One Flight Down
Chapter One
Harvey walked down the street with Mike. They had left the office to get coffee together since they weren't able to spend as much time together working on cases.
"Admit it." Mike smiled. "You miss me."
"I'm not admitting shit." Harvey laughed. "Did you ever think that maybe I'm glad you aren't around to ogle Rachel all the time?"
"I didn't ogle Rachel all the time when we worked together." Mike protested.
He looked over and raised his eyebrow. "Oh really? You really think I didn't know about all the times you two snuck off together to do God only knows what in the office?"
Mike laughed. "You never said anything about knowing."
"I figured I would allow it as long as you didn't cost me winning cases." He laughed.
"Fair enough I guess."
It was nice to be able to joke around with Mike again after the drama of having him face trial for being a fraud, going to jail and then everything that had to happen to get him out of jail. Now that Mike was finally able to be a real, bona fide lawyer it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders. He never realized how much of a weight was on his shoulders and how much guilt he felt about hiring Mike without him having a true law degree until now.
He was amazed they were able to get Mike out of prison and into the bar for real. He was also surprised that the scandal didn't make the firm crumble.
He was about to say something else and taunt Mike some more when someone caught his eye. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the woman who was standing on the corner of the street. She was about fifty feet away from him. Her phone was pressed to her ear. She looked like she was in a deep conversation with the person on the other end.
Although he hadn't seen her in two decades, there was no denying it was her. Her blonde hair was cut shorter than he was used to seeing, but her face still looked the same. Somehow she had managed to look like she hadn't aged a single day since high school. She was still beautiful.
Mike cleared his throat. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." He replied.
"Really? Because you are staring at that woman and you look like you have seen a ghost."
He looked at his friend and shook his head before turning his attention back on the woman. "I thought…I think I know that woman." He subtly pointed.
"It wouldn't surprise me." Mike laughed. "You've been with a lot of women in this city. Do we have to take the long way back to the office to avoid her?"
"Very funny." He looked over at Mike. "But no…at least I don't think so." When he turned back to look at the woman again, she was getting into a car.
He had thought about approaching her, checking to see if it really was her or if his mind was just playing tricks on him. But now that was no longer an option since she was speeding away from him.
"Who did you think that was?" Mike asked.
"It's not important." Harvey shook it off before starting to walk again. He must have been seeing things. There was no reason for her to be in the city. While he didn't know why, his mind was clearly playing tricks on him.
"Obviously it is because you look like you have seen a ghost."
"Just drop it." He demanded.
"Fine." Mike sighed.
"Let's get back to the office." He commanded. The likelihood that it was her was low. He wasn't even sure why she popped into his mind to begin with. His memories of her weren't something that crept into his mind often. Usually he only thought about her when he was feeling low and particularly sentimental. But he was determined to let it go. He didn't need the distraction right now.
"You wanted to see me, boss?" Victoria asked as she entered Robert Zane's office.
"Yes." Robert nodded, motioning for her to come and sit down.
"What's up?" She sat down across from him.
"I have a case that I need you to handle." He handed her the folder.
"Sure." She opened it up and skimmed it. "This seems pretty straight forward though. You usually only give me the difficult ones. Am I missing something here? Is there some twist I'm unaware of?"
"Rachel is working on this case on the other side." He explained.
"Oh." She now understood why he was giving it to her. He didn't want to have to go up against his daughter again. After what happened the last time, she understood his hesitation. "I see."
"I would appreciate it if you could handle this one for me."
"Of course." She nodded. Although she was trying to convey an air of confidence, she was nervous about this case. Rachel was still at Pearson Specter Litt. That was with Harvey's firm. She had been in New York City and working for Robert Zane for two years now.
In that time she had somehow managed to avoid running into Harvey, and it was something she had become proud of lately. It was almost like a game to see how long they could exist in the same profession and the same city without bumping into each other. She considered herself the winner.
But it seemed like that winning streak could end with this case.
"Is there anything else?" She asked.
"No." Robert shook his head. "Just know that I won't fault you if you lose this one. In the folder is what the client is willing to pay for a settlement. It's ok if you can't get her to go lower than that."
"Good to know." She said, standing up. "But you should know by now that I don't back down from a good fight. I'll get the settlement reduced."
He laughed. "I do know that. And that's why I poached you from your firm in Chicago."
Harvey sat in his office that night, trying to concentrate on the case in front of him. But his thoughts kept going back to the woman he saw on the street corner earlier. She looked so much like Victoria. He was mostly convinced it was Victoria. But it was also possible that he was seeing things. There were billions of people on this planet. The likelihood of it being his old high school girlfriend were slim.
Still…
Ever since he returned to the office he couldn't stop his thoughts from going to her. It had been a while since he thought this much about her. Every once in a while, after a few drinks, he would think about her. He would wonder where she was and if she was happy. He would think about their relationship and how unfair he was to her when they broke up.
He would think about having Vanessa find her. But then he would remember the look on Victoria's face when they broke up…the tears that flowed down her cheeks. He would remember how selfish he was. It always stopped him from seeking her out.
Not knowing if that was really her that he saw on the street was driving him crazy. He opened up his web browser and typed in her name.
Victoria Sullivan
Millions of links popped up so he narrowed it down.
Victoria Sullivan New York City
That search generated less hits and he scrolled down until something caught his eye. It was a link to a website for Rand, Kaldor and Zane. He clicked it, watching as it loaded an employee page. Within moments he was staring at a picture of her. To the side of the picture was a very short bio.
Victoria Sullivan deals primarily in mergers and acquisitions, but is well-versed in all types of corporation lawsuits. She is admitted to practice in the State of New York and the State of Illinois. She is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association.
Ms. Sullivan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations with a minor in political science from Stanford. Afterwards she attended Stanford Law School, where she graduated at the top of her class.
Ms. Sullivan has been a Senior Partner at Rand, Kaldor and Zane since moving to New York City from Chicago in 2016.
After reading the bio, he stared at the picture. It was her. There was no doubt of it. But what he couldn't figure out was why she didn't reach out to him when she came to New York. She had been here for two years. If she was working with Zane's law firm, then she had to have known he was also in New York City. Robert had some deep ties to this firm and there was no way it didn't come up at some point in the conversation.
Her phone number was on the side of the website, underneath her picture. All he had to do to get answers was call her. But he found it difficult to do so. If he called her, he would have to explain how he got her phone number. And he really didn't want to admit that he had googled her.
So he closed his browser and shut his computer. He thought that closing the computer and not seeing her picture staring at him would help get her off his mind. But she was still invading his thoughts. He sighed and got up from the desk.
He poured himself a drink and then stood by the window. His thoughts went back to when he was in high school—more specifically a day during his junior year after baseball practice.
He exited the school later than most of his teammates because he had stayed later practicing his pitching with a teammate. He was surprised when he saw Victoria standing up against his car. He grinned as he approached her.
"Hey Vic."
"Hey." She smiled.
"You still waiting for me?" He knew that she had cheerleader practice at the same time he had baseball practice. Sometimes she went home after practice was over and sometimes she waited for him.
"Maybe." She bit her lip.
"You must have missed me." He teased.
"Maybe." She shrugged.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "I missed you."
"You do realize we see each other all day long, right? I mean, we have all of the same classes except one." She pointed out with a grin on her face.
"I know, and that class is my least favorite class ever." He leaned down and started to kiss her.
After a moment she pulled away. "Should we really be making out in the school parking lot? Are we really that cliché?"
He couldn't help but smile. "No. We aren't. So where would you like to go so we can make out?"
"What makes you think you are getting a piece of this today?" She asked, gesturing to herself.
"I think it because you have no willpower around me. You love me too much." He teased with a huge grin on his face.
"Oh I do love you. But no willpower?" She laughed. "I think you are confused. It's you who has no willpower around me because you love me too much."
"You may be right about that." He nodded, leaning in to whisper into her ear. "But I do know the one spot that makes you weak in the knees."
Her eyes got wide. "You wouldn't dare do that here."
"Wouldn't I?" He grinned, letting his hand move from her hip to her thigh.
"Harvey…" She issued a warning.
But he wasn't about to stop because there was still a smile on her face. He let his hand slowly move to her inner thigh. He was always grateful when she didn't change out of her cheerleader uniform because the short skirt and shorts gave him better access. He let his hand graze her, watching as she closed her eyes.
"See?" He whispered in her ear.
"You aren't the only one who knows a weak spot." She grinned, opening her eyes. "Now let's get out of here because I don't want give anyone a show."
He sighed as he finished his drink. Victoria was the first and only woman he was truly serious about. Although he had the on and off relationship with Scottie, he wasn't devastated when they were off—not like he was devastated after his relationship with Victoria ended. It was part of the reason he didn't let himself get too invested in relationships. He didn't want to feel that pain again.
