Chart Toppers (Star Maker Book 3) Read online

“When it comes to Templeton, show no mercy, ok?”

  He chuckled. “You better believe it, Kit. I’ll be calling you.”

  “Thanks.” She hung up the phone smiling and noticed Sully standing in the doorway to her office. She looked at him and stood up, waving him over. “Why are you standing there? Come in, baby.”

  “You were on the phone. I didn’t want to interrupt. Did Juliana leave? I didn’t hear her go.”

  Kit chuckled. “It’s because she’s still here. She’s passed out in one of the guest rooms sleeping it off. She had way too much tequila. I couldn’t let her leave.”

  He grinned. “Good call. How was your meeting at Diamond, by the way?”

  She smiled and took his hand. “C’mon, let’s go into the entertainment room. I’m done with work for the day.”

  Sully raised his eyebrows and grinned. “It’s only six-thirty and you’re done with work already? I’m liking this already.”

  She finished telling him about her day at Diamond and all that had transpired. The most recent news was that they were attempting to steal Templeton Records out from under Blake the asshole, his eyes widened with amazement and his jaw dropped open.

  Sully managed to snap himself out of his awe and started laughing uncontrollably. “Babe, you never cease to amaze me. Congratulations, honey.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “I’m proud of you.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. I’m actually going to be getting to do all the things that I have fun doing and getting paid for it. Imagine that!”

  He laughed. “Welcome to paradise, baby. I’ve lived here for a few years. It’s fantastic! Nothing like doing the fun stuff and getting paid for it.” He winked at her. He took her hand in his and gazed into her eyes. “We’re gonna have to celebrate. How about a little weekend getaway? A drive up the coast maybe? Maybe SB?”

  She grinned. “Ooh, I love that idea. We haven’t been to Santa Barbara in ages. Let’s go tomorrow. Why wait until Friday?”

  He shook his head. “Because we promised Jimmy and Diana we’d go over there tomorrow and see the baby.”

  Kit’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow, I totally forgot about that! Yes, we have to do that. I’m excited to meet their little bundle of joy.” She looked at Sully, pointed and grinned. “Now, don’t you go getting any ideas. We have a huge year ahead of us, and I don’t need any undue pressure.”

  He held his hands up in defense and chuckled. “I’m not gonna get any ideas. I just wanna practice.” He leaned forward and kissed her deeply.

  She giggled. “Practice I can do. Speaking of practice, I have a few ideas.”

  He raised his eyebrows and smiled wide. “Ideas? Oh my! Really? What kind of ideas exactly? The naughty kind?”

  She giggled again and nodded. “You looked really hot today walking across the lawn half naked after your sesh in the pool, babe.”

  He snickered and playfully played innocent. “Me, hot?” He then gazed into her eyes and leaned in, putting his face as close to hers as he could without kissing her. He grinned mischievously. “Tell me, how hot?”

  She raised her eyebrows and grinned. “Body shot hot.” She leaned forward and kissed his neck slowly.

  He smiled widely, loving that she was taking the initiative. He quickly got up, grabbed her hand hastily and headed over to the bar in their entertainment room. “Pick your poison, woman.”

  She nodded and smiled. “Pátron. I’m staying consistent.”

  He snickered again, loving every moment of this. He quickly shoved two shot glasses into the pockets of his jeans, grabbed the bottle of Pátron in one hand and her hand in the other. He smiled and winked at her. “Let’s go upstairs. You can show me what you had in mind.”

  She laughed, loving his spontaneity. She knew she was in for a fun night.

  CHAPTER 7

  Giselle remained occupied typing on her keyboard at lightening speed in the corner of Kit’s home office. They had turned a large unused part of Kit’s office into an area for Giselle. She looked up and noticed Kit entering the room. “Hey. How did it go?”

  Kit’s stomach churned, her head still swimming in a sea of mixed emotions. The day had not been an easy one. She made a sour face. “I’m glad it’s over. What Dante did to KMK was wrong, but I feel kind of sorry for the guy.

  “The charges the feds have against him are pretty serious. He definitely made some poor choices. Won’t be seeing him again for a very long time.” She shook her head and felt a twinge of guilt in her compassionate heart, but that quickly evaporated when the reality hit her again. Dante had almost single-handedly ruined her.

  Giselle grimaced. “Sorry. That doesn’t sound like it was any fun. Your brother called. He said it was urgent and personal and for you to call him immediately.”

  Kit frowned. Spencer never did things like that, and she felt a wave of worry roll through her. She looked at Giselle. “Where’s Sully?”

  “Out back in the studio. He’s been out there about an hour. Said if you needed him to go grab him or call him.”

  Kit nodded and shifted her attention to the stack of messages Giselle had laid out on her desk. She picked up one of them and examined it more carefully. It was from Edward, the financial manager for the McKenna and Lindley families as well as Gypsy Tango. Once again, an urgent, cryptic message reared its head. Her stomach twisted into knots. Something was up, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. She swallowed hard and hoped her intuition was wrong. She dialed Spencer’s direct line at the office. He answered immediately. Upon hearing Kit’s voice, he told her he would be right over.

  She wasn’t satisfied with his response. She sighed. “Spence, would you tell me what’s going on?”

  His voice was urgent. “No. I’ll be right over. Get Sully too if you can. I’ll see you in five.”

  Now frustrated, she hung up the phone and walked out to the studio. Sully was sitting in the live room with one of his acoustic guitars. He was deeply engrossed in a writing session, alternating between strumming and stopping to jot down notes.

  She walked in and nodded. “Making good progress?”

  He looked up and grinned. “Trying. How did it go, babe?”

  She shook her head. “It was a highly uncomfortable experience, but whatever. I’ve answered all the questions needed, and Dante is going to rot in jail, for the most part. But, since I’ve returned, I’ve learned of other developments. Apparently, we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

  He put the guitar down and stood up, frowning. “What’s up?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I have no clue. Come back into the house with me. Spencer is on his way here. He said it was urgent, and both of us need to be present. He wouldn’t tell me over the phone.”

  Sully eye’s reflected the same element of worry and confusion as Kit’s. He wrapped his arm around her and forced a grin. “Ok, let’s go.”

  Spencer walked into the foyer, harried and frazzled. Kit and Sully were calmly sitting in the front room chatting while they awaited his arrival. Kit heard him burst in and called out. “Over here, bro.”

  He walked into the front room and stared at both of them. Kit didn’t like the look of sorrow in his blue-green eyes and braced herself for bad news. She swallowed hard and shifted in her seat as he sat down on the chair next to them. He looked distraught and let out a long sigh before speaking. He finally met her eyes. “Kit.”

  She stared, wide-eyed. “Yeah.”

  He reached forward and gently put his hand on top of her knee. “She’s gone.”

  Kit frowned. “Who’s gone?”

  Spencer sighed again. “Nana. She passed away a week ago. The funeral was two days go.”

  Kit stared at him for what seemed like the longest moment in eternity, wishing she had never heard the words that rolled off his tongue. The present moment jarred her to attention and the devastating news sunk in as she slowly shook her head.

  Sully watched her carefully and could tell she was stunned by the news. He gently put his arm arou
nd her. The moment she felt his touch, she started sobbing. She composed herself after taking a few moments to grapple with the new chain of events.

  She looked up at Spencer. “How is this possible? How did we miss the funeral?”

  Spencer shook his head in disgust and Kit could see a flash of anger in his eyes. “James junior was supposed to call us and he didn’t. Dad was so disoriented by the news; it didn’t dawn on him until the day of the funeral when we weren’t there. I got a call from him late last night, drunk, stumbling over his words and telling me what an awful grandchild I was for not being there. When I told him that neither you nor I was informed, he felt awful. He had put James in charge of all the arrangements. Anyway, I got a call from Edward yesterday. They’re reading the will today in Chicago. He wanted us there; we’re benefactors.”

  Kit nodded sadly. “Obviously you and I are missing that meeting. I’m not sure how that’s going to work since we’re sitting here in L.A.”

  Spencer looked at both of them. “Kit, we’re all benefactors. Edward didn’t tell me details, but he stated that Sully and his mom are substantial benefactors. Apparently Nana had been talking about her for quite awhile.”

  Sully frowned. “What? My mom and me? How can that be? There must be some mistake.”

  Spencer shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know all the details, Sull. Edward wouldn’t disclose anything. I told him we couldn’t get out to Chicago, so he requested we do a conference call today. It would be great if you could get your mom on that call with us. Edward didn’t have her contact information on hand and neither did I.”

  Sully nodded. “Get me the info and I’ll call her. I’m sure I’ll be able to get her. Unfortunately, she’s still out of work, so I’m sure she’s home.”

  Spencer nodded. “Kit, can I use the phone in your office?”

  “Yeah. Giselle’s in there, but if you want privacy tell her to go watch TV or something.”

  He nodded and headed off toward Kit’s office. She stared straight ahead trying to comprehend the fact that her beloved grandmother was gone. Aside from Spencer, she was the only true family member she regarded. Nana’s death served as a chain reaction to two others lost that felt like family. She was still mourning them after all these years, Joe and Kirby.

  She started crying again. Sully held her tightly and could feel himself holding back his emotions. He had become very close to Kit’s grandmother, Tilly. She was family to him and had always treated him as if he were one of her own despite his unconventional appearance and humble beginnings.

  Kit dismissed Giselle for the day and sat in her home office with Sully and Spencer. They huddled over the phone on her desk immersed in the beginnings of a conference call with Edward and Sully’s mother, Moira, on the other end calling in from Evergreen Park.

  Edward shifted from small talk and began. He informed them that Tilly had left letters for each of them, and they would be receiving them the next day. As he launched into the details of Tilly’s estate, Kit shifted her attention to Sully, who looked overwhelmed and wide-eyed when Edward disclosed a total amount well over two hundred million dollars. She reached out and squeezed his hand, hoping her calm demeanor would rub off on him.

  As Edward continued, they learned of the allocations of the money and property. Spencer had been willed the family vacation compound in East Hampton—the other half of the pair of their vacation homes. Kit had received the very mansion they were sitting in three years ago upon her grandfather’s death.

  The East Hampton mansion was one of Tilly’s favorite vacation spots every summer, yet she had not traveled there after her husband’s death. Kit’s grandfather, Jerry, always favored the mansion in the Hollywood Hills she now shared with Sully. Kit found herself diving into a pool of favorable memories and nostalgia and was happy to wade there until she was pulled out by Edward’s voice and a nudge from Sully.

  Seconds later, after jumping back into the call at full attention, she learned that she had inherited twenty million dollars. She exchanged a look with Spencer and shook her head. She was stunned. Her grandmother was notorious for being generous, but this was crazy. Spencer had received the same allocation, and they were surprised and secretly delighted that their father and older brother received two thousand dollars each. Tilly never minced words, and she was quick to act on injustice, favoring to exclude her neglectful son and grandson from the family pot of gold.

  As expected, Tilly had allocated another parcel of fifty million dollars specifically for charitable causes, and Kit was pleased to learn that Moira and Tilly had been working on this effort together. She left Moira in charge of disbursing the money to the charitable causes they had discussed.

  Kit’s head was still spinning from all the news, and she had easily forgotten there was no mention of Sully. He glanced over and noticed Kit’s anguish. Tilly’s death was a shock to them. They knew she was sick, but they had not anticipated such a rapid decline in her condition. He reached out and stroked her back, wanting to give her a kiss when Spencer’s voice caught his attention.

  He spoke up. “Ok, Edward, anything else that we’ve forgotten? Seems we’re all wrapped up.”

  His voice had a compassionate note. “No, Spencer. We still need to discuss what Tilly has left for the O’Sullivans.”

  He raised his eyebrows and exchanged looks with Sully and Kit. “Ok.”

  Edward’s voice continued. “Sully, are you still on the call?”

  He leaned forward and grabbed Kit’s hand, holding it tightly, petrified of the outcome. “I’m here, Edward.”

  “Sully, Tilly has left you twenty million dollars and her fully restored 1929 Steinway grand piano, valued at one hundred twenty-six thousand dollars.”

  Sully stared straight ahead, stunned and speechless. He let go of Kit’s hand and sat back in his chair. He took a moment to thank Edward and then slipped back into his daze. Tilly had treated him with the same regard as her grandchildren, and he was deeply moved by the gesture.

  Before Sully could fully grasp what had just been dealt to him, Edward continued. “Moira O’Sullivan. Are you still here?”

  Sully’s ears suddenly perked up as he heard the lilt of his mother’s voice on the line. She spoke clearly. “Yes, Edward. I’m here.”

  Edward sighed. “Moira, Tilly has spoken very highly of you for quite some time now. She viewed you as one of her own and treasured your relationship. She felt very loved and cared for by you. She told me personally that you were continually looking out for her best interest.

  “Tilly wanted to make sure that you and your family would be comfortable for the remainder of your years. She called me a week before her passing and asked for my help in determining what she wanted to leave for you. I advised her of a few options, and she came to a decision. Moira, Tilly has left you her art collection, valued at four million dollars…”

  Moira gasped. “Oh my goodness!” She started weeping, overcome by Tilly’s generous gesture.

  Edward continued. “And…”

  Everyone exchanged looks and in unison with Moira on the line they all asked “And?”

  He chuckled. “And thirty million dollars. As I stated before, Moira, you were a guiding light and very dear to her in her last year of life. She held your relationship in high regard and considered you the daughter she never had but always wanted.”

  Sully remained reclined in his chair again and let out a long, relieved sigh knowing that his parents would never have to struggle again. He had been sending money home for years since the band started seeing success. He had always wished it was more and in recent years it had been, but something this significant would change their lives.

  He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head, closing his eyes in disbelief, feeling choked up. Tilly had blessed his family with an unimaginable gift. He felt relieved, yet overwhelmed by Tilly’s generosity and wondered how his mother was coping with this discovery. She had a hard enough time accepting his financial support. He cou
ldn’t imagine how she felt with Tilly giving her millions.

  He could hear the wavering tone in his mother’s voice as she struggled to come to terms with this enormous windfall. He thought back to the extremely lean years when his parents scraped and sacrificed to feed six kids and put them all through parochial school.

  Both of his parents gave everything to their children, including him. He recalled how they had bought him his first guitar from a second-hand store and paid for lessons for guitar and piano because he was so passionate about both.

  He felt choked up again that they were finally getting their reward because of the combination of two deeply generous people coming together—his mother and Tilly. His mother was rich in spirit, gave away every penny she made and loved to serve others. Tilly was also rich in spirit with decades of inheritance and compound interest to draw from, desperate to share with the world and make it a better place. She lacked the love and support she ached for from her son, James.

  Sully sighed realizing that, in this case, water had been thicker than blood. Moira unknowingly gave Tilly what she needed, and now she was leaving something behind to pay her back for it.

  He forced himself to pay attention, hearing the call wind down, but the wheels in his head were rapidly spinning. He had hit the millionaire mark on his own years ago, but being a millionaire on this level was a completely foreign land to him. He felt extremely apprehensive as old programs and associations of wealthy people being cold hearted filled his mind.

  Edward wrapped up the call with final bits of information. “Very well, then. Sully, the Steinway is being flow across the country today. It should arrive at your home tomorrow. Tilly has left instructions on how she’d like the piano to be maintained. Those will be in the packet for you along with her personal letter.”

  “Got it. Thanks, Edward.”

  Spencer jumped in. “We appreciate all your work for our family, Edward.”

  “Certainly. I am truly sorry for your loss. Tilly was a wonderful woman, such a generous, loving, vibrant spirit. I enjoyed working with her all these years.”