Bright afternoon sunlight filter through the large windows of one Harvey Specter's office. On the streets down below twelve o'clock traffic slowly made its way through the busy New York Streets. Outside of the glass walls of Harvey's office Donna sat eating her lunch, trying but failing to pretend that she wasn't watching her boss closely. Down the hall hear Louis Litt was scolding one of the associates like they were a puppy who peed on the rug. Life as usual
But inside Harvey Specter's office, the best closer in New York sat seething, checking his watch every couple of minutes. Resisting the urge to bounce his foot in impatience. Jaw clenched, he reached toward the phone for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning.
Outside at her desk Donna winced as she watched him punch the buttons on the poor phone.
Mike was in so much trouble.
Inside Harvey's office he was once again listening to Mike Ross' voice mail telling him how he was so sorry to have missed him but to leave a message. The other five hadn't helped why would number six?
Irritation bubbling in his chest he gritted his teeth and stabbed at the end button, dropping the phone back to his desk with an angry thud.
His associate, this smart ass kid who knew exactly how smart he really was and how to use that to his own advantage, the one who Harvey saw a more than a little of himself in- though he'd never admit it- the one his had put everything on the line for, his job his life, was late. Again.
Now he's not talking late as in ten or fifteen minutes- oh no, no, no, Mike was over four hours late. And to top it off Harvey hadn't heard from him since the night before when the damn kid had promised that he would be on time for once in his life.
Harvey considered himself a lot of things but he knew one of those thing was never going to be patient, but he had given the kid a hundred chances and it felt like he'd let him down each and every time. So he had every right to the anger that burned in his chest.
And despite everything Harvey had done for the kid, Mike was ignoring his calls.
Donna had called. He, himself, had taken time out of his busy schedule and called! Hell if the kid didn't have a damn good reason for being so late and not answering the phone it would soon be HR calling to let him know he was fired.
Each time it had gone straight to voice mail, which told him that not only had Mike not shown up to work but he had known they would call and cut his phone off so that he didn't have to answer. Something that every associate knew not to due. You never know when you're needed at the office. There was no other explanation, Mike always answered his calls.
Anger boiled in his stomach as Harvey stood and crossed the room to stare down at the million dollar view of the city, his cell phone once again pressed to his ear.
"Hi, you've reached Mik-"
Harvey hit end before he had to listen to that same damn message for the fifty first time and had to curb the urge to sling his phone.
"Maybe you should go to his place and check and make sure he's okay."Donna spoke, startling him.
Turning he saw her leaning against the door, arms crossed. A slight frown the only indication of the worry she felt.
She raised an eyebrow at him when he just looked at her.
"No," he said as he crossed over to his desk, shaking his finger, "No he is a grown man, a grown man who's screw ups I've had to fix multiple times by the way. He shouldn't need someone to come wake him up after a bender like he's a child. He should be responsible enough to come to work when he has to. Not only is he putting his own job at stake but he's also messing with mine, and I do not take kindly to being messed with."
"You seem to be forgetting that while he may have screw up from time to time he's also saved your ass on a few cases as well. Not only that, but he's the best damn associate this firm has, whether he went to Harvard or not." She whispered harshly as she closed the door in case anyone decided to eavesdrop.
"He's four hours late, Donna. I should fire him. I am going to fire him. I'll have to because if I don't Jessica is going to get a hold of him"
Crossing over to him, she leaned on his desk frowning at him.
"That may be true but you could at least see if some thing's wrong. Mike has never been this late. And say you are right, then what? Are you going to, hire one of Louis' lackeys? The ones you swear can't find there way out of a wet paper bag with a map on a good day?" She asked, gesturing behind her to where they could see a curly haired associate getting chewed out by Louis for having just dropped a pile of files on the floor.
The boy looked close to tears as he scrambled to pick up the files.
The scene gave Harvey little pause.
"Yes, because at least they're all too scared to be late or question me! Why are you defending him anyway?"
"Because he's good for you. He challenges you. He makes you better."
"No he doesn't." He denied. "I'm Harvey Scepter, the best damn closer this city has ever seen with of without someone trying to give me a moral compass."
Donna gave him a dubious look that basically told him what she thought of that before picking up the phone he'd thrown down on his desk. She shoved it at his chest before walking away.
"Call again. If he doesn't answer, go find him."
He thought of making a comment about how he doesn't have to listen to his secretary and that he was the boss not her, but he decided against it- he knew it wouldn't be good for his health to make such a comment- and gave in and dialed Mike's number once again.
"Hi, you've reached Mike Ross. Sorry I missed your call, Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
The anger and irritation he had been feeling for the last few hours boiled over hearing that damn message played in his ear again and his self restraint snapped.
"Oh, you're sorry that you missed my call, are you!?" Harvey spit at the phone, acid coating his tone. "How's this for sorry? You're fired! Don't even bother coming to pick up your stuff, because while I'm sure there's nothing important there anyway, the firm will just have the crap shipped to you."
He gave a sharp laugh, "You know Mike, I have given you so many chances and one after another you have disappointed me like no other person I've ever seen! It's amazing! I've had people coming at me from left, right, and center telling me how I should fire you, that you'd never make the lawyer you have to be to survive in this firm but I have stood by you, let the fact that I put my job on the line for you cloud my judgment and ignored how much of a screw up you are. Hell, you couldn't even do a simple patent right! You like to rant on about how much I really care, but you couldn't even care a little about how much I've put of the line for you. And now? Now I'm done. I thought I could make something out of you but even the great Harvey Scepter must admit defeat on this one. So congratulations Mike you're my one failure. I hope you have a fun life of drugs and alcohol because that's all you'll amount to in life. And-"
"Harvey, enough!" Donna's voice came from the other side of the room.
Looking over, he found Donna staring at him horrified. Eyes wide, mouth agape, she looked at him as if she'd never seen him before.
He looked back down at the phone, hitting end before looking back at her. He didn't need that to go on the voice mail.
"What?" He asked sitting down in his chair and dropping the phone.
His heart pounded and he felt lighter having gotten that off his chest, even if his stomach twisted in a way he was going to ignore.
Donna just stared at him for a minute opening and closing her mouth, at a lose for words.
"I-I have never heard you be so unnecessary cruel outside of the court room. This isn't some deal that you have to dog the clients to close, Harvey. This is Mike, someone until a few minutes ago I thought was your friend?"
"I'm not here to be the kids friend, I'm here to be his boss. And a boss would do exactly what I just did."
"No a boss would simply fire him. A boss wouldn't kick right where it hurts when he does it."
"If they were a lawyer they would, and I did."
"I never thought you were the bastard that everyone thinks you are, but in this instance, I think maybe I was wrong" She said quietly, shaking her head at him before going back to her desk, cursing the fact that you couldn't slam the doors in this office.
For the rest of the day Donna didn't talk to Harvey. She did her job like she normally would, bring him important files for the case he was working, directing his calls and the like but she would do so without the usual happy banter they shared. The only time she would speak to him was when she had to.
Harvey, himself, was growing frustrated.
Mike should have called back already. That had been the plan after all. Call Mike, make him feel guilty, have him call Harvey back to try and talk his way back in, and Harvey would. But not without a show of reluctance. He'd work out a way to keep this from getting to Jessica later. Or so he told himself after he thought back on everything he said.
Thinking about it, he realized that Donna was right and no matter what Mike had going on the kid would always answer his phone when Harvey called, and he never usually turned his phone off. It was strange.
Harvey was just getting ready to cave and head over to Mike's house when the phone rang, caller id letting him know it was Mike.
He glared at the screen before answering it. So the kid had been ignoring them. And here he was beginning to worry.
"I thought I pretty much made myself clear about you not contacting me again. You see that's what you do when you get fired. You don't contact your old boss."
"I'm sorry sir, but do you happen to know a Mike Ross?" Came the voice across the phone, which was definitely not his associates.
"...Yes?"
"While it sounds like you're not very happy with him at the moment, I am legal obligated to inform anyone in the emergency contacts of his phone that he has been in an accident and is in the hospital. Do you happen to know anyone else that we should inform sir?"
Shock struck through him. Of all the possible reasons for Mike to have been late, this wasn't one he had considered.
"What do you mean he was in an accident? When?"
The word accident had Donna out of her seat and into the room in no time flat. Sometimes he was extremely thankful she always listened in because he didn't think he could listen to the person on the other end of the line. The only thing he could hear was the ringing in his ears and the suddenly loud sound of his own heart.
Thankfully Donna grabbed the phone before it could slip through his hand.
An accident, oh God the things I said on his voice mail. Harvey thought to himself. What if he had heard it and came rushing to the office? What if he was dying? What if those were the last words he heard from Harvey? No you can't think like that. Think positively he's in the hospital he's not dying, he just got hurt and wasn't able to call. Oh God. Of all the possibilities, all the circumstances, Mike being hurt so badly that he couldn't call them and let them know was never an option in his brain.
Guilt and panic seized in his chest.
The next few minutes passed without him paying any attention to what Donna was saying to the person on the phone.
It seemed like hours had passed when a hand waved in front of his face a few times and Donna's worried voice filled his ears.
"Harvey? Harvey?!" She repeated shaking his shoulder, but couldn't get him to focus on her.
He finally came back to himself when she slapped him across the face.
"Wha- You hit your boss, I could fire you for that." He sputtered the first thing that came to mind.
She took the time to glare at him before speaking.
"Yeah you've been real good at that lately. Listen-" She said as he went to interrupt, "Mike has been in an accident, a car hit him on his way to work this morning- We all knew that bike was dangerous. He's alive but there not to sure how long that will last, the doctor said that the only thing he could tell me was that Mike's in really bad shape."
"How long has he been there? What hospital is he in?" He asked as the need for action hit him and he jumped up, grabbing his things, calling for Ray to be there when he got to ground level.
Donna rattled off the information as she hurried to keep up with his trek to the elevator.
He had just pushed the button when Donna called his name, bringing his attention back to her.
"Harvey, if he survives this you're going to have a lot of explaining and apologizing to do when he hears that voice mail." She looked unsympathetic as she said it. He knew she wouldn't be forgiving him any time soon. He couldn't say he blamed her.
"I know," He told her as the elevator doors closed.
