Late Night Meeting

Log Title: Late Night Meeting

Characters: Bree Van Mark, Shawn Berger, Jr.

Location: Van Mark Products Corporation

Date: June 06, 2016

Summary: Shawn Berger, Jr. meets with Bree Van Mark about the recent attack on her R&D facility.

''As logged by Shawn Berger - Monday, June 06, 2016, 10:30 PM

Van Mark Products Corporation

 * The Van Mark Products Corporation headquarters is a low, one-story building surrounded by a small green park enclosed with a high fence. The entrance to the building has five large windows looking into a large lobby - the rest of the building is windowless and accessible only through thick steel doors. From above there appears to be a large roof access, but this, too, is protected by pretty extreme security for a corporate office that officially sells things like coconut milk and cutting tools.

Shawn Berger, Jr. is dressed casually even for a meeting with the powerful Bree Van Mark. He looks relaxed in his cornflower-blue polo shirt, khaki pants, and thousand-dollar shoes. As a member of Van Mark's board of directors, Berger could have brought up whatever it is he wants to talk about at any of the Van Mark board meetings, but for some reason he requested a late-night one-on-one meeting alone, at the place of Bree's choosing, of course.

It hasn't been a good past few days for Bree. First, one of her factories gets destroyed, then, a horrific leak that just seems to be leaking out faster by the hour, what was concealed. Now, she has to meet with someone she would rather not meet with. But he has a share of Van Mark Industries. Her assistant knocks on her office door and calls in, "He's here..." Bree sighs, and quickly finishes her cigarette, a habit she's started to pick up again after this incident (thank goodness Edwin is not here). Bree rubs her forehead and breathes out, "Fine...send him in."

The assistant gives a polite smile to the board member...Berger. "She'll see you now - " She then steps aside and lets Berger, Jr. go his own way.

Shawn Berger breezes into Bree's office with a greasy smile smeared across his thin lips. "Ms. Van Mark," he says in greeting, striding across the office to offer a firm handshake. "I appreciate you meeting me like this. I realize this is a little unusual, but so is what happened here, and I wanted a chance to talk to you about what transpired without the unwelcome ears of the rest of the board." He gives her a 'this will be just between us' friendly squint of the eyes.

Bree gives a polite, tired handshake to Shawn Berger. Her fatigue is all over her face. A few months ago, she was living the life of the proverbial 'head' of Van Mark industries - meaning she delegated like a beast, and enjoyed the continuing fruits of her wealth, by pursuing her own interests, be it her kids, or her body with her trainers, or her intellect with trips to whichever country struck her fancy. But now, she's been pulled into a far more activist role. She gives Berger a tired nod. "I appreciate it, please...take a seat." She goes over to her desk and sits down.

Berger takes the proffered seat, and leans back, crossing one leg over the knee of the other. "Great! I can see you've had a day, so I'll get right to the point. The Decepticons attacked your site. Did you know what was being developed here? Because they did, and now that they do, they're not going to let it go. You're going to need some protection, and it seems you have the technology to contribute to that protection. I'm offering you a piece of something bigger than Berger and Van Mark - something necessary to protect you, and this planet. Interested?" He gives her a confident smirk while he watches her reaction.

Bree raises a tired brow at Berger and gives him a 'you're kidding, right?' look. She shakes her head, dodging his first question (she did not know, she's been pretty hand's off - yes, she's spoiled, pampered, but she doesn't exactly succumb to the 'princess' stereotype). She nods, saying "I'm...fine. I have protection." She frowns, "What I DON'T have...is a media strategy for this embarrassment."

Berger nods slowly, immediately changing gears to move quickly to respond to Van Mark's needs. "Well, that's where Berger, Inc. can help. I can use my TV network to help you get on top of this thing, and to drive the narrative in the direction of your choosing." He places both feet on the ground, and leans forward to focus his full attention on Bree. "How are you wanting to spin it? Van Mark is taking a proactive stance against the destruction caused by giant alien robots - is that something you want to shy away from, or embrace?"

Bree looks at Berger. It's 11:30 at night! She's clearly toward the end of her energy cycle. She rubs her head, "I...I'm still working on that - I'll have a strategy tomorrow. Tomorrow...I'm supposed to meet the Autobot liaison..." She thinks aloud, "uh... blue collar...hard hat...Sparkplug...no...Spike." Bree leans back in her chair, "I just know he's been wanting to talk to me, and I've been putting him of for way too long, and I better start talking to him and the Autobots before they hear more from the fucking press." She looks at Shawn Berger and then straightens her posture, "Excuse the language..."

Berger immediately scowls. "Witwicky? That overrated mouthpiece? Look, you can't let that Autobot sympathizer determine your next course of action. I saw the tapes - the Autobots destroyed your factory. Don't think just because one side pretends to be the good guys that you're safe. They've infiltrated top levels of the government - it was an EDC Skystriker that dropped the bombs, not a Decepticon. Both sides want your technology, and you can't allow the Autobots to seize it from you. Not for the sake of your company, and not for the sake of the planet. You need to stand up to them, and I can help."

Bree gives Berger a frustrated look, but Berger seems like he's wearing her down. "He...Spike... seemed to be just as upset as I was...they want to help." Bree looks at the view from her office. She knows her reputation, and nights like this is not helping. She knows she has to take charge, but honestly, she never really bothered to learn the full details of this industry (a price for which she is now paying). Nor is she a media person. What she is - is someone who knows how to surround herself with the right people. And someone who can delegate with authority. Even if the people she's working with are as unsavory as the person in front of her. She looks at Shawn Berger and breathes out, relenting, "I could...probably...use a strategy." She looks up at Shaun Berger, "Would your company be able to come up with a few options for me to review by say...3 p.m. tomorrow?"

Berger's smile returns in an instant, and he nods quickly with supreme confidence. "We'll have full proposals sent over by noon, so you'll have more time to peruse them. We will be ready by the end of business day tomorrow to put into motion whichever plan works best for you. In the meantime, has the rest of your research been secured? I might be able to find out what happened to it, but it won't be cheap to reacquire. You might want to get a full assessment of what was lost and what you have left." Berger stands, as if ready to launch himself physically into the task of saving Van Mark Industries.

Bree gives Shawn Berger a steely look. She may have been living the life of a lottery winner most of her life, but her instincts tell her that Berger isn't exactly one to be trusted. And for someone who owns ten percent of her company, she's still the major shareholder. However, her hand's-off approach to the company has come back to bite her. She didn't know anything about this initiative. She clears her voice, "They're still... digging through the rubble. Determining if the research was either destroyed or...God forbid, taken." She looks at Shawn Berger.

Bree nods politely, "But...we have our best working on it."

Berger nods, as if all is well and fine. "Of course you do," he says, keeping most but not all of the condescension out of his voice. "Well, we'll get right on our half of this mess, and by this time tomorrow night everything will start to get back in order. We can then move to the next step toward protecting Van Mark Industries from further alien aggression." He holds out his hand. "Thanks again for meeting with me, Mrs. Van Mark. I look forward to the future."

Bree stands up and extends a hand to Shawn Berger. "We'll be in touch. Thanks for stopping by." She sits back down. "Now, I just have to brief the shareholders in six hours - they want daily meetings now while this entire shitstorm is settling."

Berger smiles. "I'll leave you to it, then, and see you tomorrow after lunch. Good night, Ms. Van Mark." Berger lets himself out, and grins ear to ear as he saunters out to his Jaguar.