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Tahiry nearly laughed at the traffic laws talk. It was pure cuteness seeing Ariya so happy, even though she kept dodging the tough stuff. "Girl, your man's making traffic safety look like a whole vibe. I mean, proper turn signal timing? That's relationship goals right there." The way Ariya lit up over simple stuff made Tahiry question her own dating standards. "We need this content on social media asap. Get us some professional camera angles on those perfect parking jobs." Shepictured the most satisfying video compilation ever - each parking job synced perfectly to dramatic music beats. The kind of thing she'd still be watching at 3 AM with no regrets. Her reporter's instinct told her most people would find this obsession strange, but his excitement over the simple things beat any breaking news story hands down."Pretty sure his driving skills need their own reality show. Make those dash cam compilations pop off."

Tahiry knew exactly which buttons to push, and that dating app comparison? Too real. "Listen, some of us appreciate a man who follows traffic laws," she said, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably. The Kawasaki thing still sucked—burying herself in paperwork didn't make it any less real, but she wasn't ready to deal with that yet. Her friend's obvious worry made her throat tight. But damn if talking about Pearce didn't make everything brighter. "You know what's scary? I actually do light up about him. Even when he's driving exactly at the speed limit and using his turn signal a full block in advance." She snorted at the billboard suggestion, already imagining it. "Okay, but the billboard better have his perfect parallel parking form on it. That's the real flex." Her eyes crinkled with amusement. "And don't even get me started on his impeccable three-point turn technique."

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Tahiry's whole mood shifted when the Four Seasons came up. No phone signal in massage rooms? That's the dream right there. "For real? You've been planning a sneaky escape too?" The thought of him checking beach pics during work stuff made her want to high five him through the screen. His suggestion about staying close hit exactly right - why stress about passports when paradise was a car ride away? "Okay but this is actually brilliant though. A vacation where I don't need another vacation to recover?" she said. Her mind already started living that balcony life, complete with room service and zero guilt about ignoring emails. "When anyone asks, I'll say I'm doing a deep dive investigation into local hospitality standards. It's called being dedicated to the story, you know?"

Irza watched as Tahiry plopped on the chair in front of him, getting what she meant about needing an escape. A desert island sounded like heaven right now. Goodbye, responsibilities, drama and stress. The Four Seasons by the beach kept showing up in his browser history—those balconies overlooking the Atlantic had been calling his name for months. "I know exactly what you mean. Last week I caught myself browsing tropical resorts during a conference call," he said, thinking about how many tabs he'd had open on his laptop. "But if you really want to decompress, I might have a better suggestion than a desert island. There's this amazing beachfront hotel I know of—private balconies, world-class spa, and absolutely no cell service in the massage rooms. The best part? It's only a couple hours' drive from here. Who says you have to run away to escape?"

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Obviously, Nicole would get sentimental about the cow - it was one of the things she loved about her. The combination of wine and the woman's moral dilemma over wagyu had Tahiry living her best life. Only her friend would get this worked up over fancy beef. "New narrative … this steak was created by unicorns using rainbow magic. Much better than the farm story." The ridiculousness of their conversation made everything better. "For real … I thought my luxury cow spa concept was revolutionary. But now I'm invested in whatever you're imagining. Your face is giving award-winning screenplay vibes." These dinners with Nicole always turned into the best kind of weird. "Enough of this gibberish talk. What’s up with you? Anything to update me on?” She wanted to shake off the silly farm talk - as much fun as it was, she needed the real scoop from her friend.

She's midway through chewing the piece of wagyu when her eyes widened at Tahiry's question. For a moment, it's as if she were frozen in time. A cough briefly subsiding before her wine glass is in her hands and brought to her lips. "Okay, I don't want you to tell me that this was a real animal halfway through eating. I want to pretend the whole prior to me eating this it was not a real living cute creature on a farm running around a yard with organic grass." Perhaps it's the alcohol that's bringing up the images of a beautiful farm in--is that Switzerland she's imagining? Her head shook as if to knock the pictures away before there's a chuckle breaking from her lips. "That's certainly one way to get me to hand over extra pieces of steak."

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Tahiry wasn't having any of that driving excuse. "Organizationally motivated sounds like something from a dating app bio trying too hard." The way Ariya brushed off her illness made her inner mama bear stir. "Being one in a million hits different when it's your health … and using work as a distraction isn't it, sis." She wanted to press the issue but checked herself. "But seeing you light up about Pearce, even with his Tokyo Drift tendencies, is everything." Her usual cynicism disappeared watching real love in action. She'd seen relationships crash and burn but this was different. Real different. The way Ariya's whole face lit up talking about Pearce made her want to believe in love again, even if his driving skills belonged in a video game tutorial. "Trophy case is too basic. We need billboards, social media, the works. This is your moment.”

The laugh bubbled out of Ariya before she could stop it, because seriously? Tahiry's play-by-play of Pearce's alleged Fast and Furious audition was too much. Her mouth twitched upward as she tried—and failed—to keep a straight face. "Alright, fine, he's not exactly perfect," she managed between lingering chuckles. "But you're being dramatic. He's just…organizationally motivated about his driving." She tilted her head, wearing her most innocent expression, like that somehow made her ridiculous defense sound better. But there was no denying that her friend’s reaction to her illness had knocked something loose inside her chest, terrifying and absolutely impossible to ignore. It wasn’t pity—thankfully, she hated pity—but the concern was unmistakable. “Yeah, Kawasaki’s back,” she said, almost casual. “It’s rare, but you know me—always aiming to be one in a million.” She paused, then added, “Work’s fine. Keeps me busy, which is probably a good thing.” Her smile softened at her friend’s last comment. "So I'm goals now? Well, that's going straight to the trophy case."

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Frequencies and sound specs? Tahiry's brain had left the chat. The dress screamed 'buy me' in ways that made equipment planning seem totally irrelevant. Isaac was speaking pure tech, but all she processed was 'blah blah frequencies blah.' "Let's make a deal ... five minutes of dress appreciation then straight back to your audio kingdom. Zero shade to your speaker setup plans, but this dress is literally everything right now. And yeah, I know we're supposed to be adulting about equipment, but look at this dress! Your bass levels will still be there after I process all this sparkly goodness ... no lie. You've got to admit, even bass levels can't compete with this level of shine. Who says we can't multitask? Shopping and sound planning are basically the same thing ... if you squint real hard and tilt your head sideways."

Isaac's soul does a little death spiral as Tahiry floats away on yet another sparkly tangent. The sound system specs are burning a hole in his mental pocket, but here they are, discussing sequins. "Yeah, the dress is nice. Very... sparkly." He needs to redirect this conversation back to next week's equipment setup. The vertigo-friendly lighting arrangements won't plan themselves. "Can we go shopping another time? The sound specs need sorting first. You know how particular I am about frequencies." Shopping can wait. Music comes first. It's the one constant he's learned to trust, from sleeping in his car to headlining clubs. "The dress will still be there tomorrow. Right now, we need to talk bass levels and speaker placement."

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Tahiry regretted every decision that led to this moment in Pearce's car. His driving made those roller coaster rides at Carowinds look tame. And now he was giving her relationship advice while bragging about his bedroom adventures. She needed to mentally bleach her mind ASAP. "Okay, wow, TMI about your sex life with Ariya. And maybe we should focus on basic road safety before discussing my love life?" she laughed nervously. The car swerved again, and she updated her mental will, she'd never ask him for another ride. "Just remember … if we crash, I'm coming back as the world's most annoying backseat driver ghost."

pearce couldn't believe how dramatic the other next to him was being but he couldn't help but to laugh. after all, she was acting as though he were the worst driver on the road. "come on, i'm not that bad," he reassured, shaking his head at the woman. "by the way, you'll find love when you least expect it. that's what happened to me. a couple of dinners with ariya and i was hooked, and not just because of the sex. i mean, she was amazing from the start." he explained as he took a sharp turned, barely missing the curb as he did so.

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CLOSED STARTER

LOCATION: His office TIME: Friday, afternoon FOR: @irzaozer

Tahiry dropped into the comfy chair in front of Irza's desk. She felt totally done with everything. Like, the kind of done where your brain just wants to shut off and go to sleep for a year. "I need a vacation. A real one … not those fake ones where you check your email every five minutes," she said. The stack of papers on his desk made her want to scream into a pillow. Work was seriously crushing her soul today. "Have you ever wanted to just throw everything in the air and run away to a desert island?" She wondered if someone as perfect as him ever felt like their life was a hot mess express. He could also dream about escaping to some beach somewhere, drinking coconut water and pretending responsibilities didn't exist.

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ZOE SALDANA ph. for WWD Magazine Weekend, 2022

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ZOE SALDANA getting ready for the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival

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Tahiry did a double-take at Ariya's mention of her illness. She wanted to ask a million questions, but she kept it real. "Hold up … Kawasaki Disease is back? That's so not cool. Are you doing okay at work?" And with life in general. Working at Mercy had to be extra tough with health stuff going on. The driving thing made her laugh though - it was wild how love made people blind to each other's flaws. "Girl, I swear on my last macaron that your man took that corner like he was auditioning for Fast and Furious. My soul went on vacation for a hot second." She had to smile at how Ariya lit up talking about Pearce. It gave her the warm fuzzies seeing her friend so happy. "I'm living for this energy right now. You two are goals, for real."

Ariya smiled, watching her friend devour the macaron, it was so cute to see her enjoying her food. “Please, never apologize for enjoying good food. I get it.” She was exactly the same in that aspect. “Life’s good. I mean, other than the whole Kawasaki Disease coming back, I’m happy,” she said, laughter bubbling up at her comment about Pearce’s driving. “That bad? Are you sure it’s my Pearce you’re talking about? He’s a great driver.” She meant it too—in all their time together, she’d never questioned his driving abilities. “Anyway, I am living my best life. He’s good to me.” The truth in those words surprised her. Despite having pushed him away, he’d proven that he was all in when he refused to budge. He clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

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A huge favor? From Matthew? This had to be good. Tahiry figured out that the best leads usually weren't flashy, they just seemed casual. And Matthew’s nervous energy right now was giving off major ‘this is going to be wild’ vibes. “A favor?” She let out a giggle. “Let’s be honest, the last time someone asked me for a ‘huge favor’ it was to go to their grandma’s bingo night. Which, by the way, ended with me accidentally winning the grand prize and having to dodge angry octogenarians for weeks.” She grabbed a menu, mostly to have something to do with her hands. “Whatever this is, it can’t be worse than that mess.” Her track record with favors was like a highlight reel of chaos theory in action. At least this time she wasn't in a room full of competitive seniors wielding bingo daubers like weapons of mass destruction.

he was still trying to figure out how in the hell he was going to ask tahiry to be his girlfriend, especially when all the two of them had ever been was friends. of course, he was only asking her to be his girlfriend as a front and not for real. his eyes focused on the entrance, thumb nervously tapping against the table as he waited for tahiry to finally join him. he almost assumed she was standing him up. that was, until she was rushing inside the diner to join him. "all good," he paused and pushed his fingers through his hair, "no, no. nothing that dramatic. i just, i need a huge favor…"

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Tahiry knew all about smooth operators from her years of interviews, but this guy was different. "A cappuccino would be great, thanks," she said. His excitement about matchmaking threw her off balance - most interview subjects put up walls, but here was this guy spilling his guts about love like it was the most natural thing ever. The Netflix thing should have made her inner cynic go wild (oh my gosh, reality TV?), but his raw honesty shut that voice right up. When he dropped that line about 'sensing' connections between people, it should have been total cheese - but it hit different coming from him. "So you're basically saying you have a sixth sense for romance? That's quite a superpower." Her pen moved across the page, capturing that bit about his parents. The reporter in her brain screamed to dig into that story, but first things first. "And your clients clearly trust this superpower of yours ... What do you think makes them choose a matchmaker over dating apps?" It was the million-dollar question she'd been dying to ask since her editor dropped this assignment in her lap. Like, who needs a human matchmaker when your phone could do the job?

Arnav didn't normally agree to interviews and such but he'd been impressed by Tahiry's way of approaching him. She'd done a lot of research on him; that much was clear from her initial approach so he couldn't just turn her down. After all--exposure could only be good for him and the company right? "Hi Tahiry right? Yeah I'm Arnav, it's great to meet you as well." He shook her hand and gestured for her to take a seat across from him. He didn't miss the large folder in her arms and wondered just what it contained but chose not to draw attention to it just yet. "Can I get you something?" He asked at the same time as her question which had him chucking, "well then--I guess you're getting right into it huh? Tell you what--I'll answer this one and then we'll get you something to drink before continuing--deal?" Only once she agreed did he begin speaking once more. "I was really lucky to see a great partnership between my parents from a really young age and while I was always intrigued with the idea of someone else essentially 'brokering' a marriage between two strangers, I never thought it could be a career," he admitted with a chuckle.

"Then there was this show on Netflix called Indian Matchmaking, so of course the global reach was great...and it kind of showed me that even in this day and age so many people are struggling to find their person and I guess..without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, I can sense when two people belong together," he chuckled before shaking his head. "I know how that sounds--believe me, but my clients can vouch for my success a lot better than I can."

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CLOSED STARTER

LOCATION: Midtown TIME: Tuesday, late afternoon FOR: @isaacxcho

Tahiry lost her train of thought about borrowing DJ equipment from Isaac when a window display snagged her attention. "I know we're talking about the sound system thing, but this dress is too pretty to pass up right now," she said, completely distracted by the sparkles. "Like, you know when you walk into a room and want everyone to stop and stare? This dress would do that without even trying. I should be asking you about next week's setup but real talk - this dress is speaking to my soul. And yes, I'm totally changing the subject because look at all that glitter! It's basically saying wear me to your next big story and make all the other reporters jealous."

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CLOSED STARTER

LOCATION: Sapphire TIME: Thursday, night FOR: @nicolemcrtin

Tahiry let the wagyu beef take over her senses. The meat was perfect - so good she wanted to do a happy dance right there at the table. "Do you think I should buy a cow with my raise? Because this steak is making me want to change careers," she said. The wine buzz mixed with the thrill of celebration made everything seem extra funny tonight. Nicole showing up for this last-minute dinner made it even better. It was rare that she could do that when their schedules clashed so often. "I mean … I could keep it in my backyard. Feed it organic grass. Give it spa treatments. Way cheaper than these restaurant prices in the long run."

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CLOSED STARTER

LOCATION: Pearce's car lolol TIME: Monday, afternoon FOR: @pearcecallahan

Tahiry held onto anything she could grab in Pearce’s car, trying to hang on for dear life. The lunch break turned into a wild ride through Wilmington’s streets. His driving skills made her regret not calling one of those nice, normal rideshare drivers to take her to the mechanic. Ten minutes. That was all it should take. But with Pearce behind the wheel, those ten minutes felt like a lifetime. “Hey bud, I know you’re happy and all … but I’m not ready to die. I still haven’t found love yet,” she said, her voice shaking like her hands. Next time, she’d definitely call a rideshare - at least they cared about their ratings and basic traffic laws. She was NOT signing up for another round of this crazy race.

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CLOSED STARTER

LOCATION: The cafe TIME: Monday, afternoon FOR: @arnavxkhanna

Tahiry clutched her notebook and pen, trying to ignore the noise as she headed towards the interviewee. “You must be Arnav. It’s nice meeting you.” She shook his hand and sat down facing him. The manila folder in her arms had all her research on his matchmaking business - pages and pages of testimonials from happy couples. She’d done her homework, and despite her skepticism about the whole thing, she had a job to do. “I have to ask … what made you decide to play Cupid? It’s kind of crazy how people still want a matchmaker in this day and age.” She clicked her pen, and kept her eyes trained on the male. The story wasn’t about exposing anything controversial - it was about understanding why people still believed in love enough to ask a stranger to help them find it.

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CLOSED STARTER

LOCATION: Midtown TIME: Tuesday, afternoon FOR: @ariyacl

Tahiry took a bite of her chocolate macaron and made a happy sound, forgetting for a moment where she was. “Oh no, I totally ditched you at the door! My bad,” she said with a laugh, walking back to Ariya. Tahiry felt super embarrassed - she’d been so wrapped up in the macaron she’d gone full zombie mode. The sweet treat was a killer, but her friend was more important. “Tell me everything … how’s life treating you? Pearce nearly killed me with his lack of driving skills the other day but all that aside, he looked super happy. You two must be living your best lives.” She wasn’t trying to be nosy. It made her happy to see other people happy.