a guitar. He grinned and waved to Kit. She giggled as Sully looked back at her. “Not what you thought, hu
h? Nick and I were just jamming. Hey, we’re gonna go to brunch in a bit. Do you and Max wanna join us?”

  She sighed and gazed into his eyes. She really did want to go to brunch with them, but what she was about to tell him would most likely alter that course. She forced a grin. “We need to discuss some stuff. It may take a while.”

  He nodded. “C’mon in.”

  Nicky stood up, sensing that something was up. He grinned. “Hey, I’m gonna head out.” He and his guitar disappeared seconds later.

  Sully stood in front of Kit and folded his arms. “Ok, what have I done now? I told you I was cleaning up my act and I meant it.”

  She nodded and offered a friendly grin. “I know. And you’ve been doing a great job, but we have some past ghosts that may haunt you. Let’s sit down.”

  He chuckled. “That bad, huh?” He took a seat on the loveseat across from her, while Maxine sat at the table, watching them from a safe distance.

  Kit sighed and reached for his hand. She looked deeply into his eyes. “Sully, have you ever hit a girl?”

  He frowned. “No. I’m totally against that kind of shit. You know that. Why are you asking me this? I’d never lay a hand on a girl. Jimmy or Remo, on the other hand, are still fair game for a punch or two.” He snickered at his own joke.

  She chuckled along with him. She then took a deep breath and focused. Her eyes met his and she could see his confusion. She nodded. “Just be honest with me here, ok? I won’t judge your answer, alright?” He nodded and frowned, not liking her intensity. She continued. “Sully, at any point when you were dating Rachel did you slap her, strike her, grab her or were rough with her in any way?”

  He stared at her, completely perplexed. “No. I never even raised my voice to her. Why are you asking me this?”

  Kit shook her head and a faint trace of a grin spread across her face. She knew the claims in the tabloid article were completely false. When she looked into Sully’s eyes, she saw the truth.

  Now, she felt bad that there was a character assassination going in public view that he was unaware of. She had to break the news to him gently. She swallowed hard and handed him the fax that Alexa had sent earlier. “I’m so sorry, Sull. This hit the press this morning. We were totally broadsided. We had no idea this was coming.”

  He took the paper from Kit and started reading. His eyes widened and he stood up. He could feel his anger rising and he started to pace. He finished reading the exclusive and threw it down. His steel-blue eyes glowed with rage as he looked at Kit. “What a fucking bitch! Everything she said in there is a fucking lie! I never laid a hand on her! And I’m not into all that kinky S&M shit she talks about in the article. I never forced her to do anything. She wanted me to do that shit to her, tie her up and crap, and I wouldn’t do it. I remember how pissed she was that I refused, but I didn’t think anything of it. Dammit!”

  Maxine sat back in her chair. “Wait a minute. Sull, I remember some of the shit she used to talk about and her frustration that you wouldn’t play her sex games, twisted fuck that she was. I also remember when you broke things off with her. She didn’t have a black eye when she left the hotel in the morning. I’ll bet ya that Danny can confirm that as well. He’s the one that put her in the limo bound for the airport.”

  Sully’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, Max, you’re a genius! That’s right, you saw a lot before we went out on the road ‘cuz you were living in my condo with me when I was first dating her.”

  Kit chuckled. “Let’s discredit this little bitch. Max, can you get Danny over here?”

  Maxine nodded. “Yeah. I’ll leave you two alone for a minute. I’ll swing by his room. I’ll be back.”

  Sully sat back down and looked at Kit. “You’re not mad about this?”

  She chuckled. “Why would I be? I knew it was bullshit. I know you, Sully. Or at least, I used to.”

  He let out a relieved sigh, grinned and took her hand. “No. You still know me. I haven’t changed much, just been a little out of my head lately.”

  She nodded and grinned. “Yeah, me too. I’ve got your back on this, babe. That bitch won’t know what hit her.” She squeezed his hand and let go. “Let me give Daniel a call at Diamond. We need some big corporate legal muscle behind this.”

  Sully raised an eyebrow. “Ok. Where are you going with this?”

  She held her finger to her lips and dialed a number. She engaged in several different calls while Sully patiently waited, talking with Maxine and Danny who had just surfaced. Danny corroborated Maxine’s story. Rachel left the hotel without the black eye that the photo showed in the article.

  Thirty minutes later, Kit finally concluded the last call and sat across from Sully once again. She looked at Maxine and Danny and then back at Sully. “Ok, Sull, this is how it’s going to go. You will get a call from Bill Sykes and Daniel Thomas within the hour. They will take your statement. You will also be receiving a call from the reporter that did the article for Page Six. This reporter will be apologizing to you. Stay calm and collected and receive the apology graciously. Decline any kind of comment or interview opportunity.”

  He nodded. “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

  She grinned. “Your publicist is already spinning a great story for you. We’re taking the high road. We are not going to throw mud back at Rachel. She’s gonna have enough trouble on her hands when all is said and done. To make a long story short, Sull, the mess is being cleaned up and you’re reputation will be cleared of those lies. You will coming out of this smelling like a rose.”

  He chuckled. “Wow, ok. Thanks. I don’t get the lawyers involved, though. What’s going on there?”

  She grinned. “Diamond is handling the suit against The New York Post, claiming libel and slander. Daniel has encountered this before and was pretty sure he could get them to print a retraction, which is fantastic. Bill is handling the civil suit against Rachel for defamation of character. Sully, you’re suing her.”

  He started laughing and couldn’t stop. He covered his mouth, so overcome by the degree of escalation of the situation. He couldn’t calm himself at first. He finally did and shook his head. “I’m suing Rachel? Classic.” He snickered again. “For how much?”

  “Ten million dollars.”

  His eyes widened and his smile faded. “Kit, she doesn’t have that kind of money!” Even though he was angry with Rachel and what she had done, he had no intention of sending her into poverty. “Her life will be over! That will decimate her! I can’t do that to her. I mean, what she did was shitty, but…”

  Kit took his hand. “Baby, there is a caveat in all this. If she gives you a public apology and comes clean, we will drop the lawsuit.”

  He let out a long sigh, feeling relieved. “Ok. I’m sure she will.”

  Kit chuckled. “The whole motive is to scare the shit out of her. No one messes with you like that and gets away with it. You got me?”

  He smiled, loving that she was protecting him and his image so fiercely. He realized that no matter what happened, no matter how crazy they had both been lately, she really did love him. He felt his heart rise with a joy he hadn’t felt in months. He knew she still believed in him and felt larger than life again with her support. He nodded and grabbed her hand, kissing it. “Yes. Thank you, Queen Kit.”

  The phone rang, grabbing her attention, as Danny reached out to answer it. He held it up. “Daniel from corporate on the line.” She nodded and got up. She looked down at Sully and smiled. “You’re welcome, King Sully.”

  He smiled, put his hands to his heart and exchanged a look with Maxine. He nodded his head. Maxine headed over, sat down next to him and patted his knee. She smiled at him. “You should really try to talk to her, Sull. Y’know, just you two. I gotta say that when she set eyes on that article, she didn’t doubt for a moment it was all a bullshit story. She completely took your side before we left her room. She still loves you. You two just need some alone time.”

  He nodded in agreement. “Any sugge
stions?”

  Maxine grinned. “I say you ditch the dinner with Jimmy, Diana, Sean, Danny and me and take Kit to dinner. A nice fall evening in Montreal might be quite romantic.”

  He grinned. “Great idea.”

  Kit hung up the phone and squealed. “The Post just backed down. Page Six is printing a retraction. It will be in tomorrow’s edition. The reporter will be calling you in fifteen minutes, Sull, so be ready for the call.” She looked at Maxine. “I need to go back to my room. There are too many loose ends with this that I need to tie up with the publicist. I’ll see you guys later.” She was about to head out when Sully got up, ran over and stopped her.

  He grinned and gazed into her eyes. “Hey, can we talk later after you’ve resolved all the drama?”

  She chuckled. “Of course. I’ll call you.” She opened the door and he grabbed her hand.

  His eyes danced with hope. “Dinner, tonight?”

  She smiled wide and stared into his eyes. She instantly felt herself drawn in. She nodded. “Absolutely. See you later.”

  As soon as the door closed and the click could be heard, Danny and Maxine jumped up, cheered and started dancing around the room. Sully laughed loudly. “What is up with you two?”

  Maxine giggled. “Are you kidding me? I think everyone has been gunning for you two to take some time to get things back on track.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “We’re not back on track yet, but hopefully headed that way.” He grinned. “Thanks for rooting me on, you two.” He looked at his brother. “I’m gonna need some help finding a great restaurant where we won’t be disturbed or deal with fan traffic. Can you help me?”

  Danny smiled. “I’m on it, bro.”

  Maxine interjected. “And I’ll pick out your outfit! I know what Kit likes.” She smiled wide. Sully laughed.

  Kit fidgeted in her hotel room and double-checked her appearance. She couldn’t shake the nervous energy that encompassed her. Sully was due any minute to take her to dinner. She was looking forward to it, but had no idea what the night would hold for them. She kept telling herself to let go and flow with it, but her nerves had a mind of their own. She felt butterflies in her stomach and flashed back to her first date with Sully at Disneyland over three years ago.