"I will not do it", Graham states with growing frustration. "I will not marry any woman you want just for the sake of the family's business. We've gotten this far on our own, so I don't think we need an arranged marriage to be more successful."
Myrtle, his mother, tries reasoning with him one more time, as if she hadn't been repeating the same thing for the past 30 minutes.
"Honey, are you in love with someone else and you don't want to tell us? Is that the reason why you won't accept any of the women we've suggested?" She asks, her brown, deep eyes filled with tears
Graham shifts in his seat with discomfort before massaging his temples as a poor attempt to remain calm. Her mother would never miss a chance to use her tears to twist an argument in his favor, although it works with everyone but her husband.
"The fact that I do not want to marry any of these women doesn't mean that I'm already dating someone."
"Then, what is it? State your terms and we will adjust to them", states Salvatore, Graham's dad, while leaning back on his chair. His strong features could make anyone feel uneasy when staring, which is one of the reasons he's closed very good deals in the company.
The twenty-five-year-old son scoffs while rolling his eyes. His parents know very well that he isn't attracted to women. However, he'd get scolded every time he expressed his preferences.
His parents would pretend that he never came out as homosexual, and they'd always tell the world that the son of Myrtle and Salvatore Larson is, was, and will always be straight.
"My terms are that I will not have a marriage arranged by you", Graham says with clear annoyance, already suspecting that they will put his opinions and desires aside.
"Graham, the advisory says that other companies will surpass ours if we don't do something about it." His father insists.
"And the only thing you can think of is to basically sell your own son to the best offer for an alliance?"
"Please understand that your inclusion to any family of the list we prepared will immediately give us a ton of benefits that no plan or investment could ever gain." Myrtle pleads in a softer tone after drying her fake tears with a handkerchief.
"Then why doesn't he marry one of those women?" Graham replies blatantly, getting up from his chair and signaling the folder that rests over the table, right in front of his father.
His mother is about to scold him for that offensive comment when Salvatore gets up and raises a hand towards his wife, letting silence reign before the discussion becomes more chaotic.
Graham thinks he probably shouldn't have said that last insulting sentence to his parents, but he is getting tired of never having a voice in any conversation with them. Thus, he holds a defiant gaze towards them before considering turning around and walking away.
"Well, if you really don't want to cooperate, you'll have to resign as the CEO of the company, and we'll stop treating you like our son." Salvatore states, as if he had ever treated Graham as such.
The young man stops in his tracks before exiting the dining room. Although he wants to believe that it was just an impulsive threat, he knows deep down that the tone in his father's voice is definitive.
"Are you really choosing your company over me?" Graham asks without daring to look back at his parents, fearing that the only thing he would find is rejection and disappointment.
Myrtle walks next to her son, taking his right hand between hers and mildly staining it with the red lipstick she is wearing.
"We wouldn't be doing this if there was another option", she justifies, showing that she does not care about her son's desires and that she'll always remain loyal to Salvatore. "If you don't agree to marry someone from this list, we'll have to take everything from you."
Graham pulls away from her hands, feeling disgusted with his mother's touch when she said such hurtful things to him.
The son is aware that they can't really take everything from him. He'll keep what he already owns, like his house and his brand-new car. However, most of his savings were destined to his home, and he still has to pay more than half of the vehicle's price. Plus, he knows his father could manage to talk with powerful people in the city to prevent him from getting any job that could let him afford big expenses.
"Here, you'll date the women of this list during the next few weeks, and you must choose one of them to marry", Salvatore says as if he was the one who had to make the decision. "If you don't marry any of them, you will not be part of this family anymore."
Frustrated, Graham purses his lips together as the gears start shifting in his head to find a solution to his dilemma. Fortunately for him, it doesn't take too long to get an answer he's comfortable with.
Though he is still against the idea, the twenty-five-year-old believes he can save enough money to move out to a different city while dating the people on the list; or better yet, he might be able to travel abroad if he manages to sell his most expensive belongings. Unfortunately, even in another country he knows he may struggle financially.
"Fine. When is the first date?" He asks, rubbing his own handkerchief over his hand to erase his mother's kiss from his skin.
"Today. You'll meet Sarah Swanson at that restaurant you used to love going to as a kid." Myrtle replies with a spark of joy ignited by her son's willingness to collaborate with their plan.
"Do not worry. If you don't like her, there are plenty more in the list. You can take the files to check them out and make the process a little quicker", Salvatore offers.
Graham lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head.
"You've already chosen this path for me, so at least let me choose to meet my future wife on my own terms."
Having said that, the son leaves the house and starts walking towards his car. It's as if a heavy weight was put over his shoulders with every step he takes. He despises the idea of dating women and doesn't have any intention of finding a wife, but he needs to spend as much time as he can dating them in order to earn enough money to ensure his financial stability.
Graham considers mentioning what's really happening to the woman he'll meet today, Sarah. However, there is always the risk that she won't want to participate in his deceitful plan. Thus, he decides to treat it as if he was just hanging out with a friend at a restaurant.
After plenty of minutes driving, he arrives at his house and sits on the chair in his study. As his tired eyes scan over the things he keeps over his desk, he comes across an old photo of him and his sister, Heather.
Suddenly, a bell rings in his head as if he had won a million dollars in one of those famous TV shows.
Since his sister is the only one who has supported his sexuality, he is convinced that she'll help him find a better way out of this problem. Sadly, Heather Larson is traveling abroad. He could send her an email or a text, but it would surely get lost in her hundreds of notifications. After all, his sister never checks her own messages. Instead, she lets her assistant take care of it all.
Heather barely ever checks her phone, email, and social media, which makes her especially hard to contact. Most of the times not even her own family has the opportunity to talk with her.
That is why Graham must stick to the original plan until his savior comes back from her long business trip.