Author's Note: I categorized this under humor and romance but I believe no romance is complete without some amount of hurt/comfort. But that's not going to happen for a few more chapters. Please let me know if you like the plot and want me to continue. Cheers!

Chapter 1

Jessica Pearson walked tall across the office of Pearson-Hardman and stopped a few steps before the conference room where the senior-partners' meeting was about to take place. She walked tall because she always walked tall. And she felt even taller when her eyes fell on Harvey, seated comfortably at the head of the long table, looking amused and bored at the same time. Yes, she gave herself credit for the phenomenal lawyer that this man had turned into.

"Look at that! He did not make a run for it this time!" exclaimed Donna eyeing Harvey through the glass as she came and stood beside Jessica.

"Yes and we both know what that means." Jessica raised her eyebrows and gave her a questioning look, "What does he have on his mind this time?"

"Oh you have no idea! And why should I spoil the fun for you?!" Donna winked and then sighed dramatically "The things your wonder boy puts you through!"

When Donna spoke, Jessica listened; not for the touch of drama or sarcasm that quoted her words but for the vibe that her voice conveyed. Donna knew practically everything that went on in the firm. So if the managing-partner of the most successful law firm in the city wanted to know how her world was doing, all she had to do was be perceptive to Donna's remarks.

"The breezy manner in which you speak today means all is well with the world. In fact it may be rosier on the edges than usual." Jessica smiled at her and entered the conference room. She took on the persona of a queen ready to discuss the fate of her kingdom with her council of ministers.

The meeting was long and tedious. Harvey was the only one who remained unflustered by the amount of work they had to do in the coming week. His calm confidence and self-assuredness always set him apart and above all other partners of the firm.

"And now is your time. Make it short." Jessica turned expectantly to Harvey the moment everyone else had left the room.

"How did you know I wanted to talk about something?" He asked, knowing perfectly well how she knew.

"Because you make a dash for your office every time I am late to a meeting and you sit there tight till you are summoned back as the high-headed prince of the kingdom!" she smiled at Harvey and found him smirking as usual. "But today you waited here for twenty minutes without throwing your weight around."

"Now since you have already accepted that I am the prince of your kingdom, tell me what I need to do to get my name on the door?" he asked casually "You know other than making millions of money for the firm and roping in giant clients."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "You know I don't take well to bragging Harvey! And you also know that you will make name partner eventually. So why bring it up now?"

"It's not bragging if it's true. And who knows how long is eventually! I want it now." asserted Harvey.

"Okay Harvey listen to me. It doesn't matter if you are self-centered, arrogant, cocky and self-praising as a senior partner. But you cannot be like that as a name partner. Moreover you will have to position yourself as a visionary for the firm. You cannot just focus on how much money you make but also on how much others' do and how you can help them double it. You need to shrug off the nonchalance that is embedded in your personality and start caring about other employees. You need to provide mentorship to young associates who will be valuable to the firm later on. So eventually is when you are up for doing all that Harvey Specter is not about!"

"Harvey a Mr. Carter is waiting to see you and he is close to tears." said Donna bursting into the conference room.

"And what kind of sight is that?" he asked in all seriousness.

"Now behave Harvey!" warned Jessica. "I assume you are going with him to meet his father. Make sure he doesn't fight his way into trial. We need to settle on this case, going to trial might mean losing his entire stake in the business!"

"Have you forgotten that the L word doesn't exist in my dictionary?" Harvey got up and buttoned his coat.

"This isn't over." he mouthed staring Jessica in the eye before leaving.

On the way he filled Donna on the specifics of the case. "Mr Carter junior is our client and Mr. Carter senior owns the longest chain of schools for the deaf and dumb in the country. He may be a great philanthropist but his business acumen is nil. So when his son challenged his expansion strategy he threatened to cut him out completely, leading him to run to us.."

"And cry his heart out.." finished Donna. "Why does Jessica think he will fight his way into trial instead of settling peacefully?"

"Because he is a lot like Louis."

"Alright Harvey I may have to use contact lenses at times but I swear on my skimmed milk caramel coffee he doesn't look anything like a confounded rabbit!"

"I meant that he lets his emotions get the better of him!" explained Harvey shaking his head at his secretary. Thank god she wasn't boring like other secretaries and had a sense of humor.

Mr. Carter junior turned out to be a bigger cry baby than any of them had anticipated and Harvey began wondering if offering to ride together was a wise decision. Ray, however, was in no doubt that it was a stupid decision. He had been Harvey's chauffeur for ten years and had never been so disgusted with his choice of traveling companion. When Mr. Carter whimpered again, he swore to call in sick the next time Harvey had to ride with him.

"Joe seriously! enough now." said Harvey slightly annoyed. "We will fix this. Just make sure you don't anger the old man. We will convince him for peaceful negotiation."

"Oh he won't negotiate. You should have heard him Harvey! He will demand to take this thing to trial and not let me get a penny out of him!" Joe blew his nose hard.

"That's exactly why I am coming with you.. Come on Ray tell him!" They often did this when Harvey had to calm down a client but Ray was in no mood to humor him right now. "Ray?"

Oh very well! "Mr Carter you should know that Mr. Specter is a genius. He is always the smartest guy in the room. Trust me he can talk his way out of anything!"

Joe seemed stable by the time they reached their destination. "God this school building needs maintenance!" exclaimed Harvey scanning the building.

"Exactly what I told Dad. But no he would rather spend his money on modern technology that he knows nothing about! Anyway Harvey, he would be here in fifteen minutes. You can look around till then. I will go and talk to the staff. They are still loyal to me. Maybe some of them can cough up information that we could use."

"Great idea Joe! Call me when he is here."

Harvey decided to see the classrooms and their dismal condition before reprimanding the old man on maintenance. He was half way through the corridor when he thought he heard footsteps behind him. He looked around to find no one. Strange!

He continued walking and could still hear the sound of feet closely following him. This time he was better prepared.

"Aha!" he exclaimed loudly as he turned on his heels in a sudden movement. His follower jumped in surprise staggering backwards. Harvey caught him by the arm to break his fall and found himself staring into a pair of innocent blue eyes.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked steadying the young man before him. The young man just stared at him with his big round eyes, his mouth slightly open. He looked no more than twenty!

"Why were you following me, kid?" Harvey noticed how he stared at his lips and nodded his head with every word. Oh so he was lip reading! Must be a student! Harvey's lawyer-self jumped at the opportunity.

"Do you mind if I asked you few questions, kid? You could just nod. Do you like the current condition of your classrooms?" Was this really going to be of any use?

The boy shrugged, causing his over-sized white shirt to fall off one shoulder. God! The school should buy students clothes their size.

He scanned Harvey from head to toe and the transfixed his gaze at a point in his suit. His face then broke into a brilliant smile etching laughter lines on his handsome face.

No this was going to be of no use. "If you are done checking me out, I would like to be on my way." Harvey smiled to be polite and turned to leave but the boy tugged at his arm excitedly.

"What? Hey where are you taking me?" The boy turned a corner and motioned him inside a door. Oh it was a classroom! Smart kid!

It was a pretty ordinary classroom and Harvey saw what he had expected to see. So he turned to leave but the kid danced around him like an excited puppy, pointing at paintings on the walls, pulling him towards the white board, opening drawers for him to peep into.

"Okay okay I got it. Thank you for all the help. I have to go now. I'm a very busy man!"

The boy nodded like he understood. He mimicked a gun with hands and turned from side to side in dramatic stances. He then looked at Harvey and mouthed something.

"No not as busy as James Bond." laughed Harvey. So that's where the suit-fascination came from. Poor kid! Only seen people wearing suits in movies! If only he had known anything about the world of lawyers!

The boy gasped like he remembered something. He pointed towards a broken tile. Harvey rolled his eyes. "Okay I will get that fixed too."

"Noooooo!" The kid mouthed shaking his head. He crouched on the floor and moved the tile revealing loads of paper balls and other junk stashed under.

"So that's where you kids hide your stuff!"

He pulled a waste paper basket from the corner and pointed towards the balls. He then made puppy eyes at Harvey like he was begging him to play.

"What! No way. We can't have a paper ball tournament here!" This was getting absurd now.

The boy looked eager, angry, hurt, disappointed and bored, all in quick succession. Harvey had never seen such an interesting play of expressions on anyone's face before. But then again the poor kid didn't really have many options of expressing himself!

"Okay." Harvey sighed "Only ten throws!" Joe had not called yet so he had time to kill.

The boy was quick at his feet and aimed well but not as good as Harvey. It was great fun to see him pout when he missed and smirk when he scored. He was skinny and had messy blond hair. Donna would have found him insanely cute! Harvey let him win. This was something he never did, not even while playing with kids but he was scared that the kid would make him play another round if he lost.

"Congratulations and good bye now!" said Harvey. The boy stretched his hand and smiled as Harvey shook it. They left the room together and he ran down the stairs with one last look at Harvey. His expression seemed odd. It was one of triumph but not the kind you get after winning at a stupid game of paper-balls.

Harvey shrugged and turned into the corridor. He saw Joe storming down from the opposite end. "We are going to trial" he cried. "And I am glad we are! You won't imagine the horrible things he said!"

"YOU MET HIM WITHOUT ME!" yelled Harvey. "Why do you think I came with you! To stop you from doing something stupid! WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME!" He could punch his face right now!

"He was already here when we arrived. I called you so many times! Your phone was switched off!" said Joe fighting a huge vale of tears.

"What!" Harvey fished his cellphone from his coat pocket. It was switched off. How did that happen?

"God! That student I was with.. he must have.. when he dancing around me.. but why…"

"What are you talking about? What student? The school has been closed for students for a month now Harvey! It's the summer break. It's only open for faculty and staff members."

What! Joe's phone rang. He answered it and then held it to Harvey. "It's Donna."

"Harvey I tried your no. but it was switched off." said Donna. "Travis Tanner called Jessica. He is the lawyer at the other end. He seemed to think you were going to trial and laughed when Jessica said you weren't. So I got worried and wondered if he sent someone to hold you off the meeting!"

"Harvey.. are you listening? Did he send goons?" A harmless looking boy!

"Did someone engage you in a sob story?" Fake stories can't engage Harvey! Paper-ball tournaments could apparently!

"Harvey…" Ray's voice boomed in his head.. genius.. smartest person in the room.. can talk his way out of anything.. Yes that was Harvey Specter! And no one could fool him like this! That wretched kid!

"Harvey are you alright?"

"Donna" he finally breathed into the phone and said through gritted teeth "I might just kill someone when I find him!"