Star Maker (18 page)

He
immediately felt choked up. He shook his head. “I can’t, Kit. He loved that
car. He called it his rock star car.”

She took his hands in hers. “And that’s exactly why you need to take
it. He wanted you to have it. It’s in writing in his will.” Tears welled up
in her eyes. “Abigail said I’m named as a beneficiary too, but she didn’t go
into details. I’ll find out when we meet with Veronique.”

Sully
stood on the balcony admiring the panoramic view of the city. He sighed and
was startled when Kit’s voice rang out. “Sully? Sull, where are you?” She
walked onto the balcony and forced a grin. She wrapped her arms around his arm
and rested her head on his shoulder. “How are you doing?”

He
glanced over at her. “Ok, I guess. Something about this doesn’t feel right,
Kit and I don’t know that it ever will.”

She
nodded. “I know, but it’s what they both want.”

Veronique
had opted to will the condo to Sully rather than sell it off. She told him he
could move his things in after he boxed up the remainder of Joe’s belongings
and donated them to charity. She had the attorney draw up a contract stating
she was relinquishing the property to him as executor of Joe’s will with a
clause that he would become the sole owner of the luxury condo once probate was
complete. Sully was stunned by the gesture and was still grappling to come to
terms with it. Kit released her grasp and he turned to face her.

He
forced a grin. “I guess this is what Joe and Veri want, so I’ll go along with
it, but it feels weird. I don’t think I can live here yet. I’m not ready.”
He left the balcony and walked into the living room. He strolled up to a blank
wall and stood in front of it staring. As Kit walked in he pointed. “This was
supposed to be Joe’s platinum wall. That’s what he called it. This is where
he wanted to hang all his platinum records one day. Now he’ll never get that
opportunity. Damn.”

Kit
sighed. “No, he won’t, that’s true.” She forced a grin and squeezed his hand.
“But you will.” He looked at her and felt choked up again as he nodded his
head. She chuckled. “We’ll make that happen, Sully Foxx. We’ll make Joe real
proud.”

Sully
smiled through the tears in his eyes and hugged her tightly. “Yes, we will.”

She
giggled as she remained in his embrace. “Look out world! Big star on the
rise.”

CHAPTER 14

Kit
opened her front door and started laughing as Sully and Jimmy stood before her
each stepping one foot into the threshold, smiling, their arms wide open and
hands spread, fingers wiggling. “Oh my God. We’re not even on the road yet.
Is this what I have to look forward to for the next few months?”

They both
laughed and ran over to her. Jimmy stood in front of her, Sully behind as they
pushed toward each other with Kit in the middle. Jimmy looked down at her.
“This is what you have to look forward to, a Jimmy-Sully sandwich.”

She
burst out laughing. She finally managed to break free from them. “You guys
are crazy!”

Sully
laughed. “Where are your bags, babe?

She
pointed to two small suitcases next to the front door. “That’s it.”

Jimmy
pointed to them. “Only those? Wow, impressive. The girl packs light. I love
it.”

She
smiled. “Gotta pack light, Jim. Makes more room for guitars. I’ve toured
before remember? This isn’t my first rodeo.” She winked.

Sully
laughed and exchanged a knowing look with Jimmy. He held his hands to his
heart. “And that’s why we love our manager so very much. We love you,
Kit-Kat.”

She
giggled. “I know, boys. C’mon, let’s go.”

They
walked out to Bryan’s van and she smiled when she saw it. They had it
professional painted with the band’s name. He was double parked, waiting for
them. Remo and Tony were already inside. Sully opened the back doors and
loaded Kit’s bags in as Jimmy helped her into the side of the van, then climbed
in after her, shutting the large sliding door behind him. Sully jumped into
the passenger seat and they were off, headed to their show in San Francisco
that night.

Kit
looked over at Jimmy who was sitting next to her. “Rule of thumb for the road,
gentlemen.”

Bryan
grinned and looked at her in his rear view mirror. “Yes, pretty Kitty?”

“Do not
molest your manager in any way. Molesting your manager is strictly prohibited
and legal action will be taken if you choose to violate this rule.”

They
all burst out laughing. Remo threw a balled up piece of paper at her head
playfully. “Aww, Kit, you take all the fun out of it. I was hoping to cop a
feel at least once while we were on the road.”

She
turned around and smiled at him. “Sorry, Remo. Rules are rules. And
gentlemen, one more rule. Please do not, at any time, whip out your love wands
to show me. I’m not interested, ok? Let’s keep this tour professional.”

Tony
groaned. “Professional? Oh crap. Bryan, turn the van around. Let’s go back
home. I thought we could get away with more on the road.” He joked. “You’re
killing my buzz, Kit. Is there any way you can make yourself more ugly? That
way we wouldn’t all want to nail you.”

She
laughed. “Sorry, guys. I’m not messing with my hair and makeup to appease
you. You want appeasing and stroking, find a groupie.”

Sully
laughed loudly. “Whoa! And the hits just keep on coming.”

She
smiled proudly. “Thank you gentlemen, I’ll be here all tour. Gratuities are
welcomed and highly appreciated.”

Jimmy smiled and yelled “rock ‘n’ roll,” at the top of his lungs.
“It’s gonna be one hell of a tour.”

Kit
stood in a dusty, rickety phone booth outside a northern Nevada dive bar,
dialing her home number in hopes of catching Alexa. She answered on the first
ring. “Lex!”

“Kit!
How’s the tour? Where are you?”

“We’re
in Nevada. Hitting Utah next. It’s going really well. Whatever you’re doing
there from home on the booking front is working. What are you doing by the
way?”

“My U
of C sorority sisters are very powerful.”

Kit
burst out laughing. “Are you serious? This tour has Greek power behind it?”

She
chuckled. “Yep. I can get you bookings in every university town across the
country that has a DG chapter.”

“I
guess it pays to have a best friend who was the president of her sorority.”

Alexa
giggled. “Delta Gamma all the way, baby. You have all the DG girls behind
you, Kit. And they’re all excited to meet the guys. I’ll get more shows
booked for you as you move across the country. Max said she’ll fly out for
bigger shows and take pics.

“We’ll
coordinate here with
Rock City News
to build up local buzz. We’ll keep ‘em alive out here while you push ‘em out
there. Also, I’m going to the annual Delta Gamma conference next month. It’s
held every summer. I’m gonna go hang with some of my sisters. I’ll see what I
can do to get the fraternities involved too. I’ll keep you posted.”

“You’re
a genius, Lex, and I love you.”

“I love
you too, babe. How are you holding up surrounded by all that testosterone
constantly?”

Kit
chuckled. “Fine. These guys are more and more like my brothers everyday.
They’re all pretty great. I better go. I’m getting the stink eye from Sull.
He wants to call his girlfriend before the show. Gotta run. I’ll try to call
you next week, but weeks run like days out here.”

“Got
it, sweetie. Take care and give my love to the guys.”

She
hung up and walked out of the booth. She presented it to Sully by holding her
arm out as she smiled. “It’s all yours, sir.”

He
grinned. “Thank you, Miss.” He stepped into the phone booth to make his call.

Kit
strutted into the bar where the rest of the guys were shooting pool. As she
walked over, Bryan meowed at her. She chuckled. “Nice, Bry.”

The
club owner came over to them. “Five minutes, guys. Where’s your lead singer?”

Jimmy rolled his eyes and exchanged an annoyed look with Kit. “I’ll
go get him.”

The
weeks did fly by like days, or even hours out on the road. It was now the end
of July and they had put thousands of miles on Bryan’s van, selling out lots of
shows throughout the country. Their momentum was heavy and their popularity was
gaining rapidly. Alexa’s brilliant idea of getting her old sorority involved
had worked like magic.

They
were headed to Athens, scheduled to play a few sold out shows at bars near the
University of Georgia. Florida was next with more sold out shows on the
roster. Their following was primarily female, but that didn’t seem to matter.
They were loyal fans who ate up the crappy T-shirts Tony and Remo had made and
bought up the autographed pictures from Maxine’s photo shoot at the tail-end of
last year.

Things
were on a roll, but the clock was ticking down for Kit. Once they completed
their Florida shows, she would have to fly home on her own, leaving them there
to drive back across the country on their own. She had to return home to start
her second year of law school. She knew UCLA Law would not be accommodating to
her running around the country managing a big haired rock band.

They
had spent the night in the van, not finding anywhere with suitable lodging
without going off their set track. When they finally got on the road in the
afternoon, Kit realized she had been wearing the same clothes for two days.
She didn’t want to have to change in another truck stop or gas station
bathroom, plus they needed to make time so they wouldn’t be late to the show.
As they got closer to their destination, Bryan pulled over as he usually did so
the band could change into their clothes for the show. They had no problem
quickly changing in front of her. When it came time for her to change, though,
all of them stared at her with silly grins on their faces, except Sully.

He
finally turned around and glared at them. “Guys, give her some privacy, c’mon.
She’s outnumbered.” He shook his head and scrounged through a pile in the van
until he found a blanket. He held it up, turning his back to Kit, positioning
the blanket so that the rest of the guys couldn’t see anything. He stared at
them. “Show’s over guys.” They walked away, wandering around the dusty road,
while Sully remained, dutifully holding the blanket, staring out at the road.

Kit
grinned and watched him as she zipped up the back of her skirt. She was ready
to go, finally. “Ok, Sull. I’m good.”

He
turned around and dropped the blanket. He grinned. “You look great, Kit-Kat.”

She
smiled. “Thank you.” She leaned out of the van. “C’mon guys, let’s get back
on the road. Let’s go onto the show!”

The
show was fast and furious. Kit struggled to keep up with the demands of the
fans at the merchandise table, glad she’d sent in an order to print more
T-shirts and photographs a week prior and have them shipped out. They were
selling like hot cakes.

The
guys mingled with their fans and talked with local promoters, even college DJs,
who were inquiring about their demo. After the fan traffic subsided for Kit,
the promoter and DJ traffic ensued and she was overloaded. She did her best to
accommodate them, frantically handing out her business cards like they were slices
of bread to a bunch of starving men.

They
finally left the venue at one a.m. Half the band was drunk, the other half
tipsy. Kit was none of the above and got the delightful chore of driving the
van to the local, cheap motel where they would all cram themselves into a seedy
room for the night.

Kit
giggled at how funny the whole scene was. She had slept in a bed with each and
every member of the band at least once, if not twice, during the tour. When it
came to touring, sleep deprivation, and crappy motel rooms, sex appeal and
desire went out the window.

She
recalled one night she ended up in a king-sized bed, sleeping between Bryan and
Jimmy and feeling like a five year old sleeping in between two big brothers.
Not one of them tried anything with her and she was eternally grateful. She
had earned their respect.

She
pulled into the motel and got the key to their room. They all trailed behind
her up to the room like she was the pied piper. Sully stopped and yelled to
her. “I’m gonna go make a call.”

Bryan
slurred his words as he spoke, leaning on Kit as she unlocked the door. “He’s
really got it bad for that girl, huh? He can’t stop calling her.”

Kit
chuckled. “Looks that way. Oh, our Sully, just a little lovesick puppy. Ok,
guys, two double beds. Go.” She pointed to them and they all started playing
rock paper scissors to see who would get the luxury of sleeping in a bed. Kit
joined in after Remo was out. He ran toward the bathroom. “I call bathtub!”

She
rolled her eyes and kept playing. She was cast out quickly. Bryan and Jimmy
had scored a bed and so had Tony. Now she, Sully, and Remo had to duke it out
for that final slot. She thought it was too much trouble. She yelled out.
“Remo!”

He came
out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. “Yeah?”

“You’ve
got the bed. Sully and I will figure it out later. I’m gonna go get some candy.”
She walked out and made her way down the stairs where she saw Sully talking on
the phone inside the booth. He didn’t look happy.

She
made her way over to the vending machine and got some Junior Mints. She opened
the box, poured a few into her hand, and popped them into her mouth. As she
was headed back to the stairs that led to the hotel room, she looked over at
the phone booth again.

Sully’s
head hung low. He shook his head, said something, and slammed down the
receiver. He pounded the frame of the phone booth with his fist. He felt eyes
on him and looked across the parking lot where Kit was standing. He shook his
head. She felt bad for him and hoped to cheer him up. She smiled at him, held
up something, and pointed.

He made
his way across the parking lot. “Hey. What do you have there?”

She
smiled, her mouth full, dark chocolate oozing through her teeth. She giggled.
“Junior Mint?”

His
anger quickly melted and he burst out laughing. “Yes, I’d love a Junior Mint.
You’re such a goof.”

She poured
a few into his palm. “Junior Mints make everyone happy. At least they work
with me in a pinch. Either that or a good bottle of Irish whisky when I’m
really pissed off.”

He
laughed again. “Was I that obvious over there?”

She
nodded and grinned. “Yep. Do I have to keep feeding you Junior Mints or do we
need to hit the stronger stuff?”

He
sighed. “The stronger stuff would be good if you’re game.”

She
pointed. “As luck would have it there’s a biker bar across the highway.” She
held out her arm. “Shall we?” He linked his arm in hers and grinned.

They
made their way across the highway and walked in. Sully’s look wasn’t exactly
embraced and they instantly felt like they were in enemy territory. They
exchanged looks. The gentlemen of the bar seemed to take a liking to Kit,
though, and that alone made it fairly manageable for at least one drink.