Alexa winked. “And I need a stiff drink after that.” She motioned over the flight attendant.
Kit dialed Lew’s exclusive number. It immediately routed to his secondary assistant, Clarissa. “Can I speak with Lew? It’s Kit. I’d imagine he’s expecting my call.”
“I’m sorry, Kit, Lew is on route to New York for an emergency board meeting that he initiated. He specifically stated no disruptions until 4 p.m. eastern. He’s in a private meeting with Jonathan and Chris on the jet. I can leave word. What’s the best number for him to contact you?”
Kit felt annoyed and impatient. She wanted answers now. “My mobile. Tell him it’s urgent and I’ll be in Philadelphia after 4.”
“I’ll do that, Kit.”
She hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. She shook her head and stared out the window again. She felt tremendously vulnerable and chuckled to herself, remembering Lew’s story about the hermit crab looking for a new shell. She was desperate to find hers.
Alexa glanced over at her. “No luck?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Maybe later. Sounds like he gets in to New York an hour or two after we arrive in Philly. I’ll be in a meeting with Sully by the time he’s available so I’ll pass my phone off to you. Shit, Lex, I have to tell Sull about the filing. When he hears the lyrics of that song he’ll fucking lose it. If I’d told him about the legal separation it will still sting, but he’ll at least see it coming.
She met Alexa’s eyes. “Even though we fucked up our marriage and I’m pretty hurt and pissed, I don’t want to hurt him anymore than I have. That’s the last thing I want. He deserves to be happy and healthy and I deserve that too. I don’t want him to be the last to know what’s going on, y’know?”
Alexa nodded. “I get it. That’s big of you. I’m pretty pissed off at Sully right now, to be honest. I think you’re being a little too nice and accommodating. Be civil, yes, but hold your ground. Put up a firm boundary for you.”
Alexa stared at her. “Be a bitch, Kit. He broke your heart. He’s got a fucking girlfriend for chrissakes. If you won’t be, then I will. He and Wes have continued speaking, but that doesn’t mean that I approve. Wes and I have agreed to disagree. Wes doesn’t want to take sides and he and Sull have been close buddies for almost a decade. Just be a bitch, ok? I think it’s best for you. Protect your heart.”
She sighed. “Maybe you’re right.”
Alexa took a seat across from her, leaning forward toward her and gazing into her eyes. “Babe, I want the best for you. It’s time to break this pattern. You did this with Kirby too. C’mon, let it go. You deserve so much better. But to get to that better place, you gotta start putting in those boundaries for you. Be unapologetic. Feel whatever you want to feel because you can. You are worthy and enough and it’s time to stop settling.”
Alexa took her hand. “You deserve a man who will stand by you, support you, love you with all his heart, healthfully and faithfully. A man that brings the best out in you and is an amazing equal, that takes care of you, not someone who wants you to guide his career. It’s time to let go of your old. Let in the power player because you are the power player and you deserve the best.”
She met Alexa’s gaze, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She took a moment to compose herself and was desperate to lighten the mood. She forced a grin through her tears and blew her nose with the tissue Alexa offered her.
She then looked up. “Thank you. There’s a part of me that needed to hear that. I’m glad you had the courage to say it. I know you’re right. I told Henri the other day that I wished he was straight and single.”
Alexa burst out laughing. “Now there’s something. See, he’s a power player. If only he was straight and single.” She giggled. “Damn, he is a gorgeous one. Like so stunningly handsome he’s painful to look at sometimes. Was he ever a model?”
She nodded and chuckled. “Yep, but barely. He was flaky and only showed up when he liked the designer or it suited his schedule. He did not have the work ethic of his cousin.”
Alexa laughed. “That sounds like Henri. And you’ve got a point. Joe did have an epic work ethic.”
Kit sighed, taking a moment to turn inward, unable to shake the memory of Joe she had during her life-changing surgery. She finally turned to look at Alexa. “Joe predicted this, y’know.”
Alexa frowned. “Predicted what? I remember Joe being really supportive of you being the big record exec you wanted to be back in the day. I don’t understand what you mean.”
She nodded. “I forgot to tell you, that’s why. Yes, back in the day, Joe was very supportive of me being a big record exec—that’s true. He thought I’d make a good producer, but I could always tell he was holding something back. I could see it in his eyes and I never understood.”
She continued, despite shifting in her seat. “Sometime after I lost consciousness and before I woke up in my hospital bed, I saw Joe. Saw him, like he was right in front of me. He told me it was time to be out front. Meaning it was time for me to step away from the business side and for me to be the star. I found the interaction tremendously disconcerting and thought it was
