Page 43 of Boss of Attraction

Late in the afternoon,I sat at my desk, engrossed in writing a brief when my email chimed. I had been trying to forget that it was the day Fallon and I would learn if we’d passed the bar, but I had failed completely and could think of nothing else most of the day. Since nine a.m., I had refreshed my email over and over as if that would make the results come faster.

With my heart pounding, I clicked on the email tab on the browser and my gaze went straight to the new email that had come in. The subject line read: “Official Results, Massachusetts July Bar Exam”

“Oh, fuck,” I murmured.

With a shaky hand, I opened the email. My eyes scanned the text, searching for the words that would determine my future.

Dear Applicant for Admission to the Bar in Massachusetts,

Congratulations! The Board of Bar Examiners is pleased to inform you that you obtained a passing total scaled score …

“I did it! I passed the bar exam!” I exclaimed, jumping out of my chair and throwing my arms into the air.

Cheers erupted as my coworkers gathered around me, offering their congratulations and slapping me on the back. But one person stood out as he waited his turn. Without a word, Sean pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Congratulations, Declan,” he murmured against my ear, and a shiver ran down my spine.

“Thank you.”

We pulled apart.

“When you get the notice from the court for the date and time of your formal admission ceremony, let me know. I want to be there.”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you know if Fallon passed?” he asked.

I shook my head, but turned back to my desk and sat. “No, but I might be able to look it up.”

I went to the website for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and pulled up the pass list for the bar exam. Clicking on the last names that started with C-D, I scrolled to Donnelley and there he was: Donnelley, Fallon James – Boston MA.

Spinning around, I said to Sean, “He passed too.”

“Excellent news. You two are going to make exceptional attorneys.”

“Thank you.”

Sean turned and left. I grabbed my phone and shot a text to Fallon:

Well?

I didn’t want to spoil it for him if he hadn’t checked his email yet.

A few seconds later he responded:

I passed. You?

I passed too!

Drinks tonight?

Fuck yeah!

16

Sean

Finishingup my work for the week, I debated whether I should join the rest of the office who had left thirty minutes ago to celebrate Declan’s admission to the bar. I had attended the ceremony, but then returned to the office to get some work done. I rarely went out with my employees for happy hour because I believed they deserved to relax and chat openly without worrying about their boss hearing everything they said. But this was a special night for Declan, and everyone had been invited.