He considered her to be like a sister. She was present for all major holidays. She was invited to family only parties. He knew he couldn’t keep this from her. He also knew she’d hold it in the utmost confidence. He was concerned about the emotional impact it would have on her and seeing as she was recovering, he didn’t want to stir the pot, but it was time to come clean.
He let out a long sigh. “Between you and me, Dad had a mild heart attack two days after you were rushed to the hospital. His blood pressure is way too high. He needs to step down from an active position. Diamond Pictures is ten times more stressful than Diamond Records. His health is suffering. And let’s be honest, he’s not exactly a spring chicken. We didn’t want to tell you… well… for obvious reasons. You’re recovering too.”
Kit did her best to remain calm, but her emotions were bubbling to the surface. Lew was like a father to her and had a lot to do with her success in the industry as a whole.
She met Jonathan’s eyes that were shrouded with concern. “I’m so sorry to hear this, Jon. Did this happen after he visited me or…”
Jonathan met her eyes. “Within twenty-four hours of him visiting you. Kit, you did not cause this. Please do not go there. He was under a tremendous amount of stress with some bullshit with my brother, a merger and trying to wrangle all that on his own. I think seeing what happened to you added to his stress. It was not the cause, though, so let that go.”
Jonathan nodded. “Y’know he thinks of you as one of his own.”
She nodded solemnly, doing her best to hold back tears. She met Jonathan’s eyes. “And I think of him like a father and my mentor. He took me under his wing from the very beginning… almost from the moment I met him.”
She sighed. “It’s so important that he take care of himself. Is there anything I can do?”
Jonathan shook his head. “No, not at the moment. You get to focus on getting healthy yourself. Technically you’re still on medical leave.”
She smirked. “I think my doctor may clear me to work part-time as soon as next week.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, and that’s not gonna fly. Kit, there is no such thing as working part-time in this industry—you know that. Don’t give me a load of bullshit!”
They erupted into laughter. She enjoyed spending time with Jonathan. He had become one of her favorite colleagues. They thought alike on their strategies and had a nice camaraderie that wasn’t easy to find in the industry.
He smiled and then it faded quickly. “Seriously, there are some things to discuss, one of which probably won’t make you very happy.”
She already knew where he was going with the conversation. She took a sip of her water and looked at him. “Flat 5.”
He nodded. “Yeah. You’ve heard the rumors then.”
She sat back in her chair. “Yes, I have. Things are very strained with GT right now. Considering they’re the anchor for Flat 5…”
He sighed. “Yeah, I feel you. Without GT, Flat 5 can’t exist. It’s floundering right now even with GT’s support. The imprint has suffered a massive budget cut. There really aren’t any A&R reps on it which explains why it’s not flourishing.”
She interjected. “And normally that would have been me in there as a default growing the imprint.”
He nodded. “Exactly. I hate to tell you this, Kit, but Flat 5 is on the chopping block. It doesn’t look like it will make it past the budget approval for the next quarter. Budgets get approved in two weeks.”
He continued, regretfully. “I’ve reviewed the numbers and unfortunately, you don’t have a leg to stand on. Unless you have something really compelling to offer, it’s going to be difficult for me to go to the board and rally for you.”
He wagged his finger at her. “And before you go getting some crazy ideas about showing up at the board meeting and staking a claim, we have to honor your medical leave. Seriously, it’s no joke Kit. You almost died and you had a miscarriage. Stay the fuck away from corporate and I mean that lovingly. Take up knitting or basket weaving or something.” He couldn’t stifle his chuckle.
She giggled, shook her head and couldn’t hold back her sarcasm. “Uh-huh. Basket-weaving is at the top of my list.”
Once again, she was reminded of how everything was shifting in her life. A deep realization hit her that life is always changing. Things rarely stay the same and if they appear to, it’s just an illusion. There’s always a nuance of shifting energy that’s taking place, one that she had never paid much attention to until now. She chuckled to herself thinking that her new found mediation practice was working.
CHAPTER 10
After a momentary lapse into her spinning thoughts, Kit shifted back to being present in the conversation with Jonathan over lunch. She surveyed him and respected the way he was handling this. He was doing his job as a good CEO. She would have made the same tough calls herself if she were in his shoes.
She felt disappointed that her label, Flat 5, was getting the wrecking ball, but knew he had a valid point. She didn’t have it in her to resurrect it. It was neither the time nor the place. So much had changed within her. It was time to let go.
She gulped. “Ok. What do you need me to do to relinquish it back to Diamond?”
He watched her carefully and felt like the bad guy. He felt
