Star Maker (23 page)

Alexa’s
eyes widened. “Five a.m.? Kit, we got home from Max’s party last night at
three. I’m barely functional with four hours.”

She
swallowed hard as she looked up at Alexa. “My insomnia has nothing to do with
my workload, Lex. It’s personal.”

Alexa
sensed the gravity of the situation. She sighed and pulled out a chair, taking
a seat. “Talk to me.”

She
frowned. “No. Don’t worry about me. You’ll be late for work and I have to
head out for school. We can talk later.”

Alexa
nodded. “Ok. Let’s plan on that. Can you give me a hint what this is about?”

She let
out a long sigh. She couldn’t face Alexa. “Sully.”

Alexa
stood up and grinned. She had a good idea where this was headed. She squeezed
Kit’s shoulder. “It’ll be ok, Kit-Kat. Don’t you worry. We’ll figure it out.
I’ll see you tonight.”

As
Alexa headed out of the apartment, the phone rang. Kit was piling her books and
notes into her backpack and was tempted to ignore it, but her intuition guided
her otherwise. She seized the phone and answered hastily.

The
male voice on the line barked, “I’m looking for Kit McKenna.”

She
rolled her eyes hoping it wasn’t another new band on the Strip that was trying
to get KMK to manage them. Since she started her management company, the bands
were getting more aggressive and contacting her personally, at home, rather
than calling the small office and dealing with the managers she had hired.
“Yep. You got her. Who’s this?”

“Robby
Dodd,
Circus Magazine
. Is this is a
good time?”

She
froze as her eyes widened. She stopped what she was doing and sat down.
School could wait. “Yeah. How can I help you, Robby?”

“We’re
doing a feature on the life of Joe Arden. It’s a tribute piece. We spoke with
his widow and parents briefly and the band extensively. All of them were very
adamant about including you in this piece. Mrs. Arden, his parents, and the
band, noted that you made Joe the star he was. We’d like to dedicate a sidebar
of the article to you. I understand from Mrs. Arden that you manage other
bands, several of which have been signed and are enjoying tremendous success.
I also found out you’re listed as the president and founder of KMK Management.
Is this all true?”

She
held her hand to her mouth, unable to speak while tears welled up in her eyes.
Joe always vowed to her if he went to the top, he’d drag her along with him.
Even in his memory, he was doing just that. She took a deep breath. “Yes, it’s
true to an extent although Joe was a star from the day he was born. I’d be
happy to discuss this further. What information do you need from me?”

He
chuckled. “Let’s start from the beginning. Tell me your story, Ms. McKenna.”

CHAPTER 17

Kit
straightened her black blazer in the mirror. She stared at her reflection,
absorbing the reality in front of her. The
Circus
Magazine
interview was still fresh in her mind from last week. She loved
the free publicity. It was exactly the boost her fledgling management company
needed once the magazine hit the stands. The article was a major feature with
Joe’s image on the cover, certain to further honor his memory and cement his
fans’ love and dedication for years to come.

She forced
the distraction out of her mind immediately and willed herself to focus. Today
was bound to be more significant than last week’s interview. If she played her
cards right, she and Sully would be well on their way. She felt prepared. She
had negotiated record deals before, but this time it was personal. She had
promised Sully she would make him a star, like she did for Joe. It all hinged
on her, once again.

She
prayed she wouldn’t let him down, like she did with Joe. She planned to take
Sully to the top in a way he could sustain it, not plummet into a downward
spiral that could potentially end his career and his life. She vowed she would
not let the same mistake happen twice. She took a deep breath in an attempt to
calm her nerves. It was time. She had to go.

She
rushed down to her car, glanced at her Rolex wristwatch, and grinned at the
irony. The Rolex had been a gift from her father when she graduated college.
He had hoped she would be using it to get to her classes on time at an elite,
Ivy League law school. If he only knew how she was using it now, he would be
livid. She had just enough time to make it to the Diamond Records building
down the road on Sunset Boulevard. As she drove, she grinned, reviewing the
turn of events.

Over
the last week, a crazy bidding war had erupted between three major labels for
Gypsy Tango. She had personally received calls from Paul Templeton, Lewis
Diamond, and Randy Fisher, the CEOs and founders of Templeton Records, Diamond Records,
and Fisher Entertainment. She was sitting pretty. She and the band had decided
to meet with Diamond last.

They
had already met with the other two who offered what they wanted, but weren’t
willing to work with the band as a whole. They wanted to sign Sully, using the
band as backup only. The terms weren’t as favorable or flexible as Kit would
have liked. If Diamond could offer her what she and the band truly wanted, the
deal would be sealed. Diamond Records was Kit’s and Sully’s ideal.

Kit
strolled into the lobby wearing a more conservative ensemble that consisted of
a smart black suit, complete with a pencil skirt and a modest, yet still sexy,
green silk camisole underneath. Her hair was smoothed down moderately to
match. She noticed the band sitting on the leather sofas and chairs waiting
patiently, looking surprisingly well behaved.

Sully
whistled. “Shit, look at you! You look so lawyer-like in your suit. And a
briefcase too? That really ups the ante. Hot! You can sue me anytime, baby.”

She
grinned, trying not to laugh. “C’mon, don’t mock me. I could quite possibly
negotiate the biggest deal of your career today, Mister.”

Sully
grinned and winked at her. “Somehow, I don’t doubt that, babe.”

She
looked at him and straightened the collar of his leather jacket. “This could
be the most monumental day of your life, baby.”

He
grinned and gazed into her eyes. “This could be the most monumental day of
our
lives, baby. Any girl that
negotiates a seven figure record deal is going on the map!”

She
giggled and linked her arm in his as they headed toward the reception desk with
the rest of the band trailing after them, including Jimmy, who was now on his
best behavior after a talking to from Kit the week before.

Two
hours later, Kit closed one of the biggest record deals in Hollywood to date.
One million dollars, plus her standard cut of seventeen percent. The band was
ecstatic once they reached the parking lot. They couldn’t stop hugging her,
kissing her, and thanking her.

Jimmy
was busting with joy. “Kit, let’s go celebrate! We’ll take you wherever you
want to go.”

She
laughed. “Jim, you’re sweet, but you don’t have any money yet.”

He
smiled. “I will soon!”

She
chuckled. “That you will. How about you guys take me out then. Dinner tonight
will be on Diamond. They’ll meet us wherever we end up. Where do you want to
go?”

Sully
had a devilish look in his eye. “How about the Rainbow? We can rub this in
everyone’s faces!”

She
laughed. “Great idea!

Kit got
into her car and headed toward West Hollywood to their old, familiar hangout,
The Rainbow Bar and Grill, on Sunset Boulevard. As she got out of her car, the
valet, Bobby, smiled. “Congrats on the GT deal with Diamond, Kit.”

She
smiled. “You heard already?”

He
smiled back at her and pointed. Ahead of her idling was one of the corporate
limousines for Diamond Records. The personalized license plate was a dead
giveaway. It read: ‘GEM RCD1.’ She knew that limousine catered to one person
and one person only—her music industry idol, Lewis Diamond. She had
worked the deal with him and his acquisition team that day and was excited to
see that he kept his word to meet up with them.

She
walked into the restaurant and felt a little awkward walking around in a suit,
but quickly forgot about it after her first shot of tequila. She left the band
for a moment, called Alexa, and asked her to meet up with them.

Alexa
showed up at The Rainbow thirty minutes later. She found Kit squashed into a
booth with Gypsy Tango and two record executives, one of which was Lewis
Diamond. She waved to Alexa and made her way out of the booth, greeting her
with a hug. “Hey, you made it!”

Alexa
chuckled. “Looks like you have quite a party going on here. Who’s that in the
booth with the guys? Is that Lew Diamond?”

“Yep
and Pete Lundy, VP of A&R from Diamond Records.”

“Holy
crap! Even though I work at Diamond, I’ve never met them. I’ve seen Lew
around. He’s an icon. Okay, so tell me. How much?”

Kit
beamed. “Three-album contract, one-mil.”

Alexa’s
mouth dropped open. “Oh shit, you hit the jackpot! That’s the deal of a
lifetime! Damn, Kit, that’s awesome!” She hugged her. “What kind of cut did
you get?”

“Seventeen
percent and a key person clause. I’ll still be working with the guys directly.
Diamond won’t assign them a new manager. I’m tied with them indefinitely.
Sully was actually the one that made sure that was in there so Diamond couldn’t
bump me off down the road. I think it’s about time you and I went for a little
shopping spree on Rodeo, Lex. I can afford it now.”

Alexa giggled. “I can hardly wait. Let’s party! There’s so much to
celebrate!”

Kit
balanced the phone on her shoulder as she struggled to quickly jot down notes.
Alexa walked through the door and shook her head. Kit had been in the exact
same position when she left for work at nine that morning. She hung up the
phone and looked at Alexa, shaking her head.

“Have
you gotten up from that table at all today? Have you eaten? Obviously you
ditched school.”

Kit
rolled her eyes. “No, no and yes. The phone has been ringing all day and it’s
been crazy. Ever since the news hit last night that the guys got signed, the
phone has blown up. Max interviewed me this morning for
Rock City News
.
Circus
Magazine
called me again. I had calls coming in from MTV and other pubs in
New York. I’m getting all kinds of crazy offers and I’ve been on the phone
constantly with Pete Lundy who is personally handling A&R for them. That
is a super huge deal, by the way.”

Alexa
took a seat and stared in awe. “No shit. That’s major.”

“It has
me feeling completely insecure. I’m used to dealing with regular A&R reps
or managers, maybe an A&R director on occasion, but never the executives
until now. Usually at Pete’s level he doesn’t do much with new artists, he
works with the superstars and veterans. Diamond thinks our guys are the shit.”

Alexa
giggled. “Because they are and so are you. They got signed before Guns ‘N’
Roses. That’s sayin’ somethin.’”

Kit put
her finger up in protest. “True, but G ‘N’ R is in talks with Geffen right
now. I’m sure they’ll have a deal before the end of summer. They’re Gypsy
Tango’s toughest competition out there right now next to Poison who already got
signed to Enigma.”

The
phone rang again. Kit and Alexa exchanged a look. Alexa got up. “I’m gonna
go change. I’ll catch up with you when you finish this call ‘cuz we know it’s
not for me!”

Kit
laughed and answered the phone. She spent a good forty minutes on a conference
call with Pete and other assorted characters from Diamond Records. She hung up
and buried her head in her hands. “Lex,” she yelled.

Alexa
strolled out and looked at her. “What’s up?”

“Do you
have plans tonight?”

“Nope.”

Her
green eyes pleaded. “I need some girl time, like pronto.”

Alexa
smiled. “You got it, gorgeous. Anything you want to do, we’ll do.”

Kit sat
across from Alexa sipping a glass of sparkling water thirty minutes later at a
back corner table in Café L.A. She prayed no one would recognize her. She was
dressed casually, wearing a black baseball cap, her red locks carefully disguised
and tied back into a ponytail. “This is getting ridiculous, Lex.”

“It
will blow over. That was a huge deal and it hit the wire last night. It’s
still fresh in everyone’s minds. We’ve been here a good twenty minutes and no
one has recognized you. It’s fine.”

She
sighed. “Lex, I’m not sure how I’m going to handle this with school and my
management company. Never thought I’d be saying that, but it’s true. So many
things are shifting in my life right now, Lex. So many things. It’s too much.”
Her eyes welled up with tears and she rubbed her eyes.

Alexa
was concerned. This was not normal behavior for her best friend. Kit was
normally indestructible. “Wait, whoa, whoa. No tears, love. What’s going on?
Are you really that overwhelmed?”

Kit shook
her head. “No. I’m a bit disappointed that I’m going to hand off the
management company day to day operations to Dante, for sure, but not sad. He’s
good and very qualified. I know I can’t handle the workload anymore. I have
too much to do with Gypsy Tango now. We’re due to start tracking in four weeks
and I’m not sure how long that will take.

“Once I
start class again in the fall session, I’ll be juggling GT while starting my
third year. They’ll probably be headed out on their first world tour and I
won’t be able to go. I’m supposed to meet up with the guys tomorrow to talk
about getting a tour manager, but… I dunno. That’s so far ahead, but Diamond
is pushing to schedule these things out. I’m thinking of taking off for the
weekend. Getting out of dodge would be good to clear my head.”

Alexa
stared at her. “Is it the overwhelm of the deal that’s getting to you? I
understand that it’s pretty major, but c’mon, Kit, you had to expect one of
your bands would pop this big at some point. You always knew GT was marked for
success from the moment you saw Sully on stage at The Whisky.”

She
sighed and swallowed hard. “Yep.”

Alexa
frowned. “Kit… what is going on with you? C’mon something’s up. Are you and
Sully having one of your little best friend tiffs again?”

She
shook her head. “No. Worse.”

Alexa
raised her eyebrows. “Worse?” The light bulb suddenly turned on in her head
as her mouth dropped open. She covered her mouth and stared for a moment
before continuing. “Oh shit, Kit. This is what you wanted to talk to me about last
week when you were spacing out. You’ve done the unthinkable and have fallen for
one of your artists. You’re in love with him.”

Kit
slowly nodded her head and cast her eyes down. She tried to hold back her
tears again as she pulled down the bill of her baseball cap and shriveled back
into her chair. “I’m so screwed, Lex. It came out of nowhere. We were at
Max’s party last week and I saw him with some random chick. I got super
jealous and felt kinda hurt. I have no right to. It’s so weird… so messed
up.”

She
fingered the straw of her drink and continued. “We’ve been spending so much
time together, we have such a great time, and now I have feelings for him. I’m
screwed. We work together. He’s literally months away from becoming a big
deal, international rock star. He’ll be able to have any woman he wants.
Really, how can I compete with that when I’m at home hitting the books and he’s
on the road?”

Alexa
giggled. “Oh stop being so melodramatic. I think you should tell him. Maybe
he feels the same way about you.”