Dave couldn't believe it had happened. Three days before. Evening. How could it have happened? But he knew for sure - the last three days had been hell. Well, if not hell, at least humiliating. And in the face of the mockery, the jibes, he had tried to maintain as much dignity as he could. It had not been easy. Perhaps the thing that surprised him most was the level of prejudice in the people he worked with. He couldn't believe that people he worked with perfectly easily before, should now turn out to be like this. Sure, some of the jibes were good-humoured, but in many of them there was real venom. Some of the names he had been called showed a real viciousness. And of course, many of them couldn't face him - the jibes were written in the toilets, pinned on the notice boards, left on his desk, all anonymous. He heard the giggles when he walked in the room, when he picked up the next offensive comments about him. And one or two were nasty to his face. One even spat at him in a corridor. What had been an easy pleasant office to work in had now become a living hell. And it wasn't just the men. As the women in the office heard what had happened they too started to sneer down their noses at him, refuse to talk to him, wouldn't stay in the same room as him.
Dave's mind wandered back to that evening. The office had decided to play 5-a-side football at the sports centre. It had been good fun, the dozen or so men of the office had a good time. But it happened in the shower room after. Dave had been struggling to work out how to sort out a complex contract which would bring the company a lot of money. He had sought advice through the previous week from his colleagues. It was in the shower room that Tony, who had been a good friend for several years, stood next to him, with a suggestion. An idea.
"Perhaps the problem, Dave," he was saying, "Is that we are trying to appeal to his desire for profit," - talking about the managing director of Incorporated Phones - Charlie Seddon. Dave continued. "But their business can print money, there is so much profit in it. Perhaps we should find a way to appeal to his desire to be seen as a wonderful socially aware citizen."
It was so obvious - so obvious than no-one had thought of it. Dave thought long and hard at that moment, staring into space, trying to work out what that might mean for the contract. He was working it through into his mind, looking no-where in particular.
Dave had been so lost in thought that he wasn't aware that while he was staring into space, turning the idea over, seeing nothing, everyone else saw his eyes staring at the groin of one of the junior members of the office - Marcus - as if he was ogling the young man's cock. Everyone saw. Everyone assumed. Everyone piled in with the insults. That simple thing - him staring into space, everyone thinking he had been ogling Marcus which started it.
Dave just couldn't believe how anti-gay the people in the office were. The vitriol. Insults had all stemmed from that one stupid incident. It wasn't as if he were single - Jenny was a wonderful wife, he adored her, they had three lovely children. Yet somehow the hatred and the vitriol gathered momentum and changed the friendly office into a place of bigotry and hatred with Dave unjustifiably on the end of it.
For the three days since Dave had re-written the contract to appeal to the managing director of Incorporated Phones. He was remembering all of what had happened as he sat outside Charlie's office, ready to present the revised contract. But there was just a corner of Dave - perhaps buried deep down, that was wondering something else. A corner wondered what he might have seen if he had not been totally distracted...
He waited for ten minutes before Charlie invited him in. Charlie was a good man, but shrewd and tough. Dave sold the new contract for all it's worth. For forty minutes he presented the new contract, explaining the benefits, how it would help Incorporated Phones to raise it's social profile as well as pay for itself.
At the end - Charlie sat, silently, thinking. He seemed to think for the best part of 5 minutes. Occasionally he asked questions.
"Okay Dave" - Dave wasn't sure which way he would go - "Ok Dave, I will sign the contract. But on one condition. You come here and work it from my end. Work for me. I'll double what you are getting at the agency. They can get their profit. But you start for me on Monday."
As Dave walked back to his car he couldn't believe how it had all happened. Three days ago, then three days of hell in an office full of bigots, then suddenly a better job with a better company, with better pay. What next...
The next day at work - the Friday - went very slowly. He took great delight in presenting the signed contract to his boss. He took great delight in telling his boss, then all the staff, that they could stuff their jobs. He wasn't expecting a fairwell party, and walked out at 4.30pm without looking back. He had no resentment. Just a sense of sadness of lost friendships - he had enjoyed most of his time there, just the last three days... No, he thought - the last three days were history, life moves on, he moves on...
On Monday Dave was sat in Charlie's office. They were discussing how the contract should be implemented at Incorporated Phones. Already Dave was enjoying the work, the new challenges. He found the company full of hard working people, but they would respect you if you worked hard. He knew this was going to be a good job. Things were starting well.
It was on the Wednesday evening that the real surprise came. It was from Jenny who had just answered the phone. "Dave, there's someone on the phone for you," Jenny shouted up the stairs. "Says his name is Marcus."
Marcus? There was only one Marcus he knew - the cause of all his problems. The last person he wanted to speak to. "Okay," Dave shouted, I'll take it on this phone."
The voice was very nervous, shaky, but it was definitely the Marcus from work. "Dave?" There was a pause as Marcus was clearly struggling for what to say.
"Dave, I'm parked outside your house. Can I come in to speak to you? Just briefly."
Dave thought for a moment - the last person he wanted to speak to was... "Dave, please, give me a minute..." Marcus sounded desperate. Dave thought...
"Okay, one minute." David replied curtly.
Just as Dave opened the door to Marcus, Jenny disappeared out to her evening class. Dave couldn't quite remember which one this was, but he hoped she would have a good time. The classes were important to her, and Dave was more than happy for her to go to them. Dave nodded for Marcus to come in, and led him to the sitting room. He didn't offer him a chair.
Marcus had been a good friend until that evening. He was a gentle lad - maybe 22 years old. He was always smartly dressed, even in casual clothes, and Dave had been surprised that he had been caught up in the office problems. Dave nodded for him to speak.
