Archive of Our Own

Travis Tanner was seething.

Unkind tongues may claim that seething was Travis’ standard setting. They weren’t exactly wrong, though. There were many occasion where Travis would quietly seethe and grind his teeth all the while plotting is revenge: When the barista at Starbucks got his name wrong and wrote Tracy on the cup. When the Yankees lost a game despite Travis’ more than competent advice shouted from the stands. When Beyoncé dropped a new album and Travis was at court and would need to wait for hours until he could listen to it.

But especially when he was beaten at court by no one else but Harvey Specter.

Oh, how Travis hated the guy. His slicked-back hair, his charming smile and his well-tailored suits that just clung at all the right places and left just enough to your imagination that you were still thinking about him even after he had left. But even worse, he was actually competent at his job, which meant that he was able to defeat Travis, which was something he just couldn’t stand.

Travis grinded his teeth as he continued to walk. This was the fourth consecutive defeat when it came to Harvey Specter in the last two months. He may be able to overlook that fact if it wasn’t costing him clients and prestige. A little competition and a challenge was a great method to keep his mind sharp, but what impression did it make on his clients when they saw that there was one person who more than often managed to win against him? It undermined their trust in his abilities. And Travis needed their trust.

And their money.

What rankled him the most was the fact that he could have won today’s case if he had had more time. Specter had dumped nearly a dozen cardboard boxes with files as part of the discovery and then had submitted a motion to prepone the trial which the judge had granted. Travis and his team hadn’t had the time to go through all if it and Specter had known that. Travis had tried to argue against the motion, but the judge had quashed his objections, probably because she wanted to be done with the case.

And lo behold, when Travis had left the court house, still smarting over his defeat, one of his assistants had called him, telling him he had discovered something in the files which would have vastly improved his chances at winning this. Now Travis needed to take a look at it himself and see if it was enough to fill a motion of appeal, which meant lost time he couldn’t devote to think of nefarious ways to defeat Harvey Specter.

Maybe he should quit being a lawyer and become a super villain. He would have a nice black cat he would name Bartholomew Jr., a finely furnished lair with the newest gadgets and of course no moral and legal constraints when it came to defeating Specter.

It was a nice dream, but as lawyer Travis knew that the IRS would probably find him before he could archive anything and book him for tax evasion before any of his plan could be set into motion.

He firmly put any thought of his defeat and musings on his villainous back-up plans on to the back of his mind when he reached the little coffee shop where he was supposed to meet one of his friends. People often acted surprised when they learned that Travis actually had people in his life he considered friends, but even he wasn’t some ice-cold machine that only existed to practise the law.

Besides, Claire and he got back till High School. One day, she just had decided that she liked Travis and he hadn’t been able to get rid of her ever since. And now he was one of the most successful lawyers in Manhattan while she had become one of the youngest fully tenured professors at Columbia. They would meet every now and then and she would bitch about her students while Travis boasted about his recent wins…and also bitch; about his clients, his opponents and aforementioned Starbucks baristas who didn’t get his name right.

“You’re seething,” Claire pointed it in lieu of an actual greeting, confirming again the unkind rumours about Travis baseline state of mind.

“I’m not,” Travis retorted, indirectly confirming her statement. “I’m above that.” Claire snorted into the milk foam of her cappuccino. “Sure, Jan.”

Travis just glared at her before he made his way to the counter, ordered his beverage of choice, again thankful that this coffee shop didn’t take their customers names and – after having received his coffee – went back to the table Claire was sitting at.

“What did you in?” Claire inquired.

“A file dump,” Travis told her. “All handwritten, of course, so that we couldn’t just scan it, but had to go through it manually.” He sighed. “And I can’t even blame anyone for it. It’s not like the human mind can scan hundreds of pages a minute and keep the information.” Claire looked at him with an undecipherable expression.

“Wow, it really rankles you?” she hummed.

“Of course it does!” Travis exclaimed. “It’s not only me personal feelings at stake here, though. Mr. Richards already threatened to take his account over to Pearson Hardman after I lost his case against Specter a month ago.”

He took a sip from his coffee and let out a satisfied sigh. Just as bitter as he currently was.

“I might have a solution for you problem,” Claire offered carefully. “But it involves dusting off your people skills.”

“I have awesome people skills!” Travis defended himself.

“You have the aura of a bloodthirsty shark,” Claire pointed out. “Anyway, back to my solution. I’ve got this one student who’s like a legitimate genius. IQ off the charts, eidetic memory, the whole spiel practically. He’s blasting through Columbia’s coursework like it’s some of those summer yoga classes in Central Park. I’m on the scholarship committee, so I know that he barely scrapes by with several retail gigs and still he’ll be probably forced to drop out next semester.” She took a sip from her cup. “If you pay good money, I bet he’d be willing to help you.”

“I need someone experienced, not someone I have to teach myself,” Travis retorted, although he was partly intrigued.

“He would have found that smoking gun in those files,” Claire replied. “I personally vouch for him. Besides, what do you have to lose?”

“Money?”

“I know for a fact that you have enough of that,” Claire dismissed him. “Besides, your bosses would pay him, not you.”

Travis had to admit that Claire had a point: He didn’t really have to lose anything, the situation couldn’t get any worse and besides…it was a risk and Travis hadn’t come this far by not taking risks. Also, this opportunity sounded really intriguing and Travis was never one who was able to keep his curiosity in check.

“I could offer him an internship,” he suggested.

Claire just hit him on the back of his head. “The fuck you will! You’re gonna pay him enough so that he can quit those horrible retail jobs and still put himself through college.” She sighed. “We really tried everything, gave him every scholarship, even if he barely qualified, but he’s also got an elderly grandmother he has to take care of.”

“I want to meet him before I decide anything,” Travis demanded.

“I can arrange that,” Claire replied, smiling brightly at him. “Just drop by at my office tomorrow.”

Mike walked through the hall with apprehension. Usually, he would be stocking shelves at the grocery near his apartment building, but Professor Novak had wanted to see him and so he had to take the shift off, which would set him back another hundred bucks, which meant pulling another shift when he would otherwise be learning. Thank God or whatever force for his mind, because he would have long ago dropped out of college if he was forced to take as much time for his study activities as his fellow students.

Mike knew that Professor Novak was overseeing the committee that granted Columbia’s scholarships, so he hoped that everything was right with the ones he received, so that he could at least finish the semester. Fear and disappointment churned in his stomach when he thought about the fact that coming next semester he wouldn’t be here anymore.

The money from the sale of his Granny’s house had finally run out which had been the only thing, besides the scholarships, that had enabled him to pay for the nursing home and his studies. Forced to choose between those two things, he would always choose his grandmother. He had already calculated that if he used the time slots that had been occupied by lectures till now for another job he could afford his Granny’s nursing home. Barely.

“Mike.” Professor Novak exclaimed, rather excited, after he entered her officer. Mike nodded at her respectfully. There was another person standing next to the Professor’s desk; a man in what even Mike could discern was an horrifically expensive tailored suit, his arms crossed over his chest while he observed Mike shuffling into the room. “Please, sit down.”

Mike felt uncomfortable sitting down while the two other adults didn’t bother to do the same, but he didn’t object to Professor as he took place on the seat placed in front of her cluttered desk. His gaze flickered over the mess – he couldn’t help it, really – and let out a breath of relief when he noticed that one of the haphazardly strewn around papers was a transcript of records for the last test which he, of course, had aced. It was nice to see confirmation, though.

Professor Novak noticed where his gaze had wandered and put the paper away, causing Mike to blush in embarrassment.

“Don’t tell Mitchel that he’s failed,” she ordered him. “Again.” Mike nodded. It wasn’t as if he had much contact with his fellow students with how much free time he did not have.

Mike collected all of his remaining bravery and straight out asked: “May I ask what this is all about? Is anything wrong with my scholarships?” He gulped.

“Oh no!” Professor Novak gushed. “Nothing of that kind. Silly me, I should have mentioned that in my mail. You’ve been properly worried the whole time.” That was why everyone liked Professor Novak: She wasn’t just a professor with their head up the clouds, disconnected from their students’ worries and only passionate about their subject; no, Professor Novak was actually approachable and cared about her students. They weren’t just numbers and statistic to her, but human beings. She even knew the name of all of her students; not a small feat considering how many lectures she was giving.

“It’s fine,” Mike lied. The other man still hadn’t said a single word, which set him on edge.

“Anyway, the reason I asked you to come is because I have a job for you,” Professor Novak told him.

“A job?” Mike repeated, his curiosity piqued. He had no idea what Professor Novak could be offering him. Maybe a position as TA? It wouldn’t really solve Mike’s solvency issues, but it would look nice on his resume.

“To be honest, it’s not really I who’s offering,” she amended. “My friend over there –“ she tilted her head over to the other man next to her “- who I failed to introduce is a senior partner at Smith & Devane and he’s looking for another member for his team.”

The man stepped forward and extended his hand. “Travis Tanner.” Mike stood up and shook the offered hand. “Claire has told me much about you.” Right, Claire was Professor Novak’s first name.

“I hope nothing too bad,” Mike joked. Tanner just flashed him a smile which looked vaguely threatening.

“Over the last few months I’ve been threatened by several professional setbacks,” Tanner explained. “Which is why I’m looking for reinforcement for my team. Claire had only the highest praises for your analytical skills and your understanding of the law.” Mike blushed again.

“I’m very flattered,” he started, “but I fear I have to decline. It truly is an amazing opportunity, but I literally cannot afford to take it.” Mike wanted to cry. His fellow students would kill for the opportunity to intern at one of the most prestigious law firms in the city and now the chance was offered to him on a silver platter and he had to decline because of money. He was never more ashamed of his poverty.

“You misunderstand me,” Tanner spoke, breaking through Mike’s spiralling thoughts of self-pity. “This isn’t an internship or something similar. I’d be actually paying you. Enough that you can quit your other jobs, continue your studies and take care of your grandmother.” Mike’s eyes went wide like saucers.

“What makes you think I’m worth it?” he asked, still unsure what to make of all of this.

Tanner shrugged. “Claire and I’ve been friends for many years and she never mislead me. When she says you could help me, I believe her. Actually, it was her who insisted I pay you.” Mike’s head snapped back to look at the professor and if it hadn’t been totally inappropriate he would have thrown himself at her and hugged her.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Professor Novak added. “And you’re one of the few students here I can think of who won’t waste it.”  

“Of course, hearing something and actually witnessing something are two different pair of shoes,” Tanner added.

Mike knew where this was going. “Ask me something. Anything.”

“Civil liability associated with agency is based on several factors, including…” Tanner started to cite.

“…including the deviation of the agent from his path, the reasonable interference of agency on behalf of the plaintiff and the nature of the damages themselves,” Mike finished the sentence.

“Nice,” Tanner whistled. “So, Claire didn’t exaggerate after all.” Aforementioned woman just rolled her eyes. “At least, when it comes to the standards. Pick another topic.”

“Stock option backdating.”

“Although backdating options is legal, violations arose related to disclosures under RIC section 409A.” Tanner stated.

“You forgot about Sarbanes-Oxley,” Mike commented.

“The statute of limitations renders Sarbanes-Oxley mute post-2007.”

“Well, not if you can find actions to cover up the violation as established in the Sixth Circuit May 2008.” This time Tanner looked truly impressed with him.

“Maybe this could actually work,” he mused. He pulled a business card out of one of the pockets of his jacket and handed it over to Mike. “Be there tomorrow at nine.”

“I have to quit my other jobs,” Mike reminded him.

“And he still has classes he needs to attend,” Professor Novak added.

“Then be there Monday at nine,” Tanner amended. “I expect you in a suit that does not scream ‘Just purchased from a Macey’s rag’.” Mike wanted to protest, but Tanner didn’t allow him to get a word in edgewise. “I need to get going, because there are impatient rich people waiting for me.” There was a short hug between Professor Novak and Tanner and then the man was already out of the door.

“I’m so glad that it worked all out,” Professor Novak confessed.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to thank you for all of this,” Mike admitted.

“Thank me by proving me right to Travis and by actually finishing your studies,” Professor Novak replied. “Besides, having taught you will probably look very good on my resume in a few years.” She smiled at him brightly.

“Also, I need someone to proofread my grant proposal.”

For what he was sure was like the tenth time, Mike adjusted his tie as he looked upon the building that housed Smith & Devane, craning his neck in order to be able to see its top, partly obscured by clouds. It felt like the tie was trying to suffocate him, even though he already had loosened it up twice on the subway.

He felt self-conscious standing on the sidewalk in his new suit. When he had told Trevor and Jenny of his new job, they had dragged him shopping, stating that the only reason any of his new co-workers would bully him was because he was just smarter than them and not because of his terrible fashion sense. A statement that would have Mike object, if it wasn’t true: His  sense of fashion was terrible. Tanner had told him not to buy anything from Macey’s which is why the suit was from a H&M clearance rag. Beggars can’t be choosers.

His clock told Mike that it was nearly nine, which finally put him into motion as he crossed the street and entered the building’s foyer. He announced himself at the reception and after a short glance at his screen, the security guard allowed him to pass on to the elevators. After a short ride, he exited on the sixtieth floor into the offices of Smith & Devane. There was a lot of glass and steel everywhere, giving the offices a slick and modern lock, albeit also impersonal and cold. There wasn’t even a potted plant, not even fake ones. Well, Mike was here to work and not to feel comfortable, so he would get over it. Eventually.

He walked over to the reception and announced himself. Again. The secretary behind the desk looked at him sceptically, but after he told her why he was here, she picked up her phone and called someone. Not even a minute later a blonde woman came walking towards him. Her hair was pulled into a firm ponytail, leaving her face exposed and emphasising her cheekbones as well as her green eyes. Her whole appearance was put into place and extruded an aura of sophistication and control.

“Mike Ross?” she asked. Mike just nodded. “My name is Katrina Bennett and I’m Mr. Tanner’s personal associate. He’s asked me to show you around and introduce you to some of your duties while he is at court. If you follow me, please.”

Mike did as he was told and followed Katrina through a series of hallways until they reached the front of a corner office which interior was clearly visible through the glass walls. Travis Tanner, Senior Partner read the badge on the door. Unlike the offices of the professors of Columbia who had has much character as their owners, this office looked impersonal. There was expensive furniture, of course, but there was nothing that indicated to whom this office belonged to: No pictures on the walls, beside some abstract portraits that had probably been hung here by the estate agent; no personal kick-knacks on the window sills or in the shelves and even the books didn’t look used at all.

“This is Mr Tanner’s office,” Katrina told him. “He doesn’t use it very often, but just in case you ever need to know where it is.”

“Why doesn’t he use his office?” Mike asked her, quite puzzled.

Katrina shrugged. “He just uses it as a front for the clients. They expect all this grandeur. But usually Mr. Tanner works from the library or in the team room.”

“Team room?” Mike repeated.

Katrina just smiled. “That’s where we’re headed to next.” She started walking and Mike fell into step next to her. “Most senior partners at the firm – and also around the city – have one personal associate and then the firm’s associate pool. Mr. Tanner isn’t a fan. He thinks that having a small team – people that know and respect each other – is more likely to produce positive results. And seeing that Mr. Tanner is one of the most successful and sought-after lawyers in the city, he seems to be right.”

“But you called yourself personal associate,” Mike pointed out.

“Well, when I started working with Mr. Tanner I was,” Katrina replied. “I helped him build his team and he never bothered to change my rank. When he’s not around, you’ll be listening to me.” The last sentence was underlined with firmness.

“Understood,” Mike confirmed.

Katrina stopped in front of another door. The glass walls of the room were made of frosted glass so that you couldn’t catch a gaze at what was inside. The badge on the door didn’t give any indication either.

“Here we are,” Katrina announced. Then she opened the door and stepped in, beckoning Mike to follow her.

The room was much bigger on the inside than it appeared from the hallway: It was dominated by a huge oval desk right in the middle that was covered with files. The wall on the right side was dominated by a huge file cabinet. There were four additional desks placed around the room, all but one obviously in use, going by the sticky notes and papers covering them. There was also a shelve covered with empty Starbucks cups, all of which had names that started with ‘T’ written on them.

Mike’s gaze also caught a mini-fridge before his attention turned towards the human occupants of the room who had taken notice of the new guy Katrina had brought in and were now converging in front of him. Two guys, one blonde, cherubic-looking, the other brunette and more on the average side.

“Team, this is Mike,” Katrina introduced him. “He’s Mr Tanner’s newest addition to this team and I want you to make him feel welcome, understood.” The two men nodded. “Mike, these are Brian Altman and Harold Gunderson, the other members of Mr. Tanner’s team.”

“You can call me Brian,” the brunette told him as he shook Mike’s hand. “We’ll be spending a lot of time together, so we might as well dispense with the formalities.”

“Me, too,” the blonde added. “I mean, you can call me Harold, not Brian, because that’s his name, obviously...” He spluttered and fell silent. Katrina looked like she couldn’t decide between hugging him or rolling her eyes in annoyance.

“I still got duties to carry out,” she finally said. “Brian and Harold will tell you the rest.” And with one last assuring smile for Mike, she vanished out of the door, leaving behind a very befuddled crowd.

“I guess, welcome?!” Harold shrugged.

“You get used to her,” Brian reassured him. “She’s a great person to have in your corner.” Mike didn’t doubt that.

“You can have the empty desk over there,” Brian told him and pointed towards aforementioned furniture. “We’ve just cleaned it because before it was…y’know, where we put all the empty pizza boxes.” He grinned at Mike sheepishly.

Thinking back to the flat he shared with Trevor and Jenny, Mike just replied: “I totally understand.”

As he made his way towards what was now his desk and put his stuff (which consisted only of his messenger back) down, Harold started to explain: “Katrina probably already told you that we work as a team for Mr. Tanner. Brian’s expertise is patent law and I’m pretty good at financial stuff – had to be, because my supervisor at my former workplace was, too. He was horrible – anyway, and Katrina is good at everything. We’ve been told that you’ve got a photographic memory?”

“Yeah,” Mike confirmed. Brian let out an impressed whistle.

“That must be handy for tests,” he laughed. “You probably never have to learn!” Mike wisely didn’t mention that he needed that time to earn enough money to survive in this city.

“It’s pretty neat,” he replied instead.

“Mr. Tanner and Katrina gave us some stuff for you to do on your first day,” Harold chimed in and pointed towards a very large pile of papers and files. “It’s mostly beginner stuff, because you’re still a law student and they didn’t know how much you knew…” He shrugged. “Anyway, you can totally ask if there’s anything you need help with.”

If it had come from anything else, Mike wouldn’t even have considered it, because law students where competitive dicks just waiting to stab you in the back if it gained them an advantage, but Harold seemed so earnest and genuine that Mike seriously believed that the guy was honestly trying to be helpful.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Mike said, grabbed the pile and moved it over to his new desk.

“Sweet,” Brian replied. “We’ll be at our desks if you need anything.”

“Wait, I do have one question! What’s with all those cups?” Mike pointed at the shelf with the Starbucks cups.

Brian laughed. “Mr. Tanner and Starbucks have a love/relationship going on,” he explained. “They never get his name right, but they’re the only one who make his coffee exactly as he likes it. Katrina decided to collect them just to annoy Mr. Tanner.”

Honestly? That sounded exactly like the stupid stuff Mike, Trevor and Jenny would do to annoy each other. He could already tell that he was going to like it here.

Travis Tanner was actually in a good mood, which not even the bold-lettered ‘Troy’ on his Starbucks cup could sour. He just came back from a meeting with a client who had considered moving his account to Pearson Hardman but who was now staying on and even paying more. It had involved a lot of sweet-talking and vaguely hinted threats, but it had worked, which meant that nothing could happen which would turn this day for the worse.

“Ah, Katrina, my ray of sunshine,” he greeted his first associate as she came into his field of view.

“Do we have to talk about inappropriate name calling in the work space again?” Katrina replied, but there was no heat behind her words. She and Travis went way back and this was part of their daily interactions.

Travis mock-frowned. “I thought this was on the list of approved names.”

“No, it isn’t,” Katrina corrected him. “And really? Troy?” She nodded towards the Starbucks cup in his hand.

Travis shrugged. “It’s better than Tressie. At least they got my gender right this time.”

“You’d look great in a dress,” Katrina told him, tilting her head slightly to the right as if she was just imagining Travis wearing a flower patterned summer dress.  

Travis fumbled with his tie, assuring himself that it was still there and hadn’t just magically be replaced by aforementioned summer dress. “Anyway, how are things going here?”

“I dumped your wonder boy on Brian and Harold,” Katrina told him unapologetic. “I had to wrangle Carols from doing something sue-able again.”

Travis winced. Carols was a very well paying client who unfortunately had the tendency to attract legal trouble like shit attracted flies. “Is sue-able even a word?”

“It is when it comes to him,” Katrina huffed indignantly.

“I guess I should take a look at how my new hire is doing.”

Katrina snorted. “Please. He’s with Brian and Harold. They’re as harmless as goldfish. And we gave him more than enough work to do.”

They made their way through the hallways towards the office where Travis’ team was situated. At first when he opened the door he thought that he was not seeing right, but when he blinked and took the scene in again it hadn’t changed: His new hire, supposed genius Mike Ross, was sprawled in his chair, feet on the desk and playing with his smartphone. When he noticed Travis, he nearly fell out of his chair.

“I’m pretty sure you were given enough work to last for the whole day,” Travis pointed out, his voice deadly sharp; more an accusation than a statement.

Ross gulped. “I’m already finished with all of it?” It came out more as a question than a statement. “Harold and Brian didn’t know what else to give me without clearing it with you first, so I’ve been just waiting here…”

“You finished everything already?” They had given him enough work to last a normal associate two days at least. For Ross to have gone through all of it already…it certainly sounded improbable. He turned towards Brian and Harold.

“It’s true,” Brian backed up Ross. “We’ve been going over some of it, and it’s been done perfectly so far.”

“How did you do it?” Katrina wanted to know.

“Well, you did give me the beginner stuff,” Mike pointed out. “Most of it I’ve already seen at least once during my studies and once I see something I remember it for the rest of my life. It was easy to extrapolate from that. And what I didn’t know I looked up.”

It was truly astounding. When Travis had agreed to hire the boy, he had done so more as a favour to his friend, not because he really believed that he would be an asset to his team. At best, Ross would be able to do the work of a slightly above-average associate, but Travis had never actually imagined that Claire’s claims would turn out true in the end.

“You’re an actual genius,” Travis spoke out loud, giddy with glee.

“Yes?” Mike replied, a little bit unsure. “I thought Professor Novak mentioned that.”

“Well, hearing something and witnessing it are two different pairs of shoes,” Travis replied, already discarding his old plans and integrating this new revelation into his equation. Maybe now he truly had a chance at defeating Harvey Specter! “Besides, Claire also claims that pineapple on pizza tastes good.”

He walked over to the Starbucks shelf and deposited his ‘Troy’ cup next to the others already standing there. “If you fear that we won’t have enough work for you, then fear not.” Travis turned around and gave Ross a shark-like smile. “There’s always work to be done around here.”

Ross gulped.

This was going to be the start of something great.

Mike nearly chocked on confetti when he opened the door of his apartment and entered.

“Here he returns!” Trevor heralded while Mike still coughed up coloured pieces of paper. “Our brave hero from his first day at work!” Next to him Jenny blew into a party horn with unicorns on it. Where did the fuck had that come from?

“This isn’t actually my first job, you know?”

“It’s your first real job,” Jenny corrected him. “And not those minimum wage gigs you only did to survive.”

“Isn’t that the definition of work?” Mike pondered out loud. “Doing stuff so you can survive?”

“Just because you were forced to attend Philosophy 101 doesn’t mean you can just start philosophizing at me.” Trevor punched him on the shoulder.

“I made a cake!” Jenny told him proudly. Mike suppressed a wince. Jenny’s baking was…well, frankly it was terrible and no one should be subjected to it. “But it burnt in the oven, so Trevor made a new one.” He let out a breath of relief. Unlike Jenny, Trevor was an awesome baker, probably stemming from their High School days when he had baked them hash cookies. His palate had only expanded since then.

“I don’t know why me getting this job is such a big deal,” Mike mumbled as Trevor and Jenny manoeuvred him towards their small dining table where Trevor’s bright pink frosting monstrosity was already waiting for them.

“Because a few days ago your whole existence was literally in shambles?” Jenny reminded him.

“I wouldn’t put it so drastically.”

“Dude, you were about to drop out of college and throw yourself at some rich sugar daddy just to keep your Granny in her nursing home,” Trevor pointed out.

Mike let his head drop on the table. “Why didn’t I think of that? Sex and money?! What a deal.”

Jenny patted his arm. “You could still sleep with your new boss. I googled him and…damn, sis, he’s a total DILF.” She sighed dreamily. Mike looked at her horrified.

“He’s my boss!” He turned towards Trevor.

His best friend just shrugged. “Jenny’s right.”

“I can’t believe you!” Mike exclaimed. “I can’t sleep with my boss in the first week at my new job.” Objectively, Travis Tanner was quiet attractive, but Mike felt no desire whatsoever to sleep with him. He bit down on a slice of cake.

“That’s good,” he complimented Trevor who just blushed and scratched the back of his head.

“It’s a new receipt,” he mumbled. “I thought, why not try that out?”

“Now that I’ve got a ‘real’ job, what about you?” Mike asked between bites. “What about that bakery of yours?”

Trevor cast his gaze down. “That’s gonna stay a dream. No one is gonna loan money to someone who barely managed to finish High School.” He tried to smile at Mike and barely managed it. “Besides, who’s gonna supply Jenny and you with baked goods otherwise?” Knowing when to stop pushing, Mike didn’t pursue the topic any further, seeing as it pained Trevor still.

“To new beginnings,” he cheered instead and raised his piece of cake.

“You brought baked goods,” Tanner stated as Mike entered the office, weighed down by two big boxes Trevor had supplied him with. “Is this an attempt at bribing yourself into my good graces?” He picked one doughnut from the top box and bit down.

“Is it working?” Mike wanted to know.

Tanner chewed for a while. “Keep this up and you’ll get Katrina’s job.”

“Hey!” Said snubbed employee made her displeasure know.

“My roommate likes to bake,” Mike explained as he put the boxes down on the big table in the middle of the room. Brian and Harold hesitated not to help themselves to it, while Katrina was more dignified than her male colleagues.

“They’re good,” Brian mumbled between bites. From Harold came a noise that could nearly be described as sexual.

“Where can I buy them?” Katrina demanded to know, her gaze sharp and focused like she was about to flay Mike with the power of her mind should his answer turn out wrong.

“Nowhere I’m afraid,” Mike admitted. “He’s only baking at home.”

“Pity,” she replied. “If he ever opens his own shop, I’ll be the first to buy there.”

“I’ll take that box,” Tanner said. “And give them to the secretaries.” He turned to Mike as if he was about to impart the greatest wisdom upon his young protegee. “Always make sure that the secretaries like you. Behind every powerful man there’s an even more powerful secretary, ready to work that Outlook magic.” And then he was already out of the door.

“He doesn’t know how to use Outlook?” was Mike’s take-away.

“The only thing he knows how to use is a browser,” Katrina supplied from where she was highlighting on her papers. “I’m the one who has to install everything for him.”

“Hell, put me in front of an Excel spreadsheet and after five minutes I’d confess to anything just to get away,” Brian offered from his place.

“I like Excel,” Harold spoke up. “It makes sense, unlike people.”

Yeah, that pretty much summed up their personalities.

Life continued in a new routine from there on. Mike would go to his lectures, ace his tests and then go to work for Tanner. At first, the majority of the time he would research and draft first proposals for strategies that the others would go over before Tanner gave his final judgement, but after Mike proofed himself to be more than able at that, he was slowly allowed more independence and got more important work. He wouldn’t start arguing his own cases – he was much too inexperienced for that still – but quite a few times he managed to unearth little details that helped them winning whatever case they were currently working on.

Working in a team – especially this team – was a great and new experience for Mike. Katrina may appear strict and no-nonsense at first, but once you got to know her, she turned out to be someone willing to go that extra mile for the people she cared about. Brian was pretty laidback and took everything in stride. There seemed to be nothing that could throw him off and it was kind of second-hand relaxing to be near a person who was so calm. Harold, meanwhile, turned out to have a pretty dry sense of humour once he got over his timidity.

All distinguished themselves by being law prodigies and Mike felt awed and honoured that he was allowed to work with them on a daily basis.

“I think your friend is trying to fatten us up for the slaughter,” Brian said after having eaten yet another of Trevor’s pastries during their strategy session which also involved Tanner. Ever since Mike had started working here, Trevor kept up the steady supply.

“We’re lawyers,” Tanner pointed out. “We’d sue him.” He glared at his Starbucks cup in front him: ‘Taylor’.

Tanner was…an unusual boss for sure. Mike had the feeling that the man didn’t quite know how to be…nice, but no, that wasn’t quite how he would express it. Tanner was a nice and easy-going boss, but his eyes always glinted with hidden mischief, his smile was always sharp and sometimes he said something that could be taken as quite offensive if you didn’t know him well enough. Mike had the feeling that the man didn’t quite know how to handle people that either weren’t his opponents or who he couldn’t use, because he also could be quite charming when he wanted to.

The first time he was allowed to accompany Tanner to court was nearly two month after he had first started working there.

“You!” Tanner stormed into the office and pointed at Mike. He managed to sneak a peek at the cup in Tanner’s hand (‘Trudy’) before his gaze wandered back to Tanner’s face. “You’ve been working on the Dolton case with Katrina, haven’t you?” Mike nodded.

“Good,” Tanner continued. “Pack your things and come with me. We have an appointment at court.”

“But isn’t Katrina supposed to go with you?” Mike asked even while he packed up his things.

“She caught something,” Tanner answered him as they made their way towards the elevator. Mike raised an eyebrow: Katrina was the kind of person even illnesses were afraid of.

Obviously knowing what Mike was thinking, Tanner answered: “Believe me, she’s literally unable to leave her bed, otherwise she would be here.” Well, that explained it then. “You think you’ll be able to manage? I hadn’t planned to take you to court at all, to be honest, but you’re the only one who knows the ins and outs of this case. Besides, Brian’s expertise is patent law and putting Harold in front of people is like watching nuclear fission happen in slow-motion.”

Mike thought about that question for a moment. No, he wasn’t ready for court. He wasn’t one to lie to himself, and the fact was that, besides his intellect, he was still a student with nearly no real-life experience. But on the other hand, he was a genius, had learned a lot over the last few weeks and it wasn’t like he would argue the case in front of the judge. The only thing he would be doing was anticipating Tanner’s needs during the trial and hand him files and stuff.

“I think I’ll manage,” Mike replied confidently.

Tanner grinned, showing teeth. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Court was an experience. Obviously, Mike knew procedure and how trials usually went, that was something you went over in your first semester, but actually seeing two good lawyers argue back and forth, trying to one-up each other was more educational than any lecture could ever hope to be. Tanner’s opponent was a senior partner from Rand Kaldor & Zane and gave just as good as he received, but Tanner was just more ruthless.

By the end of it, the judge’s verdict wasn’t a total win for them, but it was like 80 percent there. Like expected, Mike’s job has mostly been handing Tanner the right files when he needed them and highlighting certain facts needed for his argument in advance. It was challenging in a way that Mike quite liked and sitting there he couldn’t wait until the day would come when he would be the one to argue his case.

Right now, Mike was sitting on one of the benches standing in the court’s hallways, waiting for his boss to come and pick him up. Apparently, despite the fierce legal battle, Tanner and his opponents were actually on quite good terms and the lawyer wanted to catch up, which left Mike with some time on his hands.  

“What’s a beauty like you doing here?” Mike looked up from his phone to the speaker of that incredibly cheesy pick up line. A man was standing a little away from him and objectively he was like one of Mike’s wet dreams come true: Dashing good looks, with hazel brown eyes, chiselled face, bespoken suit that was just tight enough to leave nothing to your imagination while still looking classy.

But there was also something off-putting about the man: There was an aura of casual arrogance around him, like he was used to getting what he wanted with no effort. The kind of arrogance that easily slides over into casual cruelty; the kind of arrogance that made its owner never take his counterpart serious.

It tempered Mike’s interest just enough to allow him to ask himself who would proposition to a total stranger at court. What if Mike had just suffered a blow of fate? What if he had lost a trial or had a close family member or friends sent to jail and thus was emotionally vulnerable to outside influences and manipulations? The man had no idea who Mike was, which made his behaviour not acceptable or even charming, but predatory instead.

That final thought was what closed Mike’s mind.

“I’m waiting for my boss,” Mike replied, hoping that the man would take the hint.

“Very brave of your boss to leave you unattended like that.”

“Does that actually work?” Mike wanted to know annoyed. “Honestly, who falls for shit like that?”

The man shrugged unapologetic. “Why pull out the first class stuff if you can get what you want with less?” The causal arrogance the man extruded was even more off-putting now, reminding Mike of quite a few of his asshole-ish fellow students.  “It might have worked.”

“Well, I can tell you that it’s definitely not working with me,” Mike told the man.

“Then I’ll just have to charm you in another way.” The man smiled. It was all rugged bad boy charm with the promise of more, but to Mike it felt just empty. Like it was just an automated response he used to get whatever he wanted from people. “What do you say about coffee?”

“I’d love coffee,” Mike replied, not missing the triumphant glint in the other man’s eyes. “Just not with you.” For a short moment the man lost his composure, his mouth falling agape for a split-second, before he caught himself.

“Specter, what are you doing here?”

Thank God, Mike thought, glad that Tanner had finally come to release him from this torture. The now named Specter just turned around and regarded Tanner like a normal person would regard dirt under their shoe.

“Ah, Travis, fancy meeting you here,” Specter sneered, his tone belying his statement. “Got your ass handed to you by another no-name?” He grinned, all sharp and edges. “You must got pretty used to losing by now. And you don’t even got style to distract from your failings as lawyer.” Mike could see that the words were getting to his boss, even if it was barely visible. The way his shoulders squared up, the way the corner of his mouth twitched.

“Now, if you excuse me, I was just conversing with someone far more pleasurable to be around than you,” Specter continued smoothly and turned back to Mike.

“No, you were not,” Mike dismissed him as he stood up. “He’s the person I’ve been waiting for after all.” He walked over to Tanner. “By the way, he is also much more pleasurable to be around than you, too.”

Leaving behind a dumbfounded Specter, the two walked out of the court house.

“What did he want?” Tanner asked.

Mike rolled his eyes. “He tried to seduce me. What an arrogant asshole!”

“Not many people can resist Specter when he’s trying to charm them.”

“Well, then those people are just stupid,” Mike retorted. “He’s all smoke and no substance. Besides, he was very rude to you and I can’t let myself be seduced by someone who treats other people like that.”

Something undecipherable flitted over Tanner’s face before it settled back into his usual mask. Mike pretended to not notice.

“I’ve heard you rejected the advances of one Harvey Specter,” Brian said the next day.

Mike’s mouth dropped. “How do you even know that? Mr. Tanner is the only one who’s been there.”

“My neighbour is a court stenographer,” Brian explained. “They’re real gossips. She couldn’t shut up about the guy who shut down the infamous Harvey Specter.”

“You’re all acting as if it was a foregone conclusion that I’d fall into bed with him,” Mike exclaimed.

“He’s not someone many people say ‘No’ to,” Brian replied.

“I did,” Katrina threw, leaning against the desk and sipping from her coffee. “I had an interview for the spot as his personal associate, but he acted so dismissive and disinterested during the interview that I told him that I had better things to do with my time than trying to sell myself to someone who obviously wasn’t even interested in filling the spot and walked out.”

“Damn,” Brian whistled and Mike could practically see the heart eyes.

“Besides, his secretary is a real piece of work,” Katrina added.

“That doesn’t change the fact that me not being interested in him shouldn’t be that big of a deal,” Mike protested.

“Come on, you can’t say that you wouldn’t have tapped that?” Brian raised an eyebrow suggestively. “I’m as straight as an arrow and even I know that he’s hot.”

“Well, his character is hot garbage,” Mike replied.

After that, Mike thought that the topic was finished. He was proven wrong, though, when several days later he entered the office and found a huge flower bouquet on his desk. There was no forwarder, but there was a card with a phone number on it. Mike threw it into the trash and gifted the bouquet to the secretaries’ break room.

The next thing to arrive was a bottle of what Mike thought was supposed to be expensive wine – again with the phone number. Again, he threw it into the trash and gave the bottle to Katrina, who could actually pronounce the wine’s name and would enjoy it, unlike Mike.

“We could sue him,” she suggested.

Mike shook his head. “It’s more funny than it’s annoying.”

The third gift was a ticket to the Yankees.

“You want a chance at annoying the hell out of Harvey Specter?” Mike asked Tanner during one of their team meetings and held up the ticket.

“Why would you giving your ticket to Mr. Tanner annoy him?” Harold wanted to know.

“Because Specter is the owner of the ticket for the seat right next to him,” Mike replied, grinning evilly. Tanner followed suit and snatched the ticket from his hand.

“I hate Specter, but that’s too good of a chance to pass up.” He eyed Mike. “Why is he even sending you those?”

“Because he’s trying to seduce Mike,” Brian threw in offhandedly. Mike glared at him.

“We could sue him,” Tanner offered.

“No one is suing anyone,” Mike put his foot down.

It was just a matter of time until Mike and Specter met again. After all, while New York was a big city, the world of high class law firms was small and so it was after Mike had filed something for Mr. Tanner at court that he literally ran into the other man.

“Hmmpf.” Mike extracted himself from the impressively firm chest and was about to apologise, but his mood instantly soured when he noticed that it was Harvey Specter standing in front of him.

“If you wanted to take me up on my offer, you could have just called,” Specter smirked insufferably.

“In your dreams,” Mike replied and tried to walk past Specter, but the man just wouldn’t budge.

“One date,” Specter continued. “That’s all I ask.”

“Why would you even want to go on a date with me?” Mike wanted to know surly. “Are you really interested in me or is this just to put one over Mr. Tanner?”

Specter’s expression fell for a moment. “I admit that it was part of my deliberations at first. But after a while I realised, that would be a pretty shitty thing to do. Besides, you piqued my curiosity. I’d really like to get to know you.”

Mike mulled over it for a few moments. Specter’s presents had become more personalised with each iteration. There had been a rare first edition law book that Mike had actually kept and a nice messenger back.

“I’ll go on a date with you,” he finally relented. Specter’s face lit up. “If you apologise to my boss for your behaviour.”

“What?”

“You’ve heard me,” Mike repeated. “If you want to prove to me that you aren’t just an arrogant asshole then you make peace with Mr. Tanner.” He finally entangled himself from Specter and went his way.

Honestly, Travis had expected Mike Ross to cave in to Specter’s wooing which had become more and more insistent as time passed on. It shouldn’t make something jolt in his chest when he thought about yet another person choosing Specter over him, but over the time he had grown kind of fond of the smart law student and the thought of losing him to Specter was galling in a way it wouldn’t be with anyone else except for the rest of his team.

He may have been hesitant at first, but once Mike had proven himself to be capable, Travis had silently taken him under his wings in order to hone all that raw talent in something refined. He would have never thought it in the beginning, but teaching someone, passing his own wisdom on, was strangely satisfying and moulding a mind into something new was exhilarating in a way Travis had never felt before. Sometimes he could just see what a great lawyer Mike would make one day.

That made Specter’s attempts at Mike even more galling. Travis had found Mike and taught him and now Specter swooped in and was attempting to destroy yet another thing Travis had built up.

As he stood in line at Starbucks and fumed, Travis didn’t notice the other person approaching him until they stood right next to him.

“What do you want?” Travis grinded out when he recognised Specter. As if his thoughts had summoned the demon.

“Relax,” Specter replied. “I’m not here to fight.”

“Then what are you here for?” Travis wanted to know.

“To make peace with you.” Specter looked like he had bitten into a lemon.

Travis narrowed his eyes. “That can’t possibly have been your idea.”

“Your associate has made this a condition for taking me up on my offer,” Specter admitted.

Travis raised his eyebrows. “Mike has demanded that you make peace with me and you’re…what...actually considering it?” Just mere minutes ago he had been thinking about how Specter was only using Mike to get back at Travis, but this new revelation put everything into a new perspective. Travis knew Specter like Specter knew him, so he was aware that Specter would have never agreed to it if he was really just attempting to use Mike. Maybe the other lawyer was more serious with his pursuit of Mike than Travis had assumed?

As he mulled over this, he was finally the first in line and placed his order.

“So, you’re really serious, aren’t you?” Travis asked as they stepped aside to make space for the next customer. Specter looked like he would literally do anything else but discuss his love life with Travis Tanner, but Travis didn’t care.

“He’s something different,” Specter finally replied.

“Just because he didn’t sleep with you after your first pick up line? You have pretty low standards.”

“It’s not just that,” Specter protested. “I’ve actually informed myself…”

“You mean you had your secretary and that PI of yours snoop around,” Travis interrupted.

“I informed myself,” Specter stressed, “and found a person that I wouldn’t mind to get to know better.”

“What do you want me to say, Harvey?” Travis wanted to know, exhausted. “You’re both adults. I don’t have a say in either of your lives.”

“I’m willing to dial back on that whole antagonistic back and forth between us,” Harvey offered. “Of course, I’ll still beat you in court, but I’ll be perfectly civil outside of it.”

Travis bit on his lip to prevent himself from saying something stupid. His name – or rather what was supposed to be his name – was called up and he went back to the counter to get his coffee.

“Fine, whatever,” he grinded out. “Go and date my employee if he’s willing to take you.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “Glad you can be so mature about it.” He was about to leave the coffee shop when Travis called after him.

“Should you really want to score big with him, get someone to invest into his friend. Mike’s trying to find someone willing to invest into his bakery. But don’t tell him I told you that.”

Harvey just grinned at him. “Alright, Trent.”

Travis looked down on his cup and seeing the bold black letters, cursed.

“I’ve had the most unusual encounter just an hour ago,” Travis mentioned offhandedly to Mike when he came back to the office.

Mike frowned. “With whom?”

“Harvey Specter,” Travis replied. “Wanting to make peace with me.”

Mike broke out into a wide smile. “So, he did do it after all.” He looked at Travis, uncertainty flittering over his face. “You know, if you don’t like it, I can totally call it off. I know that things between you and Specter are…complicated.” He was literally brimming with nervous energy. “I mean, you’ve been the one who’s taken a chance on me, Mr. Tanner. I owe you everything…well, you and Professor Novak, but I’m loyal to you and I won’t let my private life mess that up…”

“Relax, kid,” Travis said. “I’m not in the habit of dictating my subordinates’ love lives. Besides, you’ve proven your loyalty more than enough and also that you can handle whatever Specter throws at you.

And,” he added. “You can call me Travis. After all, not everyone can get the great Harvey Specter to apologise.”