2006

It had been an innocent enough gesture. She had arched over his body to reach for a file that was sitting on the other side of the desk. The side that he was blocking her from. His eyes travelled joyfully down the length of her back, from her shiny red hair down to her…

Jessica cleared her throat to indicate her presence.

Not realizing anything the matter, Donna grabbed the file she had been reaching for and straightened herself up, turning to look curiously at Jessica, "Ms. Pearson! I hope you're here to take him away." She jutted her thumb at Harvey.

Harvey could tell by the way Jessica looked at him that he had something coming. He looked back at his boss as if to say, "What?" But he smartly kept the thought to himself.

"Donna, please call me Jessica. And, yes, I actually do need to speak with you, Harvey."

"Oh God, finally, I can work in peace!" Donna shot Harvey a big grin before sitting herself back down, still unaware of what had just occurred or what was about to occur.

He pursed his lips together in mock annoyance before making his way out of Donna's cubicle and towards Jessica's office, where his boss was already making her way towards. He purposely took his time, running through about eight scenarios in his head of how he thought the impending conversation would go. By the time he finally made it through Jessica's door, he had already settled on what he thought was the most likely scenario and decided to strike before she could.

"Do you know how long Donna and I have worked together?"

Jessica didn't seem all too surprised by his insistence on starting their conversation. "You met at the D.A.'s office so, at least, what is it? 5 years now?"

"6." He corrected her. "Do you know why that is?"

"Because she's obviously the only one who has the patience to deal with you on a day-to-day basis?"

Ignoring the smirk on his boss's face, he explained, "Because Donna is the best secretary anyone in this damned city could ever have the privilege of hiring. She's smart, she's quick on her feet, and she holds her own."

"Harvey, do you really think I would've agreed to your condition of hiring her when I first hired you if I didn't already know that? But do you want to know the number one reason why I was willing to have her be a part of this firm?"

"Why's that?"

"Because not only does she hold her own, but she holds her own up against you and, God knows, someone's gotta do that around here."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and chuckled, "Well, I'm glad we're on the same page about Donna."

"I wasn't done."

Something in her voice told him it was best not to respond or cut in this time.

"Because Donna is the best secretary anyone in this damned city could ever have the privilege of hiring, I hope you don't do anything to screw that up." She paused before adding pointedly, "For your own good."

He held back for a minute, contemplating how to respond. He decided on taking her seriously, "I'm not going to sleep with her, if that's what you mean."

"Oh, Harvey, I'm not afraid that you'll sleep with her. I don't think Donna's that stupid." She smirked again. "What I'm afraid of is that won't stop you from trying."

Suddenly, the image of Donna leaning over him to reach for that damned file popped into his head and it took a moment for him to steady his breathing again.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Jessica."

She laughed, shaking her finger at him. "Good answer. Safe answer. Doesn't reveal anything and you don't actually promise me anything. That's good." She paused to look at him, considering her next words carefully. "I don't need you to say anything, Harvey. I think you're a smart man and that you know better than me the consequences of certain actions. Don't make me regret hiring you."