He looks back at her, refusing to shrink from her very direct gaze.
“David Paley,” he says, waiting for it. She’s a journalist, after all.
They have no compunction about anything. He knows his weekend is about
to be ruined.
What does the word "they" refer to? Does it generally refer to journalists? Or refers to Guen and Riley?
The fuller text is:
“You’re a defense attorney,” Gwen says, when the silence verges on
becoming awkward. “Yes,” he says. Oddly, he can’t think of anything
else to say. He finds that he’s tongue-tied. He’s not usually, but he
can feel her friend[Riley] oozing barely veiled hostility, and it’s
disconcerting. “That must be interesting,” Gwen says gamely. “And
challenging. Although probably exhausting too.” “Yes,” he
agrees[…]“Riley and I were at journalism school together. She’s with
the New York Times.” He flicks a nervous glance at Riley, inwardly
dismayed. “But I never actually worked as a journalist,” Gwen
confides. “Is that right,” David says, his mind drifting from the
conversation. “What do you do instead?” “I work in public relations
for a small firm in New York City.” “And do you enjoy it?” But he is
already thinking of an exit strategy. “For the most part,” she says.
“It can be exciting, but it can also be a grind. Like a lot of jobs,
it sounds more glamorous than it is.” They talk for a while, about
nothing much. When they are about to start on coffee and
dessert—English trifle and chocolate brownies have appeared on the
long buffet table—Riley, slurring her words slightly, turns and looks
directly at him and says, “I’ve been trying to place you—what did you
say your name was again?” He looks back at her, refusing to shrink
from her very direct gaze. “David Paley,” he says, waiting for it.
She’s a journalist, after all. They have no compunction about
anything. He knows his weekend is about to be ruined.
Best Answer
They is referring to journalists, you are correct. I have two points that I used to
The first point is based on the previous sentence. It references journalists, and then the very next pronoun, "they", is most likely referring to the journalists.
The second point follows the first, and is based on the definition of compunction. The definition is "a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that prevents or follows the doing of something bad", and a trope about journalists is that they (slight irony with my use of they here) will do anything to get a story, even morally wrong things.