Indirect Manipulation

Mr. Franopoulos directs you to a chair at the table in the cramped dining room, directly across from his own. Mrs. Franopoulos is to your left and Sofia is to your right.

Mrs. Franopoulos has prepared a delicious spread, including a red meat stew, greek salad, and stuffed grape leaves. She tells you with pride that she loves to cook, then lays it on thick when describing how she taught Sofia to cook from a very early age. Now that you’re aware that she’s trying to set you up with her daughter, it seems almost too obvious.

Mr. Franopoulos, unlike his wife, asks you questions directly, mostly about where you come from and what you do for work, as though he’s trying to talk you up to his daughter. You and Sofia make eye contact, and each of you can tell that the other feels a bit like livestock on the auction block.

“I work in human resources, actually. Mostly hirings and personnel assignments.” You’re telling Mr. Franopoulos, but you know it’s for Sofia’s benefit.

“Do you make good money in a job like that?”

You chuckle nervously. “Good enough, I guess. I don’t make nearly as much as the execs, but I’m comfortable. I don’t have to live with roommates and I have a decent retirement portfolio, but I doubt I’ll be buying a home in the near future.” Upon seeing Mr. Franopoulos’ frown, you add “It’s very consistent employment, and there’s a lot of room for upward mobility. It’s certainly more stable than programming right now.”

“Sofia is studying to be an architect,” Mrs. Franopoulos interjects. “She is very smart. You should see how much drawing she must do. She was always very good at art and math, and now she will be an expert in using both together.”

“Thanks, mom,” Sofia says.

You eat in silence for a bit before Mrs. Franopoulos turns to you and asks “You do not have a girlfriend? Why not?”

“Mom, don’t be that way,” Sofia pleads.

“Why not? He is a nice, handsome man. Do you not want to know why he is alone?”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” you say. “I was actually engaged for a couple years, but we split about three years ago. Since then, I’ve been a bit more cautious about relationships.”

“Why did you not get married?” Mr. Franopoulos asks.

“That’s a story for another time,” you say, and they thankfully take the hint.

Sofia stands up from the table. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She then places a hand on your shoulder. “I have to use the washroom.”

Her parents watch her walk away with puzzled expressions, and you quickly change the subject to distract from Sofia’s odd honesty.

“You have a lovely home. Thank you very much for inviting me, and for doing my laundry.”

“Of course, of course,” Mrs. Franopoulos says. “I am very good at washing clothes. And I taught Sofia to be good at washing clothes too, you know.”

“She seems like a lovely woman.”

The couple both lean in as you compliment their daughter.

“She is a lovely girl. And she is single, you know,” Mrs. Franopoulos says.

“I think she will make a very good wife one day. Do you agree?” Mr. Franopoulos asks.

You sense that they’re trying to catch you in a verbal trap of some kind. You decide to spring one of your own.

“Well, everyone has their own ideas about what makes a good wife. Like, would you rather Sofia be free spirited and willful or dutiful and obedient?” you ask.

“I would rather she be dutiful,” Mr. Franopoulos answers. “And she is. She’s a very obedient girl.”

You’re sure she is now.

“Right, but we have to be careful who we’re obedient to. Would you rather Sofia be spineless and obedient to everyone, or would you rather she be primarily obedient to her boyfriend and, eventually, her husband, but still be able to stand up for herself to everyone else?”

“No daughter of mine will be weak,” Mrs. Franopoulos says. “She will obey her husband, but she will not be a “doormat” as it is called.”

You resist the urge to smile. They haven’t realized that they’ve just bound her obedience to a man while excluding themselves from it entirely.

“And would you rather I was Sofia’s boyfriend or would you rather she find another man herself?”

This is risky. If they answer the latter then you think you have a way around it, but you really hope they answer the former.

Mr. and Mrs. Franopoulos look at each other. Mrs. Franopoulos says “She has not dated a boy since she was in secondary school. I do not wish to wait any longer for her to find a man on her own.”

Mr. Franopoulos nods. “I would much rather she be dating you. I trust you to keep her well.”

You force yourself not to laugh at their blind trust in you. The two older people frown for a moment, then look at you with sudden kindness, and you realize that the last change has just taken effect.

“Thank you for dating my daughter,” Mrs. Franopoulos says. “I was worried for her. If you are to be my son in law, you will come for dinner twice a week, yes?”

“Well, I don’t know if I… if we’ll have the time. I work a lot, and Sofia is studying,” you say, trying to find a way out.

Sofia returns from the washroom at that moment. She walks to her seat, frowns for a moment, then comes to stand behind you and places her hands on your shoulders.

“Everything okay here, um… darling?” she asks, and you can tell she’s struggling with something. You can’t really blame her. Her parents just unwittingly changed the trajectory of her life and she hadn’t even been in the room.

“Yeah,” you say. “Your mom and I were just discussing how often we should visit. As long as I live in the same building as your parents, would you rather have dinner here once a month or every day?”

“Oh, I definitely can’t make it every day. Once a month is much easier for me.”

It’s Mrs. Franopoulos’ turn to find herself in a reality someone else picked. She shakes her head as though trying to clear a brain fog, then smiles at the two of you. “Once a month it is, then.”

The rest of dinner is uneventful. Sofia keeps looking at you with a confused expression, especially when her parents ask you questions about being a couple. You deflect those easily. As the evening winds down, you find yourself at the front door saying your goodbyes.

“Thank you again for dinner. It was lovely. I’m looking forward to eating a lot more of your cooking, Mrs. Franopoulos.”

“You’re too kind,” the older woman says, handing you your laundry basket. Your clothes are pressed and folded inside. She gives you a hug and kisses you on the cheek again.

“We’re happy our daughter is dating such a respectable young man,” Mr. Franopoulos says, shaking your hand.

Soon, you and Sofia are standing together in the hallway outside her parents’ apartment. There’s a moment of awkward silence as it seems like she wants to say something, but it’s not coming out. You decide to test a few things.

“Carry this and follow me,” you say, handing her the laundry basket. She doesn’t hesitate to obey.

As you climb the stairs, she asks from behind you “You’re my boyfriend, right?”

“Uh, yeah, I am.”

“See, that doesn’t make sense. I know you’re my boyfriend, but I don’t have boyfriends. I don’t like men like that. I have a girlfriend. And I’m not poly or anything like that.” Her breathing is heavy as she tries to keep up with you.

“So you’re still dating your girlfriend?”

“Yeah. That’s weird, right? And I’m still in love with her. And I don’t have a reason to date you other than the fact that you’re my boyfriend.” She pauses on one of the landings. “I feel like I’m trapped in a weird loop of logic.”

“What’s wrong with it? I’m your boyfriend, you’re dating me, you’re also dating your girlfriend. As long as you’re an obedient, dutiful girlfriend for me, I don’t see an issue with it.”

Her eyes glaze over for a moment. “I will always be dutiful and obedient for my boyfriend.” She shakes her head, confused. “But I don’t feel the same need to be obedient for my girlfriend. This… this is so strange.”

You reach your apartment and open the door to let her in. She steps into the main room and looks around, still carrying your laundry. You show her to the bedroom and your closet.

“Put the clothes away in here for me. Wait,” you say, stopping her. “Take off your skirt and blouse, then put my clothes away.”

She nods, then strips off her top and skirt and drapes them over the arm of a chair. Her bra is solid white, supporting generously round breasts. Pink panties tuck under her surprisingly defined abs. You can see that you were right about the tattoos, with several on her legs and upper arms. She looks at you for approval, then continues with your laundry.

“So you’re not attracted to men at all,” you say.

“Nope. Which drawer do you keep your socks in?”

“Top left. If I wanted to have sex with you, what would you say?”

“I’d obey and do my duty to you.”

You undo your pants and expose your bulging underwear. Sofia looks at you with apprehension but doesn’t stop with her task.

“And if I told you to be attracted to me?”

She pauses and thinks for a moment. “I would try my hardest, but I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“I wonder what Juliette would have to say about this,” you say.

“She’s expecting me back at our home tonight. What am I going to tell her? That I suddenly have a boyfriend? This might be the end of our relationship, and I really don’t want to lose her.”

Your phone buzzes with a notification. You pull it out and see a text from Elise.

Elise: Heyy! Are you coming to the party???

You look between your phone and the half undressed woman who just finished putting away your laundry. You could order her to stay here while you go to Elise’s promotion celebration, or you could toy with her some more. Maybe you could ask her to invite Juliette over and really have some fun. The idea of corrupting two lesbians and bending them to your desires was almost too juicy to pass up.

However, when will you get another opportunity to see Elise and potentially make her yours? You finally have the power to act on your old workplace crush, and it would be pretty disappointing to let it slip through your fingers.

What are you going to do?