Before The Throne {The Prequel to Kingdom} {An Eminem Story}

Chapter Four.

*One Month Later*

Tuesday

6:00 p.m.

Los Angeles, California

Marshall was in the studio working on a few tracks for his album with Dr. Dre and even a couple of songs for Tupac's Resurrection soundtrack. He'd been a lifelong fan of Pac and he was honored to put his production skills to work on his album. Marshall and Dre were like a dynamic duo when it came to working on music together. Marshall's lyrics on a beat produced by Dre was magical.

Over the past month, Marshall and Alexis had grown unexpectedly closer as friends. They would find time to hang out whenever their schedules would allow, which wasn't too often, but it was still often enough. She'd hung out with him and his crew plenty of times, but he hadn't really gotten a chance for one on one time with her since the VMAs after party. He knew it would happen eventually, so he wasn't tripping.

It still amazed him how down to earth, grounded and incredibly independent she was from what he could see. She was also secretly hilarious to talk to and he had to admit he underestimated just how funny she could be. She was practically like one of the boys and matched their energy perfectly. Only reason why she wasn't completely like one of the boys was because all he could think about was having her in his bed. The boys enjoyed playfully flirting with her every so often, but they never went too far or made her feel uncomfortable. They truly appreciated her spirit and her personality. Her looks were an added bonus.

She was definitely like a breath of fresh air in his crazy, fast paced world. He had even considered introducing her to Hailie and Alaina, but he also wasn't going to allow just anybody around his girls. He was very protective of them. It was nothing against Alexis, that's just how he was.

Neither one of them had gotten to experience the other in the studio yet, but Marshall knew it was a matter of time. He'd be lying if he said he didn't secretly play both of her albums whenever he had free time to himself. He hated to admit it, but when he said she just had talent, that was an understatement. She had it. The way she would sing and how she would express her notes was amazing and she definitely had some deep lyrics. It was almost like she was a softer, R&B version of his alter ego, Slim Shady.

As Marshall continued working on the music, he heard his phone ringing. He paused the music and grabbed his phone from his pocket.

"Yo, what up?" He answered.

"Slim, what up, man?" 50 greeted him, "I'm having a pool party at the crib and I was wondering if you wanted to slide through and bring the boys. Maybe even bring Lexi to come kick it wit' us."

"Hell yea. I'll let them knuckleheads know and see what Lex is up to."

"Aight, man. Party starts at 8:00. See ya there."

"Aight, see ya."

Marshall hung up the phone and sent a text to his D12 crew, informing them of 50's pool party. He went to his contacts and scrolled down until he found Alexis' number. He pressed the button to call her and placed the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Yo, Lex. What you doin' tonight?" He asked her.

"I just got finished recording this track with Ashanti. Why, what's good?"

"50's havin' a pool party tonight. You comin' or whateva?"

"Yeah, I could come through. What time?"

"8:00." He nodded his head.