Chapter 1

Martin sat in his office gazing fondly at the family photo that held a prominent spot on his desk. He realized that the only couple in the photo was his parents. He had been looking forward to some home cooking for the past couple of weeks, after the family finally organized a get-together at his parents’ house. It would just be the four of them, his parents, sister Megan, and him. It had been a while since they were all able to get organized for a family event, with Megan living a seven hours’ drive away, and working a demanding and hectic schedule. So this would be a real treat

“Martin, you’re smiling. This upcoming dinner with your family is front and centre in your mind.” Martin had been caught in his daydream and never heard his business partner come in. “I know how much you’re looking forward to it, but there is one minor wrinkle. The contract you’ve been negotiating for the Edson project is just about finalized. The president of the company wants to meet you in person, but the only day he is available happens to be the day after your dinner.” Randy brought the outline for the project to review with him, in case he was asked to sit in instead.

Randy Richards and Martin Provost co-owned a successful engineering firm, RicPro. They had been friends for years and planned well before college to get into some kind of business together. They were as close as brothers, and each family treated the other as a son. Martin smiled, knowing that his business partner would cover for him. He also knew the president of the company wanted to meet the man who was piloting the project.

“I know what you’re thinking and I appreciate it, but this is a huge project. The drive to my folk’s place is only a couple of hours, so it won’t be a big deal for me to come back, meet with the guy, and head back down to spend a few more days with them.”

“Alright, if you’re sure, I’ll get back to my own stuff. Oh, Tina was asking if you might have a few minutes for her. Can I send her up?” Tina Roy was one of their more talented architects, but lately, both Randy and Martin noticed that she had become withdrawn.

“Sure, I’ll get the coffee if you’ll send her in.” When he got back with a pair of mugs, Tina was sitting across from his desk. Martin brought his chair around and sat beside her. “Randy said you wanted to see me. What’s on your mind?”

Tina was a pretty woman with short blonde hair and a small frame. She had been with them for a little over a year and proved to be amazing at fleshing out concepts into remarkable drawings. She rarely missed the mark with her artist’s renditions when she was given enough details.

“I’ve been getting some crap, anonymously, from someone here at work. I’m a lesbian and while I don’t try to hide it, I don’t have rainbow flags all around my office either. I know we have well-distributed and clear rules about discrimination and harassment. I thought you should know what’s going on. I like it here, and I admire you and Randy, but I might have to move on if it doesn’t stop.”

Martin nodded. “I fully understand how hard this has to be for you. We don’t tolerate this behavior and as soon as we find the source of the harassment, the person or persons will no longer be with us. I’m sorry you’re going through this. Do you need to take some time off, or do you want to work from home?”

Tina smiled. “That’s sweet of you, boss. I don’t want to give whoever it is the impression that I’m hiding. I’m just tired of the crap. I’ll keep coming to work, and promise to give you plenty of notice if I feel I have to quit. I just wanted to let you in on what’s going on.” She stood, shook Martin’s hand, and went back to her office.

Martin decided it was time he took a stand. He was gay, but had been so caught up in building the business with Randy that he never pursued a man or a relationship. He decided he would come out to his colleagues and staff. Even Randy didn’t know, but he was pretty sure he would be fine with it. He decided that his family would know first, and this family get-together would be the perfect time to tell them.

* * * *

Dinner at the Provost home was almost always an entertaining event, and this evening proved to be no different. Their mother made an incredible dinner while Mr. Provost prided himself on his skill at making dessert. Martin’s sister, Megan, was able to join them and planned to spend a few days. Martin helped set the table and got the coffee maker ready, while Meg produced a bottle of wine she brought to complete the meal. They all got their plates loaded, the wine was decanted, and they started to enjoy a fantastic prime rib dinner.