Look East | A Hozier Fanfiction |

28

JANUARY

"Its good to have you back, Molly," Jessica said as she carried a pile of paperwork and files to Molly's desk. "Did you enjoy your time off?"

Molly looked around her shared office. It felt familiar, but also different at the same time. "Yeah - yeah, I enjoyed it," she answered.

The room seemed smaller, as if her time away had changed the size somehow. Even though everything was exactly as she'd left it, something felt different.

"Good. Michelle said she wanted to talk to you when you got in," the younger woman said. "Before you looked at these," she added, tapping the top of the pile.

Molly's heart raced. She knew why Michelle wanted to see her. "Right, thanks," she replied.

Breathe. You knew this was coming. Its gotta happen at some point.

She took her time settling in, unwrapping her scarf and hanging it with her coat on the rack next to the door. Oscar was in court and she didn't expect to see him for the entire day. After putting her things away, Molly took a deep breath.

Time to face the music.

She walked down the hall to Michelle's office and knocked on the closed door. It opened a second later.

"Ah, Molly. You're back," Michelle said. "Please, come in." Molly smiled and shut the door after her. "I trust you had a relaxing break?" Michelle asked.

"I did," Molly replied, sitting in one of the chairs in front of Michelle's desk.

"Must have been pretty relaxing if you're choosing to apply for a program there," Michelle remarked.

Molly inhaled sharply. "Yes, it was."

"I take it you and Andrew are fairly serious, then?" Michelle asked.

Molly nodded slowly. "You could say that, yes. But I didn't just apply to Trinity because he's there," she said. "I did it because its a top school and I wanted to study there."

Her boss considered her for a moment. "You promised me you wouldn't leave," she said with a wry smile.

"I didn't plan on falling in love with him," Molly said. "But he's been in love with me for years, so I guess it made sense that I finally joined the party, too."

Michelle chuckled. "While I am extremely disappointed that I'll be losing my top attorney, I am very happy for you. Diana spoke very highly of you when I talked to her on the phone. Apparently you blew the entire interview panel away."

Molly felt a surge of pride. "Oh, well that's good."

Michelle shifted a few things around on her desk. "Am I to assume you will not be renewing your contract in July?"

Molly nodded. "Yes. I was going to wait until I got accepted, but since my interview, things sort of changed. Even if I don't get in at Trinity, I'm still moving."

"How does Oscar feel about all this?" Michelle asked, looking at her over her glasses. "You two are joined at the hip."

"He seems fine, but you know Oscar," Molly said. "He will probably have a breakdown somewhere around May. He's in denial, I think."

Michelle smiled. "Right, well I will inform the trustees and we can begin to put out feelers for your replacement." She made several notes on a notepad. "And we will begin the process of transferring all of your immigration cases that are in early stages to other people. I would also strongly suggest you get all of your CECs done so you can renew your certification for another three years before you leave. That way if anything happens, you can come right back and work."