Look East | A Hozier Fanfiction |

43

PART FOUR

JUNE 2024

Molly closed her car door and leaned heavily against the vehicle for several seconds, gathering her thoughts. Her brain felt like mush, sloshing around in her head. After seven days straight of sitting exams for the QLTT, she was looking forward to sleeping for several days and a strong drink. Even though it was a rare cloudless day, all she could think of was crawling into bed with Clementine and sleeping for days on end.

Her phone rang as she unlocked the kitchen door, but she let it go to voicemail, dropping her bag on the island and greeting Clementine as she stretched on the floor. She grabbed a glass of water and an apple and her phone rang again. She sighed and dug through her bag to find it. Caroline's name flashed on the screen and Molly nearly choked at the thoughts that ran through her frazzled head.

Why is she calling multiple times? Is Andrew OK?!

"Hello?" she asked, chewing rapidly.

"Molly! Glad I caught you. Do you have a few minutes?" Caroline asked.

Molly searched her tone for any indication of a problem. "Uh...sure. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, yes. Everything is fine," Caroline assured her. "Sorry to cause alarm," she chuckled lightly. "I was actually phoning because I had a proposition for you."

Molly sat on a bar stool at the island. "What sort of proposition?" she asked cautiously.

"I know you're in the process of getting fully qualified to practice here, but is there any chance you'd be open to an in-house legal counsel position with us?"

"Us?" Molly asked. "At Rubyworks? I'm flattered, Caroline, I really am, but my knowledge isn't really in entertainment law. And it would be a conflict of interest for me to work on the label responsible for my husband's success."

There was a brief pause before Caroline spoke. "Oh! Sorry, not at Rubyworks," she clarified. "I was asking about the ISPCC. We lost our go-to legal counsel when he moved to Germany earlier this year. We haven't had much success finding another decent solicitor that understands how a charity organization is run. Then your name popped to mind and I thought I'd reach out."

Molly blinked and rubbed her eyes. "I - uh... that's really flattering. I won't know if I've qualified for at least two months, though. Don't you think you'd be better off continuing to search in the mean time?"

"We've survived this long. Another couple months won't make a difference," the older woman said casually. "I remember Andy told me about the work you did at Pavee Point and I thought you'd be perfect here as well."

"That's really kind, but I only volunteer at Pavee Point. I translate and act as an advocate and mediator for Roma that come in," she replied. "I'm not really providing legal information or representation. I can't."

"Right, but if you could, would you?" Caroline asked.

Molly inhaled slowly. She'd considered it, but since it was a volunteer role, she didn't give the idea much weight. Sharon, the director of the program, made it clear that money was tight and any role she took on was in a voluntary capacity only. But if she could get paid for it, it would be a lot like her role with Bright Horizons

"Possibly. I just...and don't take this the wrong way, Caroline - I don't want to start my career in Ireland with nepotism," Molly answered.

"If I'm honest Molly, I didn't suggest you," Caroline replied. Though her tone was brusque, Molly was grateful for it. "Someone else did. But when I realized how great of a choice you were, it made sense."