Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) Read online

  She nodded thoughtfully. “Good. Glad to hear it.”

  “It’s about time you head over there. Good luck, Kit.”

  She looked at Giselle and frowned. “Luck? Do I need luck for this meeting? What’s going on, G?” She perched on the front of her desk.

  Giselle sighed and shifted in her seat. “Kit, you know about the re-org, obviously. I’m working for Daniel temporarily, but I don’t know how everything will work out. They’re still making major changes and big overhauls. It’s all confidential right now.”

  She grinned and reached out to take her hand. “It will be fine, G. You won’t lose your job. I’ll make sure of that. You’re a fantastic assistant. Anyone on the executive floor would be happy to have you permanently if Daniel can’t.”

  Giselle felt relieved and smiled. “Thanks for that, Kit. Hope everything works in your favor.”

  Kit nodded as she walked away and muttered under her breath, “me too.” She wasn’t so convinced. The vibe on the executive floor was wrought with tension and invisible pressure that didn’t exist the last time she had been there. She walked into the boardroom and found Lew making a drink. He glanced over at her. “Hey, Kit-Kat. Want your usual?”

  She chuckled. “I would love it. I take it I’m going to need it? Lots of rumors floating around about the re-org on this floor.”

  He shrugged his shoulders and didn’t respond. He slid the drink to her and took a seat across from her. “So tell me, Kit, how’s life treating ya? How’s your platinum songwriting husband?”

  She laughed. “Life’s pretty good. Sully, well Sully is great as usual. Writing more chart toppers.”

  He leaned back and watched her carefully. “They’re back in the studio in a matter of weeks, correct?”

  She nodded and noticed a level of concern that she had never seen. She was quick to calm his fears. “Yep. Album number three, excluding the original EP from ‘85. And we will deliver on time.” She flashed a reassuring smile.

  He chuckled. “I’m confident it will be a good follow up to album number two which, by the way, is very close to hitting double-platinum.”

  Her eyes widened. “What? Like how close?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “A few more thousand sales, which at this rate could be another week or two. It’s trending fast. You’ll probably be in triple platinum by mid-Fall. That’s my guess. You picked a winner, Kit. You’ve got a knack for this shit, kid.”

  She chuckled. “GT is pretty amazing. Very loved by their fans.”

  “Yes they are. Ok, let’s get down to brass tacks. You mentioned that you needed to discuss something with me, but if you don’t mind I’d like to go first.”

  Kit got comfortable in her seat and took a sip of her scotch. “Ok.”

  His concerned brown eyes met hers. “The rumors you heard about a big re-org and a hot-shot new head of A&R are all true. We need to rally, Kit or else the five-year plan won’t come to fruition and we’ll be vulnerable to getting eaten up by one of the conglomerates.”

  She stared back at him and wasn’t sure what to make of it. She felt those familiar knots tugging at the lining of her stomach and forced herself to relax by taking a deep breath. “Ok. What does that mean exactly?”

  He sighed. “Kit, I’m stepping down as CEO. I’m going to be chairman of the board of Diamond Entertainment and move over to be CEO of Diamond Pictures. It’s in a vulnerable spot too, but it’s struggling and it’s in a more grave position than Diamond Records. It needs my attention. I’ve tried to find the right CEO to fit the bill and haven’t been successful. We’re out of time. I have to step in before we lose it. And Jonathan is still learning Diamond Pictures, so I can’t put him at the helm yet.”

  Her eyes widened. She was thoroughly stunned as she tried to take in the news and calm herself down at the same time. She felt saddened by his words and suspected he did too. “But you love the music biz, Lew!”

  He nodded solemnly. “I do, but as I stated, that division of the company needs my attention right now. This is my empire, and I have to do what’s best to keep us on top on both ends—film and music. We’ve got heavy hitters here on the music side; yourself included. Diamond Records will be able to stand on its own with the new team. Solid as a rock.”

  She shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable as she swallowed hard. Resigning her position as a consultant was not going to be easy now. Her loyalty to Lew nagged at her conscience. She couldn’t possibly let him down now. She felt saddened that her dreams would have to be put on hold. She held off on commenting and favored keeping her trap shut to glean more information while he continued.

  “I’ve made my decision about who I want as CEO.”

  She forced herself to pay attention and not let her mind run off on a tangent back to her agenda. “Who?”

  “I’ve decided to appoint Jonathan to take over as CEO. Doug Chazen, our EVP of operations will take over as COO to replace Jonathan.”

  Kit forced a grin. “I’m very sorry to hear that you’re stepping down but happy to hear that Jonathan is taking your place. He’ll make a great CEO.” She offered a genuine smile truly agreeing with Lew’s decision.

  Lew shrugged his shoulders. “Yes and no. There are some other components that need to be figured out. If we can get those into place, he’ll do just fine. Now Kit, as far as legal goes, I’d like to have Daniel Thomas officially take over as chief counsel. The press release about him will go out before the end of the day. Your consulting services for legal are no longer needed. He’s appreciated your help in the transition, but as we both know, he’s got a full handle on it now.”

  She stared at him, stunned and expressionless. Part of her was happy and relieved. She was going to be out of the position that was boring her to tears. Another part of her was saddened and angry. She had done a stellar job for the company and sacrificed a great deal for the position. Before she could launch into a rebuttal to plead her case, Lew continued.

  He chuckled. “I know that sounds bad but it’s not what you think, Kit.”

  She frowned and struggled to stay calm. Her bubbling anger started to seep through. “Can you explain it to me then? Because it sounds like you’re letting me go.” She tried not to jump to conclusions, but she was moments away of diving deep into a sea of hurt feelings. Suddenly, this was becoming personal, and her rational mind had flown out the window along with her consulting position.

  He shook his head. “Hear me out, Kitten. Don’t go jumping to conclusions. You’re an asset to this company—a very valuable one.” She stared at him and swallowed hard, doing her best to hold back tears. She was pleased she was succeeding in keeping it together and waited for him to finish his thought.

  He smiled and leaned forward. “I wanna promote you. I’d like to create a new position for you, chief creative officer. You’re right, Jonathan will make a great CEO running this company, but Jonathan does not have the attention to artist development and the ability to cultivate artists into superstars like you do. Even Pete Lundy doesn’t have that skill at your level. It’s a rare quality, Kit. You have a gift. As chief creative officer, that’s what you’d do. You’d take our artists and turn them into superstars or find ones that you want to cultivate. You would work closely with Pete. He’d report to you. What do you think, kid?”

  She stared at him, this time in awe. He was offering her the position of a lifetime. It was almost identical to what she had told Sully she wanted to do the night before. Here was the opportunity being handed to her on a silver platter.

  Her emerald green eyes twinkled. She felt like he had just handed her the keys the kingdom, the very kingdom that she had dreamed about and had motivated her to come out to Los Angeles in the first place. “Wow, Lew! I’m honored. This was the last thing I expected today. I came here to resign my consulting position for that very reason.

  “I want to focus on developing GT more and possibly other artists through KMK. You’re a mind reader. The position does sound appealing, bu
t how much would it entail? As you know, GT is my primary focus, and they take up a lot of time. I’ve agreed to produce their new album, so come August I’ll be back in the studio with little time to do much else. I’d love to take on this position, but I don’t want to let you or Jonathan down.”

  He shook his head and grinned. “Kit, we’re creating this position for you, so you can make your own rules, within reason. If you know what you want today, we can discuss it with Jonathan. If not and you need to think it over, we can schedule another meeting. We’ve got the time. Things are starting to shift already.

  Jonathan is moving into my office by the end of the week. We’ve gotta start making the shifts at the executive level so it can trickle down throughout corporate and be complete by the end of the quarter. That way we start the fourth quarter with everyone in place, including me at the Diamond Pictures’ offices over on Santa Monica Boulevard in the big corner office.”

  She fully comprehended why Lew had to make the jump over to Diamond Pictures, but it didn’t feel any less comforting to her. She sighed. “It makes me feel sad that you’re not going to be in these offices anymore, but I understand what you have to do.”

  He nodded. “If things go as planned, I may come back and send Jonathan over there to run the film division. We’ll see. So whaddya think, Kitten? Do you have ideas of what you want for the position off the top of your head or would you rather meet with Jonathan and I next week?”

  She shook her head and smiled wide. “I know exactly what I want, Lew. Let’s go forward with the scheduled meetings.”

  He chuckled and slapped the table. “That’s the Kit I know. Firecracker, knows what she wants!” He leaned forward and hit the intercom on the phone in the middle of the conference room table. “Mindy, send in Jonathan, please.”

  Jonathan greeted Kit warmly after he walked in, and they got down to business. He was pleased and relieved that Lew had offered her the CCO position. He knew he would need her help in keeping Diamond ahead and positioning them to thrive.

  Lew looked at Kit. “Ok, now that we’ve got Jonathan here let’s talk about your position. Tell us what you’re envisioning. I want all the details.”

  Kit sat back in her chair. She didn’t need to contemplate. Thanks to her conversation with Sully the night before, she knew exactly what to ask for. She spoke confidently. “What I’ve envisioned is continuing to work with GT and bringing some other artists into the fold. Seattle is hot right now, and the grunge movement is gaining momentum underground. Conversely, New York is taking off with rap and hip-hop. Take a look at Public Enemy, Run DMC or The Beastie Boys. They’re huge, and we have no one on our roster like that. Yes, we have been primarily rock and pop based, but we need to diversify if we want to survive.

  “I’d like for us to be frontrunners in both genres. Also, I think we should pay more attention to country as well and start pumping up that side of the business. I would prefer to work out of my home residence and be here part-time as I did before. I’m willing to keep my salary the same as long as I can take GT over to a new label of my own, backed by Diamond. In other words, a new imprint for Diamond. And I am willing to put in a substantial capital investment if needed.”

  Lew stared at her, unfazed. Jonathan held a conspiring grin. Lew had expected something like this from Kit. Her ballsy attitude is what he loved about her. Jonathan looked at him, now smiling from ear to ear.

  Lew nodded. “Ok, Kit. What do you wanna call your label?”

  “Flat 5 Records.”

  He stared at her. “And I take it you have your sights set on their new album being on this imprint?”

  She nodded. “Yes, that’s the intention.”

  He sighed and looked away temporarily. Kit could sense his apprehension and wondered if she had pushed too far. He shifted his attention back to her and continued. “GT is our hottest artist right now, Kit. They’re our moneymakers. I’d love to give you your own label and back you in distribution, but until we have replacements for that revenue stream I can’t release them from their contract and rewrite them under an imprint. Unless you have a plan that you haven’t mentioned yet?”

  She grinned. “Funny you should ask, Lew, because I do.”

  Lew nodded and looked at Jonathan. “See Jon, this is why we love her. Ok, Kit. Lay it on us.”

  She giggled and grinned like the cat that ate the canary. “We acquire Templeton Records. They’ve got some great artists that I’d love to take over and develop.”

  Jonathan donned a cautionary grin. “And they’re in pretty big financial trouble right now. We’d probably be able to get them for next to nothing.”

  She nodded. “I say we poach the artists first and get them out of their contracts. If that doesn’t work or is too difficult, then we look at acquiring Templeton as a whole. Do you think our balance sheet could take the hit?”

  Jonathan sighed. “I gotta run the numbers with Jason and get their most recent financials. The last I heard they’re in the toilet. That ass, Blake Templeton, clearly does not know what he’s doing. It’s sad. He ran that company into the ground. A few years ago, when Paul was still at the helm, they were one of our biggest competitors. Now, they’re mediocre and going downhill fast, but I agree that they do have some top talent that would be great for us. It’s definitely an opportunity for Diamond as far as I’m concerned.”

  Lew nodded and exchanged looks with both of them. “You two pull that off and Kit you’ve got yourself a label. We’ll release GT from Diamond and put them over at your imprint. Your offices and staffing will still remain Diamond Corporate until we see the profitability, and then we’ll talk again about the staffing requirements for Flat 5.”

  She nodded. “Of course. And I still intend to play within all of the Diamond corporate guidelines, just under a different imprint.”

  Jonathan stared at her, slightly concerned. “How are you going to run that with all the other things you have on your plate?”

  She smiled at him. “With your help, Jon. If you’re game.” She winked.

  Her beauty worked to her favor in this case, and Jonathan was mesmerized. He grinned like a shy schoolboy. “I’m game.”

  “Ok. I wanna make sure that this is as seamless as our other imprints.”

  He nodded. “I’ll oversee all the imprints anyway, so there won’t be any problems, but for political reasons, we’ll list you as the acting CEO of Flat 5 Records. In that case, you’ll be a figurehead. We’ll be relying on you to do your job as CCO for both Diamond and Flat 5 Records. Do you think you’re up for that?”

  She grinned with certainty. “Yes, I am.”

  Jonathan nodded. “We’ll give you access to the company jet. You’ll need it for travel, but you can’t use it for touring.”

  She shook her head. “I won’t. We always charter a private jet for GT’s tours. So, when do I start?”

  Lew held up his hand. “I want Jonathan and Jason to look at Templeton first. If, for some reason, we aren’t able to get the artists we want from them or are unable to acquire them, we’re going to have to change the terms of the imprint situation.”

  Kit raised her eyebrows. “To what?”

  “If the Templeton idea falls through, you can’t take GT over to a new imprint until you find two artists of their size or greater to replace them. Diamond can’t afford to take the hit.”

  She nodded. “Ok, that makes sense. You’ve got a deal.”

  Jonathan nodded. “I’ll put in calls today about Templeton. Expect a call from me by the end of the day. I’ll let you know my findings. It’s going to come down to seeing how deeply they are in debt and if we can handle it. Do you know who the artists are that you want to steal from them?”

  She nodded. “Yes. There are three. I have no way into two of them, but with one I have connections that I can work. I’ll hop on the phone and see how far I can get.”

  “Good. We’ll regroup via conference call at six. Does that work for you?” She nodded as Lew stood up.
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  “Well, Kit-Kat, I’m outta here. I’ve got some stuff to tie up and calls to make. I’m gonna leave you and Jonathan to your scheming. Pop your head in before you leave the floor today, ok?”

  She nodded and smiled. “You got it, Lew.” She focused her attention back to Jonathan. “What are we working on now?”

  “Legal implications of this whole scenario. Let me go grab Daniel.”

  Jonathan strolled back into the room moments later with Daniel in tow. They jumped into their meeting promptly. Two hours later, they had developed two solid strategies for both possibilities. Jonathan was pleased. After Daniel had left the room, he looked at her and grinned. “Come with me.”

  She followed him out of the boardroom and over to the northwest corner of the floor where his office was located. She followed him in and noticed it was in various stages of disarray. He had already started removing his things and transferring them to Lew’s office. Kit couldn’t take her eyes off the remarkable view. She could see the entire Sunset Strip with the floor to ceiling windows.

  He held his arms out and smiled. “Welcome to your new office, Kit. This is where you’ll be living at corporate.”

  She laughed. “Wow! Really? This office is huge, and the view is amazing!”

  He nodded. “Trust me, you’ll need it. You’re going to have top artists in here working major deals. I’m moving into Lew’s office, and the new COO is moving to the southeast corner. Think you’ll be happy here?”

  She smiled. “That’s an understatement! I love it.”

  He snickered. “Good. Before you leave today, you can go ahead and move your stuff in. I noticed that there wasn’t much leftover from your office.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I’ll bring it in. I didn’t have much need to be in the office before nor did I want to sit behind a desk. But now, with me as CCO and working with the artists, I’ll love entertaining in here.” She couldn’t help admiring how handsome Jonathan was when he smiled. She chuckled to herself at the realization in the first place and was tickled by the thought of an innocent workplace flirtation, knowing they would be working so closely together now.