Katie checked her appearance once more. She knew she looked good, but she didn't want to look too good.
Rotating herself to check the view from the back, she decided it was suitably professional. Her tan jacket was well-tailored enough, and buttoned enough, to cover for how tight her white blouse was, while her slacks were agreeably slack. Her black bra and panties
were
fit for a date—a third date—but she didn't plan on showing those to Jeremy Renner.
She'd been surprised when his people had agreed to an interview. The website she wrote for, Feminist Forum, was unabashedly pro-social-justice, and though Katie was a fan, Renner had been in hot water with the site ever since he'd made a slut-shaming joke about Black Widow. They had to know she would be raking him over the coals for it, even if she tried to be polite about it.
No matter how big the actor, the routine was always the same. She showed up at the hotel he was staying at while he was in town, met a press guy who gave her a quick briefing—for some reason she wasn't to ask any questions about his involvement in the Bourne franchise—then she went up to his room with her recorder in her hand.
She found it a pretty normal room, neither a wreck nor obsessively clean. There was some for the maid to tackle but not a lot. Jeremy Renner was similarly dressed down, masculine-casual in an A-shirt under a flannel shirt. His pants were denim, loose and well-worn, and penny loafers covered his black-socked feet. A day's growth of stubble scratched his face and his hair was uncombed. Impressing her apparently wasn't a high priority.
"Katie, hi, I'm Jeremy." He took her hand in a quick shake, his grip tight, then slipped his hand back in a beckoning gesture, leading her into the main room.
It was pretty nice, well-cushioned chairs and sofa in a loose semi-circle around, wow, a fireplace. He seated himself, crossing his legs, and she followed suit. After some pleasantries, they started, Katie throwing some softball questions to get a feel for him. Listening to him evade giving definitive answers on some rumors she'd known he wouldn't comment on, she found him recalcitrant, a little uncomfortable but hiding it well.
She suspected he didn't take the prospect of being accused of slut-shaming too seriously, but found the whole idea, the principle of the thing, irritating. It was the kind of attitude she should've found infuriating, but instead it was somewhat endearing. She appreciated the odd stand more than a typical 'sorry you were offended' non-apology.
She respected him at least enough to start throwing hardballs. "So Jeremy, you've made some controversial statements lately—"
"Like that I like Hitler?"
"I know you didn't say that—"
"Because that would be a statement. Unless I was being sarcastic."
"Sarcasm doesn't translate well to text."
"If I was being sarcastic, then it's just a joke. A joke might not be funny, but it's not a statement."
"A joke can also be in poor taste. You said Black Widow was a slut. She's a role model for so many little girls—"
"And she can't be a slut at the same time?"
Katie's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe he'd said that. "I can't believe you said that!" she said.
"Well, I did," Jeremy continued. "What's wrong with being a slut? Iron Man certainly gets around. That doesn't stop him from being a hero. Would you be this upset if I called him a slut?"
"You didn't. You said Black Widow was a slut. Just because
your movies
don't have a lot of women for her to interact with—"
"Wouldn't that just make her a lesbian slut?"
Katie let out a note of shrill, disbelieving outrage. "That's—"