Business or pleasure (Marek)

[Waverly Dane]

Waverly entered the restaurant with a heavy, dramatic sigh. Another day, another blind date. She’d turned down the rest of the men her parents attempted to set her up with, and she was already expecting this one to end the same way. She brushed her long dark hair off her shoulder, revealing a distracting pair of diamond earrings. Waverly smoothed down the front of her white dress, making sure she looked presentable before she was taken to her table.

She followed the hostess to a quiet table in the VIP section on the 2nd floor and surveyed the scene. A table for two, candle light, and a bottle of expensive wine – how cliché. Waverly rolled her eyes and took a seat, waiting for her date to arrive. She’d received very little details about the man she was about to meet, only that he was the same age, and the CEO of a business. All of these men were the same, they loved their companies and business was all they liked to talk about. She decided then and there that she would get up and walk out if that’s where the night was headed.

Taking a quick look at the time, she figured that he would be arriving soon and pulled out her compact. Carefully she touched up her lipstick and made sure the rest of her makeup still looked pristine. She sat back in her chair, satisfied with her appearance. A few minutes passed and she impatiently looked around, still no sign of her mystery man. How she hated to be kept waiting. Waverly crossed her arms and sunk down slightly in her chair.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

If there was one thing that Marek was good at, it was listening to the way the world moved. That was something to consider, with him being high up in the Techno Union, and running his own entertainment building. Did he employee paparazzi? Yes, why yes he did. Mostly to make sure the people he employed, from musicians to business partners, stayed in the right tabloids with the right press, and that he controlled it. It was a bit shallow, but then again, so was society. And that was why he did things the way he did.

Like watching the restaurant floor from his spot at the bar. Sure, he had the table ready for this… meeting. The trick was he was coming up with a few more things to spice up the HoloNet. And seeing that people were using a service to try to hunt for dates? Well, he was going to make sure he got on that list, then he would proposition a bit of a deal. Maybe. Who knew, it was Marek, things could go either way. This was why he was a terrible wingman.

Finishing his drink as he saw her seated and touching herself up, he tipped the bartender and made his way over to the table. “Miss Dane?” He spoke as he slowly stepped to the table, with a grin. Right, maybe this would go a completely different direction beyond business propositions. Though everyone did love their fifteen minutes of fame.

[member="Waverly Dane"]

 

[Waverly Dane]

Waverly was looking down at her nail polish, she was feeling thankful that she’d had time to stop by the salon earlier that day. There was something about a fresh manicure that did wonders for her self-confidence. No matter how she was feeling on the inside, she always made it a point to look as flawless as possible on the outside. Her dark eyes shifted as a man approached her table and she instantly threw on her most charming smile.

“And you must be Mr. Starchaser. ” She stood up and offered her hand briefly in greeting.

Waverly took a moment to look him over, and found his outward appearance acceptable. He was attractive and smartly dressed; he looked like a man in charge. Marek certainly appeared to have the confidence of a successful man, and she was starting to feel a bit curious about his personality.

“It’s a pleasure.” She said, her smile never faltering.

She had a seat once more and watched as waiter came to fill their water and wine glasses. As the thin waiter withdrew from the table, Waverly leaned forward, her eyes on Marek.

“I’m afraid I don’t know much about you.” She started. “Would you care to enlighten me?”

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

There was something about a woman that put work into her appearance. Maybe it was because Marek was a lot more urbanized than when he started this journey through the galaxy, living on Corellia, working on the Rim, and now a pretty successful entrepreneur. That meant he was starting to change the way he looked at what he wanted in a woman. Not that it was a bad thing, he could now afford the high class women, after all.

And since he was awesome and wore suits, that meant he needed a woman who could echo that in him. Of course, the women tended to be successful or know how to work other men to get what they wanted. Marek was one of those guys who enjoyed seeing his current partner or partners work people over.

He smiled and shook her head, giving her a quick once over. Didn’t take much for Marek to size up a woman, he was a practiced eye. “That it is!” He nodded as she took her seat. And a woman that didn’t do her research? Well that was tricky. Were the people who set this up informing her that this could end up in a business arrangement for her?

“Well, what would you like to know.” Did he own this place? He might by the end of the meeting.

[member="Waverly Dane"]

 

[Waverly Dane]

These men were all mysteries to her, her parents having done the initial research and contacting their offices. All Waverly had to do was show up, look pretty, and be as charming as possible. She knew full well that people were drawn to her because of her looks and wealth, but she was willing to overlook that fact if they treated her nice. It was common knowledge back home on Dargul that she could easily be influenced by fancy gifts and flattering words.

She was still deciding exactly how flirty she needed to be tonight, for now she would just keep things mellow. Waverly generally turned up the charm and went over the top flirty with the slightly older, more serious gentlemen; it was an easy way for her to get them to loosen up. It was also an easy way to get free drinks. Her dark eyes were locked with his, she wanted to show that she was indeed interested.

“Well, I want to know everything.” She started, twirling a strand of hair around her index finger. “But you can start by telling me about what you do for a living.”

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

He still wasn’t sure that this woman was getting the message. But then again, Marek wasn’t getting the signal straight in her head. She was gorgeous, and honestly he’d love to take her for a ride that evening, but… profit. Always remember the main rule, Marek, profit. You may be a Prophet of the Bro Code (Praise Stinson) but you need to pay your expansive bills. Owning a multi-million dollar company was hard and expensive work. He knew a bit about her. Well off, gorgeous and looking for love.

Perfect for a HoloNet show.

Taking the wine, Marek nodded to the waiter and turned his eyes back on the brunette across from him. Really, what he should’ve done was order the bottle they had, but he wanted to know what her poison of choice was. After all, he always dealt in vice. That was what made the world, or all of them, go around.

He grinned as he leaned back into the seat, taking another sip. “I am in the business field. Entertainment, specifically.”

[member="Waverly Dane"]

 

[Waverly Dane]

Waverly decided to ignore the wine in her glass tonight, she was a terrible drinker and she didn’t want to make a complete fool of herself. As he sipped the wine, she reached for her water glass and had the smallest of sips, to keep from ruining her lipstick. She casually brushed her hair to the side, now the cascades of dark waves were no longer obscuring the low cut front of her dress.

Her brows perked for a moment when he said he was in the entertainment field. Now, Waverly disliked talking about business… but an entertainment business, now that’s something she could get her head around. She’d always wanted to be an actress or singer, but the lack of talent was certainly a big problem. She enjoyed music and HoloNet shows, but she knew that the best way she could ever be involved was investing and backing projects.

“Oh, really?” She said, batting her eyelashes. “I’ve wanted to get into the entertainment field. Maybe we can work together sometime?”

She hoped that her words were hitting on more than one level.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

He caught on to that, of course. Marek was the type who enjoyed his vices, even if they were probably (definitely) unhealthy for him. With [member="Waverly Dane"] ignoring the wine, he wasn’t quite sure how to handle that. It wasn’t bad, just odd. What also wasn’t bad was her moving her hair. Yeah, Marek was a dog most times. And this time was included in that. Low cut dresses were one of, if not his favorite, pieces of clothing.

Marek was the type of person who could probably make her dreams a reality, not that he owned a bar called Rekall, but he did own recording studios and holonet studios. He watched the woman as he knew part of the reason the meeting was set up was to see if she’d be a viable candidate for a show, y’know, to turn her into profit, give her fame and make something new and different for Bright Star.

The other was because she was gorgeous.

“You have? What do you do instead? And I’m sure we can work on something together.” He grinned and took another sip of his wine.

 

[Waverly Dane]

Waverly gave a slight shrug at his question, and offered only a coy smile at first. She didn’t do much with her days; she’d never had a real job in her life. Credits came to her freely without the need for work. She thought over the last few days, they were nearly the same: sleeping late, shopping, eating out, and occasionally making dates.

“To be honest, I don’t have a career or anything...” She smiled. “I do go out on a lot of dates. I guess you could say that I’m a professional bachelorette.” Waverly laughed.

While the lifestyle of the famous was highly appealing to her, she knew that her parents and her new bodyguard would likely be against the idea. Though she wasn’t sure exactly how she could break into the business, but she had a feeling that Marek was the key. If things went well, she figured that she could always fund some of his projects, since she had the credits to throw around. If he played his cards right, things could work out quite well for him.

“Are you working on any projects right now?” She perked her brows. “I’d love to hear more.”

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Never had a real job? Well, this one was a keeper. Sure, he could probably give her things to do, and they all won't involve a collar, just... well, they might. Most. Marek ran his company and that meant living the life style, or at least it did to him. Did it bother him? Not in the least. He enjoyed the late mornings, and late nights. Made him feel like he was still alive. As for this one? He wanted to know where her money came from.

"Well, isn't that something?" He grinned, drinking his wine and refilling his glass, looking at hers. "Dating does get fun..." But he could probably turn it into a career if he did it right.

"And right now? I'm working on breaking into the HoloNet realm, trying to work on a few different scenarios. Trashy holoflicks seem to be selling a lot lately." Helped people ignore the war. And well, put a hot face in situations that people envied? Instant classic. Again, there is the issue where that'd put her out of his realm. Shame.

[member="Waverly Dane"]

 

[Waverly Dane]

“Trashy holoflicks?” She echoed, wrinkling her nose slightly.

Always classy, never trashy… it would be her motto, if she had one. She narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment. If that the sort of ‘entertainment’ he had in mind, then maybe she needed some time to have some second thoughts.

Feeling that a slight demonstration was needed, she stood from her seat and approached Marek’s side of the table. She moved close to him, letting her hand slide slowly down her waist and over the curve of her hip. Up close the full effect of her outfit and accessories could be appreciated, every piece of jewelry that adorned her sparkled and her dress fit like a glove. It was clear that the quality and craftsmanship that was well worth the price she’d paid.

“I won’t have my name associated with anything trashy.” Waverly said, shaking her head. “I like to keep things high class.”

Waverly walked back to her chair like a model on the runway, making sure to showcase her legs before she had a seat again.

“What are the other options?” She asked, folding her arms.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Marek wasn’t going to imply she was trashy, far from that. But there were those shows that allowed people to live a life that wasn’t their own under the pretense that it was ‘reality’ and allowed them to escape. That sort of view on it made it a little trashy. Where people would gossip about it all day at work. That was the sort of effect he wanted to grab in the galaxy.

And well, he could keep unintentionally setting her off if this was going to be the effect. He took the moment, as he was clearly allowed to, and enjoyed the view. Smirking, he rose his glass of wine to her. “My apologies, Miss Dane. Spoke out of turn.” Marek was brash. But now he was going to back pedal. “What I meant by trashy was more… let’s say guilty pleasure?” The kind of things people only admitted to loving when it was clearly appropriate, but one of those shows everyone and their mother watched.

“Well, what are you thinking? My first instinct was to showcase your life, the trials you’re going through in this finding your match business.” And capitalizing off of it. Of course, with a generous cut to her. A show about her life, and what she was going through? Simple premise, and it could be a surprise hit.

[member="Waverly Dane"]

 

[Waverly Dane]

Guilty pleasure… that was something she could work with. She sat back in her chair and thought for a moment. A show about her life and her dating adventures could certainly be fun. It would also mean that she’d have a definite loss of privacy. If a date failed miserably, most everyone would know about it. It also meant that undesirables would know her whereabouts; would that lead to more abduction attempts? She needed to know more about his plans for her.

“That actually sounds like fun.” She started off with a nod. “So, that would mean I would have film crews around pretty often?”

Waverly knew that this deal had the potential to blow up in her face, leaving her with a lackluster reputation. That was the last thing she wanted. However, she did feel that it would give her a bit more purpose, an actual reason to get out of bed, even if you really couldn’t call it a real job.

“And how will you look after my image?” She looked over at Marek. “I don’t want people to end up hating me.”

After all, it wasn’t her fault that her life was better than most.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Well, not too much of a back-pedal, just redefining a few words. Simple enough, really. Marek grinned at Miss Dane and thought about it for a moment. He would have her life on his company. That would make for some decent ratings, he was sure. Attractive female, lots of money, exotic locales, her going on dates with men from a variety of walks of life? How could that not sell? Still, he was fighting the whole urge of business versus pleasure here. But she wasn't even drinking, shame on that.

Crews around often? "Yeah, I mean, we'd not invade your personal life, beyond the necessary for the dates." Really, he'd seen those shows where they follow all of someone's life. Not what he was hoping to accomplish here.

"We will make sure we cover you for defamation, just remember, its your life, you live it, and the ones who hate you will love to hate you. The ones who love you will step in." He really couldn't see a downside here. He'd get ratings, she'd get famous. Who knew, maybe she'd end up in some show about fairy tales.

[member="Waverly Dane"]

 

[Waverly Dane]

She listened to his words and nodded along, but the excitement was beginning to affect her ability to focus. Waverly knew in the back of her mind that she should speak with her family before making any decisions, but she mostly did as she pleased. It did seem like a very good opportunity, it was a decision that would lead to regret if she turned it down. She decided that it was now time to throw caution to the wind.

“Ok.” She smiled brightly. “I’m in.”

Waverly clapped her hands a few time and then finally reached for her wine glass. It was time to celebrate, right? Just one glass couldn’t hurt… even though she knew full well that she’d be tipsy by the time she finished it. She raised the glass to her red lips and had a long sip.

“I’m so excited!” She had another sip of wine. “When do we start?”

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

See? This was what he was hoping for. Someone getting excited to work with him. He nodded as she looked her over. “Well, that depends on you. How would you want it to go? A crew following you around? Or do you feel like making a competition about it?” One was more game show, the other was more… single mothers watching and wishing that was their life. Both would get excellent ratings in Marek’s book.

And both would put [member="Waverly Dane"] on a sort of professional black list for him, which was a really lame feeling. He gave her another one of those looks. Right, maybe he should’ve followed the date first.

“So, really, its all up to you, Miss Dane.” See? He could be professional. This would probably be the best way to get Token involved in the company on a more management and leadership side. She would do really well with Bright Star.

 

[Waverly Dane]

“Not a competition.” Waverly shook her head.

While the idea of men participating in some kind of competition over her affections did seem a bit appealing, she knew that a show like that was not her style. She figured the best option would just be to go about her business as usual and let the public have a candid peek into her life. Waverly was a bit fascinated by the thought that her life would be interesting and entertaining to others.

“Well, I guess just a small crew could follow me around. They can film me getting ready, and then going out on the dates.” She nodded, figuring that this would be a good starting point at least.

Waverly casually took another sip of her wine and then set the glass down, trying to pace herself. There was one part of this deal she wasn’t clear on… at what point would the show end? Would she be expected to marry at the end?

“So, how many episodes will this be?” She looked down at the table. “And… what if I don’t like any of my dates by the end?”

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

Good, that was probably a bad idea. But the other side, that could make her end up in the tabloids. Or launch an acting career. It was really up to how she was received. He would hire the appropriate people and give her a crew to work with. Someone to help her fit the image she wished to portray, how the populace would see it, and then someone to assist with air time. He wasn’t sure what was making him think this way, for her, but if she had the money that the ads claimed? She probably could make the most out of this situation.

“That’s what I reckon. And we move from there. You’ve got the independently wealthy bit going on, right? That means you’ve got the means to live the glamorous life, and people will respond to it.” Better than her living off someone like him, she could get a stipend from the company, from Bright Star, and that would help her out, keep her afloat.

“Well, its not a competition. And we’d figure that out later. If we’re not having men compete for you, then it’ll probably change the scheme and arc of the show for any later seasons, or later episodes. Get you working with a producer, and they can definitely help out here.” He just made the deals and put the people in the right locations.

[member="Waverly Dane"]

 

[Waverly Dane]

Rich girl, film crew, fancy dates? It did seem a winning combination to her, and seemingly to Marek as well. It was still a very new and exciting idea to her, and it was beginning to feel very surreal, the thought of seeing herself on a HoloNet show. Of course, there were certain things she would need to see to before the show started, but that was just part of the fun. She was already running as list in her mind; she needed new clothing, and not just any clothing, it needed to be designed especially for her. New shoes were also high on this list, as was a new and glamorous hairstyle.

“Well, that sounds like a plan.” Waverly said with a nod. “I look forward to our professional relationship.”

While she certainly had different expectations when she’d first set foot in the restaurant tonight, it hadn’t been a bad time, quite the opposite in fact. However, it wasn’t a date, it was a business meeting. It seemed a bit sad to end the night this way, but perhaps it was for the best.

“You will contact me when all of the arrangements have been made?” She asked, getting ready to rise from her seat.

[member="Marek Starchaser"]

 

[Corey's OOC]

He knew that he was starting to get a bit out of touch with things beyond the casinos. Those were what he knew and what he loved. This idea came from his board, someone on it thought this would probably turn a profit. And with Bright Star having partners around the galaxy, he knew he could help toss some fancy date ideas out to [member="Waverly Dane"] to help make it just that much better. Not that she couldn’t afford it herself, but he didn’t want to bankrupt one person for a show. He’d be passing her off to assistants, that specialized in this stuff, and would probably have his cousin check in on her from time to time. Token liked people. And he figured Token would love this idea.

He smiled and nodded. “I do as well.” Of course, they had a few hours before the contract was properly drafted, he figured. Was why he chose legal organics and not protocol droids. He wasn’t sure where the evening was going, but to hunt a hunter? Sometimes you had to become prey, and that was why Bright Star paid for the date, well, arranged it and he was pulling money from a talent development fund.

“If you want to part right now, you can, we’ll be in touch. But the company did provide a room for the evening.” If Marek was one thing, he was straight forward.