Private Yellow Journalism

[Holly Starstorm]

The café tucked along one of Theed's quieter streets was busier than Holly Starstorm would have preferred.

Not unbearably so, but enough that the line stretched nearly to the door and every table seemed occupied by someone nursing a cup of caf while pretending not to listen to the conversations around them. Holly stood at the very end of the line, datapad tucked against her side, only half paying attention as the customers ahead of her slowly shuffled toward the counter.

Her thoughts were elsewhere.

There was something missing from the story she had been working on. She could feel it.

The facts were there. The interviews were solid. She had gone over the notes enough times that she could practically recite them from memory, but there was still some thread she hadn't managed to pull loose. Some question she hadn't thought to ask yet.

Holly frowned faintly to herself, staring at nothing in particular as she mentally rearranged the pieces for what had to be the hundredth time.

Then the door chimed.

She barely registered it at first.

Out of habit, Holly glanced over her shoulder.

Her expression immediately fell.

Teddy Zane had just walked through the door.

Of all the cafés in Theed.

Holly turned forward again with a quiet groan, rolling her eyes as though the ceiling might offer some explanation for why the universe had decided to punish her today.

Teddy Zane was a journalist, technically. Holly preferred the term tabloid parasite. He had a reputation for chasing scandal, stretching half-truths until they became headlines, and asking exactly the sort of questions designed to turn someone's worst day into tomorrow morning's entertainment. Worse, he seemed to carry himself with the absolute confidence of a man convinced he was performing some noble public service while doing it.

Holly had never been particularly good at hiding what she thought of him.

She heard footsteps behind her.

Of course.

Out of the entire café, Teddy took his place directly behind her in line.

Holly closed her eyes for half a second, knowing that professional courtesy dictated she say hello.

"Good morning Mr. Zane. Ruin any lives today?"

​

Well, that was professional courtesy with a little bit of Holly attitude.

Teddy Zane

 

[Teddy Zane]

Holly Starstorm​

Teddy Zane had been inside the café for all of six seconds before deciding the universe was exceptionally fond of him.

There were days when a man had to work for a story. He had to chase leads, cultivate sources, endure tedious press conferences, and pretend politicians were answering the questions they had actually been asked. Then there were days when Holly Starstorm simply appeared in front of him while he was trying to buy caf.

Teddy slowed as recognition settled in.

Well.

That changed things.

He adjusted the collar of his jacket and took his place behind her with the easy satisfaction of someone who had just discovered his morning was about to become significantly more entertaining. Holly had already noticed him. Teddy knew because she had performed that very particular maneuver where someone looked directly at you, immediately looked away, and then attempted to convince the entire room that nothing noteworthy had happened.

He considered saying nothing.

For nearly three seconds.

"Good morning Mr. Zane. Ruin any lives today?"

A grin spread across Teddy's face.

"Not yet."

He glanced toward the menu above the counter as though giving the question serious consideration.

"Still early, though."

The line shuffled forward. Teddy moved with it, hands slipping casually into his pockets. There were probably a dozen responses available to him, ranging from charming to deeply irritating. Experience suggested Holly would consider most of them deeply irritating regardless.

Then something occurred to him.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wait."

Teddy looked at her with sudden, genuine interest.

"How would you know?"

The grin returned.

"Starstorm, have you been reading The Core Examiner?"

There it was.

Teddy looked positively delighted by the possibility.

"You have, haven't you?"

Someone farther ahead glanced back at them. Teddy ignored them entirely.

"I knew it. All this time pretending you're above it, and somewhere you've got a subscription tucked away under a fake name." He nodded slowly, as though an investigation months in the making had finally reached its conclusion. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

That was obviously a lie.

Teddy leaned slightly to one side, trying to catch sight of the datapad tucked against Holly's side. He could not see enough of the screen to make anything out, but the presence of it alone was enough to make him curious.

Holly Starstorm standing in a café with that expression usually meant Holly Starstorm was working.

Which meant there was a story.

Teddy's grin softened into something considerably more dangerous.

"So."

His attention returned to her.

"What are we investigating?"

 

[Holly Starstorm]

Holly scoffed at his comment. “Please! I wouldn’t even use that rag as toilet paper. Your reputation is well known in this industry.”

She turned her nose up in a way that was meant to be haughty but just looked adorable instead. The truth was she hadn’t read his publication, but that didn’t mean her eyes weren’t drawn to it when she saw it out and about. Despite his many flaws Teddy was a good looking man and tended to draw her eye. That fact made her sick to her stomach but it was undeniable.

She caught him looking at her datapad and pushed it into her purse, glaring at him. “If you must know, I am here covering the opening of the new orphanage on stallion street. No reputations to ruin so I doubt you’d be interested.”

She turned her back on him, irritated and bristling, the effect of which was more comical than intimidating.

“What are you investigating? Someone at this cafe turn you down for a date and now you need gossip from her coworkers to get even?”

Teddy Zane

 

[Teddy Zane]

TAG: Holly Starstorm​

Teddy placed a hand over his heart. "Not even as toilet paper? That's vicious, Starstorm. There are people who work very hard on that rag."

Mostly Teddy, admittedly, but Holly didn't need the satisfaction of knowing that.

His grin only widened when she lifted her nose at him. Holly clearly intended the gesture to communicate disdain, superiority, perhaps the complete dismissal of his existence. Unfortunately for her, it mostly made her look adorable.

Teddy caught himself staring.

Well, that was irritating.

He had always known Holly Starstorm was attractive. Anyone with functioning eyes and a passing familiarity with the Holo News Network knew Holly Starstorm was attractive. Teddy had simply preferred appreciating that fact from a professional distance, preferably while she was somewhere else being judgmental.

Then she shoved the datapad into her purse.

Teddy's eyes followed it.

"The orphanage on Stallion Street?" He knew about the opening. It was exactly the sort of story Holly would cover, something respectable and earnest with smiling children, generous donors, and absolutely no chance of anyone waking up tomorrow to discover their mistress had given an exclusive interview.

"You're right. Not interested."

The answer came easily, but there was no joke attached to it. Teddy might happily ruin the morning of a senator caught crawling out the wrong bedroom window, but he wasn't going to manufacture scandal around a building full of children who had already been handed enough trouble by the galaxy.

Then Holly asked whether someone at the café had turned him down for a date.

Teddy went still.

His eyes settled on her.

The smile that followed was slower than the others.

"Oh, that's interesting."

The line moved. Holly stepped forward and Teddy followed, reclaiming the distance between them without hesitation. "I came here for caf, Starstorm. I wasn't investigating anything." His gaze dipped briefly toward her purse before returning to her face. "Then I found a rival journalist hiding her datapad from me and asking about my dating life."

He leaned just close enough to make lowering his voice worthwhile.

"Now I have questions."

Teddy straightened before she could decide whether to move away from him. "For example, why was that the first place your mind went? You could've accused me of blackmail, extortion, bribery, stalking politicians, inventing anonymous sources, or any of the other things I'm sure they warn young journalists about before handing them a press badge."

His grin returned.

"But no. You went with a woman turning me down."

Teddy studied her expression with all the exaggerated concentration of a journalist who had just stumbled across the missing piece of an investigation.

"Almost sounds like you've thought about it."

There it was. He could practically see tomorrow's cover already.

HOLLY STARSTORM OBSESSED WITH TEDDY ZANE'S LOVE LIFE?

The subtitle would need work.

The customer ahead of Holly moved away from the counter. Teddy glanced toward the newly opened space and then back at her.

"Careful, Starstorm. Keep asking questions like that and people are going to start talking."

He paused, eyes flicking over her once before meeting hers again.

"And you know what I'm like when people start talking."