(Chapter 1)
The sun is shining down mercilessly on the skyscraping towers of Midtown Manhattan, them reflecting the celestial body's light on their innumerable windows and spreading it like mirror balls to the surrounding areas. The muggy summer air is stuck between the deep street canyons and by the time afternoon rolls around, only the bravest of tourists and the hungriest of birds is on the street and in the air. Time seems to slow down. It is hot. Too hot. And in hindsight, no one would deny that it was palpable that a storm was coming.
Inside the building of Zane Specter Litt, all the way up on the fiftieth floor, time seems to move in slow motion as well. While the air conditioning system is fighting an unwinnable fight against the overpowering heat that is pressing through the glass, the inhabitants fight to make it through the day. It is eerily quiet on this specific day and an uneasy feeling spreads in the stomach of the Chief Operating Officer as she makes her way down the hall towards her office.
When Donna passes by Harvey's office, she finds it empty. For a second, she lets her eyes drift to her old cubicle, missing for just that second the old days, when she knew exactly where he was at all times and when they used to be what they used to be. Not that she regrets what they are now, a newer and improved version of their partnership inside and outside of the firm but it is still different and even after all these months it still takes some getting used to. Not being within direct reach or earshot anymore, not being able to just walk through the glass door whenever she feels the need to guide him through his thoughts and emotions, not being surprised by him coming outside and commenting on the way she teases the IT guy or the delivery guy or the janitor guy. Instead, ever since his move back to his old office, they are now physically even farther apart from each other than they had ever been before in the last thirteen years. With a quiet sigh, Donna moves on. From his office. From the memories. And from her thoughts. If only she could move on from that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, too.
The adjourning two offices are empty as well, as is the meeting room after that. In the third office she walks by, Charles, one of the new lawyers that Robert had brought with him is sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair, sweat glistening on his forehead. He has his eyes closed, while he slightly swings from left to right and back again in an even rhythm. She walks by without any comment, passing another empty office before she reaches Louis'. He is sitting on his leather couch with a decanter full of ice water in front of him on the table and a small electric fanner in his hand. Donna hesitates for a second before she enters the room, immediately gaining Louis' attention. He looks up from the file on his lap and his eyes light up at the sight of his favorite colleague.
"Donna, hey! What can I do for you?" he asks with that teeth baring smile of his. For a moment, the nervous flutter in her stomach subsides, while she makes her way to Louis' side, letting herself sink into the space next to him.
"Are you okay?" Louis then asks, worry creasing his forehead.
"I don't know," Donna sighs. "I've got this weird feeling ever since this morning and I just can't shake it."
"What do you mean?" Louis inquires, turning slightly to the side so he can look at her. Donna has her eyes closed and a finger to her lips to silence him. For ten long heartbeats, no one says a word.
"Can you hear that, Louis?" Donna whispers, her gaze looking for his.
"Hear what?" Louis answers in a hushed tone.
"Exactly! Why can't we hear anything? Usually this place is worse than Central Station at this time of the day. The quietness is making me nervous," Donna explains, her voice returning to its usual volume.
"I hadn't even noticed it until you pointed it out. I'm sure it's just the heat," Louis tries but Donna doesn't really hear his words. They sit again in silence, as Louis pours Donna a glass of water, handing it to her. She takes a sip, and another one after that.
"Hey, do you know where Harvey is?" she wants to know and tries to sound as nonchalant as possible.
"Yeah. He and Alex went out this morning to see Maya Ecklestone." Louis immediately replies, holding the fanner in Donna's direction for a few moments before cooling his own face again.
"Is everything okay with Maya?" Donna asks curiously, surprised as to what Maya could possibly be up to. Maya Ecklestone was one of Harvey's oldest clients. Not just in regard to the duration of their business relationship but also in age. Over the last three years, after Maya had turned eighty, she had slowly begun to withdraw herself from her jewelry empire, gradually handing over the business to her granddaughter. By the end of the year, Maya was supposed to retire for good. The contracts had been signed months ago and everything was prepared for a smooth change of ownership. That is why Donna is even more confused for the sudden meeting. A meeting Harvey undoubtedly would have mentioned to her, had he had the chance to do so.
"Something about bribery allegations. Harvey didn't have much time to explain and since you weren't in your office he came to me to let me know where he went."
For the second time that day, Donna regrets that she is no longer Harvey's secretary. She takes another sip from her glass, wishing that it was Scotch instead of cold water, just so it would dull that foreboding tingle in her stomach.
"Alright. Let's hope it's nothing too serious," Donna mumbles before drowning the rest of the water, all the while knowing that it must be serious, otherwise Harvey wouldn't have been gone all day. And he wouldn't have taken Alex with him either. Sighing, Donna gets up from the sofa. "Thanks, Louis," Donna says and touches his shoulder in a grateful gesture on her way out.
"Anytime, Donna. My door is always open for you, you know that."
She does know and she smiles at him before leaving that dorky but lovable man alone in his office.
On her way back to her own desk, her eyes drift to the entrance area, where the two receptionists had stuck their heads together, giggling about something the one was showing the other on her cell phone. Under normal circumstances, Donna wouldn't hesitate to walk over to them and reprimand them for using their cellphones in the open like that. But she can't bring herself to really care and since the floor seems to have shut down anyway, Donna decides to let it drop.
With another sigh and that uneasy tingling intensifying, she sits down in her chair, turning around to look outside. The sun crawls over the blue sky in slow motion, seagulls circling like vultures, waiting for their prey. Donna's gaze drops to her decanter on the window sill and for a moment she seriously contemplates if it is too early to have at least a tiny glass of her favorite past-time drink. She longs for that feeling of calmness and of warmth as the alcohol slides through her veins. She longs for the feeling of her thoughts being swapped away with it into the deep chasm of oblivion. But above all, she longs for the feeling of having him by her side, when they sit down and indulge in the golden liquid together. Throughout the years, ever since they had started on their journey together, it has always been their thing. While they were changing from boss and secretary to boss and boss, their situations and their friendship changing as well, this was the one thing they didn't allow to change. This was their special time. Their sacred time. Not every night but more nights than not. Sometimes they would talk about work. A case. About Mike and Rachel. Sometimes they would talk about his mom or her father or strangers they had seen that day on the street. On rare occasions they would even talk about them, always sliding dangerously close to talking about them but of course never quite brave enough to really do it in the end. And sometimes, they would just sit together in silence, talking about nothing at all and just enjoying each other's calming presence for a couple of minutes before heading home. Alone.
Inhaling deeply, holding her breath for two heartbeats, before releasing it out with a loud swoosh, Donna finally turns around again, shaking her thoughts away and trying to concentrate on the tasks at hand. The Scotch would have to the, seeing as the annual appraisals for the associates wouldn't coordinate themselves after all.