MY NAME IS Yves and I work too much. I know that it's nobody's fault but my own, I know that if I just planned things a little better, maybe stuck up for myself a bit more, perhaps learned how to say "no," I could achieve a better work/life balance. I could hit the gym, I could keep my condo nicer, and maybe I could even find myself in a relationship. Ugh. Relationships. Sore subject with me, actually.
I don't mind telling you. Maybe you're a lot like me.
I work in a pretty corporate environment. Don't get me wrong — it's not a beige-walled, windowless hell. Far from it. I work for a very successful financial services firm that manages multiple billions of dollars for some pretty large funds. University endowments, pension funds for large corporations, and the personal wealth of some rich people. I mean, our client list is pretty damn impressive and I'd certainly wow you with it if I wasn't sure I'd get fired for sharing that information with you.No, I won't really get fired. The company is employee-owned. If you're here long enough, work hard enough, and show your commitment to the company, you get made a partner. And I was well on my way to that.
So yeah, because we manage so much wealth and make so much money ourselves, we've got a very nice office. We've got the entire floor and it's all windows, looking out to the beautiful cityscape. The Loop, the lake, the river, and beyond. I'm lucky to have such a great office. But it can still be a corporate slog sometimes. And one of those little corporate nettles in my ass has to do with my relationship stuff. See, I work in marketing and client relations and I have to deal with a lot of rich men. I'm a pretty young woman, sliding into my early thirties — not to toot my own horn or anything — and these rich men like to do the flirty dance with me and I, unfortunately, have to flirt back. It's part of my job, sadly. And none of this would be that bad if I actually liked men. But I don't. I like women.
Romantically, that is.
I like women romantically. I'm a lesbian. But because I'm kind of girly, a lot of people don't see it. I try not to judge them for any of that. People are a product of their culture, especially older people who are more set in their ways, and as much as I'd just like to be accepted for who I am, I'm also not an idiot and understand that progress comes slowly. Many of the people I work with know that I'm a lesbian. Told the president and founder of the company, Kim Sunhye, about it and had some thoughtful words on the subject.
"You're lesbian?" he reiterated after I told him. He made a scrunched-up face like it wasn't important to him, and he shrugged.
"Yes," I said. "I just wanted to get that out in the open because of my position."
"Yves," he said with a knowing smile, using my nickname that so many of my coworkers had grown accustomed to using. "I know it is unfair, but many of our investors are from an old-school world. They may say things to you, perhaps sexist things, because you are a pretty girl. But do not let that faze you."
"Okay," I said, nodding along with his advice.
"Instead, let it bolster you," Sunhye went on. "Stay strong, stay stoic, as you can control nobody's feelings but your own. Just know that any trouble you endure in our world because of your sexuality will be rewarded tenfold, financially speaking."
"I understand," I said.
"Nobody in this company will care or judge your sexuality," he said. "Weare a meritocracy and you come with a lot of merits."
"Thank you, sir," I said.
"The world will continue to progress," said Sunhye.
"And when people your age are the age of our investors, all of these perceptions will have changed. More acceptance."
