Jonathan tilted his head to the side. “We both got fired, so I’m guessing that yeah they did. I hope he isn’t spreading that shit to gossip rags out there.”
Kit motioned for Jonathan to come inside as they started heading toward the house. “I’d guess that he didn’t. There’s no real angle there. He wanted to discredit us in front of the board so he could move his agenda forward. No doubt Lew is turning over in his grave right about now.”
Jonathan let out a long sigh. “You know it. I guess it’s time to start figuring out my new life.” He chuckled. “And I guess it’s time for you to focus on being an artist. Maybe this worked out for the best after all.” He donned an optimistic smile.
She grinned. “Maybe it did. First things first, I gotta buy a fucking car!” They both laughed loudly.
She continued. “I haven’t had a car since Diamond made me an exec. It’s always been a company car.” She tilted her head to the side. “Jonathan, what are you going to do now?”
They entered her entertainment room and took seats across from each other. He thought about it for a moment and met her eyes. “I think I’m gonna start a production company. I have the capital from the inheritance. Granted, that’s tied up in probate for a while, but I’m sure Mom will cut me a check. I have my trust fund too—Beth can’t touch that, so I can use that as seed money if I need to.”
Kit’s green eyes twinkled. “I know a bunch of investors too, Jon. I can do some intros for you. It’s not wise for me to personally invest in anything right now because of the separation, but I can hopefully help with additional connections.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’d like that. Thanks. I’m going to stay on the film side. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed running Diamond Records. I think I’m better suited as a production studio head. Maybe delving a little bit into development. Exercise that creativity muscle a bit.”
She offered him a friendly smile. “I get it.”
He sat back. “It’s time to put some feelers out. Time to start a whole new chapter.”
She nodded and winked. “I’m with you on that.”
After Jonathan left, the reality set in that Kit would never again set foot in her corner office at Diamond Records, nor would she take a seat at the boardroom table for a meeting with her team. Anxiety seized her and she felt herself starting to unravel.
Diamond Records had been her safety net for years. Even though she was excited about embarking on her career as an artist, the abrupt removal of Diamond from her life so closely after Lew’s death felt like a massive earthquake that left her life in rubble.
It felt like everything was collapsing. She’d be leaving her home in two weeks, a home that had been in her family for decades. She was no longer employed with Diamond as their Chief Creative Officer and her beloved car was gone, leaving her with an empty garage save Sully’s black Ferrari Testarossa, a car she had no desire to drive. Then there was the looming separation from Sully that hung in complete uncertainty. He had been disturbingly silent lately. No phone calls, no protesting. Nothing.
The cadence of her life was changing at a rapid pace and she reminded herself to go with it, just like she consistently instructed all the artists she had worked with before. She could hear her own advice ringing out in her head. “Let the music move through you, the words, the timing, the rhythm. Let it build its own momentum and flow with that. Welcome the process. When you go against the flow is when you lose the groove.”
The last thing she wanted was to lose the groove, but right now she didn’t know how to find it. She felt like that hermit crab Lew had told her about several weeks ago. She realized that rather than resist the process, welcoming it in would be a more favorable choice in the long run.
She sadly realized that there was no point in staying in the house even though she still had two weeks to get things together. Too many ghosts, too many memories.
She called Candice and set the gears in motion to move immediately. She sighed as she concluded the call, knowing it was best to pull the bandage off. It was time to begin again.
CHAPTER 18
Sully roused and rolled into the middle of the bed. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting as he focused, his head throbbing. He groaned as he held his hand to his head. He sniffled and sat up slowly, sighing. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and got up, padding across the room to grab his white robe.
Clad only in his robe, he headed into the living room of his suite and growled seeing there were still two girls passed out—leftovers from the after party the night before. He vaguely remembered seeing them hanging on Tony the night before. He then shook his head, annoyed that Tony had left them behind for him to deal with.
The suite was in complete disarray littered with beer bottles and abandoned plastic party cups. Flying high on too much cocaine the night before, he had invited everyone back to his suite for an after party.
He shook his head again as regret washed over him. It suddenly became clear to him that this was his life and he felt disgusted by it. He headed over to one of the girls, who was clad only in a pair of skimpy panties.
He nudged her gently and spoke sternly. “Hey, get up. It’s time to go.”
When she groaned and ignored him, he grew frustrated
