Mikel Jaso for BI
In 2018, Derek was working 80 hours a week as a paralegal for a major law firm in New York City, his first job out of school. He had a boyfriend, but they weren't seeing much of each other: "He was just this boy I would climb into bed with at 3 a.m., and then he would wake up and go to work while I was still asleep."
Four months into his job, Derek was sent on a two-month work trip to Singapore, along with a team of lawyers he barely knew. He was nervous and isolated at first, working 14-hour days in a tiny hotel room. But before long he hit it off with Brendan, a lawyer who shared his sense of humor. Soon they were spending their free time exploring the city together and hanging out in each other's rooms.