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Now that he has his name on the door he gets to take more mundane meetings. The whole "total transparency" thing between him and Jessica was boring when it came to her transparency. Her version of transparency meant having him read all the briefs and notes, especially from Paul Porter. And he could only clench his jaw and take it because that woman really does scare him despite what he says to her face. He was half tempted to tell his two associates to read, review, and synthesize the information but it was privileged information so that was never going to fly with the other named partner.
When he made his boredom for just reading all the budget and mundane office supply checklists known, Jessica got this little smirk and dug through her inbox of files.
He looked at her skeptically as she tossed a file on her desk in front of him.
"If that's another goddamn pro bono," he threatened.
"I've decided you shouldn't get the pro bono clients anymore," Jessica relents.
He took the file as if it was going to eat his hand if he handled it wrong and immediately tossed it back on the desk when he looked at her meeting schedule for the end of the year.
"I'm busy," he points out.
She gives him that bullshit look she's so adept at giving him.
"This is a partnership, Harvey," Jessica tells him when he tries to tell her that his calendar is full because he's busy winning and actually practicing the law.
Jessica says it will teach him how to interact with people. He only likes to interact with people on his level... Which doesn't leave much of a group to work with.
And when he tries to counter all her remarks, she tells him that it's his goddamn job.
She takes up the meeting schedule again and looks over the names and departments. And as he quietly sits there like a scolded school boy, she gets an idea. She only gives him one of her meetings because she wants to do baby steps. She needs to get him acclimated to the art of taking meetings. And as she pulls out the single department meeting schedule and hands him the single sheet of paper.
He takes it because he doesn't want to get scolded again and realizes this particular individual/department only schedules a meeting four times a year.
"She's had those days in the books for years. If she tells me you've changed it, I will…" she trails off. "Just stick to the damn meeting times. Don't poke the sleeping bear."
He opens his mouth to say something but she holds up her hand.
"It's one damn meeting this year and four next year. Take it before I make you meet with Paul Porter, too."
When he leans back in his chair thinking he drew the better deal, she smirks at him and shakes her head as she stands in preparation for one of her own meetings she needs to get to. He stands up and tucks the paper with the four standard meeting dates in his suit jacket pocket as he walks out her office door.
He didn't even know they had a dedicated law librarian here.
A week later, Harvey decides to poke the sleeping bear to see what comes out. He knows Jessica wouldn't approve of his methods but this isn't Jessica's meeting anymore and although his calendar is open all those days the librarian and Jessica meet, he wants the librarian to know she won't be able to con him into giving her all the firm's money with a cozy quilt she probably knits in her spare time and a plate to biscuits and cup of tea as she whittles the hours away at the office.
But first, he needs to find her office.
He scopes out the library and his part time paralegal/part time associate/part time law student tells him that the librarian's office is actually on the 50th floor but you can only access it from the library's 47th floor and go up the stairs. She gets that little hoity toity look as he frowns when she tells him about the 50th floor. He hates how the observant woman knows that he has a lot of respect for the 50th floor people. At least he's not traveling down to Paul Porter's level. The librarian's domain spans three floors and he wonders how someone with that much space has never come into contact with him.
Unlike the senior partners, she doesn't have an assistant. Her office is on the third floor of the library and he didn't even know they had more than one floor of books. It's not his fault her office was open and he stepped inside. At least that's his excuse he's come up with as he stands in the empty room. Her computer is humming away at her desk and he wonders why the hell she needs two monitors but he thinks that might be a question for later. He looks behind her desk to find her awards and her diplomas all neatly lined up on the window ledge. He only gets a good look because he's perched near the edge of her desk-he'd never cross anyone's desk without permission-and sees all her degrees and awards. She has twice as many awards as he does from the same organizations. She graduated summa cum laude from NYU; Beta Phi Mu from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Order of the Coif from Harvard. He doesn't know what Beta Phi Mu is but he guesses its an honor society for something based upon the rest of her degree results. Well, he thinks Jessica at least did good by hiring a smart librarian. Even if she has a law degree and doesn't seem to use the thing.
As he stands around as waits for her he realizes her office is massive. It's two times the size of his and the walls are actually bookshelves with absolutely no room left on them. And the windows are massive and open to the skyline just like his office. The skyline is different on the south side of the building and he's slightly jealous the librarian gets a view overlooking the edge of Central Park and the river and he only gets buildings and offices. He's inspecting a drawing on her desk done by a child, or so he hopes, when she steps inside her office.
"Our meeting isn't for another two weeks," someone says behind him and he turns to find who he assumes is the librarian behind him.
She doesn't look like the librarian stereotype that's depicted in the movies and television shows and what he has in his mind. Yes, she's wearing glasses but they aren't coke bottle glasses and actually frame her face well. Her hair is long and curled around her shoulders rather than in a bun. She wears a sleeveless dress and heels instead of a frumpy cardigan, oversized skirt and grandma shoes; and she has a notebook and a stack of Pearson Specter briefs in her arms. She's standing there with an amused little smile and he's intrigued.
"You're the librarian?" He asks.
"Despite your skepticism, I am your embedded law librarian at Pearson Specter," she says with a nod of her head.
She steps around him and sits behind her desk. If it was another lawyer he'd think it was a power play. But it's just a librarian and what is she going to do, throw a paperback at him? He doesn't even see one on her desk to threaten him with.
"But I heard you're on the lookout for a new executive assistant."
"I have an assistant," he informs her.
"Do you?" She quips with a tilt of her head.
He could easily be pulled into this tit for tat they have going on but that's not why he came. He came to show her he's not Jessica.
"I need to reschedule," he says.
"You could have easily had your assistant or even either one of your associates call me to do that," she points out. "After all, you just finished telling me you have at least one of those."
He opens his mouth but she continues.
"You, Harvey Specter, just wanted to know who the hell I am. Why a single department in your firm is taking up 2.3 million dollars a year out of your budget," she informs him. "This is one of your power plays that you do to new clients and opposing council to show me you have the upper hand because your name is on the door and mine isn't."
And as he closes his mouth to a thin line she finds success.
"We can discuss the whole budget thing in two weeks. For now, I'm busy preparing for said meeting."
"How'd you know?" He finally asks.
She turns towards him and smirks before responding.
"I'm Donna; I know things," she shrugs.
She stares at him with piercing brown eyes and he feels like that scolded little kid that only Jessica brings out.
"Unless you have a question related to your case now, I'll see Rachel and Mike later when they end up here," she tells him as she turns on her monitor and adjusts her glasses without another look in his direction.
Oddly enough, he takes the hint.
Even more odd, he's looking forward to his meeting two weeks from now.
After exiting the library and heading back up to the 50th floor, he finds Louis in his office. He knows Louis always has his ear on the pulse of the firm. He has to--he's in charge of all the associates. He likes to suck the fun out of everything and stop the gossip before it starts. After all, gossip isn't conducive to writing briefs and training an army of associates to be at your beck and call.
"Louis," Harvey calls out as he enters the man's office without waiting for the go ahead. "Have you ever met the librarian here?"
"Donna Paulsen?" Louis asks, only slightly confused by this conversation and where it's headed.
"Sure, yeah," Harvey says as he frames Louis's visitors chair with his arms and leans against it. He realizes he never bothered to learn her last name. And he can't remember looking for her name on her door.
"Does she have a file?" He asks.
"Every single person at Pearson Specter has a file," Louis says dryly.
He watches Harvey closely and sighs when the man won't stop staring at him.
"Isn't this what you have Rachel and Mike for?" He asks the man.
Harvey doesn't answer. Instead he sits in the chair he's been leaning against. Obviously Harvey doesn't care whether or not he was busy.
He pulls up the Pearson Specter employee database and types in 'Donna Paulsen' and turns his screen so both he and Harvey can see her file. He clicks on the file and her ID picture comes up with her statistics and biography. Harvey has to clear his throat and almost asks Louis if he needs a minute alone before the other man starts speaking.
"She went to NYU for undergrad double majoring in theatre and business and graduated summa cum laude. She has her masters in library science from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and graduated in their honor society, Beta Phi Mu. And she got her Juris Doctor from Harvard. There she was Law Review, first in her class, and Order of the Coif," Louis reads from her file. "Looks like she really likes the East Coast schools."
"When was she hired?" Harvey asks. Because he went to two of those schools and she looked to be the same age as him and he swears he's never seen her in his life until this morning.
"Same time as us?" Louis says with a half question as he half expects Harvey to know her. Louis is well aware of what schools Harvey Specter went to. "Well, same time as when you came back from the DA's office. She was working on her JD when she was hired by Jessica as the law librarian when they fired everyone they could after the take over. And they kept her ever since."
Louis looks at Harvey as Harvey looks at Donna's photo.
"Have you really never seen her before?" Louis wonders. "She's been here for the same amount of time as you and you both graduated the same year at NYU. And she was only two years behind you at Harvard."
Harvey gives him a look that suggests Louis should stop before he starts.
"Has she done any cases? Brought in clients?" He asks as he watches Louis scroll through her file.
"She's brought in 7 of our 20 top clients and she's been first or only chair on 73 cases," Louis reads. "She's won every single one."
Maybe Harvey's a little impressed. But he certainly won't show it outright like Louis is now. He thinks the man is already writing a love letter to Donna Paulsen in his head.
"Her mock trial notes?" Harvey wonders as he snaps Louis out of his day dreaming.
"Uh," Louis reads and scrolls, looking for them. "She didn't have to mock trial. I'm guessing because she's a librarian first and a lawyer second."
Harvey leans back in the visitor's chair and looks at the picture of the woman he just met.
How had he never noticed her before?
"She's amazing," Louis says in a low whisper. Harvey isn't sure if he was meant to hear that or not.
He won't disagree with the man.
In the two week span, he saw her sometimes multiple times a day. Sometimes it was deliberate, sometimes accidental. He thinks now because he's aware of her, she seems to become one of those people he always seems to pick up on. On the days he saw her more than twice he played it off as a coincidence. She only looked at him like she thought the other named partner may need to lock him up or at least have a doctor check him out that one time. After all, he never came up and spoke to her. But perhaps that was the problem. She'd just see a flash of three-piece suits and hair and feel his damn ego taking up the room and find him in the corner or just passing by, looking intently into the offices or conference rooms she's in. She really noticed when he made his way down to the 45th floor, a place where he's basically sworn enemy. She had been delivering research, he had just finished a meeting with Paul Porter's associate.
One time he saw her in the associate's kitchen and he backtracked and stepped foot in a place he hadn't been since he was an associate himself.
"You know you have access to the partner's kitchen," he tells her as he leans against the entryway.
She turns and shrugs her shoulders.
Today she looks like the librarian stereotype. She has a skirt and a cardigan but her heels are high and the only pop of color he sees as he looks at her. He wonders if she knows she has a pencil sticking up in her bun.
"The partner's kitchen doesn't have Cheetos and raspberry bran bars," she tells him as if he should know this is the reason why any partner would be caught in the associate's kitchen.
"Well, the latter is because Louis steals them all," Harvey points out. "I'm surprised Jessica allows them in the building anymore."
"And the Cheetos?" She asks.
"What are you, high?"
He doesn't know anyone who eats Cheetos.
She laughs. She laughs and it's light and carefree and he's sort of mesmerized by it. It's a little distracting.
"Some of us just like eating Cheetos with our lunches," she points out.
"It's ten am," he counters.
"I never said I was one of them," she tells him.
"You also never answered my question," he informs her.
She turns back to the counter and seals the Cheetos with the chip clip and puts them back in the cabinet where all the sugars and coffee stuff is stored. She folds her napkin of Cheetos and he wonders why she doesn't just take the whole bag into her office.
"They're not even my Cheetos," she informs him as if she can read his mind. "They belong to that cocky little associate who thinks he's the greatest thing to happen to this firm since you."
He raises a brow at the backhanded compliment. Or at least he thinks that's what that was.
"Who?" He wonders.
"That guy who went up against your guy," she snaps her fingers. "Oh, and your guy lost and you had to pay a cool ten to Louis."
He works his jaw as he remembers that.
"Kyle," She nods as she finally gets his name.
He thinks that might be a tactic and she's known the kid's name since the beginning of their conversation.
"We've gotten off topic," he points out.
"Have we?" she smirks.
She sighs lazily and walks over towards him. He straightens up as she stands toe to toe with him. Her heels today make her the same height as him and he wonders how she walks in them all day.
"Do I look high?" She asks. She widens her eyes for a brief moment before settling on staring at him. Her eyes are a deep, dark brown. She blinks as he stares for a little longer than strictly necessary and he notices her eyelashes are really long. He also notices she's tired, like most everyone he knows here, but there's a lightness in her eyes.
"You're good," he tells her as he clears his throat.
"I know," she tells him with a small little smile as she side steps him with her napkin of Cheetos.
The next week when her luck's run out and she's refilling the sugar cubes in the partner's kitchen after getting her coffee, she stumbles onto a bag of Cheetos with a post it note with her name.
I got you your own bag that you can put in our kitchen. Bran bars are in your office. Don't let Louis in there after hours.
It's not signed but she knows exactly who it's from. She tries not to grin. Her laugh sort of covers it as she puts the Cheetos back minus the note. But she bites her lip just to make sure her outward appearance is passive just in case he happens to walk by.
Today she'll purposefully walk by his office and make sure he sees her napkin of Cheetos.
And maybe she'll walk by Louis's office and toss him a bran bar. After all, she does like Louis and her mother always told her sharing is caring.
The afternoon of their meeting, they step off separate elevators and he waits for her to pass before continuing on towards his office. She's not that much shorter than him, he notices as they walk side by side, and it's strange yet refreshing at the same time. He thinks she's prepared for their meeting because she has a few Pearson Specter folders in her arms, clutched tightly against her side as she walks beside him.
"Good lunch?" He asks as an ice breaker to break the silence they've been walking in towards his office. He's not sure if she was actually at lunch but it was lunchtime and she had her coat on. So, she had to have come from outside.
"If you call mediocre coffee and stale muffin lunch," she shrugs. When he looks at her in confusion, she elaborates. "I just had an AALL meeting at the courthouse Umm, American Association of Law Libraries, in case you're still confused."
"And you're still standing after drinking that shit," he points out and he lets her step into his office. He ignored the other part. Of course he didn't know librarians even had their own associations. He tells his assistant to not bother them and actually cover his calls for once.
"Everyone knows not to eat or drink anything there," he notes as he turns back to her.
"Usually we get a fresh pot but Judge Palermo held the meeting instead of the usual guy from the ALA. And Palermo doesn't know the difference between stale and fresh as long as it's food. I think it was probably from his chambers. The whole thing seemed very last minute."
He chuckles without meaning to as he watches her get tangled up in her coat and bag and files.
"I was running late," she tells him as she explains the walking catastrophe she currently maintains. "Otherwise I'd be ready."
"You're early," he points out as he looks at the watch on his wrist. He's at least gentlemanly enough to take her files from her and then trades her the files for her coat as he hangs it on his coat/hat rack.
He can't help but do a subtle double take at her outfit. He doesn't objectify but rather appreciated the balance. He's pretty sure the label is designer but it's the color he's really into. The bright blue is almost Tiffany blue in color and highlights her skin tone, hair, and her figure.
"You know, I am a lawyer," she starts as she takes a seat in front of his desk. She thinks he may have looked her up but it never hurts to be safe.
"I specialize in anti-trust," she says as an olive branch. That's not in her file unless he reads the cases. She doesn't think he has that much patience.
He receives her olive branch with a nod and he closes his office door since this is a private conversation and his assistant loves to gossip. He then makes his way from the coat rack and door to his desk while listening to her.
"I've never lost a case," she informs him. "Of course, I only practice when I'm really needed but I have a winning streak as clean as yours. Jessica calls you her Closer but I'm apparently the Closer's Closer. People underestimate the cases and the fact I'm a librarian."
"Cleaner, actually," he tells her in regards to their winning streak count. Because he's man enough to know when he's been bested. She's never settled, she's always won. When he sits second chair and loses it doesn't go on his record but he's recently lost a few in the Pearson Darby and Pearson Darby Specter era. A single client of hers that she's brought in makes five times as much as three of his biggest combined. And he thinks it's due to her specialty but he doesn't doubt she'd be able to nail the whales even without the added detail of the east coast's best and most winning anti-trust lawyer.
She smiles and looks away. Clearly she's not used to compliments. She seems so confident outside it's like he's seeing a whole new side of her.
He unbuttons his suit jacket as he sits in his chair and watches as she looks from him to her folder she's placed in her lap and has an idea.
"Let's do a lunch meeting," he says as he stands and buttons the first button of his suit jacket again.
"What?" She asks slowly. As if she doesn't understand.
"You had a shitty lunch, I haven't had mine yet. We can talk numbers over lunch and Jessica will pay for it all, he tells her."
"And you," she points out.
This time, he looks confused.
"You'd also be paying for lunch. Your name is on the door."
"Yeah, but only Jessica can okay my expense account. Paul Porter kept denying everything so now Jessica has to handle it."
"Anyone ever tell you that you're strange?"
"My father, all the time."
She laughs without meaning to. He smiles anyway.
"I'll need my heavier coat," she relents. It's chilly outside. She thinks it might even snow. That coat hanging on his coat rack did nothing for her when she had her meeting at the courthouse.
His shit eating grin is large and she wants to hate it.
She puts her files in her bag and stands and collects her coat from his coat rack and keeps it on her arm to exchange it for the heavier one in her office.
She pretends not to notice the hand at her back. She pretends it's only a friendly gesture. When he tries to steer her to the elevator bank his hand accidentally skims her waist as she moves in the opposite direction. She moves towards the south side of the building down the hallway he rarely sees anyone venture into.
He comes with her and gets a secret tour and the side entrance to the library.
"Does my key do that?" He asks as she swipes her ID badge into the reader and it turns green.
"Probably," she shrugs and holds the door for him. "Your name is on the door; you should be able to open anything I can."
He makes a mental note to try it one day.
They've come through one of the fire doors and she warns him that it needs to close within ten seconds and arm itself or the alarm will go off.
She surprised him by leading him right into her office.
He wonders if Pearson Specter has anymore trap doors and secret entrance ways and figures the woman in front of him would be his best bet. But he'll save that for another day when they're both not trying to negotiate with one another.
They check their coats and that hand makes its way to the small of her back as the maître d leads them to a table for two by the window. She looks at the view as they were handed the menus and turns to Harvey.
"You can see Pearson Specter from here," she points out.
"Your office?" He asks.
She looks back out at the view and shakes her head.
"No, this is too eastern," she says.
He nods and opens up his menu.
"Kale salad," he points out.
She laughs and he looks up from his perusal of the menu.
"I don't trust people who eat kale," she deadpans. But it's true. She hates kale.
"Louis eats kale," he points out.
She gives him a look that makes him believe she already knew that ages ago and wonder why he's just now catching on.
They share the crab cakes; she orders the chicken and he orders the veal. They talk business between bites and he sees the passion as she speaks that he'd probably never get if they were back in his office. She doesn't even need the folder she had in her hands that's now stuffed in her bag because she knows her budget backward and forward.
He really does negotiate with her. Because he does take his meetings seriously despite the initial hesitance and flippant nature. He's realized quickly that a librarian isn't to be messed with. She's not surprised he's studied the facts and figures.
He mentions cutting the budget once because he says a few of the senior partners have suggested they use e-books.
He really shouldn't be surprised she knows the three that have asked Jessica to relay this to Harvey to relay this to Donna. The disgust in her tone suggests a history. And he wants to know more.
"Those three idiots should know that you don't actually own the digital materials. When our subscriptions is up or ever cancelled, so are those issues," she tells him.
He holds up his hands and gives her a look.
"I'm just the messenger. I didn't say I liked the idea," he counters.
"How often do you come in the library?" She asks as she cuts a piece of her chicken and looks up at him.
"Only to find my associates," he tells her honestly.
"Back when I was in library school, I took a library management class," she begins. "And I found that the ones who try to cut funds don't necessarily use the library. Trustees think they know what they're doing because they have money but unless you're in the trenches, you don't know shit."
He raises a brow at the harsh reality of her statement but commends her passion. And it shows she's not one to beat around the bush. She'll tell it to him straight despite what he wants to hear.
"Then show me," he tells her.
"I'm free next week," she tells him.
"Tomorrow's no good?" He wonders.
"Tomorrow I'll be headed upstate for the holidays, she tells him. I won't be back until the 27th."
If she notices the change in the atmosphere, she doesn't comment on it.
They eat the rest of their meals in light conversation. He finds out she's very well connected despite his picture of her he has in his head of her never leaving the sanctity of her office despite the passing moments he sees her. And she loves football. She loves the New York teams and shits on all the Boston ones. Which caused a lot of controversy when she was at Harvard wearing a Yankees cap. He thinks he may have a whole new respect for her after learning these things.
"And your salary?" He asks as an after point.
"What about it?" She asks.
"You make what I make in a single bonus," he points out.
"Most people wouldn't know what to do if they started out with a 1.5 million dollar paycheck. And I'm also not a named partner," she says as she sips at her water.
He can't argue with that.
"Are you a senior or junior partner?" He wonders.
"Didn't you read my file in the two weeks I gave you to research me?" She asks with a small smirk. "Or my door tags?"
He won't tell her that he often got distracted by her picture when he researched her and her cases on his own.
"Junior," she relents when she realizes he won't answer her.
"You deserve a senior partnership," he points out.
She furrows her brow.
"You've made us significantly more money than most of your junior partner colleagues with less cases. You don't think your department is a potential stakeholder in the firm?"
"It wasn't ever up to me," she tells him.
This time it's him who furrows his brow.
"You think Daniel Hardman ever took a law librarian seriously? Someone who was only a practicing lawyer when they needed the bigs guns and couldn't call you in because you worked for the District Attorney?" She asks him seriously as she leans in.
"Jessica," Harvey begins.
"Tried," Donna interrupts. "But she could either defend my budget or my partnership. I told her to defend my budget."
"Do you want to be a senior partner?" He asks.
"Didn't you?" She asks.
He sees her point. No one ever really wants to stay junior partner forever. She may love research as a career but no one wants to end their partnership at the junior level. Perhaps he can change that.
He tries to convey it wordlessly because he can't promise this. But he's going to try his hardest.
She looks down at their plates. She's never really had an ally besides Jessica in the firm. And now she might have the other named partner and that's too much to comprehend right now.
"Dessert?" He asks as he notices their lunch plates are relatively clean.
"I hear their sour cream cheesecake is the best," she says.
She knows her tone suggests she's glad he changed topic.
He chuckles and leans back in his chair. This was one of his best negotiation meetings in all of his career.
It's almost the new year and she's back from her vacation to Cortland to visit with her family. She has a new picture to add to her collection from one of her nieces and this year didn't go without the interrogation of why she's still one of those "spinster librarians." They really thought this might have been the year with all the changes in the firm. It also didn't help that she may have mentioned Harvey Specter a few times and they were curious as to her relationship with him. She shrugged and told her family that Copernicus, her kitten, keeps her warm at night. They didn't find it as amusing as she did.
"How'd budget negotiations go?" A familiar voice asks as she's buried in a book on the SEC's updated rules and regulations for company trading for this year.
She looks up and places a slip of paper in the book to mark her spot. She's sort of glad for the interruption. The SEC makes reading quite dull. And it's about that time for her break to see what the hell Harvey's post-it note meant about bagels when she had opened her drawer to find it posted to her pen.
"They went well," Donna says as she leans back in her chair as Jessica takes a seat in front of her and crosses her legs. "Although, I'm sure you knew that because my budget was due on the 26th."
"I noticed the lunch bill when he submitted it, too," Jessica says. "Nougatine. His idea or yours?"
"His," Donna tells her. "I had never been. He says breakfast is best but lunch was good, too."
Jessica nods.
"He never does lunch meetings. Or if he does, he takes them to the coffee shop five blocks away and uses the dirt he found and gets the client or opposing council to drop it or work everything out in his favor," Jessica informs her.
Donna nods.
"Bottom line?" Jessica asks.
It takes Donna a moment to figure out what Jessica wants.
"He was well mannered. He kept it the same and wondered why my salary was so low. He also wondered why I wasn't senior partner."
"Did he?" Jessica asks as she leans forward in her seat.
"He's actually quite good with numbers," she points out to avoid what else she and Harvey talked about.
"He just doesn't like to do it because it's boring and sends it all to Louis," Jessica finishes.
"He actually tried to negotiate to bring my budget down and give me a raise but I told him I'd rather have to books than the extra money. He got this weird look in his eyes."
"He's used to clients that have money and will do anything to keep it and then get more."
Donna nods.
Jessica looks around the younger woman's office and notices nothing has really changed in this office in a long time. It's a little untidy but welcoming and organized. There's awards and degrees that tout her smarts and her achievements. But it's warm. It has piles of stuff and it's not like hers and Harvey's spartan offices. It's funny she feels more at home here in a place that isn't even her own.
"Why'd you have him take this?" Donna says as she looks around her office and motions with her hands before clasping them on her desk as she leans in. "My budget has never once decreased on all the years I've been here because of you. And I always hit or I am under budget each time."
"One of his associates is about to be junior partner and one is spending more time at school," Jessica tells her as she leans in and speaks in hushed tones. "Harvey's better if he has something to protect."
"And he's going to protect a library he never uses?" Donna asks with disbelief written all over her face and in her tone. She thinks it will probably be a one time thing no matter how well they may get along.
"He might," Jessica shrugs. "But I wasn't talking about the library itself."
Donna takes a few moments to catch up and Jessica sees the moment it clicks.
"Me," she says slowly.
"You're his kind of people. You're too intelligent for your own good, you're not afraid to negotiate with him, he thinks you're funny, and you need to get out of the library once in a while. He needs a friend and an outlet."
"Jessica Pearson," Donna says as she reads between the lines. "Are you trying to play match maker with your co-workers?"
"A lady never tells," Jessica smirks.
Donna sobers up and Jessica can see the wheels turning in her mind.
Jessica puts her hand up and Donna nods. The conversation doesn't go any further.
"We had a partners meeting while you were gone," Jessica informs her.
Donna's brow raises in question as to what that has to do with her.
"They thought Harvey would get your budget down to 1.8. He didn't budge," Jessica informs her. "And he made a second motion."
Donna tilts her head.
"As you know, we get to nominate one senior partner a year," Jessica begins.
Donna shakes her head.
"No," she whispers.
"He nominated you and Louis seconded," Jessica finished. "It became a motion that night. His first nomination."
Donna bites her lip and she doesn't know whether she's frustrated at the man or happy to have finally made it to the big leagues.
"It's official in a month," Jessica tells her. "I'm sure he'll want to give your the news himself."
Jessica leaves her with that.
She'll have to find a way to repay him.
When she makes her way to her office one month after Jessica spoiled her, he's standing and observing the janitor that's taking a razor blade to the 'junior partner' print under her 'law librarian' status, under her name.
"Did hell freeze over?" She asks as a greeting. "Backwards day? Perhaps Opposite Day? Did you spring forward two hours early? I hate to tell you but you just move your clock up one hour."
He turns lazily and sticks his hands in his pockets and bounces on the ball of his feet.
"Funny. I am capable of coming in before nine," he shrugs. "I just don't make it a habit."
"Because why start a 15 hour work day early," she points out.
"Its currently four in the morning on the West coast," he counters.
"Do you even have clients on the West coast?" She asks.
"No," he tells her.
Her mouth makes an 'ah' motion but she says nothing more.
"Did I make named partner?" She teases. "Pearson Paulsen has a nice ring to it."
He narrows his eyes at her and she laughs.
"I'd give you the corner office," he trails off.
"But I kind of like this one," she interrupts.
"But you just declared your allegiance."
"I guess it can be Pearson Paulsen Litt," she sighs.
"And Louis took it," he says as he continues to inform her about the corner office.
"Fine, Pearson Paulsen Specter. But that's the last offer"
"You're funny," he says.
"I know," she informs him.
"You're also the librarian," he finishes.
"That, too," she notes with a shrug of her shoulders. "I guess I'll always just have to have this massive office. I think yours and Jessica's can fit in here and there'd still be room left. Maybe your old office you had as an associate?"
He shakes his head.
"That's where I'll move you," he half heartedly threatens.
She whispers as if under her breath and hopes he catches it.
She steps up to the door and the janitor keeps sloughing off the print as she walks into her office and Harvey follows close behind. She flips on the lights and he stands in the middle of the large room.
She ignores him and heads to her desk and he takes a seat in one of her visitor's chairs and waits until she sits down.
"Well, if you're here this early, it has to be good," she points out as she sits. "And it must have to do with me since he's currently erasing both my titles."
Harvey looks back and notices the janitor is also scraping off the 'law librarian' part and he sighs aloud as he shakes his head.
"I'll fix that," he notes.
She nods and waits him out.
"There are perks to having your name on the door," he begins.
She wants to send a quip his way but he's looking at her with some look she's never seen on his face and its quite intriguing. So, she stays quiet and watches him openly.
"Have you read through last years budget?" He asks.
When she sees its not a rhetorical question, she nods.
"So, you know that despite the shake ups of last year and clients dropping us left and right, your clients kept us afloat."
"I have it on good authority your sports clients also didn't leave," she points out.
"And that would matter if my sports clients made us almost a billion dollars," he notes. "But not even with all the ad and sponsor revenues do all my sports clients add up to your least lucrative company."
"I sense this ego stroke is going somewhere," she says as she leans forward.
"Senior partnership," he says finally.
She's shocked a moment too long and he curses under his breath as he stands.
"I'm going to kill her," he whispers under his breath.
"It wasn't her fault," Donna tries as she stands, too. "It just sort of slipped out. She knows I need good news after a week with my family."
He works his jaw and a moment later unclenches his fists and breathes in and out before turning back to her.
"That theatre degree of yours is rusty," he notes.
"The material I have to work with doesn't leave much room for freedom of expression," she says as she gives him a once over. She's almost surprised he took the time to study the notes in her file and search out her undergraduate degree. Well, one of them.
He shakes his head and she can see he's holding down on his seriously annoyed at Jessica face to cover up the fact he finds her wit amusing. Or maybe she's reading into this too much.
"Fine," he tells her as he puts a hand in his pocket and looks at the janitor before looking back at her. "I'll be announcing it Friday."
"You?" She asks. Because he never does any of the people things. He always makes sure he has a full calendar that day so he doesn't have to attend.
"I did nominate you," he reminds her.
She's looking at him expectantly and he shrugs.
"Congratulations, Donna," he tells her sincerely.
She bites her lip and nods.
"Thank you, Harvey," she says.
He dips his chin and then begins to leave.
With no more business to be handled, he has to get back to work and order a new work order to fix her titles and perhaps let HR know to fire this janitor. She's organizing her files on her desk when he looks back.
He has his hand on the door handle and pushes it open before pausing and opening his mouth once, twice, before something comes out.
"Have dinner with me," he says.
She looks up quickly. She may have whiplash from the double take.
"Is that a request or are you asking me?" She wonders quietly.
"Asking," he says.
She looks at him. She notes the expression on his face and how he's trying to hide the sincere hope he gets in asking the question.
"All right," she nods.
She watches as he gives her a small, brief smile.
A small bouquet of flowers arrive in a vase later that day from him. It's a fresh scent of purple tulips rather than the cloying smell of roses. She doesn't know what to think of the gesture but she appreciates it nonetheless.
He comes to her office on the Friday morning he's formally announcing her senior partnership. He never really asked her to be there because he had only shown up at the last minute to his own. But here he is watching her type away at her computer and purposefully ignoring him until she finishes whatever it is she's doing. But he's too curious to wait silently.
"What's more important than your senior partnership?" He asks.
"Jessica's asking me if you're here," she tells him as she looks up over her monitor and then the click of her keyboard continues.
"You talk to Jessica about me?" He wonders.
"Not as much as you talk about me," she quips with a smirk. "But she was just in your office and couldn't find you so she asked if you were here."
A moment later she stands and finally gets a good look at him and she chuckles. They don't really mean to match because how were they to know what each other was wearing. The light gray Tom Ford suit and black tie matches her light gray Altuzarra dress. She's accented the gray with black heels and black nails. Before they leave her office, she adjusts his tie. The dimple is a little too far to the left and she doesn't want him to walk into this meeting with a slightly skewed tie. She pats his chest and then steps back after she realizes what she had done.
"Sorry," she whispers.
"At least you didn't try to touch my hair," he points out.
When she moves to touch it, he ducks and moves away as she laughs.
"Let's get this over with," she sighs.
"A woman after my own heart," he says as he holds open the door for her.
She steps out and waits for him to clear her office and she looks briefly at her titles beside her.
"Nice titles," he notes as he watches her eyes drift to the titles that took a lot longer to get up than strictly necessary.
She laughs and bumps her shoulder against his. She wonders if he's taking the long way to the fiftieth floor to avoid the meeting as long as possible or if he's just wanting to spend more and more time with her.
She decides its the latter as she sits next to him at the partners meeting. Jessica sits at the head and instead of him taking the other side, he sits to the right of the woman. And Donna sits beside him. She thinks Louis is the most excited about this change. He's across from her and practically bouncing in his seat. She'd put money on him being the first one in conference room c and directing everyone to their seats and leaving room for her at Harvey's side.
When Harvey speaks, she looks at him. He touts all her achievements and he looks over at her with this look that can only be described as pride. She's given the standard senior partner treatment but she already has the half million dollar buy-in check. She doesn't need the sixth month trial period. She's been there long enough to know she plans to stick around for a while.
After the meeting and the congratulatory handshakes, he nods subtlety to his office and she follows along after everyone has left her alone in the conference room.
He only asks her if next Friday is good for their dinner since he has court for the rest of the day.
She bites her lip and nods as she notes that this is really happening… whatever this is.
He hands her a finger of scotch.
"It's eleven am," she points out.
"It's a celebration," he counters.
"As long as I'm getting breakfast after this," she points out as she swirls the amber liquid in her hand.
"Brunch," he notes as he looks at the time. "But wherever you want."
She'll drink to that.
It's not like they are going on a date. Its a celebratory dinner between colleagues. He's celebrating the fact she made senior partner nothing more. Or so she keeps repeating. It's not like she really needs to be reapplying her makeup but here she is staring at herself in the mirror and sighing at her reflection. It's relatively safe for her to be in here because everyone likes to go home at five pm on Friday and it's two hours after the fact. But she was still tempted to lock the door. And as she hears heels on the tile, she thinks maybe it would have been a good idea.
"Hot date?" Jessica asks as she walks into the bathroom and stands at the sink as she watches Donna with her makeup brush.
Donna side eyes her in the mirror and sighs.
"It's just dinner," she says aloud. And she realizes she doesn't sound as confident as she did in her head. "With Harvey."
Jessica crosses her arms and gives her a look as if she doesn't believe her.
"You're all he talks about in our meetings. Or, he at least mentions you once every time he steps into my office," Jessica tells her. "You've converted him to the library."
Donna looks down and bites her lip.
"Or perhaps it's just you he's visiting," Jessica deduces.
"It's for work," Donna tries.
Because he does come to her with a case file. But she reads past his facade and gives him a slip of paper with a book he should try or a case file to reference or sends him an email with a link for LexisNexis and Westlaw case files on the database. She's getting to know him little by little with these visits. Like little things about his father's influence on him and how they like the same sports and he has a secret penchant for reading but if she tells anyone, he'll be his own lawyer and get himself off any charges. And she's definitely not going to tell the woman about the times their fingers brush and they stare at each other a little longer than strictly necessary. And she's not going to tell her about all the times Harvey's hand has brushed against her side or dipped a little lower than strictly professional as he had a hand at her back and she'd bite her lip and looks at him as he wordlessly seeks permission to do so. But she's not going to tell any of that to Jessica because the woman already has that gleam in her eye.
Jessica nods but Donna's sure she only half believes her.
Donna puts her makeup back in her little handbag that fits inside her purse or her desk drawer and looks up at Jessica with a half-pleading look to help her decide whether this is a date or not. She thinks the woman in front of her understands.
"Where's he taking you?" Jessica asks.
"He refused to tell me," she tells her.
Jessica nods.
"It's tradition for me to take all new senior partners to Iago's," she tells the younger woman.
"And if it's not Iago's?" Donna asks.
"Then it's probably a date," Jessica shrugs noncommittally. "And it's Harvey and he's so god damn unpredictable that I can't help you."
"You're taking this very well for a named partner who is finding out your other named partner is maybe trying to pursuing a relationship with your newest senior partner slash law librarian."
"I've been waiting for him to give into the changes around him," Jessica shrugs. "He's also an adult."
"Some might argue with you on that," Donna says with a laugh.
"If you're looking for permission, not that you need it, but you two have it," Jessica says. "I'd handle the other partners."
There's a brief silent exchange before Donna nods and leaves the room. She's already bordering on late and she had promised to meet him in the lobby.
He stands closer to her as they wait for Ray to pull up. The man in question is a few blocks away and they can see him but she was fine waiting instead of walking despite Harvey's impatience. He opens her door when Ray arrives and she waits until he goes to the other side of the car and gets in before looking over at him after noticing Ray doesn't move into traffic.
"Iago's or The Capital Grille?" Harvey asks as he looks over and meets her eyes.
She would laugh. She would laugh but she doesn't. Because even in the relative darkness inside the car she can see him looking at her. She wonders if he knows that she knows the significance. Or maybe Jessica was placing too much emphasis and she's reading too much into it.
She whispers her choice in the silence surrounding them.
She can see she made the right choice as the corners of his lips upturn and he repeats her answer to Ray.
"The Time Life Building one okay?" Harvey asks as an after thought. Because there's three Capital Grilles in the city and he thinks she may like the Theatre District better.
She nods and turns to look out the window as Ray finally pulls out into traffic and they make their way into the heart of her favorite neighborhood. She can feel his stare on her form and sees flashes of his reflection as Ray moves through the city. But she doesn't look at him again until they're out of the car and his hand is at the small of her back as he leads her this way to the steakhouse.
Of course the master sommelier is Harvey's friend. He's as connected to the big names in the city as she is to the movers and shakers their field. His fingers play against her spine as he relates his name and they wait for his surprise, which turns out to be a private tour. Before they're seated at their table, they get a tour of the wine cellar. When Harvey introduced her, he leaves the relationship undefined and simply tells the man they're celebrating and she can see the man wants to ask but he has enough tact to let it be. But she notices the glance back as she slips her arm around Harvey's as they steps to the first row of reds.
Harvey's friend follows them with their bottle they had picked out from the reserves as they are led to their table. The maître d lets Harvey take the lead and pull out Donna's chair for her and she sits and bites her lip as she notices the painting hanging above Harvey's head on the wall. William Shakespeare stares back at her and she ignores the bard for the moment as she takes the menu in hand. The master sommelier pours them a small tasting and after they taste, fills to the appropriate level and leaves without another word.
"If only Louis could see this moment," Donna laughs as they are left alone in the relative quiet dining room.
Harvey frowns and she points out the portrait with her chin as she opens her menu.
"Thought you might like that," Harvey points out with a small chuckle.
"You were pretty confident I'd pick this place," she notes with a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"I would have just used Jessica's standing reservation if you chose Iago's," he tells her. "But I had this planned."
She's prevented from saying more as their waiter shows up at their side. And before he can begin the monologue, Harvey asks for an appetizer to share and the man disappears again.
"Do you always get this sort of treatment?" She asks as she gathers her wineglass in her hand and makes a half circle motion to the table and then sips from her glass.
"Never," he says. "But then maybe if I worked less hours I'd get this treatment."
She laughs into the glass and sets it back in the same place. As if they'd ever work less hours. Their clients might cause an uproar if that ever happened.
Between a refill of their wine glasses and a bite of their appetizers, they order their main course. As per the master sommelier's suggestion, she orders the lamb rib chops while he goes for the filet mignon.
"Should we play twenty questions?" She suggests as she reaches over for a piece of mozzarella and he opens his mouth to ask her something.
"I have a feeling that would get dangerous with you," he notes.
"Probably," she nods.
He looks at her and she tilts her head, silently questioning.
"How come you never left?" He asks.
She raises a brow because its not a question she's ever been asked before.
"You've worked there for 12 years," he remembers. "You've gone through five takeovers and haven't left."
She takes a healthy drink of her wine and touches her silverware before looking up at him.
"In 12 years, I have received 32 job offers," Donna tells him. And she knows Jessica has probably never shared that with him. She doesn't even think Jessica asks about all of them. "They've offered everything from more money than I'd know what to do with to a transfer with a senior partnership."
"Why turn them down?" Harvey wonders.
"Same reason you've never left Jessica despite wanting to at times."
He doesn't know how she knows about the time with Darby but he shouldn't be surprised.
"You threatened to tell on an associate for illegally backdating and strong armed her into paying for law school?" He quips.
She shakes her head and a laugh escapes anyway.
"Loyalty."
He understands more than she knows.
"Jessica has never once gone behind my back," Donna says. "And she's had my back when the other partners have tried to shut me out. When she needs something done, she's upfront with you."
Harvey simply stares openly.
"I knew this was coming one day," she tells him.
He furrows his brow.
"Perhaps not this," she waves her hand between them. "But a senior partnership. Louis getting one changed the whole landscape. It gave the rest of us hope, even though it was Hardman who did it."
He straightens in his chair and she mirrors him. Its only their food but they are both intensely private and despite being in public and having this conversation, its not overly crowded and they'd like to keep it as privileged as possible.
"Plus," Donna says to lighten up the tone she left it on as their waiter disappears behind the closed door. "My library is mine at Pearson Specter. I've developed and maintained that collection for twelve years. No one else has my library."
"You're such a damn librarian," he laughs.
She can't really disagree with him.
They eat in silence for a time, both savoring the complex tastes of their plates. Its not awkward or fraught with tension but its silent and she takes the time to make sure she's not chewing so loud he can hear her on the other side of the table. Its only when she's finished with the first of four ribs does she ask her question.
"Why didn't you leave when Darby was making your life hell?" She wonders. She heard about the others coming in and trying to take over. But they mostly ignored her since she's just a librarian and a part-time lawyer in their eyes so she wasn't ever a big fish. But that didn't mean she never watched from the sidelines. She was the one who helped his then-associate figure out the bigger picture after all.
"I wanted my name on the door," he tells her. "Jessica said I wasn't ready and Darby had my name in mind."
He takes a moment to get another piece of filet and chews it thoroughly before continuing.
"Looking back now, I would have done the whole thing differently. And I'm sure Jessica has regrets about the whole thing like everyone else."
She nods in agreement. That was one of the most tumultuous experiences in the takeovers and mergers she's been through.
Lighter conversation occurs and the bottle of wine flows evenly between them until it rounds off their dinner.
She leans forward in her chair and he even puts his elbows on the table in an effort to get closer as the conversation turns more personal. They make room for the waiter to take their plates and they order dessert but make a note for the kitchen to take their time with the order. After all, the flourless chocolate espresso cake isn't even debated in her mind and he gets the cheesecake because that one time at Nougatine she loved it and steak houses usually have that light but filling cheesecake.
They ordered two coffees with the dessert. She adds her sugar and cream and he watches as she debates with herself on adding her whipped cream. He tells her he won't judge her and she laughs and adds half of the whipped cream from her cake to her coffee. He only shakes his head in response and drinks his sugarless, creamless coffee.
Her cake is too dark and intense for him but as she pointed her fork in his direction, he couldn't help but lean over and eat it. And as she tries to stab his cheesecake with her fork, he pulls it closer to himself. He forks a tiny sliver and holds it up to her and she takes it as he laughs. When she sees her happily going back to her own cake, he relents and gives her a real fork full.
"You're too easy," she points out and she holds his fork between them.
She sips at her coffee and watches his expression.
"I'm not easy," he tells her.
"Is that supposed to be a challenge?" She whispers.
He wiggles his brows and she laughs, shaking her head.
She uses the restroom and he pays the bill. And as she looks at herself, she makes up mind and cements her decision of how she wants tonight to go. And she thinks Harvey would approve.
They stand and watch the people and cars as they pass. The Theatre District always has the strangest mix of classes and people as it brings the Upper East Siders down from their penthouse condos to enjoy a show and mix with the struggling students and theatre actors living paycheck to paycheck. A show went on tonight. He's sure she probably knows which one and its letting out the same time they finish their meal and the traffic is backed up. Of course he had to choose a day like this. But as he takes her hand in his, and she sided up closer as they wait, he doesn't mind. He had texted Ray five minutes ago and he doesn't expect the man right away but it was approaching closing hour for the Capital Grille and sometimes he's courteous. He blames his company as of late. Others would probably reward said company.
"Dating etiquette says at least three dates," she points out as though he's been following her entire conversation and not lost in his own thoughts.
"Where's the fun in doing what you're told?" He asks somewhat rhetorically.
"Or is it you've never liked doing what you're told?" She asks.
"I've taken you to Nougatine twice," he points out.
"Yet still not for breakfast. And don't forget the bagel cart," she notes. They went there numerous times. Mostly when he had a case and dragged her out of the library despite her half-hearted protests that she was busy.
"So, this would be the third," he notes.
She wants to ask his opinion on what they've been doing really, actually constitutes as dating but she keeps quiet and saves it for another time.
She thinks he's rubbing off on her. She's always been a stickler for rules. They're her favorite. But he's making a compelling case out of the responses he's given her and she's mostly won over. She laughs at how ridiculous this argument would sound outside her head.
He swallows her laugh by pressing his lips to hers and the cars and people moving past them are no longer a thought in either of their minds. He finds she tastes dark and defiant. She tastes of chocolate with a hint of espresso making her lips tangy and sweet at the same time. He wants more but she she pulls away as soon as he tries to press her closer to him. And when she laughs against him when she pulls away, she smells of the dark wine and chocolate espresso she just finished eating moments earlier.
She thumbs his lower lip and leans in again, this time its her pressing her lips against his own.
"You're too easy," she whispers against his lips.
He'll send a text in the morning to Jessica that he had an unexpected morning meeting.
And in the morning, they'll figure it all out. But he thinks she might have figured it all out because she's always ten steps ahead of him.
As long as he takes her to Nougatine, though.