Hi Again Folks! I am attempting to get this done before emotional week starts on Wed 7/3/19! Anyhow my goal is to expand the angst not just focus on Darvey, so next chapter we will see Louis on the hotseat! Thank you for the reviews and the favoriting and following. Please let me know what you think of this latest. Love - Carebearmaxi

Bringing It Home

Chapter 2

As soon as Harvey got in the car the next morning, Ray asked, "Hey Boss, are we to pick up Ms. Donna now?"

"No, she's coming in herself."

That was all he said. It seemed to Ray that Harvey was still in the same frame of mind he was when he got out of the car the previous night. Ray looked back at Harvey whose countenance did not face Ray but it seemed to be focused on Harvey's "New York Lawyer" magazine. Ray felt uncomfortable for Harvey and decided to do something in which he never would have done previously except now he had witnessed firsthand how happy Harvey was now that he was with Donna.

"Everything ok, Harvey?" Ray asked focusing simultaneously on Harvey's face in the rearview mirror and the road ahead.

"Yes, Ray," Harvey said shortly.

"How's Ms. Donna getting to the firm? I can...,"

"I don't know at the moment, Ray. Please just take me to the firm and I will call you a little later. I have a client appointment," Harvey said interrupting Ray as he started to ask questions.

"Sure thing," Ray answered. He was very curious about the situation between Donna and Harvey but decided that this was not the time to press for any answers.

The rest of the trip was silent as Ray watched the traffic and Harvey read his magazine.

As it were Donna was already in the office when Harvey arrived. He spotted her red mane as she sat at her desk engrossed in some document. He stopped silently outside her office door and just watched her write with her four color pen. There was no mistake that she took his breath away. He missed waking up beside her. Donna then changed ink color with a click and happened to catch his eye. She smiled at him. Instead of responding with his own smile, he put his head down and strode to his office.

As if right on cue, he no sooner sat at his desk then his former secretary current girlfriend strode through his office door closing the glass behind her.

"Harvey-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Donna," Harvey said as he sat down at his desk and looked up at her.

"We can't ignore this. Faye is sitting in the office next to mine ready to fire me for crossing lines."

"Well, whose fault is that?" Harvey exclaimed rising immediately to his feet.

Just when Donna was going to answer, he put his hand up and said severely, "Stop! I told you I don't want to talk about! Now, please, leave so I can prepare for my client meeting."

Donna just stood there and was really not too shocked that he seemed to have retreated to the Harvey she worked for all those years. The wall; the silence; and the poker face was back. Resolutely she stood her ground because she knew that both she, Harvey, and the whole firm were under Faye Richardson's attentive eye to be sure they did not step over the line again.

"Harvey, I know you don't want to hear this, but remember it is not only you under the gun this time, or me, but all of us," Donna said as she turned and walked back to her office.

"Donna, I have thought of nothing else, since that woman set up shop in our firm," Harvey looked down. He then looked at Donna and one could see his wheels spinning in his mind to see how their firm could come out of Richardson's investigation unscathed.

At his words Donna had turned around and came right back to his desk; however, Harvey had made no move to hold her or kiss her or even to take her hand, so she turned around again and walked out of his office. Donna did not want to attempt to speak with him again at this moment on such a sore subject. Maybe later...

Harvey stood there and watched as his love walked away from him. As much as she knew him, he could not let her know how much his heart ached not touching her. He knew he was hurting her, but since Donna's confession to Faye Richardson that they were more than co-workers and former boss and secretary he did not want to add fuel to the fire for Faye to find reason to fire Donna or him for breaking their own by-laws or crossing boundaries which before would have been overlooked.

"Donna?"

Donna rolled her eyes. She ventured into the NY Bar Association representative's temporary office. It used to be Robert's when he was there, but now since he had been disbarred in disgrace for taking the heat for Donna and Harvey it had become this woman's residency in their firm's home.

"Yes, Faye," Donna answered as she walked slowly into Faye's office. Faye's eyes never left Donna's face and figure as she walked into the office. Faye was rather surprised by an officer of the company's confessions. She was condemning them as a firm and her lover/name partner has an accomplice before Faye could make any discoveries for herself. Faye wondered why do this when your own ass is on the line as well as the partners with whom you were to protect.

"In light of your confession yesterday, I have a few questions concerning your actual qualifications as a COO."

"You wouldn't be the first one," Donna murmured under her breath knowing the scrutiny she had faced for years as to her real relationship with Harvey and then her sudden leap to woman executive after one of the worst years in the history of the firm.

Faye watched as Donna took a seat. Donna was dressed in her green silk shirt dress with the long skirt, belted at the waist accentuating her slim waist, and plunging neckline. Faye was one who thought a woman should dress appropriately for the office and not entice the opposite sex by using her femininity. Faye rose to her position purely on her abilities alone. It was not how she dressed but what Faye said that put her where she was.

"Ok, so you have confessed that you and Harvey Specter are now in a personal relationship which is more than platonic. You also defended him in saying that his part in any of my discoveries were instigated by you. How can you do this if you are not a lawyer?" Faye wondered. It seemed odd that a woman who was merely a secretary up to a few years ago could have that much influence over a lawyer who was touted as the best closer in Manhattan. Supposedly there was too much influence and it clouded Specter's judgment on the more obvious faux pas.

She watched as Donna fidgeted.

Donna cleared her throat and said, "Harvey is a good man and a good lawyer. Sometimes he errs or wants to err on the side of loyalty. I have exacted my influence on him as far as allowing him to see what may or may not be good for a client or the firm. I do know something about the law. I was a legal secretary and my duties encompassed many processes, but you should know that. You can ask Harvey."

"I plan to ask his side of this whole confession you made yesterday. I didn't immediately fire you because of that relationship because your love affair with Harvey Specter may have nothing to do with obstruction of justice, client conflict, or burying evidence; so I have to tread carefully so I don't falsely accuse anyone of acting in bad faith. Do you understand that Donna?"

Donna's eyes were very green this morning and very hard.

"Yes, I do, Faye," she answered accentuaing the "F" sound in Faye.

"What are your other qualifications pertinent to the practice of law or business that you possess that would influence a boss to advance your career from legal secretary to COO and partner?"

"It's a long story and hard to explain. I am good at what I do and I paid my partner's equity into the firm and signed the agreement as is the condition when a new partner is approved.

"At the time, there was only Harvey and Louis Litt. They both approved of your promotion and your partnership buy-in?"

"Yes, they did. So if you do not have specific questions as to what my qualifications are for performing my duties, I suggest you let me out of here so I can perform them?"

"The only pertinent qualification is that you have spent many years in legal offices including the District Attorney's office where you met Harvey Specter? Did you always work for him or did you start somewhere else."

"Well, if you must know, I began at another desk. I approached him. He was the latest hotshot at the time and I knew we would be a good fit. I also knew that he could help me in my career as well."

"So, you moved to his desk?"

"Yes, I asked my supervisor at the time and she was more than happy to move me to his desk. There were extenuating circumstances on why I wanted to move to someone else's desk. She actually called it a blessing because the secretarial pool needed reorganizing."

Faye wrote a few words down on a piece of paper she held on her lap and murmured "mmhmm".

"You can ask Harvey. He will vouch for everything I am telling you."

"Yes, I will send for Harvey in a few minutes. Do you know his present schedule by the way?"

Of course, Donna knew his schedule but she was not letting this bitch use information like that against her.

"Why would I? I am no longer his assistant. Sorry. Did you ask Gloria or Gretchen?"

"No, I thought since you are on personal basis with him you might know better. Thank you, anyway. I can take it from here."

Donna rose and left as Faye turned files over in her hand. They had been pulled from the file room and put in a special box: Liberty Rail, CM Motors, Hessington Oil, and Pierpont Mall/Kessler Furniture, and other settled files but had been settled in odd circumstances or in a not quite logical sense.

Harvey looked at his watch and then back at the case file he was perusing. He knew he should apologize to Donna, but he was waiting for his personal one-on-one with Faye before doing that. He wanted to be sure that from now on they were both on an united front. Harvey had seen what files Faye had had pulled. Most of the transcripts on the more large questionable/prestigious cases had been typed and written in terms where no one should have a question as to the settlements. However, Harvey knew that if this woman broke down his cases bit by bit she would find blanks spaces made to protect Harvey, Mike, Louis, etc., wherein arguments were specious. Donna's so-called confession of carrying that much influence over everyone was a bad argument and not one that Harvey would have chosen for himself. Hopefully if he could throw the light in a different direction, Donna would not lose her job and Harvey would not lose his license.

He knew Donna had confessed their relationship and exaggerated her influence and participation to throw Faye off the scent. Harvey was very angry about this because normally one kept one's mouth shut in a law office due to confidentiality, especially after two name partners had been disbarred in disgrace. Both name partners weighed heavy on Harvey's mind because both of these noble people saved his ass from losing his license.

Donna, in her infinite wisdom explained to Harvey why, at this time, she had rather bring their new personal relationship out into the open. Because with no substance to support the implications and innuendoes, their relationship had been seen as something tawdry, dirty, and secretive. Donna wanted them all to know that she and Harvey were happy together. Donna also knew that most of the office had already suspected it for years and by it being brought into the open there was no longer any shame in it.

Harvey was the last person who wanted their shiny new relationship to be dulled and become an albatross around the firm's proverbial neck shedding additional unprofessional light on their firm. Harvey had also thought of beating gossip to the punch, but before he and Donna could agree just when to lay their lives bare Donna had thrown caution to the wind. In front of the other name/senior partners Donna revealed who they were to each other now. Albeit in loving terms coming from the both of them, but still laying another layer of, perhaps, suspicious and unseemly office behavior.

Suddenly, expecting to see his girlfriend sashaying herself into his office, he was greeted by Faye Richardson.

Faye, blonde short hair in a blunt cut with small cutting blue eyes, helped herself to the chair opposite Harvey's desk. She sat back and crossed her legs and carried much the same haughty demeanor she used in interviewing Donna.

"I found you have a couple of hours before a client meeting, so if you don't mind I would like to review some items that happened yesterday," Faye said.

"Ok, Faye, let's not beat around the bush. You mean Donna's confession that she and I are in a personal relationship as well as a professional relationship. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"Let me say one thing. One does not affect the other. As a matter of fact, I will not allow the two to be affected by you or anyone else. Neither relationship is ending, so get that through your head before you even think that I am giving up my COO or my girlfriend because of your investigation!"

Faye rose. "I see you are a bit sensitive on this subject. Believe it or not this was not what I came to find out. I understand people are people, but I have a job to do and that is professional. I will leave you now and, perhaps, you can come see me after your client meeting."

Faye turned and walked out Harvey's door. She wondered why he was so hostile. As she had said, if she found the personal relationship influenced or coerced settlements for the professional one, that's when people would be disbarred or fired. As for office politics and love affairs, she had seen enough of those in her lifetime. She once had also been a participant in an office romance. The professional and the personal gets to be mixed sometimes and that can be the worst. In this, she wished Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen well. The situation would not be easy.

Donna stared at this hard looking woman as she passed her office on the way back from Harvey's. Luckily Harvey's office was at the corner because she could only hear a little of his raised voice. Yesterday after Donna's total public confession, she wanted to be flippant and call Faye a hard, cold bitch as she had done to Anita Gibbs when she tried to trap Donna into confessing Harvey's part in Mike's fraud. However, Donna had realized this was a different situation. Their home was on the line, so she decided to appeal to Faye's professionalism and speak to her as an equal and not a snipe.

"Look, Ms. Richardson, I have worked my whole life to attain this position. I attained it honestly through hard work, and I repeat did not sleep with Harvey to get it. It may look slightly odd now in light of what I just said, but you can ask anyone here. Everyone who has known us long enough knows that Harvey and I deserve our personal relationship and that together, professionally, we are a power couple. I know I may have a dug a hole for myself in this, but please do not take this away from me."

Faye suddenly turned and startled Donna as Donna suddenly looked up from her reverie of the previous day.

"I am sorry for startling you. I just wanted to let you know I'm not making any moves yet. This investigation is not something that will be overnight. I have been here for two weeks and I may be here another four. My job is to ensure that clients have received fair services legally and the opponents have lost in a legally fair match. So, obstruction of justice, operating in bad faith, conflict, these are things that I have to look for and punish those who are responsible and make recompense to those who were treated unfairly."

"I understand that, Faye," Donna answered trying not to seem too rattled by Faye's stealth in moving around the offices. "None of us are taking your presence here lightly. Be assured that all of us, including myself, have done everything we can for our clients to the best of our ability. None of we partners here take our partnership for granted."

"Yes," Faye said and then took a walk to the window near Donna's table. "I just tried to speak with Harvey right now, but he is agitated and was preparing for a client's meeting."

Donna sat back and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I can understand why he was agitated. Would you not feel this way if a stranger walked into your house and began assessing your behavior and judging it whether it was ethical or not?"

Faye turned her body toward Donna and with her arms crossed stated, "It would depend if I was trying to hide something. Am I right?'

Just then, Louis saw Faye was in Donna's office. He tried to back away not wanting to interrupt anything but it was too late as Donna was glad for the distraction and not having to answer that question, rhetorical or not.

"What do you want, Louis?" Donna asked as she sat back behind her desk. "Faye was just leaving, weren't you?"

"Yes, of course. I will see you both later." Faye left and Louis visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He took a few steps closer to Donna's desk.

"Donna, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday."

"You mean my confession of all our recent sins...at least the ones that concern the immediate bunch."

"What did you say about Thomas?"

"She knows about my part in that, Louis. Why do you think I've been put on probation? She's intercepting all my paperwork that needs my signature including paperwork that needs a managing partner's signature as well."

"Well, what did she say about the present state of your relationship with Harvey? I know he can't be too happy with this."

"Louis, what is it that you want me to say? You discovered our relationship and you sanctioned it was ok. I brought it out into the open knowing full well that the implications are there."

"But you've only been with each other a few weeks. Has it affected it?"

"Louis, did you come in here to pump me for information regarding my relationship with Harvey and its reflection on your managing partner skills or what?" Donna asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, Donna. I'm worried about you with him. You know how he is. I'm not sure he's..."

"Look, Louis, just worry about your own standings in this office which should be impeccable. I have got to keep my head down and do my duties," Donna said taking her four color Bic pen in hand and beginning to write in a file.

"Donna, I'm sorry, but I think your confession did not do what you thought it would," Louis said standing up preparing to leave her office.

"So, what am I supposed to do? Harvey loves me and I love him...at least he did the other night before my confession to Faye."

Louis sat back down.

"What happened?"

Donna sighed. She did not like kissing and telling especially to Louis.

"It was the first night for weeks that we did not spend together. It just hurt. That's all."

"Donna, normally, I would go punch him in the face for making you hurt, but this time I think he's just as hurt as you are. You know how he is when he's like that."

"Yes, I do. I came to work early, by myself, so I could maybe reason with him when he got in, but no he just dismissed me from his office as if I were his assistant again and not the woman he loves."

"You know him. He'll come around. Sheila and I fight all the time especially now with the pregnancy hormones wreaking havoc, so I just take it and then we apologize to one another. It's how it works. I don't need to tell you and Harvey about that."

Louis then rose, patted Donna's hand and then left her office for his.

Donna smiled at Louis and then resumed her work. If Harvey wanted to make up with her, he knew where to find her.

Faye picked up the Liberty Rail file from the box. She paged through the transcripts and and the settlement pages. She noted in her small notebook that the settlement hinged around a coerced confession of the Liberty Rail train engineer to which Liberty Rail settled out of court giving him a heavy monthly payment and allowing him to keep his pension. However, along comes Pearson Specter and commandeers the engineer and settles with Liberty Rail for a higher sum of monthly payments and lifetime pension allowing even lessening of the financial burden on the engineer as recompense for the engineer's destroyed reputation inhibiting him to obtain lucrative employment.

Odd. Why would there have been a second settlement when it seems that per the engineer's own testimony he had had a settlement in place? Is there more to this than meets the eye or was the engineer that savvy to attain new lawyers and work for a new settlement?

Faye put down the file on her desk and lifted another one. This one was older and was marked CB Motors. There was record of Donna being fired for destroying paperwork which turned out to be falsely created. That was also an odd turn of events. As she knew from Andrew Malick he had also found this out and exploited it trying to accuse Harvey Specter of destroying or suppressing evidence in a court case. Even I would be hard pressed to find evidence in supporting that accusation Faye thought. As I see, Malick may have created the suggestion. Interesting.

I will have to really be attentive here. These people are not lightweights. They know how to cover their asses.

Faye continued to pull file after file and make assessment notes as the day wore on. She decided that maybe she should continue her investigation with none other than the "managing" partner himself - Louis Litt.