“Of course, Kit. We can put a rush on the filing. When do have your meeting with him?”
She sighed. “Next Thursday—a week from now. I’ll have my assistant send my travel information to you.”
“Rest assured, we’ll take care of it. I’m sorry to be delivering this news to you. We’ll make sure to protect you and your assets as much as possible through this and minimize any kind of publicity. You should be ok. A legal separation doesn’t flag the vultures as much as a divorce. We can work with your team to spin this in the right way if needed. Regardless, we know how to keep everything under wraps.
“Keep me posted on how your meeting with him goes. We’ll keep digging. I know this is difficult, but I believe you’re making the right choice for you and your future.”
Kit nodded. “Thanks, Lizbeth.”
Upon hanging up the phone, Kit took a moment to get her bearings. She felt stunned and temporarily numb. She sighed, prematurely thinking she was ok, but then the reality set in and hit her like a freight train.
A tidal wave of mixed emotions took over. She sat on the edge of her bed, buried her head in her hands and started sobbing as she realized this truly was the beginning of the end.
* * *
The chords sounded more clear and crisp than they had in a while as Kit stroked the keys of the baby grand that now resided in the vacancy of the Steinway. She had found a new home for it in Bryan’s Hollywood Hills home. She had called him on the road and asked if he could secretly house it until she found her new permanent residence. He was generous to oblige and give her access to his home. They swapped his current baby grand with the Steinway. Grateful, she knew Sully would never find it there, even when he was home on a tour break. By the time the band wrapped the tour, she knew she’d have a permanent solution in place.
She was tinkering with a song here or there and then decided to have some fun. Getting lost in the music was the exact medicine she needed.
She launched into the opening sequence of some of her classical favorites. She continued on and seconds later, Lila emerged carrying the trades in a stack folded under her arm and a hot cup of tea in her other hand for Kit.
Lila patted Kit’s shoulder. “Please don’t take this the wrong way—I’m relieved to see you sitting in front of these keys playing and singing again. You’ve been away from it for so long.” She set the pubs down on the baby grand, balancing the cup of hot tea carefully on top.
Kit looked up at her and met her kind brown eyes, nodding in agreement as Lila continued. “It’s like you’re home when you’re here. It’s like there’s this different energy. A good one. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good thing.”
She grinned. “Thank you for the reminder. It’s a good one.”
She then shifted her attention to the keys in front of her and tinkered again for a moment. She couldn’t help but glance at the pubs as they lay on the top of the baby grand. She stopped playing, leaned forward and attempted to grab one.
Lila frowned and gently slapped her hand away. “No! You’re not allowed to look at those.” She took the cup of tea and handed it to her.
Kit shook her head and gently pushed the cup away, toward Lila. She stood up from the piano bench and hovered over the pubs, trying to grab one again.
Lila grabbed it out of her hand and shook her head. “Stop that.” She collected the pubs quickly and tucked them under her arm. “Keep playing your piano and singing. Drink your tea. You’re on medical leave for a few more weeks, remember?”
She chuckled. “You know me.” She laid on the charm. “Just let me have a peek. And can you swap out this herbal tea with coffee please? Pretty please?” She donned a wide smile and raised her eyebrows.
Lila remained straight faced. She didn’t think it was a good idea. Gypsy Tango had only been back out on the road a short time and they were plastered all over the trades in a not so favorable light.
Monitoring the trades at all times was part of Lila’s job. This time, however, Giselle had specifically asked her to read them cover to cover in order to navigate the rocky road they were heading into.
Giselle and Lila had been on conference calls multiple times a day with the band’s publicists and it seemed to be getting worse instead of better. The last thing she wanted to do was drag Kit into the mess. She was no longer their manager and it was Lila’s job to minimize Kit’s stress, not add to it.
On top of the daily drama with the band, there were fires erupting at Diamond Corporate and it was to the detriment of Kit’s label, Flat 5. This had started days before Kit’s shooting and was now reaching a fever pitch.
Lila didn’t have a direct line to the top, she was going on what she read in the trades and tapping into her friends that worked at Diamond. With Kit on a medical leave, Lew and Jonathan had been tight-lipped and hadn’t been in touch, aside from social calls and visits to make sure she was feeling better. They
