Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) Page 28
When the call concluded, she hung up and looked at him, placing the phone back on the desk. “What is so damned urgent, Sully?”
He was still pacing. He stopped and looked at her, frowning. “Why did you come here early and not tell me? And why are you in your own room?”
She sighed. “I had work to do. I figured it would be good for us to have a little space.”
He stared at her. “What you said yesterday really upset me.”
She rolled her eyes, amazed that he was immediately picking up right where they left off. “So we’re going there already? Right now, huh?”
He nodded and folded his arms in front of his chest. “Yep, we are. As I was saying, what you said yesterday pissed me off…”
She chuckled and interjected, not wanting to engage, but humoring him. “Yeah, I got that part, babe. No need for reiteration. Point taken.”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “What I was going to say was that even though you made me really angry, you were right. We did the show as you suggested, and it worked. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really happy about it, but if that’s what has to be done right now to preserve my voice, then I’ll do it. Jimmy was cool about it. It worked out. I’m sorry I was an ass about it.”
His steel blue eyes bore into her. “Sometimes it’s hard for me. You’re my wife, but you’re also our manager and I expect you to give me preferential treatment. As a wife, you can do that, but as a manager, you can’t. I get that now. Your decision was based on the continued success of the band and of my career. I’m sorry, baby. Forgive me for being such a jerk?”
She forced a grin. “Yeah. But remember I have a tough job, ok? I would love to give you all the preferential treatment in the world, but I’m not your manager, I’m Gypsy Tango’s manager. We’re in a sticky situation, babe. Not many married couples make it out of the kind of arrangement we’re in. That worries me sometimes. I’m afraid that one day you won’t hear me or understand where I’m coming from and then it’ll be curtains for us. We’ve already hit several rough patches, even before we were married. Realistically, I suspect, we’ll run into them again too. We have to find a better way to deal with it.”
He walked over to her and took her hand, leading her out of her chair and taking her into his arms. “I know. I’m sorry I was so hardheaded. You were just doing your job.” He kissed her and stared into her eyes. “I gotta come clean on something.”
She stared at him and swallowed hard. She wondered if he got wind that she knew about the groupie and was going to confess. She braced herself. “Ok.”
He sighed. “I’m scared, Kit. What if these are the last shows I’ll ever do? What if I come out of surgery and never get my voice back? It’s already maxed out right now. What if I am doing permanent damage?”
She felt a rush of compassion for him knowing his fears were real. Her earlier animosity hopped in the backseat and her love for him took the driver’s seat as she gently stroked his cheek. “We just gotta have faith, babe. Everything will be fine. Dr. Franklin said you’ll hold up until the end of the tour. You have an appointment for surgery two days after we get back. He’ll fly out again in four weeks, or sooner if needed, to give you another shot. You’re retraining your voice with the coach and that’s great too. You’ll be fine, baby.”
He gazed into her eyes, and she could see his anguish. “Kit…”
She tilted her head. “Yeah?”
“If something went wrong and my voice wasn’t the same, what would happen?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno? You’ve got so many talents, babe. You could write, you could produce, you could be an actor.”
“No, I mean, with us. Would it wreck our relationship?”
She could see the vulnerability in his eyes and despite her glimmers of anger over his indiscretion, she had to put her best foot forward and reassure him. She smiled and joked. “Oh c’mon, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” She noticed the joke didn’t provide him with enough of the security he was so desperately craving.
She took his face into her hands and stared into his eyes. “You’ve got me, honey. I’m not going anywhere. That’s the deal.”
He grinned, and he swallowed hard. He hugged her tightly. “Thank you. I can’t do this without you.”
She stroked his back and held him, wishing things were different, but they weren’t. She had to play the game until it became effortless again. “We’ll get through this together. Life is messy, baby. There’s no reason to be scared. Everything’s going to work out. We just need to keep the faith, ok?”
He pulled back and forced a grin, nodding his head. “Yeah.”
Jimmy sat next to Kit in the hotel bar. Sully and the rest of the band had retired for the night, tired from their performance. Their first show in Rio had been a phenomenal success. They had one more show left, two days off in Brazil, including a private party and then three more shows before they headed to Argentina and Chile to finish out the leg.
Kit had wanted to hang out with Jimmy since she first came back on the road, but issues with the band seemed more pressing than launching into anything personal. Now that things had calmed down, and all the kids seemed to be playing nicely in the sandbox, she decided to test the waters for Diana. She figured it best to play dumb. “So, Jim, has Di been out on the road at all?”
He took a large gulp of his drink. “Nope and I intend to keep it that way.”
Kit immediately noticed the absence of his wedding band. Jimmy had worn that ring from day one, and now it was clearly missing. She frowned. “Where’s your ring? Are you guys on the outs?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno.”
She stared at him. “What do you mean, you dunno? That’s a cop out if I ever did hear one.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why are you so fucking nosy and getting all up in my personal business, huh? Like you care.”
She rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her words. “Yeah, I don’t care at all. That’s why when we’re not on the road, I hang out with you and your wife and your kids. Whatever, Jimmy. What’s going on with you?”
“It’s none of your damn business, Kit. Butt the fuck out.”
She flagged the bartender and asked for another round. He pushed fresh drinks in front of them, and Jimmy didn’t hesitate to gulp down half of his in an instant. He got up from the barstool, avoiding her gaze. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
She watched him head toward the men’s room. Part of her wanted to leave, go back up to her suite and get some decent sleep, but the part of her that wanted to save the marriage of two close friends was greater. It drove her to remain. She noticed when he came back that he was in much better spirits and suddenly more talkative. It didn’t take her long to realize that he had done a few lines of cocaine in the bathroom.
“Jim, why are you doing this? That shit is going to pull you down. It’ll fuck up your life.”
He glared and raised his voice. “I told you, butt the fuck out! You have no idea what I’m up against. All the shit with this band and fucking Sully. Don’t get me started, Kit.”
She glared. “Oh, I plan on getting you started, Jimmy. I’m your manager and if you’re having problems with the rest of the band and Sully and that’s the reason for shoving cocaine up your nose, then guess what? It is my business.”
He shook his head and stood up. “I don’t need to take this shit from you.” He stormed out of the bar.
Kit sighed and stared straight ahead, taking a long sip of her club soda with lime. She wondered how this tour had started so smoothly and was now turning into lengthy episodes of daily drama. She was relieved that the cracks weren’t showing externally. The media and the fans were oblivious to the plethora of problems, and that gave her great solace, but she wondered how long they could realistically pull it all off.
Kit and Sully mingled around the posh party, relieved that most of the guests spoke fluent English. Giselle walked up to them, on Bryan’s arm. “Happy Birthday, Sully!
Are you two enjoying yourselves?”
Kit nodded. “This is a beautiful estate, G. Great party, too.”
She shook her head and grinned. “Not yet. You just got here, and you need a drink. Sull, we have a cake for you that we’ll wheel out later for all the guests. But before we get into the full swing of the evening, I want to introduce you to my parents.”
Sully exchanged a look with Kit, and they both started laughing. Giselle raised her eyebrows. “Something funny you two?”
Sully spoke up. “Parents don’t seem to like me much. Kit’s dad hates me. Hopefully, I’ll get the seal of approval from yours.”
Giselle smiled. “I’m sure they’ll like you.” She gazed up at Bryan and grinned. “They love Bryan already. But really, what’s not to love?”
Kit giggled. “Ok, love birds, c’mon. Introduce us.”
Giselle stood at the bar with the band and got their attention. “Ok guys, here we go. We’re doing bombeirinhos.”
Remo laughed. “What?”
Giselle giggled and continued. “Shots of cachaça with a little bit of grenadine. Ok, guys, you may have beat me with tequila on the plane, but not one of you is going to beat me on shots of cachaça.”
Jimmy raised his eyebrows. “Why Giselle, are you challenging us? Are you claiming you can out drink us?”
She smiled wide and nodded her head. “With cachaça, fuck yes. Who’s in?”
Kit shook her head and laughed. “No way. Count me out.”
Giselle nodded. “Fair enough, gatinha. So are all you guys in or are some of you going to pussy out?”
Sully laughed and yelled. “I’m in.” The rest of the band followed suit and within minutes they were doing shot after shot, trying to beat Giselle.
As Kit was enjoying watching them, a gorgeous, tall, dark and handsome gentleman with the greenest eyes she had ever seen, approached her.
He smiled and extended his hand. “You must be Kit. I’m Miguel, one of Giselle’s brothers.”
She put her hand in his and smiled as he kissed it. She couldn’t wipe the big grin off of her face and found herself instantly intoxicated and mesmerized with his looks, his cologne, and his accent. She then finally remembered to speak and tried to keep her voice from sounding like a dreamy and breathless, lovesick girl. “Hi, Miguel. It’s nice to meet you.”
He smiled. “The pleasure is all mine, Kit. Giselle told me you were linda, I mean pretty, but that doesn’t do you justice. You’re absolutely stunning.”
Kit giggled. She couldn’t help it. She was eating all of this up. He was complete eye candy. “Thank you.”
He glanced over to watch his sister and the band briefly. “We taught her how to do that. She’ll win, and they’ll be drunk. Don’t worry, we’ll help you carry them out to the car.”
Kit laughed. “When did you teach her to do this?”
He laughed. “It’s bad. We started having drinking contests with her when she was thirteen. Took her to carnival with us. She’s had quite the… what’s the American word?”
Kit nodded. “Hazing?”
He smiled. “Yes, hazing. We weren’t very kind to her. Certainly toughened her up. Seems she’s done well for herself in the United States. She says you’re a good boss.”
Kit grinned. “That’s nice to hear. She’s an amazing executive assistant. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’s the best, and she can work well with all those jokers.”
He nodded and grinned. “Where do you think she got her training?”
Kit chuckled. “It’s all making sense now, Miguel.” She was happy to see the band laughing and appearing to be unified.
Miguel folded his arms in front of his chest as he watched the band along with Kit. “So, tell me about this Bryan Donald. Is he good for my baby sister?”
Kit grinned. “Out of all the guys in the band, I’d say Bryan is the best one for her. He’s a great guy, Miguel. She’s in good hands. He is very much in love with her. He’d do anything for her.”
Miguel raised his eyebrow. “Even take a bullet?”
Kit looked at him and joked. “Yes, but please don’t try it. He’s got more shows to do before the tour ends.”
He burst out laughing. “You’ve got a lovely sense of humor, Kit.”
Sully staggered over laughing and kissed Kit on the cheek sloppily. “I had to get out of there. Damn, she’s like up to nine shots now, and she’s doing great. Did you see? Tony ran off to the bathroom to puke.” He looked at Miguel and his smile waned as he outstretched his hand. “Hey, I’m Sully Foxx, Kit’s husband, and you are?” Kit watched him closely seeing him shift into jealous husband mode, reminding her of his indiscretion. He normally wasn’t this possessive, but tonight he wrapped his arm around her tightly like she was one of his possessions, leaving her feeling slightly annoyed.
Miguel raised his eyebrows, grinned and shook his hand. “Miguel Machado, Giselle’s brother. Kit, I didn’t know you were married?”
She smiled, feeling awkward as Sully stared at her, astonished. She kissed him on the cheek, grinned and looked at Miguel. “I am. This is my husband. He’s the lead singer of the band. Very talented. And he’s the birthday boy we’re celebrating tonight!”
Miguel nodded. “You’re a very lucky man. Kit’s an amazing woman.”
He squeezed his arm around her more possessively and smiled proudly. “Yes, she is.”
Kit glanced over at the bar and chuckled. “Ooh, another one bites the dust. Remo is out of the game.”
Sully and Miguel laughed. It was down to Jimmy and Bryan now. Sully looked at Miguel. “You know her better than anyone. Do you think Giselle is going to win this?”
Miguel nodded and smiled. “Yes. I’m curious to see how long it will take. She’s going to start wavering soon. You Americans can certainly drink a lot.”
As the words finished rolling off his tongue, Jimmy staggered away shaking his head and waving his hands in the air to indicate he was done. It was down to Giselle and Bryan.
Kit chuckled. “Now this is interesting.”
Sully smiled. “I think she’s gonna take him. This is great.”
Miguel looked at him. “I don’t know. She’s looking a little peaked. He might win. She’s almost at her limit.” Miguel nodded moments later, keeping his focus on his sister. “Yep, that’s the last one. She’s out.”
Seconds later, she slammed down her shot glass, shook her head and yelled. “Caralho! Tô fora! I’m out!”
Bryan screamed with delight and jumped up and down. “I won; I won!”
Miguel glanced at Kit and Sully. “Is that her new American boyfriend?”
Sully nodded and smiled. “That’s him.”
Miguel nodded in Bryan’s direction. “I’ve gotta meet this guy. I like him already.”
By the time the band, Kit and Giselle climbed into their respective limousines; it was six in the morning. They had partied all night; samba dancing and laughing with Giselle’s family, Brazilian dignitaries and Brazilian high society. Kit was the only completely sober one as she sat back in her seat and chuckled recalling the party and thinking she had never been to something that fun in her entire lifetime. She had managed to put her reservations aside with Sully and enjoyed the event with him. As they headed back to the hotel, she was ultimately pleased, feeling like things were headed back on track.
CHAPTER 23
“His voice is sounding good,” Giselle remarked as she stood next to Kit on the side of the stage watching the show at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.
She nodded. “He’s got another six weeks to go. Let’s hope it holds out.”
“What time are we rolling out of here?”
“You can roll whenever you want. I’m out of here in the morning. When the guys leave for the airport, I’m in a limo headed back home to L.A.”
Giselle grinned. “Can I hitch a ride with you? I’m going to stay with Bryan tonight. No use in hiring out another limo when we’re going back to the same city.”
Sully stared at Kit as she sat at the desk in their suite; phone glued to her ear as usual, talking about Gypsy Tango. She glanced over at him, feeling his eyes on her. He gave her a look and tapped his wristwatch frantically. She wanted to roll her eyes at him, but wisely refrained.
She concluded her call and hung up. “What is it, babe?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Are you really asking me that question right now? Do you know what time it is?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno? Nineish?”
He looked away and shook his head in frustration. “I have to leave now, Kit. It’s a quarter to ten, and I have to get to the airport. So much for spending the morning together.”
She got up and walked over to him, giving him a kiss and a long hug. “I’m sorry. I lost track of time with the calls.” She gazed into his eyes and gave him her sweetest most loving look she possibly could. “Forgive me?” She giggled.
He chuckled and kissed her. “I hate when you look at me that way, I can’t be mad at you even though I want to be. Yes, I forgive you. I’m bummed; that’s all. C’mon, why can’t you just stay on the road for the remainder of the tour? It’s only six weeks. Since you’ve been out here, things have been a little easier on all of us.”
She kissed him again. “Babe, you just gotta put your big-boy undies on and deal with it. You’ll be fine. Six weeks will fly by and then you’ll be back home with me. What’s wrong? There’s something else you’re not telling me here. I can see it in your eyes.”
He sighed. “What if my voice goes out in the next six weeks and you’re not here? I don’t know what I’d do. You are so good at diffusing chaotic situations calmly. I tend to flip out. You’re my rock.”