Seeing that Phoebe Faulkner was utterly speechless, Dawn O'Connell gloated inwardly and shot another look at the male reporter she had bribed. 'Phoebe Faulkner, oh, Phoebe Faulkner, I'm going to ruin you for good today!'
"What do you mean, 'is it true'? It's obvious she's lying!" Having received his cue, the male reporter spoke into his microphone, his voice cutting through the crowd's murmurs with absolute certainty. "The Imperial Chief? How could the legendary Imperial Chief possibly fall for a woman with such a ruined reputation? If you ask me, Miss Faulkner must have made it all up just to save face!"
The reporter spoke with such conviction that the others in the crowd, who had merely been suspicious before, were now convinced it was impossible. It had to be a lie Phoebe Faulkner told just to save face. After all, the man in question was the enigmatic Imperial Chief.
