"Bennett, it's time for you to settle down with

someone."

I glanced up from where I was resting on my

VIG Chesterfield sofa, mid-shift to keep from

indenting the material, as I'd trained myself

to do. At the foot of it stood my mother, who

was giving me such a deep disapproving look

that I almost, almost made a move to sit up

properly. Her expression was the definition

of disappointment. Slim nose upturned, devil

red lips twitching. I already knew where this

conversation was heading and I let my cheek

fall onto the cool leather with a sigh.

"This again?" I said.

"You're almost thirty, Bennett,

" she said,folding her arms across her chest, the

many bracelets lined with diamonds on her arms

jingling as she moved. Her dark hair was tied

in a tight bun on the top of her head, giving

her an all-around stern aura.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm twenty-five. I

don't really think that's close to thirty."

"Your father and I married when we were

twenty-two,

" she said matter-of-factly.

"It's time for you to stop fooling around and creating scandals and making our family look

bad-"

"I don't make our family look bad-"

"-And it's time for you to start your own

family so we can give a head start to the next

successor of our 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨

" she pressed on.

I pushed myself into a sitting position,

making sure to smooth out my waistcoat, lest

I gave her something else to complain about.

"So, you expect me to meet someone today

and fall in love with them, get married, and

have children? It doesn't work like that. Well,

maybe it does nowadays with all the dating

apps going around, but I'm not like that."

"There are plenty of young women interested

in you. Cecil's daughter has been asking for

your hand in marriage since you two were

five. She's very beautiful, too."

"There are plenty of young women interested

in you. Cecil's daughter has been asking for

your hand in marriage since you two were

five. She's very beautiful, too."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Legal arranged

marriages aren't a thing in America anymore.

It's 2015, not 1765. I don't want to marry

someone just because it helps our business."

"You want a marriage made out of love?"

she asked, her voice taking on a hard edge.

"Rich families marry into other rich families

to keep their wealth. It's what all our

ancestors have done before us and what we

will continue to do. That's how we keep our

business alive."

Arguing with her was fruitless. "I'm not

interested in marriage right now, that's all."

She closed the little distance between us,

hovering above me intimidatingly. "I've given

you twenty-five years of freedom. I've given

you everything you've ever wanted. All I ask

is for you to repay me with the promise of

keeping our business alive."

"And I will, just not right now," I responded

firmly. The business wouldn't be going

anywhere in a long time. We were basically

the new Hiltons. What was eating at her?

Why was she suddenly trying to force this on

me?

"You have no more choice in this matter. If

you don't settle down, I will take your car and

your house."

"I own this house and my car. You can't

threaten me with that."

My mom smiled cruelly and I felt a chill run

down my spine.

"You think I can't find a way

around that?"

As much as I wished she was joking, I knew

she wasn't. I scrambled off of the sofa, placing

my hand over my pocket where the keys

were.

"Wait a second."

"Wait for what?"

"Isn't this a little abrupt? I need time to think

about it first. You can't just barge in here and

expect me to go along with this."

"It shouldn't come as a shock, Bennett. You

can thank your brother for that.

A surge of heat shot through my body. I

bit my lip, clenching my hands so tight my

fingernails bit into the skin of my palm. Don't

fall for it, I warned myself. She just wanted

me to back down.

And she knew where it hurt the most.

"Your brother wouldn't give me this much of

a hassle."

"How can you use Lee against me?" I said

tightly.

"It's your choice, Bennett."

"I'll... I'll find someone." It wasn't like I had a

choice. I just had to think of a way out of it.

Quickly.

"Will you?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"However, I want you to give me a year."

Her eyes narrowed. "A year? For what,

exactly?"

"I would like to find someone on my own.

Then when the year is up, I'll bring her to

you, and we will talk about marriage. You

can't really expect me to just suddenly meet

someone and marry her, can you? At least let

me meet a few of the other candidates first."

The room was deathly silent as my mother

contemplated my offer. I could feel sweat

forming on the back of my neck. If only she

would agree to my proposal, then I could

have more time to figure out what to do

about the ultimatum she'd given me. If she

said no... what could I say against her when

she used Lee as leverage?

"Six months," she finally said.

"Six?"

"You may have six months to court someone,"

she permitted. "Not a day more. When the

time is up you must bring the girl you choose

to me and I will decide if she will be allowed

to marry into our family. If she fails, you'll

marry who I choose."

Of course, there would be conditions. There

were always conditions.

"Fine," I agreed,

knowing she would get her way no matter

what. I had to take what I could get.

The wrinkles on her forehead relaxed and

she smiled.

"Good. You may keep your car.

Make sure you come to work today. There's

someone you need to fire."

"I understand," I responded, watching as she

turned on her heel and clicked away from

me.

As soon as she left, I collapsed back onto the

sofa, feeling a headache coming on. Why

was she so adamant about marriage? I was

perfectly content with the way I was living

my life- satisfactory and alone. I didn't feel

the need for a girlfriend. And even if I did

have any of those needs, I could find a willing

partner from the local bar.

For now, I had to find someone to at least

trick my mother into thinking was my

girlfriend. It wouldn't be too hard. It wasn't

like I didn't have the physical appearance

to goad someone into doing it. I was on the

cover of multiple business magazines. Paired

with my conditioned polite and charming

personality, I knew I was a good catch. And if

that weren't enough, I'd just show them my

bank account.

If only money could buy me a girlfriend, I

thought wistfully.

Then it hit me.

The plan was simple. Find a woman,

hire her to date me for six months, fake

a break-up right before I brought her to

meet my mother, and then claim I was too

heartbroken to move on.

That way I wouldn't

be forced into a marriage with a stranger and

I would be allowed to stay single until I met

the person I was meant to be with. Surely

my mother would feel pity for her son going

through his first heartbreak. It would be easy.

I grinned to myself, adjusting my tie.

Let the fun begin.

-𝙅𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙣-