C-Samp and Flameboy record together... but what does the Em-Girl think?

Is it getting hot in here, or is that just the mega-burn from the anger we hear in Cory Sampson and Jesse Cinder's new song?

Looks like C-Samp and Flameboy have been up to a lot more than having dinner. We don't know when it happened, but according to a post on Cory's Facebook page from the wee hours of this morning, they co-wrote and recorded a song called "Shady Kind of Love" together and have released it exclusively on Cory's website.

We'll admit it: we ponied up the $1.29 to download and listen. The tune is catchy, but the real draw is the lyrics. Picture a new-millennium, scorned-male breakup anthem that rivals Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know," and you'll be getting warm. It's one of those songs that makes you stop what you're doing the first time you listen to it, wonder if you could possibly be hearing the words right, then listen all over again to be sure.

Who's "Shady Kind of Love" about? While it doesn't name anyone specifically, we do know a real-life ex of Cory's who fits the blond-haired and hazel-eyed description of the woman in the song.

We thought the C-Samp and Em-Girl breakup was nasty before. Grab your popcorn, folks—looks like the show has just begun.

Have any of you Hood-lums heard Cory Sampson and Jesse Cinder's new song? Should they keep making music together?

Emily had spent the first hour she was awake on Sunday morning curled up in bed, fighting with herself about what she would say to Wally when she met with him at his house later on in the day. Sure, they were supposed to have a planning session for her column, but some things took priority. The article she'd seen posted on the front page of Wally Hood Goes Hollywood about Cory and Jesse's new song, with Wally alluding to it being about her, was right up there on that list.

Mostly she wanted to know what Wally had been thinking when he had written and published the article this morning. She'd texted him to ask why he hadn't spoken with her first as soon as she had read the post. That had been hours ago. Now, as she stood on the front stoop of Wally's Tuscan-style house, about to ring the doorbell, a quick glimpse at her phone told her he still hadn't replied.

Time's up, Emily thought, jabbing the doorbell with her finger. If she was going to work with him, they had to set some ground rules about what was off-limits.

"Hey, you must be Emily. Come in—I'm on my way out."

If Emily hadn't been addressed by name, she would have thought she was at the wrong house. She let her doorbell-ringing hand fall to her side as she took in the model-thin woman with lavender hair in front of her and swallowed the question she'd been ready to greet Wally with.

"Is Wally here?" Emily asked. Her voice gave away her surprise and confusion.

The lavender-haired woman nodded and offered her a friendly smile, still holding open the door. Emily stepped inside.

"See you tomorrow!" the woman called out, presumably to Wally. She left the house, shutting the door behind her.

"Who was that?" Emily asked when Wally materialized in the hallway, momentarily forgetting that less than a minute ago, her plan had been to confront him about the unanswered text message, since he couldn't escape. The woman looked like someone Emily had seen before, but she was having a hard time placing her.

"And you call yourself a fashion columnist," Wally scoffed, raking a hand through his shaggy chestnut hair. His sea-blue eyes were filled with amusement. "I can't believe you don't recognize Simone Albany."

Of course—that's why the woman had looked familiar. "The stylist?" Emily asked, even though she knew the answer.

"The one and only. I just hired her."

She crinkled her forehead. "Since when do you have a stylist?"

"I have some TV appearances coming up," Wally said. "I'm trying to branch out past online reporting. Got to look dapper for prime time." He paused, watching Emily stand motionless at the door. "Are you going to stay there all day, or can we go sit down?"

He turned around and walked back in the direction he'd come from, leaving Emily to trail behind him. That's when she remembered what she wanted to ask him.

"Stop," she said. "We need to talk about something before we start working."

Wally continued walking, heading for his living room. "Want anything?" he asked. "Coffee, juice, water?"

Emily hurried to catch up to him, trying to keep her balance in her wedge-heeled sandals. "An answer."

"To what?" He sat down on an enormous tufted sofa, reaching for a laptop computer that was on the glass coffee table in front of him.

She remained standing. "Did my text message come through this morning?"

Wally placed the computer on his lap. "I spent the morning going over wardrobe choices with Simone and I haven't looked at my phone yet. What's up?"

Emily examined Wally's face and posture, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. They both knew he was all but surgically attached to his phone, and it was unlike him to risk missing a breaking celebrity news story by not checking it all morning.

"Really?" she finally asked. Even if Wally hadn't looked at his phone, he had to have some idea what she'd texted him about.

"Really what?" He opened the laptop's lid.

"The story on your site."

"Which one?" Wally didn't look or sound concerned, which only made Emily more confused.

"The one that goes on and on about some new song that was just released by Cory and Jesse and speculates how it has to do with me," she reminded him. "What's that all about?"

Wally tapped at the laptop's keyboard, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Just posting the day's entertainment news. That's what my site is, after all."

He sounded so cool and nonchalant. Emily wondered if it had even crossed his mind to warn her before he'd published the article, and having to question that made her feel sad. Wally was her friend, wasn't he?

"Why didn't you tell me before the post went live?" she asked.

Wally waved her question off. "Give me a minute. I have to post this."

"I hope it's not another story that mentions me," she mumbled.

He continued typing, not answering her. Emily gave up and sat down in a chair beside the sofa.

"It's not," Wally said, finally closing the laptop. He left it on his lap. "I'd love to get your response to the song, though."

"I haven't heard it," she replied. She also didn't want to. There was no chance she would give Wally a quote about what she thought so he could broadcast it to the world.

"I have it right here." Wally opened the laptop's lid again.

"Don't." She held up her hand. "I don't care about the song, and I definitely don't want to listen to it."

Wally threw her a puzzled look. "If you listen to it, you can respond. It's a chance for you to tell your side of the story. Don't you want that?"

"No!" The word came out louder than Emily had intended it to.

"Why not?"

The same sadness Emily had felt just moments ago washed over her again. Wally really didn't get it, after all. She took a deep breath before answering.

"It's bad enough I'm in the headlines because those two decided to write and record a song that apparently makes me look bad, and then posted it online. I don't need to keep myself there by starting some he-said-she-said media battle. Why did you even publish a story about it?"

"I had to. Now really, do you want anything to drink?" Wally moved the laptop back to the coffee table.

"You had to?" Emily repeated, trying to understand. "Did somebody force you to?"

"Yes." He looked completely serious.

"Who?" she asked. "And how?"

Wally sank deeper into the sofa, leaning back against the cushions. "Advertisers, also known as the people who pay me so I can pay you."

Emily shook her head. "Advertisers don't care if you write about me or not. There are a zillion other celebs you could have written about who'd get them their ad impressions."

Wally folded his arms. "Tinseltown Buzz scooped me on the roast thing, and my site's readers complained. A couple of them accused me of lying for you, or protecting you, since you're writing a column for the site. A few claimed that other sites and apps always have the celebrity gossip first these days and said they won't waste their time checking my site anymore. Some of my advertisers saw the comments and wanted to talk. They know the Tinseltown Buzz story about the roast got a ton of social shares, and since they were the first to post about it, they also got most of the traffic. Where the traffic goes, the advertisers follow. You know how this goes—you've dealt with advertisers for Zeeked."

"So you thought throwing me under the bus today would be the perfect solution for all of that?" Emily struggled to keep her voice at a normal tone.

"I didn't throw you under the bus," Wally replied. "I reported a breaking entertainment news story, which is my job, and I happened to post about it before any of my competitors. I'm also giving you the chance to have your say. I doubt some of my competitors would ask for your side of things."

Wally was right about that last part. Emily grappled with what he'd said, trying to find a weakness in his argument. From a business point of view, she couldn't. From the friendship side of things, there was nothing right about it at all.

"I thought we had an understanding about this," she said. "I guess we should have talked about it more."

"What kind of understanding?" Wally asked.

"I thought you'd tell me if you were writing about me. Why didn't you give me a heads-up before the post went live?"

He smirked. "So you could tell me not to post it or refuse to comment on anything again, like when you avoided my questions about your conversation with Cory at the roast?"

"That's not fair," Emily told him. "You know I don't want to be back in the spotlight, and yet here you are, putting me there. We're supposed to be friends, or business partners at least."

"Friends or not, I need to make a living and to pay you for your column. I'm doing what I have to do. A friend would understand that."

Emily searched Wally's face and saw nothing but calm there, with a hint of a patronizing expression. A knot formed in her stomach as she looked at him, realizing for the first time what she'd signed up for when she and Wally had decided to team up for her column. Wally was correct about what it took to make advertisers happy—that much she knew. Ads were the driving force behind what made his site money. She'd been there before when advertisers had started dropping campaigns from Zeeked, so she couldn't argue about ad revenue being important. Still, Emily had never considered the implications a friendship and business partnership with Wally could have.

She tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "Does this mean you're just going to post everything that comes your way without verifying anything and let me find out on my own?"

Wally shrugged. "I wouldn't have to do that if you'd talk to me instead of ignoring my calls and texts. Are you ready to talk about what happened at the roast?"

Emily's fingernails dug into the fabric of the chair she was sitting on. "Cory saw me and came over to talk to me. End of story. I don't know what else you want me to say."

"You told him you were seeing someone," Wally replied. "What's that all about?"

"I said it in the moment."

Maybe Wally had to write about what Cory was up to and mention her name in the process, if that's what kept his readers and advertisers happy. It didn't mean she had to volunteer information about Raine or anything else going on in her life.

Wally looked doubtful. "I don't think you were making it up."

Emily pushed herself up from her chair. "I came here for a meeting about my column, not for a cross-examination about my non-existent love life. Besides, you already wrote a story about me today."

"You getting this defensive means I'm on to something." Wally studied her. "Who is he? Do I know him?"

"Only if you run in circles with imaginary people. I'm not seeing anyone." Emily prayed her face wouldn't give her away. She could feel the quick thump of her heart racing.

"I'll find out if you are, you know. Wouldn't you rather just tell me?"

Was Wally goading her? Emily searched his face, trying to decide. She couldn't tell.

"Look, I get why you're asking," she told him. "I do. But I can't be here right now if you're going to question me about every little thing and then write about it. You've told me your reasons and I understand them. I just need some time to think."

"Time to think about how to keep denying that you're seeing someone, or time to figure out how to keep me from finding out who it is?"

Emily shook her head. "Time to think about whether it's fair to either of us for me to keep writing a column for you. You can't get around what advertisers and readers want, but I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with you asking me to willingly put my name in the headlines. There's no easy answer for this if we're working together." She turned away from Wally and began walking toward the hallway.

"You're making way too much of this, Em. Chill for a few minutes, and get it out of your system. I'll go make us some coffee." Wally got up from the sofa.

She was already ahead of him, though, heading for the front door. Her footsteps echoed against the marble floor.

"My next column is already in your inbox," she said, not checking to see if he'd followed her out to the hallway. "We have some time before the next one's due to figure out if we should keep going with this."

"You know you don't mean that." Wally put his hands on his hips. "You're overreacting, and you'll feel silly about it later. Let's just move past this and have our meeting."

"This is my life we're talking about," she replied. "And your site is your life. I'm only asking for time to think through what continuing to work together truly means for both of us."

Emily gave Wally a look filled with regret. Then she let herself out of his house without another word.