BILL and LEE, and JUSTINE all sit and stand in the LOUNGE. JUSTINE is expensively dressed: high heels, power suits, and lipstick. All three of them hold drinks: martinis, scotches. All three scroll on their phones. Finally, LEE looks up at BILL and JUSTINE expectantly.
LEE: So: Systemas?
Pause.
LEE: So, guys, Systemas?
Pause.
LEE: Guys, Systemas: is the company that you were here to tour, we toured it, what did you think?
JUSTINE: (to LEE) Sorry I’m reading about our company, in the news. (to BILL) Are you looking at this? Dad?
BILL: Yeah.
JUSTINE: This is crazy.
BILL: Yeah.
JUSTINE: (reading) “…a senior executive frequently sent his executive assistant emails telling her he needed her to be the “T and A at table” when he was meeting buyers: “T and A “stood for Tits and Ass. One time he followed her into the women’s washroom and looked over the top of her stall while she was urinating as a quote unquote joke.” “He sometimes cornered her on business trips and made advances telling her to make up for her lack of skill on the job by—” Okay, this is that brand manager?
BILL: Yeah.
JUSTINE: Gary…?
BILL: Yeah.
JUSTINE: And the assistant, who’s she?
BILL: …(shrugs)…
JUSTINE: Did she go to HR?
BILL: (nods) We’ve fired a couple of HR people: the ones who said her complaint didn’t strike them as…
BILL gestures.
BILL: Significant.
JUSTINE: Shit.
BILL: Yeah.
JUSTINE: But what…? Shouldn’t we be on flights home?
LEE looks up, worried.
BILL: (to JUSTINE, shrugging) We’re not answering media requests, that’s Shannon’s department. She’s set up a PR camp back home, all interviews go through her. That’s the only one so far. And Connor’s there—
LEE: Connor’s there?
BILL: To handle any legal.
LEE: Are the contracts here?
JUSTINE: (to BILL) Shannon said there was a story out—I didn’t realize how bad.
LEE: Where are the contracts?
JUSTINE: I have them, I have them! (to BILL:) Dad, what’s…? Why aren’t we on flights home?
LEE: (makes a jerky, frustrated motion with his body and walks away)
BILL and JUSTINE look at LEE.
JUSTINE: What? This seems like it might be about to…be big?
LEE: (to JUSTINE, rhetorical:) Is it affecting stock prices?
JUSTINE looks over at BILL.
Beat.
BILL: A small dip, but, that could be… (BILL gestures, vague)…
Beat.
LEE stares at SHANNON.
JUSTINE: Okay! Okay.
LEE: (to JUSTINE) What?
JUSTINE: There are always guys like you who say “24 hour news cycle” and “it won’t affect stock prices…”
LEE: …I didn’t say that…
JUSTINE: …and sometime that’s true…
LEE: …except I didn’t say it…
JUSTINE: …and sometimes they come into your office and take away the furniture.
LEE: So: Systemas. Let’s buy Systemas, okay? I’d like to finalize the deal. We have the contracts—thank you Justine—let’s get them signed, then we can fly back home and “me too” our way around the business world, we can be all rah rah women are the new men.
BILL: Lee.
LEE: (to BILL) Well she’s…!
JUSTINE: (to LEE) I’m what?
Beat.
JUSTINE: I’m what?
Beat.
LEE shrugs.
Beat.
JUSTINE: Take a look at Silicone Valley…
LEE: …cool cool I’ll “take a look at it”…
JUSTINE: …and what’s happened to the stocks of companies with reputations for sexual harassment…
LEE: …they bounce back.
JUSTINE: Not when it’s the CEO…
LEE: …well, it’s not.
JUSTINE: …or a pivotal exec: okay fine fine, that’s your… fine.
Beat.
JUSTINE: I mean…!
Beat.
JUSTINE: (to BILL🙂 Some executive assistant’s trying to do her job, and that’s the shit that’s…?
BILL: Yeah.
JUSTINE: That’s what we want to…! We want to be one of those companies with women crying in the bathroom, because some fucking… brand manager…?
BILL’S phone buzzes. He looks down at it.
BILL: I’m sorry, it’s Connor.
BILL walks to the back of the lounge, take the call.
