by J. M. Nevins
Her eyes widened. “Shit, he and Jimmy are gonna kill me! When you guys officially release the album and before you go out on the road, the band is gonna give you a ring as a thank you to show you that they’re committed to you being their manager and taking them to the top just as much as you’re committed to them and making sure they’re mega-superstars.
“They brought me along because I had mentioned to Sully that you and I have the same sized fingers. They had me go with them to be fitted for the ring. They had always wanted to do something special for you from the moment they got signed. They pooled all their money and saved up for the last year to make this happen.”
Maxine chuckled before she continued. “Actually, I guess you could say it’s like a wedding ring. You’re married to Gypsy Tango and they’re married to you.” She started laughing at her own analogy and then stopped seeing that Kit wasn’t entirely amused. “Listen, the thought of proposing to you overwhelms Sull right now. Don’t take him to that place. He does want to be with you. I know you’re having your doubts because of last night, but he really is in love with you, very much.
She swallowed hard. “And I love him very much.”
“So, be with him.”
She glared and her tone sharpened. “He fucked up.”
Maxine nodded. “Yes, he fucked up big. Talk through it and get your facts straight. Work through it with him. It’s repairable… but only if you want it to be. It’s called forgiveness, Kit. We all make mistakes. We’re human. He’s no different.”
Kit sighed. “I want to make this work. I gotta figure out how to forgive him.”
Maxine got up. “Ok. Then let me go call him. We’ll get him back over here.”
She shook her head. “I need some time to process this. I graduate next week. I still have two more finals to get through. I was planning on having Dante handle all the business stuff for GT this week anyway. Tell Sully I need time. I’m going to stay in a hotel where I won’t be bothered. Get some peace and quiet, study. I’ll come back home after my last exam.”
“Ok. When is that?”
“Wednesday.”
“Hello,” Kit yelled out as she walked into the mansion. Her voice echoed in the large foyer. No one answered. She actually had the place to herself. She had just finished shopping for a dress to wear for graduation. She couldn’t believe the ceremony was coming up in a few days. Three years of law school had certainly flown by. She grinned thoughtfully recalling that Sully had been by her side the entire time supporting her through it. She missed him and figured it was about time to give him a call. She wanted to get things worked out between them.
She was about to head up to her bedroom when she heard something in the large front room. It sounded like someone had tapped on a key or two of the new baby grand piano that she had purchased shortly after she moved in. She shrugged her shoulders and thought she was hearing things. She was about to proceed up the stairs when she heard it again. She put her bag down and walked into the room. There, sitting at the piano was Sully. She stared at him, speechless.
He grinned at her awkwardly and spoke softly. “Hey.”
She felt her heart pound rapidly as she stared at him. Invisible butterflies started flying around in her stomach and she felt weak in the knees. She swallowed hard. She hadn’t seen him or talked to him since the party. She wondered how he got into the house. She hadn’t given him a key yet and she didn’t see his car anywhere. She smiled nervously and bit her lower lip. “Hi.”
His brilliant, steel blue eyes were intense as he stared at her, making her feel increasingly uncomfortable and even more vulnerable. He tinkled the keys again. “Can I play something for you that I wrote?”
She nodded and went into business mode to protect herself. She folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight into her right hip. “Sure, but it’s not going to make the album.”
He chuckled and looked down at the keyboard. “I know. Maybe it will make the next one if you think it’s good enough. It’s something I whipped up the other day. Jimmy seemed to like it. I’d like you to hear it.”
She walked over and leaned against the back of one of the sofas in close proximity to where Sully was sitting at the baby grand. “I’m all ears. Go for it.”
She watched him sing his heart out with such passion and as she listened to the lyrics, she felt warm tears trickle down her cheeks. She smiled. The song was beautiful. She knew he wrote it for her and she could feel her heart softening toward him even more.
As he sang and played the song, he noticed her reaction and could feel his love for her deepen. When he saw the tears slowly trickling down her face, he wanted to reach out, take her into his arms, and never let her go. At that moment, he vowed to do everything in his power to never hurt her again. He secretly prayed that she would forgive him and that they could move forward.
He finished the song and noticed that she was standing next to the piano now. All he had to do was stand up and to the side and he’d be right in front of her. He pulled her to him and held her while they both cried. “I’m sorry, Kit. I really fucked up. I am so sorry. It will never happen again. Please forgive me. Please say we can fix this. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
She continued to sob, yet felt safe in his arms. She managed to compose herself enough to squeak out a few words. She gazed into his eyes. “I forgive you, Sull. We’ve gotta work this out. I can’t imagine my life without you either. I need you.”
He nodded. “We’ll get it all figured out, babe. Want to talk now?”
She smiled through her tears. “Yes.” She took his hand and led him to the sofa. “What’s the name of that song?”
He grinned. “Anything For You.”
She nodded. “I love it.”
“I wrote it Sunday night.”
She tilted her head to the side. “For me?”
He nodded. “For you and only you.”
She grinned. “That’s a chart topper. That’s number one with a bullet.”
He stroked her cheek. “Uh-huh. Just like you.”
Kit stood in line in her cap and gown searching the crowd. “I don’t see him anywhere. The whole band is here on time except for him! I’m gonna kill him. This was the worst possible day for him be operating on rock star time.”
Alexa searched the crowd as well. “I dunno, Kit. Sully’s probably on his way. Maybe he’s stuck in traffic on Sunset. Shit, you guys are starting to walk in. I have to take my seat. Knock ‘em dead, girl.” She winked.
Kit donned a wide grin and strolled behind her classmates in line to take her seat for the graduation ceremony. She nervously reviewed her note cards until they announced her. “And now to deliver the valedictory speech to our graduates of the class of 1987 is our valedictorian, Kathryn McKenna.”
The students cheered as she took the stage. She opened with a joke to loosen up the crowd and then ventured into a mellifluous, inspirational speech about achieving victory when the odds were against you, guaranteed to pump up anyone in the crowd. When she concluded, the crowd cheered and gave her a standing ovation. She smiled and chuckled.
She searched the crowd again and noticed Maxine, Alexa, and Gypsy Tango, minus Sully. She was disappointed he missed her speech. She hoped that he would at least arrive in time to see the dean hand her the diploma.
She left the stage to take her seat again while the salutatorian, her ex-boyfriend Steve, addressed the class. She descended the stairs feeling fairly relieved her speech had been well received, when she noticed him. Sully stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for her with a huge bouquet of red roses and a big smile on his face.
Her emerald eyes lit up with joy as a smile spread across her face. She walked up to him. “When did you get here?”
He gazed into her eyes. “In time to hear your incredible speech. I was inspired.”
She giggled. “Thank you.”
He handed her the bouquet. “These are for you, babe. Congratulations! I’m so proud of you. I
love you.” He held her so close and kissed her so passionately, she had to hold the cap atop her head with one hand to keep it from falling off, while keeping her other arm wrapped around him.
She heard students mumbling remarks at them moments later and realized that she had gotten completely lost in an impromptu make out session with Sully. They both giggled, realizing this at the same time. Students were headed up to the stage to get their diplomas from the dean.
She looked at him and grinned. “I’ll be back in a bit. Gotta go get that diploma and make it official. I love you, honey.” He nodded and winked at her as she walked away.
Sully had planned a small party back at Kit’s house in the Hills to celebrate her graduation. Halfway through the party, she called everyone to attention as she stood on the large terrace in the backyard. She held up a flute of champagne. “I want to thank all of you for coming here to celebrate today. You’ve all been amazingly supportive over the last three years while I busted my ass in school. And I especially want to thank the wonderful Sully Foxx for planning this fantastic party for me.” She winked at him. “Cheers, everyone.”
Glasses raised in celebration, honoring her. Sully held up his glass and looked at her. “We’re really proud of you, Kit, and we thank you for busting your ass to push us ahead while busting through three years of law school. Because of that, we’ve come to the conclusion that, well… we can’t really live without you.” Kit eyed the band suspiciously as all the guys lined up behind Sully. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Maxine had her camera poised and ready.
Sully reached into his pocket and opened up a small box that contained a ring. In unison, they all got down on one knee and looked up at her smiling. Perfectly rehearsed, they asked their question in unison, “Kit, will you be our manager for life?”
She smiled and laughed. The whole scene was endearing, yet hilarious. She was touched they had gone to such great lengths to pull this off. “Yes, guys. Gypsy Tango, I’d be honored to be your manager for life.” They rushed toward her falling into a large group hug with her sandwiched in the middle. They each gave her a kiss. She looked at them and chuckled. “Hey, where’s the ring?”
Jimmy laughed. “I guess we got so carried away hugging and kissing you that we forgot to give it to you.”
Sully took it out of the box. She looked at him and grinned. “Where’s it going, gentlemen?”
Bryan pointed. “Right hand, ring finger.”
She held her right hand out. Jimmy did the honors and put the ring on her finger. He smiled. “We’re family now. It’s official.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek again.
Kit giggled. “I love it. Thanks, guys. Really, I’m touched. It’s been great working with you for the last three years. I’m looking forward to decades more filled with sold out arenas, platinum records, a few nice awards, and singles that are number one with a bullet.” She held her glass up. “To Gypsy Tango.”
Everyone followed suit and saluted the band. She looked around and smiled. This party was turning out to be one of the best that they’d had in a while. It was more mellow than normal and she welcomed it.
Maxine walked over to her. “Those pictures are going to be hilarious once I develop them.”
“Were you shooting the whole time?”
Maxine nodded. “Yeah. Pretty funny.”
“That was really thoughtful of them. It’s nice to know all my hard work is being appreciated.” She fingered her new ring and held out her hand to admire it.
Sully overheard her last sentence as he came up behind her and started massaging her shoulders. “Of course it is. Always.” He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. Maxine knew better than to stick around. She left as Kit turned around to face him. “Whose idea was that?”
He grinned. “All of ours, actually. We’ve wanted to do something for a while. We were finally able to. You gave up so much for us. Do you like it?”
Kit admired the ring. Five small diamonds, side by side, set in platinum. It was beautiful. “I love it. You guys chose well and it’s a perfect fit.”
He chuckled. “This was the ring in the box the other day. I’m sorry I teased you. I think I gave you the wrong impression. That wasn’t very fair.”
Kit held her finger to his lips. “Don’t worry about it. It’s all good now and I love this ring.”
“There’s an inscription in it.”
She grinned. “Really?” She took off the ring and looked inside. She smiled. It read: ‘GT + KMK 4Ever, May ‘87.’ She giggled, delighted. “You guys have really outdone yourself with this one. Thank you.”
He smiled. “You’re welcome.”
She swallowed hard, keeping her grin affixed and feeling awkward about the words that were about to come forth. “Sull, I need to talk to you guys about something later tonight.”
He sensed the nervousness in her voice and tilted his head to the side. “Ok. Can you give me a preview? What’s up?”
She nodded and stared into his eyes. “Once I pass the bar exam in October, I’m going to need to step down as your attorney. Don’t worry, I have a fantastic replacement for you guys. I went to school with him. His name is Bill Sykes.”
Sully frowned. “Huh? I don’t get it.”
She chuckled and stroked his cheek. “Once I’m a licensed attorney in the state of California, it serves as a conflict of interest. I can’t be both your manager and your attorney. And after I put this ring on tonight, the choice is pretty clear.”
He chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. “Yeah, it is. So this guy Bill is good?”
She nodded. “Yes, he’s one of the best. You’ll be in good hands.”
At the end of the night all the guests had left. Alexa departed with Wes and Maxine headed off to her bedroom. Kit stood out by the pool, admiring the city lights. Sully came up behind her and put his arms around her. He had a glass of champagne in each of his hands and encouraged her to take one of them. She grabbed it, took a sip, and leaned back against his chest.
She relished the quiet moment between them, knowing that moments like these would be few and far between in the months to come. Gypsy Tango’s self-titled album had debuted at number nineteen on the Billboard 200, a few slots in front of Poison, and was continuing to climb the charts with great momentum. They were rapidly making a name for themselves in North America and rattling the cages of the competition. They were going on the road in two weeks and she knew it would not only be crazy, but demanding on a whole new level. She hoped they were both ready for it.
CHAPTER 22
Struggling to keep her eyes open behind her dark sunglasses, Kit stood waiting at the front desk of the hotel. She tried to carry on a somewhat coherent conversation with the hotel manager who was graciously cheerful with her despite her short, quick answers. She heard laughter in the lobby behind her and didn’t bother to look.
Sully came up behind her and kissed her on the cheek while the manager pushed a document forward for her to sign. They had just rolled into Detroit after a very long ride in the tour bus that Kit renamed ‘the big top.’
The tour bus was a constant party in motion and a three-ring circus at all hours of the day and night. She found it impossible to get any kind of decent sleep or relaxation. She scanned the document quickly, scribbled her signature, looked at Sully, and sighed. “I’m getting a limo.”
He looked at her. “Huh, babe? What do you mean?”
She shook her head. “No more tour bus for me. I can’t sleep. It’s too loud and crazy. I didn’t get one hour of sleep last night. And let’s face it, it’s gross. I’d rather follow in a limo.”
He stroked her back. “Oh baby, I’m sorry. When we get up to the room, I’ll give you a massage so you can relax, ok?”
She nodded. The manager handed her a stack of messages. She forced a smile, thanked him, and shoved them into her bag. She quickly searched the area with her eyes and shook her head in annoyance realizing their tour manager was nowhere in site and neith
er was Jimmy. Her gut told her they were probably up to something she didn’t want to know about. She took initiative and grabbed the keys to all the rooms. She headed over to the group in the middle of the lobby still laughing and carrying on. She raised her voice slightly to get their attention. “Gentlemen, here are your keys. Please do not lose them this time and no more room damages. We’re over budget already and we’re only six weeks into the tour.”
Remo laughed. “Don’t worry, Kit. We won’t do any more damage, I swear.” He held his hands up and grinned.
She raised an eyebrow. “Remo, this includes not gluing the furniture to the floors, the ceiling, or rearranging it in any way, including hanging it off the balcony like a modern art sculpture.”
The band and their entourage howled with laughter. Kit couldn’t hold back. She shook her head and chuckled at the sheer insanity of her job that sometimes reduced itself to a glorified babysitting job. She was silently grateful for her strong sense of humor. “Gentlemen, one more thing before you go running off. We have a soundcheck at three this afternoon in the arena. Do not be late. Aerosmith has to check at five and they’ll be pissed if we’re running late. Let’s keep it professional and not make enemies. Got it?”
Kit rubbed lotion on her hands as she walked out of the bathroom in her hotel room. Sully was putting on his jacket while simultaneously reading some of Kit’s phone messages she received while checking in that morning.
He intently stared at one of the messages. “Is Templeton serious about that?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “What? The A&R position? Yep. They’ve been pursuing me pretty hard, especially in the last week. I get one of those messages daily from Blake Templeton. I want legal, not A&R. I’m practically living A&R already with you guys.”
He walked over to her and put his arms around her waist pulling her to him while he looked into her eyes and smiled. “And I want you to be happy.”
She giggled and kissed him. “I am happy right where I am right now. I don’t even want to entertain any offers until I pass the bar exam in October.”