Jonathan continued. “With the advent of 360 deals, the landscape of the industry is rapidly changing. Labels are now getting gobbled up every day. 360 deals are no longer a differentiator. In the last six months, we’ve been avoiding acquisition by Majestic Entertainment. We thought that installing Kit as the CEO upon my exit at the top of the new year would help to further this intent. However, we’ve run into some opposition recently from some board members.”
She felt her blood start to boil with an underlying anger directed at Chris Diamond. She knew he was the one responsible for influencing the board members away from having her lead as CEO, mainly because she wouldn’t get on board with his aggressive acquisition strategy.
Sensing Kit’s discontent, Jonathan shifted his gaze to her. “It’s not that they’re in doubt of your abilities as CEO, they’re looking for a differentiator. My dad, myself and the majority of the board are unanimous that you’re the perfect fit as my successor. However, there are two other board members, one of which has a great deal of shares and more pull in the decision. They’re the swing vote and they’re making this election of a CEO much more difficult than it has to be. They’re playing the differentiator card.”
As Jonathan continued with suggestions on strategy and how to successfully achieve their agenda, Lew was busy observing Kit closely. Although he knew she was a perfect fit to be CEO of the very record company he built, something in his gut told him that it was her head making that decision, not her heart. He knew it was necessary to have a private conversation with her to get to the bottom of it.
Lew inched forward until he was on the edge of his seat and engaged her. “Kitten, do you still want the CEO seat? Or would you prefer to be an artist?”
His brown eyes seemed to twinkle when the word ‘artist’ rolled off his tongue and he suddenly became concerned that he was imposing his agenda on her. He reined himself back and reminded himself to remain objective.
Kit swallowed hard as the whole room seemed to cave in around her. She felt suffocated and backed into a corner. All eyes on her, anticipating her decision. Lew sensed her trepidation immediately.
He met eyes with everyone in the room individually. “Give us a moment privately, please.”
They filed out one by one, with Jonathan being last, giving his father a cautionary glance as he closed the door behind him. Lew patted the seat next to him on the sofa. Kit made her way over and sat next to him.
He gazed into her eyes. “I can tell you’re uncertain. You’ve wanted this position since you moved to L.A. It’s all you ever thought about. Yet now you’re doubting that with all the success of your single. You’re conflicted because deep down you wanted to be the artist since you were a kid. You let your fears get the best of ya and maybe you didn’t have the support you needed. Now you do.”
He took her hand in his. “You can have whatever you want. Know that. Do you need time to make your decision? Because, Kit, we’re talking more than a single here. Kit-Kat has the potential to be a wildly successful global brand and personality. You’ve got star power and that’s not something that can be learned or taught, it’s inherent.”
Lew spoke straight to her heart. She felt tremendously vulnerable and exposed, yet she knew she was in good hands. She trusted him. The question was whether she could trust herself to make the right decision. She was wrestling with it and doing her best not to give in to complete overwhelm.
She sighed. “My head is spinning to be honest.” She met his eyes. “Do I want to be an artist?” She shook her head and avoided his gaze and the question at hand again. She then continued. “Spence has been fielding offers. I still need to finish a demo.”
She frowned and met his eyes. “And what do you mean by more than a single? I’ve seen Sully’s career skyrocket. Hell, I helped him get there and I don’t know that I want to be out touring all year long. I don’t know if I’m cut out for it.” She sighed. “Lew, I don’t know how to be that successful global artist like Sully does.”
He chuckled. “Yeah you do, Kitten. C’mon, kid, give yourself some credit. You may be a little lost and a little out of practice, that’s true.”
He then raised his eyebrow. “I did my research on you well before we met, y’know. Anyone who gets up to the executive level at Diamond has been through a very stringent vetting process. We go a step beyond your standard background check. And then there are those that I have my eye on. You were one of those people before you even started negotiating with me for Gypsy Tango back in 1986.”
He met her eyes with an intensity that made her pay attention as he continued. “You and your band, Two Toned, were signed to RCA Records out of New York in the summer of 1983 based on a song that you wrote on your own called “Bye, Bye, Baby,” in late ’83. It was sold to the band Notorious because they were on the label and stupidly, RCA wanted a guy to front the song. They changed the arrangement and it ended up charting poorly. Landed at number seventy-two on the Billboard Hot 100.”
He met her eyes and could see the gut-wrenching disappointment.
