DESIRE

3

Monday,
June 4, 2018
Marshall's POV: I rolled over grabbing my phone and shutting my alarm off. I groaned, rubbing my eyes gently as I opened them, it was 6 AM. I didn't have to be in the studio till 8:30. I sighed, sitting up and getting out of bed, heading to the shower. Once I finished in the shower I pulled on white track pants, a tank top, and some air forces and headed down to my home gym. I got my workout in for the day, running on the treadmill, pull-ups, sit-ups, my usual. I grabbed water from the fridge and took a long sip, suddenly my phone rang. I grabbed it from the kitchen table seeing Paul was calling me, I answered quickly.

"Hey, Paul what's up?"

"Hey, good morning Em. You at the studio yet?"

I shook my head and looked at the time, it was officially 8:00. "Nah, I'm heading over in a few though. Why what's up?"

"I was just checking, I think I might come in a little early though, and make sure everything is ready for Greg." He replied,

"I got it Paul, I'll make sure everything's set up correctly. I appreciate it though. But I'll see you in the afternoon right?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I'll be in around noon. I'll call you and let you know when I'm headed over, let me know if you need anything!"

"Thanks Paul, I appreciate it. I'm heading over now, I'll see you later." I ended the call as I got into my car. I pulled out of my driveway and headed to the studio. Once I arrived inside the studio I turned on the lights and sat down turning on the recording software, letting it load. I heard a knock on the door and opened it to see my assistant Brittany standing, giving me a soft smile.

"Good Morning Marshall, Greg Parker is here. He's downstairs, would you like me to tell him to come up?"

I shook my head giving her a gentle smile back, "I'm okay Brittany, thank you! I'll come down and get him." I followed her downstairs to the front of the building. The man was dressed nicely, jeans, a buttoned-up plaid shirt, and black Timberlands.  His hair was a dark brown, mid-length pulled into a man bun. I bit the inside of my cheek, a bit disgusted with his hair. It just didn't look right on him. He slowly walked over to me, putting out his hand, I shook it gently.

"Mr. Mathers, it's great to finally meet you. I'm Greg," he smiled gently,

"Please, call me Marshall." I let go of his hand, my hands immediately going into my pockets. "Well, welcome to the studio, I'll show you around. Follow me." I gestured for him to follow me upstairs. As we ventured upstairs he stopped and gazed at the photos up on the walls, the plaques in awe. He stopped and continued to follow me inside the studio. I shut the door, and told him to sit at the monitor controls,

"So are you familiar with this kind of equipment?" I asked sitting down next to him.

"Yes! I worked at a recording studio and a music store in Los Angeles. I'm originally from Santa Monica, I earned a Bachelor's degree in audio engineering in downtown LA. I've been around all of this equipment for 6 years now." He smiled and began turning on the soundboard.

I nodded, "Damn, we'll sounds like you know what you're doing," I let out a small chuckle. "Why'd you leave LA if I might ask?"

"My wife wanted to move back to Detroit since it's where she's lived most of her life. We thankfully have a vacation home down in Los Angeles. So we've travelled back and forth. I wanted to make her happy, so we both left." He shrugged. "But I will say I like living here better than Los Angeles. More quiet."

"Yeah I completely understand, 'happy wife happy life,' not practically in my vocabulary." I chuckled, "But that's sweet of you to do that for your wife, to make her happy." I leaned back, "She's lucky to have you."