1 CHAPTER 1

Hi, I am Reed Walker, 25 years old. I am currently working in one of the biggest firms, i.e., Mathew Company. I am 5.9 inches tall, have a white complexion, wear glasses, and am gay. Being gay doesn't bother me as much as it bothers others; everyone has their 'saying' on this; they do not have the basic knowledge that my business is not everyone's business.

When I came out, I was only 12 years old. It was the biggest mistake of my life. The news was not well taken by my family, surroundings, neighbors, not even by a single soul. If you ask me the reason it was our upbringing. We were staying in the countryside, so we were very conservative, and not even a single person accepted me the way I was.

News started spreading and people were talking behind my back. Even educated people were acting like crazy by asking stupid questions. Neighbors started keeping their distance from our family and they started treating me like a plague. I was not allowed to play or make friends with any other kids. I bore all these tortures for 3 years.

On the other hand, my parents were not happy about my sexuality. They even started showing their annoyance whenever they could, and all these reasons led me to make a firm decision. I needed to leave my hometown as soon as I could. My family was poor. My dad owned a farm which was not in good condition. We did not have sufficient money to maintain it. These scenarios made me study very hard. I was able to qualify for a scholarship and I left my hometown when I was 15.

After leaving my hometown, life in the city was not as I expected. Even though I got the scholarship, I had to work hard, day and night, to fulfill my basic needs. I started working as a waiter in some restaurants, car washing, working in bars, and so on.

My first job was as a waiter in one of the restaurants. It was owned by James who was married to Jannika and had two kids. As it was my first job and I was new to the city, I literally didn't know anything. James taught me everything. How to serve customers. How to greet them. How to handle customers and most importantly, patience to always smile.

I shared my life story with him, and after that, I got very attached to his family and also to James. Even after I started working for a company sometimes I would go to his restaurant and help him whenever there was a shortage of staff. At present, it has developed as one of the fancy restaurants in the city.

Even after everything happened, I kept in contact with my parents. Whenever I had time, I would call them, especially my mom, and even send them money. I owe them that much, but whenever I called, I couldn't forget their disappointed tone. It had been almost nine years since I left my hometown. Not even once did they call me to visit them, if I expressed interest in seeing them. They would always change the topic, which was quite painful.

My dream is to become an 'entrepreneur'.

At the time of graduation, I had developed a great business project, that required quite a lot of investment. I tried so many ways to raise funds, approached a few companies, and explained my idea. They would show interest in my project but as it was a start-up, they are not ready to take the risk. I applied for a bank loan, which got rejected due to so many reasons like having no assets to pledge and no guarantor. At least I needed to provide a 3-year financial statement and mine was not up to the mark, as my salary was not constant. I didn't work for any company for more than a year, and I was not able to fulfill even one criteria, so getting a loan for me was highly impossible, at least at present.

I have been in a relationship with 'David Murphy' for the past 4 years; we are of the same age.

If I speak about my work experience, I have never worked for any company for more than a year, which I am not really proud of. I will always have some issues with my seniors, which led to firing me.

I was very grateful to my boyfriend because he was the one who referred me to 'Mathew Company', where he was also working.

From the day I joined, I swore to myself to work hard whatever it takes, and not to quit this company no matter what.

A few months ago, I and David moved to a 2 BHK flat. The initial payment was made by me as it was our anniversary gift to him. My savings drained, and I was able to make only partial payments; for the remaining, we took a loan and shared EMI. I was happy both of us were planning to move to a bigger flat; finally, our dream came true.