Jigsaw Girl

I begged you not too

"Lexa? Are you excited? Today is the big day!" Lexa's publisher and best friend Raven asks her over the phone.

Lexa thinks for a second. Sure she is excited. Who wouldn't be? Today is the day her very first book gets published. She's excited, but more nervous. No make that scared shitless.

Lexa is on the balcony of her loft, standing at the railing, while drinking her coffee and enjoying the view of the Detroit skyline. Lexa Woods has lived in the metro Detroit area her whole life, but it was in one of the upper middle class neighboring cities. Now she lives smack dab in the middle of her favorite city. To be honest, she never really liked Detroit before a few years ago. She saw it as a lot of people did. As the most dangerous city in America four years running. She saw the vacant and crumbling buildings as an eye sore, or just another place you could be murdered, instead of the broken yet beautiful buildings she sees them as now. She used to come to the city only for Tigers baseball games with her dad. That was it. But that was before. Before one night, before her...

"Don't worry Lex, a ton of fucking people are going to read that book. And they are going to love it. Seriously, you're going to be an even bigger pussy magnet then you are now." Raven says, filling up the silence from the other end. She sounds like she is at her office.

"I only want one person to read it, Rae. I don't care if anyone else does." Lexa sighs into the phone. "And did you really just say pussy magnet?"

"Sure the fuck did. I swear dude, if you actually got that sand out of your vagina and noticed how many fucking girls drool over your sad but hopeful puppy dog eyes... oh shit hold up." Lexa hears some ruffling on the other end. "Susan that better not be the last fucking bagel! That shit isn't on your fucking weight watchers program." Lexa can hear Raven talking to someone with in her office.

She hears something about Oprah and bread, from who she assumes is Susan, before the voices disappear from being too far away. She takes the opportunity to sip her coffee, and look over the view one more time, before heading back into her loft. She walks into the kitchen putting her cup in the sink.

"I swear I'll cut you Susan, use the bagel cutter on those sticky fucking fingers of yours. Shit! Sorry about that." Raven says, out of breath. "Bitch was trying to steal the last fucking bagel after I know she already had one."

Lexa laughs. "What did you do wrestle it from her?"

"You bet your sweet little ass I did. I sign the checks around here, and I say she can't have the last one. Plus, she has been doing really well and has lost a ton of weight. I'm just looking out for my employees. I'm such a caring boss."

Lexa laughs. "By threatening to use a bagel cutter on her? How did I think letting you be in charge of my career was a good thing?"

She can hear Raven chewing loudly on the other end. "Well you wanted your fucking book published, so I bought this publishing company and I got it published didn't I?"

Lexa looks over to her counter, where her book sits. "Yea you did. Seriously, thank you Rae. I mean it."

"No need to thank me, you know I needed something to do because I was bored out of my fucking mind! Being rich is so hard some times. Be thankful you're just a middle class peasant."

"You poor thing."

"What are bros for? Anyway, don't be scared. It's going to be a huge hit."

Lexa bites her lip, a nervous habit she could never get rid of. "Do you think she will be mad when she reads it?"

Raven doesn't say anything right away. "Well you are telling her story, but you still have that contract she signed, changed her name in the book and you used a Pen name. Which speaking of, how do you know she will even read it since you are using a pen name?"