Chapter Text
‘Come on pretty, drinks are on you…’
As they left the firm for the night, Harvey and Donna looked back one last time at Louis, who was too overwhelmed at the moment to even begin to process all that had happened in such a short time.
As they stepped out of the building, they found Ray waiting outside of Harvey’s car, a faint smile on the face.
“Ray, I thought I told you to go home hours ago”, Harvey scowled, feeling a bit guilty, “what are you still doing here ?”
“It’s not his fault Harvey”, answered the redhead who was just a few centimeters behind him “I called him and told him we’d be celebrating tonight, and we’d need his assistance”.
“Don’t worry Mr. Specter”, added Ray to reassure Harvey, “My wife and kids are out of town until next week, I don’t mind having to work tonight.”
“In that case, thank you”, replied Harvey, sincerely grateful for his trusted driver.
---
Without either of them having to say anything, Ray had brought them to the bar where they had met over 13 years ago, and where they had been back on occasion, usually together, whenever they felt like celebrating. And tonight was for celebrating.
They settled in, ordered their drinks, both double MacAllan 18, and lightly chatted about everything that had happened. It was a nice evening, and they both relished the fact that they had the other one to talk to.
After a few hours of making fun of Alex and Samantha and their little power play, as well as Louis having his controlling dreams finally coming true both at the firm and in his family by suddenly becoming a father AND a managing partner at a top law firm in NYC (although that was mostly Harvey), they left the bar. Harvey looked over at Donna while she was putting her coat on, contemplating for a split second the idea of inviting her to his condo to keep the party going. But as she saw her fumbling to button her coat, while slightly swaying on her feet, he realized that they maybe had a few too many drinks, and anything that would happen while she wasn’t fully aware would be a mistake. So he took her by the elbow and gently guided her into his car where he asked Ray to drop her off at her apartment, before bringing him home. Once he had made sure that she was safe and and sound at her place, he went back to his, not full of regret, but perhaps full of possibilities, and also, a bit of worry at what tomorrow would bring, with Louis being at the head of the firm, and said firm now having five different names on its wall. But he relaxed knowing that whatever happened, he could count on Donna to smooth over the process.
---
The next morning, having skipped his morning jog and slightly hungover, Harvey was not the happiest man when he reported at 8am sharp in the lobby of Zane Specter Litt.
Wait...
It wasn’t just Zane Specter Litt anymore, he thought. He had barely given a thought to the situation until just now, when he stepped in the building. He stopped dead in this tracks as he remembered that A) they had two new named partners, and B) Louis was now managing partner. It was a lot, especially when running on barely 4 hours of sleep and way too many whiskeys. As he stopped, he felt someone running into him from behind. He recognized the tall figure without having to turn, and heard a surprised ‘oof’ as his favorite redhead looked up from her phone and stared at him.
“Harvey ?”, she asked, “what’s going on ? Did they forgot to recharge you last night ?” she added with a smirk.
He didn’t react at her not-so-subtle mention of him being a robot, but turned to face her and asked “Was it just a bad dream, or did we make Louis managing partner just last night ?”. He seemed genuinely confused, which made Donna smile only grow wider.
“It wasn’t a dream Harvey, it did happen, not twelve hours ago.”
He slowly nodded, letting it sink in, and started walking in silence to the elevator, knowing Donna would follow. As they both got in, Harvey noticed Donna staring at him intensely, and knew she had something to say.
“Spit it out Donna”, he sighed, “I’ve never known you to be the quiet type, so if you have something to say, just say it.”
“I know you might not want to hear it, but Harvey, Louis is managing partner now”, she said cryptically. He looked down at her with a confused look on his face and he slightly tilted his head.
“You think I don’t know that ? We’ve had that conversation not ten seconds ago in the lobby!”, he began to raise his voice.
Donna now faced him in the elevator and knew they would soon be on their floor and had to act quickly. “No Harvey, you’re not hearing me. Louis is now managing partner”, she said again. He was still confused for a few more seconds “And what makes you think I can’t handle it ?” he asked her. He was slightly annoyed that she thought Louis technically above him would bother him. They were passed that. Plus, he hadn’t been managing partner for months and had given his place to Robert without much of a fight.
“I know you think you can handle it, and I know that you’ll try. But you and I both know that as much as Louis as changed these past few years, him having all he’s ever wanted all at once might go to his head”, she said softly, laying out facts they both knew to be true. “And I want you to promise me that as much as he’s pissing you off, you won’t do anything to antagonize him, but instead you’ll show him that you’re the bigger man”, she added.
“Honestly Donna, I know you’re great at reading people, but I’m telling you ; Louis and I are good, and him getting promoted won’t change that. I’m done fighting with people I care about”, he admitted. He had lost too much recently, he thought, to still push people away. Donna nodded quietly while looking at him, like she could see what he was thinking about. Which, if he was honest, she probably could. He didn’t like talking about it, but he was more affected that he had lead everyone (well, everyone but her) to believe by all the people in his life leaving one after the other.
“I know you are, which is why it won’t hurt if you promise me that you’ll do all you can to stay on his good side”, she still requested.
“Fine Donna, whatever, I promise”, he shrugged.
---
Turns out, as usual, Donna was more right that he’d thought. Not even ten feet out of the elevator, Louis had greeted them with a coffee for both of them - black for Harvey, and a latte for Donna - and wide smile stuck on his face. As he took his coffee, the third of the day already, Harvey sighed but returned the smile.
“Good morning Louis. What the hell is that for ?”, he asked, pointing to the coffees.
“Can’t a boss just show affection for his two favorite employees ?”, Louis asked in return, not in a mean way, but to show his pride. Donna and Harvey just slightly laughed and said nothing in return. They drank their coffees in silence as they walked to their respective offices. Before they went their separate ways, Louis, who was following closely behind, threw his arms up.
“Come on guys !”, he exclaimed, “You’re not even gonna congratulate me ?”. He sounded really pitiful and dramatic.
“Listen Louis”,Harvey replied, “We’ve said all we had to say to you yesterday night. Now quit being a dick about it and go do your job”. Donna glanced at him sideways, shaking her head, and turned to Louis.
“What Harvey is trying to say”, she said more calmly, putting her hand on Louis’ arm, “Is that we’re both very happy for you, and we know you’re gonna make a great managing partner”. Louis gave her an honest smile, then a cold look at his friend. Donna nudged Harvey with her elbow, until he let out with a frustrated face ;
“What she just said.” Louis must have decided that it was enough for him, he left with a shake of the head to his office.
Donna turned to Harvey, a slightly exasperated look on her face. “Remember that thing we talked about like five seconds ago ?” He nodded. “Yeah ? Well that wasn’t it”, she scowled, “you already treated him like shit and the day hasn’t even started yet”.
“Oh come on Donna, I didn’t treat him like shit”, he tried, “it was just a little friendly banter !”
“Huh-huh, that was neither friendly nor a banter, and you better do more effort than this in the future”. She turned around and left him there, a little guilty. He knew she was annoyed with him, but he also knew she was a bit amused, and wasn’t really pissed at him.
It was their usual dance, he acted like an ass, and she called him out on it. But their fight hadn’t been important in a while. *Until that time I insulted her promotion*, he remembered. ‘No Harvey, I’m in my position because I fucking earned it !’, he still remembered her words, clear as a bell. Hurtful, but true. She had spent years and years preparing for her current job as COO of the firm, and no one deserved it more than her. He had regretted the words coming out of his mouth the second he’d said that he had put her where she was. He was glad she’d forgiven him, as she was now almost his only ally, and would always be. Which is why he knew to take her word seriously when she said he should be careful with Louis.
He got into his office and was about to start reviewing a mention to delay about a current case of his that was laying on his desk when he heard a knock on his door. It was Gretchen, and she was carrying a lot of folders.
“Harvey I’m sorry to interrupt”, she started as she made her way into the office.
“It’s okay Gretchen, what’s all this ?”, he asked perplexed. He had no case that necessitated this much paperwork at the moment.
“It’s from Louis”, she explained, a little embarrassed it seemed, “he wants you to review all of Mike’s old cases, to check for conflicts of interest”.
Harvey couldn’t believe it. “Conflict of interest ?”, he exclaimed, “Conflict with who ??”. He was starting to get really pissed. Gretchen was sorry to be the one to break it to him, but it was her job after all. “He wants to sign Kelton Insurance”, she replied with a sigh but her head held high. “Are you kidding me ?? They’re a piece of shit company”, he now shouted, “half of Mike’s goddamn cases are pro-bonos, of course there’s gonna be conflict !”.
“Look Harvey, I know he’s putting you in a hard spot”, replied Gretchen, not departing of her calm, “but he ordered me to tell you this, and it’s my job to do so. If you have issues with his decisions, which I would completely understand, please take it up with him. I’m not some owl you can send back and forth.”
Harvey looked like he was about to bite her head off for a moment, the vein on his forehead bulging in his silent rage, before he took in a deep breath and shook his head. “You’re right Gretchen”, he admitted, “it’s not on you, and I’ll talk about it with Louis directly”. Gretchen nodded, a bit of pride in her eyes, and left. Still incredibly angry, he decided to take a minute to breath before he did something he’d probably regret, like beating the shit out of Louis right here and there. Rather than that, he sit back at his desk, ignored pointedly the pile of folders Gretchen had left on his coffee table, and continued working on his other case - a hotel merger - all morning.
---
Around 1pm, he was still glued to his screen, the file open in front of him. Without having to look up, he sensed her without even having to look up. She stayed a moment at the door, before coming in, closer to his desk. He decided to ignore her, all too aware of what she wanted to talk about. Donna might be the grown-up in most situations, but she could play petty if that’s what he wanted to do. So she took a seat right in front of him, crossed her legs and began to softly tap on the desk. Barely seconds later, as she expected, he gave in and looked up at her.
“Donna, I don’t want to hear it”, he warned her in a low voice.
“You don’t even know what I’m here to tell you”, she replied.
“Sure I am, if you’re here it means you must’ve heard about that little stunt Louis pulled on me. Which means”, he added with a slightly exasperated voice, “you’re here to convince me not to go ape-shit on him because you’re sure he had a good reason to do what he did”. He tilted his head, still furious, and added “Close enough ?”. She was actually pretty impressed. So he did listen when she talked to him ! She stayed her calm-self and leaned over the desk, to put her hand over Harvey’s, now forming a closed fist in his bottled-up anger.
“Yes, that’s what I’m here to tell you. But”, she marked a pause, “I know he asked the impossible of you, I know that Mike and by extension his old cases is a very sensitive issue for you, and I know that you feel betrayed by someone you thought was your friend.” She was still looking intensely at him, he hadn’t pull his hand over from under hers, but was now leaning back in his chair, waiting for her to continue. And she did.
“You might not believe this, but I’m actually on your side more often than you think...”, she said with a slight smirk. They both knew she was almost always on his side, just as he was on hers. The remark was just meant to make him react.
“And I am actually proud to see that you haven’t barged into Louis’ office yet, as I’m sure he expected you to”, Donna continued.
“So now you’re saying I was supposed to go to him ?” , he exclaimed, still on the defensive.
“No one is saying that, least of all me. I just want you to talk to me.”
“Talk to you about what ?”, Harvey asked, confused, “You just mentioned everything that was wrong about this situation, what more do you want me to say ?”. After squeezing his hand one last time, she let go of it and leaned back in her chair as well. “I’d like you to talk about Mike leaving. It’s been months now, and I know we’ve mentioned the subject a few times before, but you’ve never been in a situation like that”. The request came a place of kindness and concern for him, he knew that. But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Talking about Mike was like reopening a wound that hadn’t properly healed, and Louis’ request made it fester even more. And so ignoring Donna’s open hand and open ear, he stood up, closed his jacket button. As he did so, he saw Donna slightly recoil in her seat and he hated himself for a split second.
“I’m sorry Donna”, he told her, and he was, “I don’t have time to dwell on the past right now, I have to go see Louis.” As she moved slightly, he raised an appeasing hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to beat him senseless, although he’d deserve it. I’m going to have an open and calm discussion with my managing partner in order to figure out what made him pull this bullshit.” Donna smiled slightly at the remark, but Harvey could see in her eyes she would’ve wanted to have an honest discussion with him about Mike, and he had disappointed her - once more, he thought. When he went around his desk to go the door, he put a light hand on her shoulder and squeezed before letting go and going to Louis. And it was enough for her to understand that he was sorry about not opening up, and to forgive him like she usually did. They hardly ever had physical contact, there was an underlying danger to it, but when they did, it always meant more than any words they could exchange. Especially considering how bad Harvey was with words.
---
She hadn’t heard from him the rest of the day, but at the same time, she hadn’t heard any screams or loud noises that would indicate something irremediable had happened to Louis. When she went by his office before heading home, he wasn’t there but his computer and coat were, so he had to be somewhere in the building.
She was reading a book while enjoying a glass of red wine, sitting on her couch, when she heard knocking on her door. She checked the time on her phone and frowned. She opened the door and was met with a familiar face.
“Harvey ! It’s almost midnight, what are you doing here ?”, she greeted him, surprised. She noticed he had a bottle of expensive wine in his hand. He wasn’t as good with wine as he was with whisky, but he sure knew a thing or two.
“Château-neuf du Pape ?”, she asked pointing to the bottle with a raised eyebrow. “What did I do to deserve that ?”
He had a humble smile - well, humble for him - and gave her the bottle.
“I wondered if you’d let me come in and share what happened with Louis over a good bottle ?”, he risked. She hesitated, considering the late hour, but she couldn’t leave him hanging, not when he was about to open up, AND he was bringing a hundred dollars bottle. She motioned for him to come in, open the bottle for the wine to breath and came back to where she was previously seated on the couch. He took a sit in the chair next to her, and pointed to the glass set on the coffee table.
“I see you’ve already started the party without me”, he remarked, amused.
“What can I say ? It’s been a long day...”, she trailed off.
“Yes it has”, he admitted.
Silence between the two of them, not uncomfortable but lasting, until Donna broke it off.
“Harvey, you told me you wanted to tell me what happened with Louis today, and like I said, it’s been a long day...”.
“It actually went okay”, he sounded surprised, and she was too when she heard that. “I wanted to smack him down when I first arrived in his office”, he continued, “but when I came in, guns blazing, he looked up at him and he almost seemed... afraid”, he added, a point of guilt in his voice. “Like he really believed I would beat him up, and he had that same look in his eyes that a few months ago when he told me about getting mugged and threatened at gun point”. Louis hardly ever talked about this story, with anyone, he didn’t want anyone to see him as weak, but Donna knew Harvey was the first one he’d shared this with, and it had only brought the two of them closer. They had shared a lot in the last few months, Harvey relying on Louis even more now that Mike was gone. She looked at Harvey’s sappy eyes, and saw the turmoil in his eyes.
“So why’d he do it ?”, she asked to keep Harvey talking.
“He said he didn’t want to mess with any of Mike’s old cases, but him being managing partner as the same time as adding two new name partners made the firm looked unstable to the world, and...”, he trailed off
“And he thought that taking on a new client, and one as huge as Kelton Insurance, would show to everyone that we’ve still got it and still care about our clients”, she finished for him. He nodded, “Exactly. And since Mike and Rachel aren’t coming back anytime soon, he thought it wouldn’t be such a big deal if we had to sacrifice some of Mike’s old clients.” There was understanding in his tone, pain too.
“So what are you going to do about it ?”, Donna asked
“I don’t know, Donna. I understand Louis’ position to not seem weak, but there’s no way in hell I’m sacrificing Mike’s cases and clients. That’s just not happening.”, he replied, dead serious. She nodded silently and took a sip of the glass set in her hand. They hadn’t opened the bottle he’d brought over, she thought. As if he had read her mind, Harvey stood up ;
“Keep the Chateau-Neuf, I’m sure you’ll have a chance to open it later. It’s getting late anyway, and I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I’d better head home”, he stated as he put his coat and walked towards the door.
“Are you sure ?”, Donna asked, “I don’t mind staying up late if you want to talk, or drink, or both”.
“I appreciate it Donna, but we both need to sleep, and I need to think about what I’m gonna do about Louis and Kelton”, he replied.
“Okay. But call me if you need anything”, she still offered. He smiled at her, one of his genuine but sad smiles that she liked so much because it was true, and left.
---
Two hours later, long after Harvey had gone home, Donna was still in her living room, trying her damnedest to find a solution to make things right for both Louis and Harvey. And Mike. She didn’t have access to as much paperwork at her place as she did a the office, but she could access the firm’s server on her computer, and spent hours going through everything to try and find something.
At 3am, she switched from wine to water and aspirin, and sighed while massaging her eyes. Why was she even doing all of this ? Of course, the answer was multi-layered and complex. Truth was, she hated that Louis was put in a position where he would have to take as a client a crooked company like that. She also missed immensely Rachel and Mike, and hated that they’d have to betray them just as much as Harvey did. And, of course, she hated to see Harvey like that. Trying to reconcile all the parts of himself that made him whole, keeping his promises to the firm and by extension Jessica, to his friend Louis, and to his friend Mike. All while trying to also keep the promise he’d made her to take it easy with Louis. Harvey Specter had never been good at showing his internal turmoil, and she knew it would eat up at him, and it would probably end up with him pushing everyone away. She knew his pattern, and would be more than happy to make him face it like she often did, but she also wanted to help with the real problem, as well as helping the firm. Two birds, one stone.
Closing up her laptop, she was ready to go to bed and keep looking in the morning, when she had an epiphany. She didn’t need to look at the firms’ files, she needed to look at her own life ! She was about to text Harvey that she had found the solution to his problem, but then considered the time and thought it best to bring the matter directly to him in the morning.