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Three months after returning to Rhode Island, I took the elevator down to the street level of my apartment. Three men waited there: Pierce in a simple suit without a tie, Tristan in his usual slate-gray three-piece suit, and Andrew wearing a dress shirt and tie without the jacket.
“Well don’t the three of you look dashing?” I said.
Andrew whistled. “Not as good-looking as you. I like you in a pencil skirt.”
“I have to look professional. I’m the boss, after all. Now, who’s going to escort me to the party?”
Pierce took my arm first and we walked north through downtown Providence. Our destination was three blocks away, so Tristan escorted me for the second block, with Andrew taking the last stretch. We took the elevator to the fifth floor, and the doors opened to my new office. It was an open floor plan, with two offices with windows in the corners and various other desks and cubicles spread out in the middle. There were already six other guests here—my new employees.
“We’ll let you do your thing,” Pierce said, kissing me on the cheek. “I’ll get you a drink.”
“Just a Sprite,” I replied. “I want to keep a clear head tonight. Don’t want my new employees to see me tipsy before we even start.”
Andrew and Tristan lightly touched me on the back before departing too. In public, Pierce was still my only partner. The world probably wouldn’t understand our four-person polyamorous partnership, but that was okay. They didn’t need to understand. We were happy regardless.
I mingled with my new employees, then followed the smell of food over to the catering table. I did a double-take when I got there.
“Alejandro! What are you doing here?”
“I wished to be here for your first day!” he replied, taking a plate and filling it with food. “Here. You must eat. So much talking, and walking, and business.”
I leaned across the catering table to kiss him on the cheek. “I’ll take your advice.”
I ate the food, then went back to mingling. The six employees working for Norris Marketing were a strong group. I had a young IT Engineer who had just graduated from Brown and was hungry to begin at a start-up. My sales team was a trio of women who were as smart as they were charismatic. So were the pair of creative designers I had hired, who had four decades of experience between them.
And the cherry on top: my Director of Operations was Henry Avalon, who had been my first hire at New England Digital Marketing. Stealing him away from the Bobs was every bit as satisfying as I thought it would be.
After mingling and eating for an hour, I made a speech in front of my new employees and their spouses. I kept it short. “I’ll see you all back here Monday morning. We’re going to do great things.”
They lingered a little longer, said their goodbyes, and then trickled out of the building. Alejandro and the bartender began cleaning up their stations. Eventually, it was just me and my three men.
“I requisitioned this from the bartender before he put away his bottles.” Tristan handed me a glass of whiskey on ice.
“You do love me,” I said.
He kissed me. “More than you will ever know, my darling.”
“Nervous?” Andrew asked me.
“What do I have to be nervous about?” I asked. “I’m only starting my own business from scratch. For the second time. With a lot more expectations and pressure than the first time.”
“Sure,” Pierce said. “Nothing to be nervous about at all.”
Tristan turned toward the windows, which gave a view of Providence and the bay to the south. “Shall we tie one on before retiring for the evening?”
“Only if we can retire back on the Bellerophon,” Pierce said.
“Oh, come on!” I argued. “My place is three blocks away.”
“My yacht is farther, but has much better amenities,” Pierce replied.
“Care to weigh in?” Tristan asked Andrew.
“I’m happy with either place,” Andrew said. “Don’t drag me into this.”
“I just upgraded my bed! It’s big enough for all four of us!”
“Very well,” Pierce said. “It’s your big night, so we’ll do what you want.”
