Wearing the Shoes that Fit You - Fan Fiction Eminem

How Bad

Marshall POV

"You're glowing," my assistant, Jeanine, said as she cocked her head to the side. "You've been walking around on clouds for days," she continued. "The guys are starting to wonder when the new songs will be coming."

I raised my brows as I looked at her, holding in the smile as I thought of Morena. The only way our date could have gone better would have been if I'd kissed her, but I'd held back. For a woman who seemed to have steel in her spine, she also gave me the impression of fragility. I hadn't wanted to push the envelope and then end up pushing her away. 

"That right?" I asked, deadpan. 

Jeanine nodded, her eyes crinkling with humor as I neither confirmed nor denied what she was talking about. As she started to chuckle, Denaun walked in. He glanced back and forth between Jeanine and I and then huffed. 

"You fucking told him?" he asked, causing me to turn to look at my longtime friend. Jeanine lifted a shoulder as she answered him. 

"He's removed," she said. "But not that far. He'd have picked up on it eventually."

I rolled my jaw and then raised my brows at Denaun. He grumbled as he fell into one of the chairs of my office, giving Jeanine a look before he met my gaze. When I maintained my stare, he sighed and then spoke. 

"There may be a bet working around the studio," he confessed. I leaned back in my chair as I continued to wait for more. It took him a minute, but then he caved. 

"You been acting like nothing touches you, man," Denaun explained. "It's got everyone excited. You write your best stuff when you're pissed or in love, so we've all been waiting because-" he cut off then, stopping himself. 

"Do continue," I encouraged, my tone dry. Denaun gave Jeanine another look and then slumped. 

"Man," he whined and Jeanine chuckled and then looked at me over his shoulder. 

"The bet covers a lot, Marshall," she said. "The primary one is how long before you end up in a booth. The secondary one covers whether you're going to be raging or happy when you do it," she explained. "There are side bets even with those, however."

"Did you start this?" I asked Denaun, capturing his gaze. He shook his head. 

"No," he denied. "But I might have some money down," he acknowledged. I sighed and shook my head. 

"Don't people have better things to do than worry about my love life?" I asked and Denaun laughed. 

"Not when your love life has led to some of the biggest hits you got, man," Denaun finally answered and I had to give him that. 

As Jeanine walked out of the office, Denaun watched her move. He and she had long had a tension that made me curious, but I'd left it be as not my business. When he turned back to me, he kicked his feet up and put his hands behind his head. His entire posture spoke of patient waiting. 

"What?" I asked, frowning at him. 

"Please," he said. "You know what I want to know. Details," he demanded. I shrugged as I looked away. As Morena's eyes floated across the back of my mind, I smiled. 

"How'd you meet her?" Denaun asked and I popped open my eyes, not realizing I'd closed them. 

"She lives near my place," I answered. "I'd been seeing her run for months and, a few days ago, I stopped." I didn't go into the details of why. It was a little embarrassing as to why. 

"And?" Denaun prodded. 

"And," I said, but my words were cut off by a text notification. I raised a finger, asking Denaun to wait silently as I checked the device. Opening it up, I couldn't help the grin that came to my face. 

Tell me people don't really eat this.

Below Morena's text was a picture of a can of 'spotted dick'. I'd heard of it before, though I couldn't remember if I'd ever eaten it. I wasn't going to pass up the softball she'd tossed me, though, so I went with the joke. 

I always figured that if it grew spots, it was time to see a professional. 

I replied and then waited. I saw the ellipses and bit my lip, only to look up when Denaun chuckled. I'd forgotten he was here. 

"You look like a damn teenager," he said, waving his hand at me. "All blushy and anxious for a response," he teased. I flipped him the bird and he laughed, only to do it louder when I heard the ding of my phone and I turned to it immediately. 

Not sure if I should be concerned that you've considered the possibility of growing spots...

She wrote and I nodded and licked my lips as I replied. 

Wasn't always a boy scout

I noted. I waited for a second and then started typing up more, not wanting to leave that hanging in the air. The last thing I needed was for her to pull back because of a joke, even if it were grounded in reality. She beat me to it, though. 

Rescue aside, I didn't picture you as a scout.

Nodding, I deleted what I was going to say, typing up a new response. From the distance, I heard Denaun stand up and say goodbye. I waved at him, completely into this conversation. I'd catch up with him later. 

If ur picturing me at all, then I'm good, I replied. Instead of a written response, a picture came through. When it loaded, I laughed. She'd sent an image of a grown man with thinning hair, a hairy belly peeking out underneath a tan, buttoned shirt and a green kerchief around his neck. He had a 70s porn stash and his hands on his hips. 

You sure? Morena teased. I kicked my feet up as I leaned back in my chair. I wanted to call, to hear her voice say my name again, but she'd started the exchange via text, and I didn't want to come on too strong. So, instead of doing what my fingers were itching to, I texted once more. 

Point taken. Picture me naked instead, I demanded. I chewed on my thumbnail as I waited for her response. The banter had been skirting the topic, but my text had just tossed it out in the middle of everything, much like a grenade. 

Hmm, Morena responded and I stared at the text for a full three minutes. I felt heat rise on the back of my neck as I waited for her to explain. Was that a "I'm just going to ignore the awkward" hmm? Or, was it an "I'm doing that right now" hmm? I couldn't ask her, but I fucking wanted to. Giving up on texting, I hit the call button. 

"Hi, Marshall," Morena said, her voice wrapping around my name much like I was presently imagining her legs would wrap around my waist. 

"What're you up to?" I asked. Morena seemed to hesitate before she responded. 

"I'm killing time at a store while I wait to meet some new employees," she answered. 

"New employees?" I prodded. 

"More bodyguards," she sighed. 

"Just how bad is it?"