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Harvey and Louis sit across from Jessica, whose patiently sipping her coffee despite the atom bomb she just dropped on the two men.
"Jessica-"
"You can't be serious-"
She raises her hand, the two men shutting up immediately. Take another long, slow sip just to watch them squirm, Jessica decides to acknowledge their concerns.
"Harvard is one of the most prestigious law schools in the world, if not the most. Our firm has a reputation of exclusively hiring the best of the best exclusively from Harvard, thus allowing them to showcase a streamlined path from graduation to the workforce. However, this agreement is not without stipulations. If we want to maintain our relationship, we must put in effort."
Her eyes quickly shoot up, leveling Harvey with a warning look that clearly says: Do not interrupt me.
"While you both are exceptionally hard workers, and clearly make up for the other's short-comings,"
At that, Harvey had to roll eyes, pressing his mouth shut firmly to prevent making a smart comment.
"There truly isn't a clear answer as to who is in the lead for a promotion to Senior Partner. As such, I would simply like to devise a little friendly competition." Jessica smirks as she watches both Harvey and Louis' eyes set, the familiar flame of battle that they intend to win clearly being shown, "As we all know, every Junior Partner must teach at least three classes every two years as per our contract."
"Jessica, I've already done my three classes for this two-year term, so as much as I'd like to-"
"Oh shut up Harvey." She rolls her eyes, pushing forward proof of his and Louis' last taught classes, "Even if that period wasn't about to be finalized, you're allowed to teach more than three classes, it's a minimum not a maximum."
Harvey frowned at the paper, disappointment evident in his eyes.
"Jessica, as much as I appreciate the opportunity to teach the newest batch of Harvard graduates," Louis did his best to sound as annoyed as he clearly was, "I'm busy enough as it is here. Unlike Harvey, I'm stuck doing both my caseloads and keeping track of all the associates in the bullpen. Now you're asking me to devote more time than the absolute minimum to teaching Harvard law students, many of which are just going to end up dropping out anyway?"
"As much as I hate to agree with Louis he's right-"
"I'm what?"
"Don't push it. We have real adult jobs with real adult problems to deal with. By making us deal with a bunch of bumbling idiots-"
"Do you really think so poorly about Harvard's admission's process?"
"When's the last time you taught a class again?"
Jessica rolled her eyes, pushing her mug to the side to level a very no nonsense glare at the two, "Listen to me very closely, becoming Senior Partner isn't exactly a walk in the park. I have to deal with bumbling idiots every single day, some of which are in a higher position than me and all I can think is, how the hell did you get this far? Well I can tell you how they got this far: connections. Every day, some of the smartest, most capable students are getting shoved to the side in favor of the kid whose daddy donated half a billion dollars to their school or workplace of choosing. You're right Louis, many of the associates in the bullpen are hopeless and have no hope in even becoming Junior partner, but if we don't scout of the top students ahead of time and make them realize that there is no firm they'd rather work for than Pearson-Hardman, those hopeless idiots are the only choices we'll have."
She huffed, sitting back in her chair and lifting the mug once more, "I have a hard enough time dealing with you two, tell me, when you're Name partner would you want to deal with someone worse?"
Harvey and Louis looked at one another, the fear in their eyes evident in the way they kept their mouths shut.
Harvey adjusted his posture once more, attempting to look unbothered, "So, three classes over the next two years?"
"Six classes over the next two years."
Once again, Harvey pursed his lips to keep his mouth shut, but Louis, with no such self control, let his mouth hang open in shock.
"Six classes over the next two years, you hire five teacher's associates, and hire as many of those five as you can to be your associates. While they're in school they'll work directly under you, however, after this two-year term is up the Senior partner will get to keep their top associate of choice while the other nine go straight to the bull pen."
Harvey chuckled, "Well that's not exactly fair, seems like they'll end working for Louis no matter what"
"If you don't make Senior Partner then Louis' role of overseeing the bullpen will go to you."
Harvey's face set and neither Louis or Jessica could help but laugh at his reaction.
"Well Jessica, I have to say that I am personally very excited to win this wager."
"Calm yourself, I want to make a couple of changes."
Jessica raised her brow as permission for Harvey to continue.
"I doubt one of us could find three exceptional students within two years, nevertheless we both find five. So instead we find three students over the term, that way we can also ensure our quality of work here doesn't decrease in the slightest."
Jessica looked to Louis for his approval, who nodded quickly.
"I completely agree, but I'd also like to establish some house rules, prevent anyone from playing dirty."
"Who would ever do that?"
Louis ignored Harvey's smirk, instead speaking directly to Jessica, "Relationships and alliances are very important the more you climb the ladder, and I personally would like some assurance that my associates are loyal exclusively to me, without the possibility of them being poached from me."
"Fair enough, poaching associates is off the table. You both discuss the TA positions prior to hiring and if you want the same one you must let the student pick without any coercion. Since you have six semesters to hire students through-"
"Four, the only students in Summer classes are the suck ups and idiots."
"Is that an official rule?"
Louis nodded, "It's be helpful, a gap in the years to catch up on any work we fall behind on."
"You fall behind on."
Louis glared at Harvey and Jessica took that as a sign to continue, "Four semesters, Summers off, that means you must hire a student every semester or you'd fall behind."
Harvey raised a brow, "Unless of course we both fail to hire the full amount of students, or someone who hired less students created more potential within them than one who simply hired more. Quality over quantity Jessica."
"I want associates Harvey."
"You want exceptional students, otherwise, you'd be fine with the ones in the bullpen."
"I want students with potential, which Harvard has, to work under one of my two wonderful Junior Partners in a close mentor-protege relationship, so that they may become exceptional."
"...Touché."
Jessica rolled her eyes, "I know how overboard you two can get so I'd also like to limit you to one person from the firm, with the exception of me, of course, being on your team."
Harvey and Louis shared a look, the confusion evident between one another.
"Oh did I forget to mention? Exceptional associates isn't everything. We need proof that you can properly represent this firm, and help it succeed. So you'll also be working on Pro Bono cases for publicity, bringing clientele into this firm, and making us money."
Louis nodded, realization of what was happening fully setting in, "So basically, there are five main things we need to do over the next two years in order qualify for Senior Partner."
Harvey chimed in, relaxing fully against his chair now that he knew Jessica's angle, "Publicity, Clientele, Profit, Strengthen our relationship with Harvard, and do our damn job while we're at it."
"Exactly, Pearson-Hardman is currently one of the top Law Firms in the state, but that's not enough. I need you to prove that as Senior Partner you won't just maintain this firm's status as being the best, you'll prove it."
"Alright, but I need Donna on my team as well."
"Besides the one person in the firm you already get on your team?"
"Yes, she's my assistant, but I want to make sure that her commitment to me is outlined in the contract."
"Well then I should get Norma."
"Of course, your assistants will be your own over the course of this friendly competition. Any other stipulations? Besides the obvious no-war ones that I'll be outlining myself?"
Harvey and Louis looked to one another, their eyes holding back a thousand words that could only ever truly be represented through a win.
"No." Both men spoke at the same time, and Jessica smiled, clearly very proud of herself.
"Well then, I'll have these contracts to you both by the end of the day. Summer starts next month, I'll reach out to Harvard on your behalf to arrange for your classes. Enjoy the time off from school."
Jessica smirked at her own joke, and the two men stood, eyes not breaking contact just yet. Louis reached out his hand, his way of finalizing the deal, and Harvey shook on it.
Mike walked through the hotel hobby with his back rigid, and his eyes darting at every little detail around him. He gripped the suitcase in his hands firmly, hoping no one could smell the stench of weed from it, or the stench of anxiety from himself. He told himself what he needed to hear: No one can tell that you're out of place, be confident, do it for grandma. And really, it was that last line of thought that kept him going. Despite knowing he could be screwed if anyone found him out, knowing that if he went to jail today not only would grandma be disappointed, but she'd be alone.
Taking a deep breath, Mike slowed his stride and untensed his muscles, keeping his eyes forward and making sure he conveyed undeterred confidence.
Still, he noticed the little things. The pool being closed, the employees walking by, where the restrooms were located, and of course, the exits. As he started walking towards the hotel room he was supposed to go to, he noticed a very suspicious looking bellhop and gentleman in a suit.
Great, apparently being each other's oldest friend meant nothing to Trevor if he was willing to set Mike up in a drug bust.
He of course noticed the not so obvious cops by the room. After stopping to speak to them for just a moment, he continued down the hall as if he wasn't holding suitcase full of weed and fearing for his life. Like his life depended on it (because it quite literally did), Mike sprints down the stairs before the cops even realize what happened.
Regardless, the cops, and in particular the fake bellhop, were on his tail; so in a moment of pure stupidity, Mike ran straight into the nearest bathroom, only to fall back on his ass with his suitcase sliding away from him.
"Ow! What the-" Mike looked up to see a man in a very expensive looking suit, and what might just be the most handsome face he'd ever seen. He sputtered in embarrassment as the guy looked at him not in any sort of anger, but instead just pure concern.
"You might wanna get out of here." Instead of letting the older man speak, Mike grabbed his suitcase and ran into the nearest stall, he closed the door but didn't lock it, and crouched on the toilet.
"-wear I saw him run in here!" Mike heard the two cops run straight into the bathroom, and presumable come to face to face with the older man.
"Excuse me sir, have you seen a young kid with a suitcase run in here?"
"No, I'm afraid I haven't. I'm not sure there's anyone else in this bathroom."
It was silent for a moment, and Mike held his breath hoping they weren't smart enough to actually open the stall doors.
"Damn it, alright thank you."
Mike heard the door swing open and two pairs of feet step out. After a couple of moments of strictly silence, the older man came into the stall he was in and locked the door behind him.
"Want to tell me what that was about?"
Mike opened his mouth, but couldn't speak strictly out of embarrassment. besides the stupidity of a situation he was currently in, the fact that an attarctive older man was standing directly in front of him in a locked bathroom stall was just so fucking hot.
"Relax, I'm not here to get you into any trouble." The man smirked, setting down his suitcase and casually leaning back against the door, "I just figured I should know what type of fugitive I just helped out."
Mike laughed, letting himself sit on the toilet regularly instead of crouching, "Trust me, you don't want to know. Long story short is that my so-called best friend just set me up to take the fall for his own problems."
"Doesn't sound like much of a friend."
"Don't I know it." Mike sighed, raking his hand through his hair and looking at the man again- expensive suit, expensive watch, expensive hair, expensive face. If this guy's grandma needed $25k in private care he'd probably drop 50 just make sure they got the job done right, "I just really didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice."
"Yeah, between going to jail or keeping those I care about alive." Mike regretted this words the moment he said them, this guy didn't need to know about his problems and definitely did not care. Looking up reluctantly, he saw the man frowning back down at him.
"Look-".
"I'm sorry-".
Both men stopped, looking at each other again and Mike bit his lip uncomfortably before speaking up again, "I'm sorry for getting you in my mess, but you're right there are other options they're just a bit more difficult."
The man frowned a little bit more at that, "No, I'm sorry for getting in the middle of your business. If you'd like, I make sure the coast is clear and help walk you out of here?"
Mike smiled, nodding, "Yeah, that'd be great."
It ended up not mattering that the guy helped him out inside the hotel lobby because the moment he stepped outside the cops ended up detaining him.
"I don't know how you managed to escape us kid, but you're not doing it again." The cop in the suit had him pressed up against the wall, patting him down while the bellhop began to open his suitcase.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Please, I didn't do anything!" His jacket was already discarded and the cop began raking his hand's down Mike's body, taking a little too much time in certain areas than he should.
"Right, which is why you ran."
"I ran because two suspicious looking dude's were whispering behind my back and I thought you were kidnappers!"
"What are you, twelve?" The cop tugged Mike's shoes off, barely inspecting them for a second before tossing them off to the side. What a dick.
"Uh, hey Timmy?"
"What, you find something big?" The taller cop shoved Mike to the side as he came over to look at the suitcase only to find... nothing. Well not nothing, there were documents and pens inside of the suitcase but nothing that would get Mike persecuted, "What the hell?"
"What are you, a lawyer?"
Mike, not exactly wanting to get sued later for impersonating a lawyer but also wanting to get away with, decided to just not say anything. Suddenly, he spotted a business card laying next to his suit jacket- did it come out of his pocket? He went to reach for it but before he got a chance to investigate, the taller cop picked it up, clearly noticing it at the same time Mike had.
"...We gotta let him go." The man flashed the business card to the shorter cop who immediately paled at what was on it. The taller cop grabbed Mike's suit jacket, freeing it of any dust and politely held it out to Mike, "I'm sorry for the mix up, sir."
Mike awkwardly took the jacket and shrugged it on, fixing up his tie to go with it, "It's fine, misunderstandings happen. Can I have my things back now?" The cop in front of him hurriedly gave back the business card, while the shorter man reorganized the things in the suitcase and shut it, handing it over to Mike like it held the secrets of the Universe.
"I swear I barely even read anything in there! I have a terrible memory, and I'm awfully stupid!"
"What my partner means to say, is that we're profoundly sorry for bothering you and I hope that you and your boss are forgiving gentlemen."
Mike raised a brow at that but sighed, "Well there's nothing I can do about it now. Luckily I just finished meeting with a client but I really needed to get on the bus that just left... Now I'll end up late for work. Have a good evening gentlemen." Mike turned to leave, internally wondering what the hell just happened and looking down at the business card that turned out to be his saving grace.
"Wait, sir! Maybe we could give you a ride to work? With the sirens on! And we'll even apologize to your boss personally!"
Mike paused for a minute, not turning around just yet as he read the card in his hands:
Harvey Specter
Corporate Attorney
Pearson-Hardman Law Firm
Oh. Mike had a feeling he knew exactly who this. Tightening his expression as to look at annoyed but polite as possible, he turned around and with a resigned sigh and replied, "Alright, do you happen to know your way to the Pearson-Hardman Law firm?"
Walking into the firm felt surreal. Everything was huge and fancy, and everything Mike wanted but could never get. He just barely managed to get the cops to fuck off so they wouldn't follow him in, which would definitely go badly seeing as he didn't even know what the hell he was doing here.
Was the man in the bathroom he had ran into actually Harvey Specter? He sure as hell hoped so, or asking for his suitcase full of weed was about to be a hell of a lot weirder. Of course, asking for his suitcase full of weed at a law firm was already weird as hell. But then again, that is assuming that this Harvey Specter purposefully switched their suitcases and gave Mike his business card as a free get out of jail card- although Mike was the one who picked up his suitcase first right? So maybe all he did was give Mike his business card? But also- Mike looked down at the heavy suitcase his his hand, it definitely felt and looked fancier than his own, Mike not realizing due to the adrenaline and panic made sense, but Harvey?
He really didn't know what was happening, but regardless he couldn't help his nerves getting the better of him as he walked up to the receptionist's desk.
"Excuse me? I-"
"One second." Despite it only being a passing glance, the receptionist looked like she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, and the longer Mike was even breathing the same air as her the more she would get infected with the scent of poor. Or maybe that was just his insecurities talking.
The woman sat there typing on her computer for another couple of minutes while Mike stood there awkwardly like an idiot. After another minute, he decided to speak up to which she looked surprise that he was still there, then annoyed. Very, very annoyed.
"Do you need something?"
"Um, yeah, I'm looking for Harvey Specter? Is he... here?"
She looked up at him in shock, with even the other receptionists getting quiet for a second before resuming their previous tasks- attention still on him regardless. The receptionist gave him another once over, and pursed her lips to keep her not so subtle opinions on the inside.
"Do you have an appointment."
"Um, no, but he's kind of expecting me? I think?" Mike shifted awkwardly, making a mental note to kill Trevor the moment he got back home.
"Right." She typed something else on her computer, before sighing and gesturing behind her, go straight back, make a right, you'll see a woman with red hair. Her name is Donna."
Mike waited for a moment, about to ask what the hell that had to do with Harvey Specter, but the look the woman gave him told him she was done with him the moment he even walked into the building. With nothing else to go off of, Mike headed off to find Donna.
"Excuse me? Are you Donna?"
A gorgeous woman with fiery red hair and a 'no bullshit' attitude looked up at him. She didn't have the same air of arrogance as the receptionist from before, but Mike could tell he really shouldn't get on her bad side unless he hated his life.
"Depends, whose asking?"
"My name is Mike Ross, I'm here to see Harvey Specter and I was told to find you?"
Donna raised a perfectly manicured brow, placing her elbow on the table and her face in her hand as she smirked down at him- yes, technically she was looking up at him, but she was most certainly looking down at him at the same time, "Do you have an appointment?"
"Uh, no-"
"Then why are you here?"
"I um, " Mike sighed. He really didn't do well with intimidating women, "I have his... stuff?" He awkwardly raised his hand to show off the suitcase, well aware of just how meek he sounded.
Donna grinned, clearly enjoying herself, "How did you get a hold of Harvey Specter's suitcase?"
"It's kind of a long story-"
"I have time." Her eyes were sparkling with mischief, as if saying 'Whatever you tell me I will use to make someone's life hell'.
"I-"
"And so do you."
Mike blushed, not wanting to tell this random woman that he switched suitcases with Harvey on accident after running from the cops, but also knew she wouldn't be satisfied unless Mike told her the truth.
Luckily, he was spared from making that decision as a hand landed on his shoulder, making him jump damn near 10 feet into the air, "There you are."
A familiar, deep voice came from behind him, and Mike turned around to once again come face to face with the attractive older man. Mike's eyes darted down to see his- Trevor's- suitcase in the man- Harvey's- hand.
"And here I thought you were gonna be late, what took you so long." Harvey raised a brow looking down at the boy, his very handsome face a little too close to Mike's.
"Aww Harvey, I was just getting to the good part."
"You scaring the crap out of him."
"Is it my fault he's intimidated by a beautiful woman?"
Harvey smirked, hand squeezing Mike's shoulder firmly as he answered, "No, it's every man's wet dream." Mike's blush deepened, suddenly regretting even waking up this morning.
He started to lead Mike away as Donna replied, "I better get the full story from you later." Harvey grinned but didn't bother responding.
Mike was gently shoved in his seat, still too flustered to speak for himself.
"I'm surprised you managed to get away from the cops, I thought for sure you'd end up calling me to get you out of jail."
Despite his deep embarrassment and confusion of the whole situation, Mike managed to reply, "I almost did, your card fell out of my pocket and the suitcase-". Mike startled himself as he remembered the suitcase, he hurriedly handed it over to Harvey who gave him a raised eyebrow in response, "I grabbed your suitcase by mistake- I mean it ended up helping me get away from the cops since they didn't see what I actually had or I would've been screwed, but seriously I hope I didn't get you in trouble or anything."
"Luckily I was smart enough not to open it in public." Harvey grabbed his suitcase from Mike, and handed the boy his soon after, "Although, I can't lie and say I'm not still curious to find out exactly what crime I'm helping commit."
Mike rolled his eyes, the embarrassment not getting any worse but also not wearing off, "I think I've made it pretty clear the less you know the better, all right? I got set up, and I'll never do this again."
Mike stood, hastily, hitting the suitcase on the edge of the desk and pushing the chair away as he did so.
"Kid-"
Mike didn't bother waiting, shaking his head and moving towards the door in a hurry, "Look, I've gotta go alright, I just-"
He sighed, taking a deep breath to calm himself and turning to look Harvey in the eyes. He seemed resigned, as though already having accepted the hopelessness of an impossible situation.
"You met me at a very strange time in my life." With a small smile, Mike turned back towards the door, taking calm and confident strides. That was, until, his suitcase popped open revealing bags and bags of weed which now were strewn out all over Harvey's office door.
Mike spared a passing glance at the wide eyed look at Donna before turning to see the highly amused look of Harvey.
"All right fight club, you think you can talk now?"
Harvey laughed, "I can't believe it, smart enough to know they were cops based off of some novel you read back in elementary school, but couldn't figure out how to escape them?"
Mike grinned, his weed filled suitcase neatly packed up by his feet as he laid back in the chair across from Harvey's, "What can I say? I got real lucky running into you. Seriously, I can't believe the whole switching suitcases thing was an accident!"
"I can, you're the one who ran face first into me, after attempting to escape the cops by running into the bathroom might I add, and decided to grab the wrong suitcase."
"It's not my fault! They look exactly the same!"
"Right, except one is the most expensive leather you've ever felt in your life, and the other is clearly dry rotting from the thrift store shelf it's been sitting on from the past 5 years."
Mike rolled his eyes, and fond smile on his lips as the words, "Yeah well, try getting an adrenaline rush after running for your life, I bet ever you will forget the difference between fancy leather and poor people leather."
"Doubt it, but I wouldn't need to run from the cops anyway, lawyer, remember?"
Mike scoffed, and decided to take a moment to really soak in the beauty of Harvey's office. It was nice, the records, furniture, signed sports balls, the view... Mike stood, walking over the basketballs and pointing at one, "Are these legit?"
Harvey rolled his eyes, "Obviously, I wouldn't fake something that priceless."
His eyes caught something, and mike picked up the one allegedly signed by Michael Jordan, "Seriously? You met Michael Jordan?"
"In the flesh."
"That is so cool." Mike excitedly looking around the rest of the office, "Your office is so cool dude, I can only imagine just how long it took you to get to this point." He hopped up onto the windowsill, back against the window and one leg hanging over the edge while the other was crossed in front of him.
"Yeah, all you have to do is pass the bar is work your ass off for a few years."
"Well I did the first one."
Harvey raised a brow, Mike looked wistfully out the window and clearly was not going to elaborate without prompting.
"You passed the bar?"
Mike turned to look at him, as if just now realizing he had said that out loud, "Uh, yeah. A few times actually. Some dickhead bet me I couldn't so... yeah."
"Really?" Harvey stood, walking until he stood a few paces in front of Mike and tilting his head in confusion, "Then why not do something with it? Become a lawyer, work your way up? I'm sure you could get $25k in no time."
Something passed over Mike's face, as though he just remembered his money troubles and it instantly made Harvey feel guilty for bringing it up, "I was in school..." He turned back out to look at the window, pain and embarrassment highlighting his features, "I got a full ride scholarship to every Ivy league school and I was going to go to Harvard but-"
Mike wiped his hand over his face, taking in a deep breath and looking at Harvey again, "My best friend, Trevor, he convinced me to go to a local community college near us instead. Insisted I didn't need a big fancy law degree to become a lawyer, that staying close to him and my grandma was better. Then, he convinced me to start selling scores- homework, test, whatever. And I did, and I was damn good at it, made a ton of money easily. But I fucked up when I took a bar for the Dean's daughter, he was pissed and expelled me. I figured with that on my record i wasn't getting into anything else."
He shrugged it off like it didn't bother him, "For a while I kept it legal, paper boy and all that, but my grandma is getting older and sicker, I needed the money and Trevor convinced me to sell. He said it was just a one time thing, I'd do it once, get the money, and never again. I should've known better than to trust him at this point."
Harvey's brows furrowed, Mike clearly had a lot of potential, but this kid, this best friend of his? He was only weighing Mike down.
"You're telling me you took the bar several times and passed each time?"
Mike nodded, smiling solemnly, "Yeah, they'd tell me their grade averages in school and I'd tell them exactly what score I'd get for them."
Harvey paused, taking a moment to examine the boy in front of him, the kid seemed average, less than really. Clearly underprivileged, and could probably afford to eat something. Despite that, he was cute and held potential to be something more than what he was. Harvey headed to his desk and gestured for Mike to follow.
"What if I could get you in?"
"In... to Harvard?"
Harvey smirked, leaning back in his chair and looking up to Mike who sat at the edge of his desk, "Yes, full ride scholarship and everything."
Mike grinned, excitement written all over his face, "Are you kidding? That would be-" Just as suddenly as it appeared, Mike's excitement was gone, instead replaced with worry, "That would be great but, I really need to focus on working, for my grandma. Sure through school I'd get money later but-"
"I'll pay for your grandmother's care."
Mike's eyes snapped to his, searching for any hint of a lie, hesitantly the boy asked, "Why? Why would want to help me?"
"I don't." Harvey shrugged, amused at Mike's confused expression, "Not unless you can help me."
As if expecting this, Mike looked resigned, "What do you want me to do?"
"For now? Prove it, prove just how smart you are."
Mike looked at his desk, "That's a Barberry legal handbook right? Read any line from any page and I'll tell you what the rest of it says."
Harvey scoffed, but picked up the book and flipped to a random page, "-Civil liability associated with agency is based on several factors including the deviation-"
"deviation of the agent from his path a reasonable inference of agency on behalf of the plaintiff and the nature of the damages themselves."
"How do you know all that?"
"I learned it, when I studied for the bar"
Harvey smirked, opening up his laptop and standing to give Mike the chair, "Okay hotshot, fire up this laptop I'm gonna show you what a Harvard attorney can do." He walked around the desk as Mike got seated, "Pick a topic."
"Stock option backdating."
"Although back dating options is legal violations arise related to disclosures under IRC section 409a."
"You forgot about Sarbanes-Oxley."
"Statute of limitations render Sarbanes-Oxley moot to post 2007."
"Well not if you can find actions to cover up the violation as established in the Sixth Circuit May 2008."
Harvey rolled his eyes, "That's impressive but you're sitting at a computer."
Mike looked up at him, turning the laptop around, "Playing hearts." He pushed the laptop closed, leaning back with a far too cocky expression, "Sorry, if you want to beat me you're gonna have to do it at something else."
Harvey's brows furrowed, even if Mike is smart enough to pass the bar several times, actually memorizing all fo these little details despite never practicing was...
"How can you know all that?"
"I told you I like to read, and once I read something I understand it, and once I understand it. I never forget it."
Mike shrugged, "I have an eidetic memory."
"So no matter what subject you want to study, you can do it easily?"
"Pretty much."
"Then why law?" Harvey leaned against the desk in front of Mike, their earlier positions now swapped.
"I don't know, I guess it's interesting? Gives me a challenge other careers really don't. Sure i can easily memorize things, but I still need to puzzle them together."
"Why not become a doctor?"
Mike's face scrunched up in the cutest way, making Harvey's heart flutter, "I mean I did study for that, passed a couple of exams, but the person I'm interested in taking care of is my grandma."
Harvey smiled, loving just how casually this kid can admit to passing two of the hardest exams in the world- multiple times.
"Alright fine, you've impressed me. Now how about we get you set up in Harvard?"
It wasn't easy, Harvey ended up making several calls, and even more to make sure Jessica didn't find out about this, but ultimately it worked out. Mike would be attending Harvard law school this fall on a full ride scholarship, and even an additional fund to pay for books. Although admittedly, there was enough money in there to buy a little bit more than just school supplies. Not for the first time, Mike pushed away thoughts that said he didn't deserve this.
The moment he got back to his apartment, Mike did exactly what Harvey asked and got rid of all of his weed, with the exception of the suitcase that got him into this mess. He didn't know why, but he had a strong feeling he needed to keep it on him. Gathering a bunch of old pizza boxes he honestly should've thrown away, Mike hid the suitcase full of weed in the oven and covered them in the boxes. He sat on the ground for a minute considering if he should just get rid of it, but how does one inconspicuously get rid of that much fucking weed? Not for the first time, he hate Trevor for putting him in this position.
He easily blocked Trevor's number but hesitated when it came to Jenny's, she was a good friend and really didn't deserve to be blocked with no notice. Instead, he sent a quick text apologizing but asking for some space for a while. Even though he didn't say why, he knew she'd know this was about Trevor.
Afterwards, he cleaned himself up and went to go see his grandmother. If anyone deserved to know he finally getting to do something with his life it was her.
Mike stood outside of her door, bouquet if flowers in one hand and his letter of acceptance in another. She was now in the nursing home she deserved, with several other residents, she had 24/7 care and enough personal space to make her happy. He still couldn't believe that running into some guy in a suit made this happen.
Gathering his nerves, he knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for a response. Mike spotted a young woman sitting across from his grandmother, likely her caretaker, the two of them playing chess together with low music playing in the background.
Mike smiled, only hours after his grandmother had moved to private care and she already looked to be at home, "Hi grandma."
Edith smiled, turning to her caregiver and asking her to leave them be for a moment. After a brief introduction, and a very sincere thank you from Mike, the young woman left and Mike happily took her spot in their game of chess.
"How are you today, dear? It's not everyday you come visit me, and with flowers no less."
Mike blushed, embarrassment crawling up his neck as he handed over the flowers, "Sorry grandma, I didn't mean to be so negligent I just-"
"I know, it's alright. But Mike," she took his hand firmly, a stern look in her eye, "I need to know where you got this money."
"Gran-"
"I would've been fine under state care, but I can't live here if you did something wrong to get it."
Mike sighed, telling her every detail of how he got here. How yes, initially he did screw up by taking Trevor's offer to get him the money, but in the end he managed to turn his life around and even blocked Trevor from his life.
His grandmother sat patiently and listened to everything he had to say, it was clear she wasn't exactly happy with him at first, but by the end she was smiling.
"Well then, this Mr. Specter sounds like just the right person you needed to get your life on track."
Mike laughed, "Honestly yeah, I'm just so lucky I managed to run into him when I did."
Seriously, if anything bad happened to his grandmother just because he couldn't get his shit together, he'd hate himself for the rest if his life. Mike shifted uncomfortably, the thought making something click in the back of his mind. She had given him so much and Mike kept fucking it up for Trevor of all people. Never again, she deserved to have someone who puts her first.
"Mhmm, I'd like to meet this man sometime. This man who 'changed your life'." She winked, and Mike's face heated immediately.
"I don't-"
"I know, I know, I'm sure it's not quite time for that yet, but hopefully soon."
"Grandma-"
"Before I die."
"Grammy-"
Edith fake coughed and Mike rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Grammy, you're not dying, and he's not my boyfriend."
"You're words, not mine."
"Grandma!"
Suffice to say his trip to see his grandmother went well, despite how embarrassing it ended up being. For some reason he didn't really think that he convinced her that Harvey Specter put an investment in his future because he was smart and not because... yeah.
Mike goes home hours later, with promises to return soon. In a way he feels lost, typically stressing over bills or trying to get more hours or smoking if he could. Instead, he had to find something new to fill the time.
Mike opened up his laptop, checking the time to decide if staying up was worth it. 10:32? Not bad. He searched for Harvey Specter first: Everything from the man's personal life to his career and education history he read, learned, and memorized. Then he looked up Pearson-Hardman. Then several of the man's colleagues: Donna, Jessica, Louis and all of the name partners. He learned what makes them tick, what they hate, their successes and failures, and anything he could find..
Then he checked out Harvard: What classes did he need to pass? What are their topics and how strict are the teachers? By 3 am, Mike had managed to lay out a definitive plan of everything he needed to succeed in the Fall. Sure, he could just wait until class starts to learn normally- but if he studied for the classes ahead of time, learned all of the content he needed to know, he could just focus on his extracurriculars when he did get into school. Based on his past he could use all the help he could get.
When he finally finished, he couldn't help but feel uncontrollably happy. He was going to Harvard. He had a full ride scholarship to Harvard and was going to become a lawyer. Without even thinking about it, Mike pulled out his phone and pulled up Trevor's contact, only to hesitate when he remembered they weren't supposed to be speaking. He couldn't call his grandmother right now, and he couldn't contact Jenny without talking to Trevor as well...
Hesitantly, Mike pulled up Harvey's contact. They hadn't message one another yet, just exchanged information because, 'If you ever need anything at all, don't hesitate to reach out and ask.'. And technically sharing how happy he was right now was probably not what Harvey meant, but right now he needs to share his joy and Harvey did say anything.
Before he could back out, Mike sent a quick text to the man.
Mike:
hey, I know this is kind of out of no where but srsly dude thank you for helping me get my life on track (3:08)
Mike:
you have no idea how grateful I am (3:08)
He was about to put his phone away, not expecting a response and definitely not at this time, but regardless he soon received a buzz and Mike rushed to check his phone.
Harvey:
How well do you think staying up until 3 am will work in school? (3:09)
Mike couldn't help the grin that came over him, sprawling himself all over his couch and quickly replying.
Mike:
probably well, I bet it'd mean I was dedicated to studying (3:09)
Harvey:
Or that you're bad at basic time management. (3:11)
Harvey:
I hope you didn't put that on your resume. (3:11)
Mike:
and y are u up this late mr hotshot lawyer? (3:12)
Harvey:
You just said it, hotshot lawyer. I have cases to complete and clients to satisfy (3:13)
A rush of heat went south as Mike imagined Harvey satisfying his clients. He closed his eyes, urging the completely inappropriate thoughts to leave. Suddenly, his grandmother's voice calling Harvey his boyfriend popped into his head, doing nothing to help his embarrassment but luckily managed to be a boner killer.
Biting his lip, Mike forced himself to not flirt with this man who he was pretty sure was straight.
Mike:
sounds like ur kinda bad at time management (3:20)
Mike:
might help if you had an associate to help you (3:21)
Mike anxiously watched 3 dots appear then disappear over the next couple minutes, it was a long shot but helping Harvey out now would put him well above his future classmates.
Harvey:
Do well in school and I bet you'll have a straight track to working for Pearson-Hardman. (3:35)
He smiled, imagining what it be like to work as an associate for Harvey Specter.
Mike:
under you? (3:36)
And god did that text have implications.
Harvey:
You really think you're that good? (3:37)
Harvey:
Go to sleep kid, school may not be until September but you need to learn good habits now. (3:39)
Harvey:
Did you do everything I told you to? (3:39)
Mike:
yeah, Trevor is blocked, weed is destroyed, grandma is informed (3:40)
Harvey:
Good, you like her new place? (3:40)
Mike:
it's great, they really have everything in there (3:40)
Mike:
srsly dude thank you for everything (3:41)
Mike:
idk how I'll ever repay you (3:41)
Though he could think of a few things.
Harvey:
Do well in school, and get your shit together. (3:43)
Mike has to force himself to not bite straight through his lip. He scrolled back to the top of the messages, re-reading everything and overanalyzing each one. Maybe Harvey does like him? Or maybe he's overthinking? By the time he puts his phone down it's well past 4 am and Mike knows he needs to get to bed.
But despite that, he still goes to bed dreaming of Harvey Specter.