“Sully. How was the show tonight?”
The voice sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn’t seem to place it. “It was good. Who is this?”
He chuckled. “It’s Lew. Is this a bad time?”
Sully leaned forward, perched on his knees, suddenly alert, wondering why Lew Diamond was calling him so late on his cell phone. “No, no. I’m in a limo on the way to the Plaza.”
“You’re in New York?”
Sully nodded. “Yep. For two nights. We play Meadowlands, but I didn’t want to stay in New Jersey. I have some things to tend to here in the city.”
“Good. That’s convenient.”
Sully frowned. “What’s convenient?”
“You’re in New York and we need to have a discussion. Tomorrow isn’t good for me, but tonight is. Tell your driver to come to my place. Here’s my address.” He rattled it off.
Sully was shocked. “Huh? Why?”
Lew’s voice became stern. “Sully, this is something I’d prefer to discuss with you in person. I highly suggest that you take the time to meet with me now.”
Sully shifted in his seat. “Yeah, yeah, ok. What’s the address again?” He hastily pressed the button to lower the partition between the back and the front where the driver was, covered the phone and blurted out the address to the driver telling him he wanted to go there instead.
He then got back on the phone. “Driver says the eta is about ten minutes.”
“Excellent. I’ll see you then.” Lew hung up.
Sully sat back and let out a breath. His whole body felt a jolt of anxiety. He was on high alert. He felt like he did in school when he was getting called into the principal’s office for mouthing off in class or getting into a fight in the hallway.
He shook his head as his mind raced. He immediately dug deep into the pocket of his jeans to find a vial of cocaine. He did two bumps to help himself focus.
Ten minutes later, as Jonathan was reviewing Kit’s paperwork in his father’s study, he heard the doorbell ring. He frowned, confused for a moment as he looked over at his father who was sitting in his chair, reviewing a copy of Kit’s contract.
Jonathan looked at him. “Are you expecting someone at this hour?”
He didn’t flinch, he kept reading the contract. “Yep.”
Jonathan shook his head. “Shit, really? Dad, it’s close to midnight! You should be in bed. Mom’s gonna kill you.”
Before Jonathan could continue, the housekeeper, Miranda, came in and looked at both of them. “Mr. Diamond, Mr. Foxx is here to see you.”
Jonathan looked at his father. “No you didn’t.”
He met Jonathan’s eyes. “I did. And get out of my office. This meeting is about a personal matter. Go get him, bring him in and then leave us alone, so Miranda can go to her room and go to sleep.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes and walked out, noticing Sully standing in the foyer, looking intimidated. Jonathan sighed and approached him. “Hey Sully, this way.” He nodded silently and followed Jonathan into the study.
Lew stood up and offered a friendly grin. “Sully, glad you could make it here on such short notice.” He extended his hand. As Sully nodded and shook his hand, Jonathan left the room.
“Please, have a seat.” Lew walked over to the leather sofas and motioned to them. As they both took their seats, Lew looked at him and grinned, attempting to make him feel more comfortable. “Tell me more about the show tonight.”
Sully sat back and nodded. “It was decent. It wasn’t one of our best, in my opinion, but the band is tired. All the guys are tired, myself included. I’m not using that as an excuse, it just is. Lew, we’ve been on the road almost two years. I don’t know why you called me here, and I don’t want to sound like some ungrateful bastard, I love performing, but a tour this long is bullshit. And we’ve made Diamond a whole ton of money. This cannot happen again.”
Lew raised an eyebrow, surprised by Sully’s unfettered launch into his opinions. He wasn’t annoyed by it at all, he actually found Sully’s blunt honesty refreshing. He was feeling more compassionate and had gained some understanding as to why Kit and Sully were struggling in their marriage.
He nodded and met Sully’s eyes to assure him. “I’m sorry it ended up that way. It’s the longest run any Diamond artist has had. I can’t imagine it’s been easy on you or the band and your personal lives. What can I do for you?”
Sully stared at him, stunned. “I haven’t really thought about it, Lew. I just want off the road. I want my life back.” He sighed. “I want my wife back. God knows I’ve fucked up my marriage.” He shook his head and looked away.
Lew sighed. “Sully look at me.” He met Lew’s eyes. “You gotta get off the fucking cocaine! It’s out of control. And I don’t know what else happened on the road, it’s none of my damned business, but if you continue down this path, you’re gonna lose it all. All of it. You need to grow up and get your shit together!” He nodded. “I mean it.”
Sully nodded and cast his eyes down. “Oh yeah, I know you do. And I know it’s not a threat, you’re looking out for your label. I get it. I’m a liability.”
Lew chuckled. “Looking out for my label? You think that’s what this is about? You think I called you and asked you to come to my home at nearly midnight for a private meeting because I’m looking out for my label? Ah shit, kid, you’re not getting it.”
He shook his head and stared at him more intently. “You know how many artists have fucked up their lives because they couldn’t handle the fame, the
