Richmoore Institute - 4. Chapter 4 - The Prodigal Sons

In today's world, there are some who still believe that homosexuality is a perversion, a mental disorder and unequivocally unnatural. Though as time passes, more and more are willing to embrace such a lifestyle into common society. In the history of civilization, society has also been less receptive, compared to recent times, to women in leadership roles, inter-racial marriage, etc etc. Today we laugh at those condemning homosexuality – believing that the future would ridicule them as we ridicule those in the past who had vehemently protested inter-racial marriage. Shouldn't we also wonder when in the future we would be ridiculed for denouncing incest, sex-work, recreational drug-use, etc etc?

* * *

Though it was but a few months ago that the official engagement between Shawn McGuire and Samuel Matthews was announced, the intrigue that had led up to it had preceded it by almost a year.

It had been quite a few generations since the McGuire family had last produced an heir that cared more about the family business than about its celebrity status. Shawn's grandfather, who he himself had urinated out millions of dollars' worth of alcohol, had tried to rectify the continuous decline of the family business, during the last few years of his life, by matching his son up with an astute and intelligent woman, Claire O'Neill. Alas, his efforts were for naught – the prodigal son gene in Shawn's father, Arnold, had long been nourished beyond a chance of rectification. Although Claire did manage to exert an iota of influence on Shawn, it would seem to the eyes of the world that Shawn would be continuing his father's legacy, and will put an end to the family business for good.

Arnold felt it extremely unfair that the world thought him unfit. He has always prided himself in his extraordinary intelligence. In fact, he had worked on an impeccable financing plan for his business for years – marrying his son away. Arnold was quite close to sealing an engagement deal between Shawn and the daughter of another mogul mildly interested in his business when he received the golden news – to him, it might as well have been delivered from angels trumpeting down from heaven.

“I have become privy to the news that Lady Victoria Windsor-Matthews is outright furious at her son,” Arnold announced smugly at the dinner table. The food that lay before him could have fed a city in at third-world country if it had been traded for staple food of equal worth – Wagyu beef, an array of exquisite caviar, and the excessive use of exorbitant truffles among others. His face was flushed red with the excitement of conveying such valuable information to his wife and only son. “The only heir of the Matthews family not only swore that he would most definitely not marry a woman, but also that his future partner need not be of blue blood,” he continued, his grin so wide that he might as well have been chuckling.

Claire had a mental cringe when the word “blue blood” was used. Within the highest of the business world, there were indeed some with royal blood – Lady Victoria was such an example – though it was those like Arnold who favoured using the term to describe the richest of the rich. “If we live like royalty, feel like royalty, then we are royalty!” Arnold would often exclaim much to Claire's muted chagrin.

“Lady Victoria is now scouting for potential male suitors for his son who might be more agreeable to her social status,” beamed Arnold. His enthusiasm was not shared by the rest of his family.

Later that evening, Shawn had paid a private visit to his mom's study room. Although still years from being half a century old, Claire's fatigue had weaved into her physical appearance. Grey roots were visible in her raven black shoulder-length hair and an abundance of wrinkles now taint her once beautiful visage. “McGuire Corp. needs capital investment in order to compete,” she thought. She was primarily responsible for bringing the company public during the era when investors were thirsty for equity investments – the compromise being that the family still held the majority of the shares. Though debt and equity investors alike had been shunning the company once they had discovered that family who held control of the company had less interest in the business than it had in fame and glamour.

“Mom,” Shawn gently placed a hand on Claire's shoulder from behind the ornamental armchair in which Claire had took a moment to rest. “Do you think that this Matthews family can save the business?” Shawn continued as he knelt down before Claire and held her hand.

“I will not marry my son away to save a business,” she said as her eyelids gradually open to reveal a pair of stern olive eyes.

“What if I'm willing?” Shawn asked thoughtfully, eliciting a curious expression to form in Claire's face. “Just because I don't actively engage in scandalous activities with men does not mean that I can't be bisexual,” Shawn winked.

Claire gave a light chuckle in response and gently brushed her hands through Shawn's lush and soft jet black hair. “This family doesn't deserve you.”

Claire had spent the first half of her time in the McGuire family attempting to transform Arnold to the man he ought to be. Incessantly, she nagged and begged Arnold to pay more attention to the business and less on unnecessary banquets and soirées. She drew up proposals, and even provided detailed analysis to the ideas and suggestions put forth by the management team of the company. Alas, all her efforts were akin to beating a dead horse. Like the few generations of fathers before him, Arnold was set to bring the company to doom – except, unlike then, he might actually succeed. He refused to surrender control and management of the company to more competent executives in the business world. His position of influence in the company was what he used as leverage in his decadent social gatherings – he traded smart business decisions for decisions that would increase his popularity amongst his friends. Most knew that his social posse's agenda was nothing but to milk every benefit out of McGuire Corp – perhaps Arnold himself knew. Though perhaps to Arnold, he would rather live happily in delusion than to face the reality of his family's plummeting fame and fortune.

Despite years of weariness and fruitless efforts, Claire had not forgotten the oath etched deeply in her heart, which she had made to Arnold's father. When Shawn was born, Claire had turned her attention towards Shawn instead. Though it was as if a curse had befallen the McGuire family – even at a young age, one could see that Shawn inherited none of Claire's business acumen. Mathematics was a subject that was beyond Shawn's comprehension; though like his father, Shawn was born devilishly handsome and a natural athlete. “Though fortune favours the persistent,” Claire thought with a smile. To the eyes of the outside world, Shawn did nothing but honour his natural gifts – he climbed the social ladder in the schools he had attended, excelled in a variety of sports and threw his charms at the women, and occasionally men, that fawned over him. Though from Claire's perspective, she could see a side of Shawn that few to none would have noticed.

Claire had always encouraged Shawn to nurture his artistic talents, and Shawn had grew up in the McGuire mansion painting and learning musical instruments. Although it would seem that he inherited little from Claire genetically, Claire had managed to inculcate a sense of responsibility and commitment within Shawn. When Shawn was thirteen, for Claire's birthday, Shawn had secretly promised Claire that when he inherited the company, he would relinquish control to more competent people like his mother. That night Claire had shed more tears of joy than she did in her life time. If there was one thing Claire felt guilty about, it was the fact that Shawn felt the necessity to lead a double life – what others expected of him, and what he wanted to be for his mother.

“No, this family doesn't deserve you,” Shawn uttered in response.

Claire sighed, “Even if you are willing, the Matthews family might not think it a wise engagement. They are arguably one of the richest families with one of the largest and most innovative businesses around, focused on transportation. Already monopolizing much of the trade routes, the Matthews Group had also been successful in its expansion into the business of building ships and planes, and is recently voyaging into the realm of public transportation. The company has proven itself to have the most bewildering economic foresight by investing in the business of tomorrow before any of its competitors.”

“You don't think with my devilish good looks, I can maybe seduce and bewitch his son into helping us?” Shawn said in jest with a grin which elicited another light chuckle from Claire.

* * *

It certainly did boost Shawn's ego, albeit he wasn't if sure his good looks were ever responsible, when against his mom's expectations, Lady Victoria was heavily considering engaging her only son to Shawn as proposed by his father.

Though Shawn's bulging ego did deflate significantly when:

“NO!” Sam bellowed. Sam arrived home to attend a “tea party” that Lady Victoria scheduled. Already seated in the drawing room were Shawn's family of three, Edward Matthews and Lady Victoria herself. As soon as Sam set foot into the room, he appraised Shawn in two quick looks and that was when he bellowed the infamous “NO!” prior to all pleasantries and even before the purpose of the gathering was announced.

Shawn and his family was taken aback by Sam's lack of etiquette; especially Shawn, since he had never experienced such an utter and vocal rejection after two quick looks. Even the straightest of men and the queerest of women would have given him at least a dozen appraising glances before turning him down. Sam's family though had been unmoved by his impudence.

Sam walked gracefully towards his designated seat. “Say what you have to say, you have my answer.” he said with composure as he sat on the antique wooden chair. The room was exquisite – the gleaming interior was covered with oak, chandeliers mildly lit the room, and the ornate fire place provided a distant warmth. If one had considerable observation skills, one would deduce that it was Lady Victoria as opposed to the master of the house who was solely responsible for the decoration and design of this mansion. Mr Matthews was quite obviously a spartan man – he dressed simply and plainly with minimal evidence of grooming and had one of the most unpretentious look coming from a multi-billionaire. Shawn remembered that his mother had often liked to say, “the man who has the least to show, has the most to hide.” At that moment, Shawn couldn't help but wonder if his mother would have been happier if she had marry Mr. Matthews instead.

“What's wrong with Shawn? He's a boy. He's starkly handsome. You should be glad that we're even bothering to accommodate your preferences,” uttered Lady Victoria with a cold and stern tone. Shawn did feel a little cheap when it seem that he was being treated like goods to be traded in a negotiation.

“I choose who I want to marry,” said Sam. Shawn was surprised to have picked up a tinge of resignation in Sam's voice, as if Sam knew that he would make the losing end in this negotiation.

“You once told me that if you love someone, you would want that person to be happy, no matter who that person is with,” said Lady Victoria. Shawn frowned as he felt that the sentence might have carried a thousand daggers to Sam as Sam noticeably closed his eyes and slouched.

Lady Victoria smiled smugly, “if you wish not of this engagement, then I will do whatever I can to make the lives of Alistair's family a living hell just as you plan to make mine.”

“You promised that you would leave them alone when I left him almost a year ago to enrol in the pompous and pretentious Richmoore Institute for my sophomore year,” Sam resigned. In the limited exposure Shawn had of Sam during the one school year they have had together, Shawn could not recall witnessing Sam as defeated as he was that day.

Lady Victoria gave a vindictive and dismissive chuckle, “And now, I'm threatening them again if you do not get engaged to this young man over here. I've told you before Sam that in the most ruthless of battlefields, having something you're afraid to lose can only serve as a weakness inviting your enemy to exploit.”

“You're supposed to be my mother,” Sam whispered.

Lady Victoria had closed her eyes momentarily upon hearing that statement. To those around her, it seemed like nothing but a blink. The struggle within her, she resolved not to show the world. Sometimes, the ends justify the means. Slavery, in the United States at least, was not abolished by the resonant and unanimous pleas of the people – votes were bought, trickery was involved, and schemes were executed. The amendment was shoved down the people's throats without their consent, and today, few would have doubted that it was the right thing to do. My dear Sam, I cannot apologize for making you a pawn in this grand scheme that I got dragged into as well. It is for the greater good. “My decision is final, get engaged to this man, or watch the family that you love suffer.”

“This woman is ruthless,” Shawn had refrained himself from even whispering. He wondered if he would be served as soup for dinner if he had even whispered it.

“Mr. McGuire,” uttered Sam as he stood up. When he had caught Arnold's attention instead, he added, “No, the one I'm supposed to marry.”

“Come with me,” he had said as soon as Shawn's attention was locked on him.

Sam subsequently led Shawn to his private chambers. Shawn felt that he traversed to a new dimension as he stepped from an immaculately decorated Victorian mansion into one of the messiest rooms he had laid eyes on, scattered with papers and maps. Sam led Shawn into his room, before he locked shut the door behind them. Shawn's pupils dilated as he thought he might end up as dinner soup after all.

“You're not even gay! Why are you not fighting this proposal? If you think you can fuck girls on the side while being engaged to this family, think again,” Sam uttered impatiently.

“What the fuck do you know?” Shawn responded. He frowned as he became aware that Sam's exasperation had sipped into him. Shawn thought that either the intelligence he had received was completely false – that Sam Matthews was a composed, intelligent and precocious young man as close to being a genius as one could – or that Sam was acting out of the ordinary. The little empathy that Shawn had which he had hid from the world told him it was the latter. Shawn felt that the engagement had greatly perturbed Sam and guessed that it most probably had to do with a boy named Alistair.

“Your reputation precedes you,” Sam said as he pulled Shawn out of his thoughts. “The publicly available information on the girls you fuck exceeds that on some of the companies I'm looking at acquiring. Not to mention...”

Before Sam could finish the sentence, Shawn grabbed Sam by the shoulders and flung him onto the bed. Before Sam could even recover from the physical assault, Shawn deftly collapsed onto Sam, manoeuvring both his hands to act as pillars against the bed, for if not, with his weight, he would most certainly not have a breathing finance to marry. As Sam's eyes widened, Shawn gave Sam no privilege to absorb the situation, and promptly lowered himself to caress Sam's lips with his own.

It was true that even at sixteen going on seventeen, Shawn have had quite the experience with women. His immense stature and girth had provided the illusion that he was a fully fledged grown man – he had even slept with women twice his age. Though it was definitely not the first time that Shawn had locked lips with another man – it might have been the first in sobriety. Shawn had never given much thought to his sexuality – the steady stream of female companions throwing themselves at him did not give him much of a pause for reflection. Though he knew that despite not actively lusting for men, he did not find physical intimacy with men revolting.

That night with Sam had provided many epiphanies for Shawn. For Shawn, there was something peculiarly attractive about selling his body out to save the family business – he felt useful, and he felt that if he could use what he was given, to compensate for he was not, in order to be save the one thing that his mother had devoted her life to saving, he would be eternally in bliss. Sam's smooth and lithe body did too contribute to Shawn's arousal. It definitely did surprise Shawn that sex with Sam could be as pleasurable as sex with any other girl he had been with – reaffirming his suspicion that he was indeed bisexual. Though most importantly, Shawn had resolved himself to make the union with Sam work. As they were entangling their bodies, something felt right to Shawn. Shawn had always felt helpless as the heir of a business empire – deteriorating as it maybe. As Shawn ran his calloused fingers through the entire of Sam's torso, eliciting electrifying pleasures throughout Sam, he felt that Sam would be able to soothe his vulnerabilities. They would perfectly complement each other, he thought – he could be strong where Sam was not, and Sam could be strong where he wasn't. Peculiar as it might be, he was absolutely certain that although the marriage was arranged, he would have no difficulties falling in love with the man entangled in his arms and would die happy being in love. Stranger things have happened.

Unlike Shawn, Sam's experience that night had not been that much of a revelation. Two thoughts had crossed Sam's mind. Firstly, he came to realisation that he definitely did not exercise as much control on his body as he would like to. Secondly, “Alistair...” For your safety and the safety of your family, I had resolved to keep my distance and disappear from your life without goodbye. I still do hope that you'll move on with your life and find someone that'll make you happy. As for me, I can't help but feel that I've betrayed you by agreeing into this engagement; even if once again, I do it for you.