Mike was sitting in his cubicle with a stack of personnel records from a record label that Harvey was representing. Someone had embezzled millions of dollars from them and the label's clients had sued the record label's CEO claiming it was his fault. Jessica had tasked Harvey with finding the embezzler to appease them, meaning Mike had to go through hundreds of employee files to find any kind of inconsistencies. His experience last night was all but forgotten as he poured through his thirtieth file and drank from his now lukewarm cup of coffee. It was near six o'clock when Harvey came to check on his progress before he left for dinner with, Mike was sure, a beautiful actress or model or something.
"Find anything yet?" Harvey leaned casually on the wall.
"Not yet. A few possibilities, but I don't think I've found the right person yet." Mike closed the file he was working on. Suddenly he remembered what he had been hoping to talk to Harvey about. "Hey, can we talk about something?"
"Tomorrow. Right now I'm going to late to dinner." Harvey adjusted his cuffs and tie.
"Say hi to..." Mike squinted. "Which one is it tonight?"
"Very funny. Her name is Sarah." Harvey walked off past the other associates. Mike shook his head and kept working. Even though most people would be annoyed by the way Harvey ignored him, it actually helped mike believe that the phone calls weren't that big of a deal.
Around ten-thirty, Mike unlocked his bike and went back to his apartment. He unlocked his door and dropped his messenger bag on the couch while he went to find some coffee. While he waited for it to brew, Mike sat on his couch and began sorting through the remaining personnel files. As he was doing so, his phone rang and the caller ID showed "private number".
"Mike Ross." Mike answered.
"I know." It was his mystery caller.
"I told you to stop calling me." Mike hung up irritably. He rubbed his hand through his hair and tried to focus once more on his work. The phone rang again and showed the same caller ID. Mike ignored the ringing and went into the kitchen to get some coffee. When he got back, the phone was ringing again. Mike answered without checking the ID and snapped into the phone.
"I told you to stop calling me!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Harvey's annoyed and somewhat amused voice replied.
"Sorry. Someone keeps calling my cellphone."
"When did that start?" Harvey sounded unusually interested. Which was only mildly interested when it came to Harvey.
"Night before last." Mike hesitated. "Um...I think he's watching me."
"It's probably just a bad prank. Keep me posted though." Harvey's voice quickly lost the slightly interested tone. "Don't forget the meeting tomorrow with the client." Then he hung up. Mike rolled his eyes. How could he possibly forget about the meeting with the client that Harvey had reminded him of four times today.
Mike picked up the mug of coffee and took a sip when suddenly his phone rang again. He picked up the phone with his free hand and sighed when he saw the caller ID.
"This isn't funny." Mike snapped.
"No, what isn't funny is how tired you look. You should get some sleep." The voice sounded almost concerned. Mike's head snapped up and he stood so fast he tripped over his own feet. As he fell, Mike hit his head on the small table in front of the couch. Mike managed to find his phone in a daze.
"What the fuck? Are you watching me?" Mike yelled.
"That sounded like it hurt. Get some sleep." click
Mike threw his phone and wrapped his arms around his knees. His head hurt and he was rattled by the conversation. He considered calling Harvey but he didn't want to bother him. Finally he dragged himself back into his seat on the couch. Mike threw himself into his work and for awhile managed to mostly forget what had happened. After he finished the files he had brought back with him (fruitlessly), he got ready for bed and put his phone on his nightstand. Harvey had a bad habit of calling him at all hours of the early morning. He had just closed his eyes when his perfect memory brought the mysterious man's voice to the front of his mind.
"Get some sleep." rang over and over in his mind until Mike actually placed his pillow over his ears to try to block out the sound.
By the time Mike fell asleep, the sun had just started to rise.
When the blaring sound of Mike's alarm sounded, the young man slammed a hand down on the snooze button. About two minutes into the snooze, his phone rang.
"Time to wake up, Michael-baby.." The voice almost sounded like he cared.
"Leave me alone, you son of a bitch." Mike hated how whiny he sounded, but he couldn't help it.
"Or you'll do what? Sic that heartless monster of a boss on me?"
"I'll call the police."
"I wouldn't do that." The mystery man's voice grew cold.
"Why not?"
"Because then I'll have to punish you, baby."
"I'm not your baby." Michael threw off his blanket.
"You don't know it yet, but you really are."
"I'm hanging up." Mike tried to make his voice sound more intimidating.
"Before you do, consider this. Do you have people you care about? People that you wouldn't want to hurt? Because if you do, you won't involve the police. And technically, I haven't done anything illegal that you can prove. You're a lawyer. Kind of." With that, the man hung up, leaving mike staring at his phone.
Mike was ten minutes late to work and he had to suffer Harvey's stare as he enter the older man's office. But the angry look faded somewhat when he saw Mike's bruised forehead and the rings under his eyes.
"What the hell happened to you?" Harvey walked over to inspect the bruise.
"I tripped." Mike mumbled. "Hit my head on the table."
"Did you even sleep at all?" Harvey turned away to go back to his desk.
"Yeah." For a couple of hours, he thought.
"What about your little problem? Did you get any calls?" Harvey asked without looking up from the paperwork on his desk.
"Oh. Nope." Mike said. He instantly knew Harvey didn't believe him by the look the man gave him. "Well, yes. But I told him to leave me alone."
"What's the number?"
"I don't know. It was blocked." Mike shrugged. Harvey held out his hand.
"Give me your phone. I'll have a contact in the police look at it."
"What?" Mike was surprised at Harvey's seeming concern.
"You heard me. And don't get too excited, I need you in top condition. I hate the paperwork needed to fire someone." Harvey accepted Mike's phone. "Now go down to tech and get a new phone for the day. I know you already have your contacts memorized." Mike left the office to get to work and Harvey looked at Donna.
"He's already on line two." She said. Harvey smiled. How would he live without her?
"Hey officer...yeah, I need to call in a favor...He's freaked out about it, and it's affecting his work...No, I don't...No, caring is not something I do...I'll send the phone over. Should be there within the hour...Yeah, I need a duplicate SIM card sent back by the end of office hours though...Owe you one less...Bye." Harvey hung up and sat back in his chair. He needed to prep for his meeting in a few hours, but for the moment he contemplated Mike. He had seen the results of bad stalkings that started similar to this. He wouldn't let Mike end up like that. His reputation would take a hit if he couldn't even protect his employees.
Ok, second chapter. Review me please. And yes, things are about to take a bad turn for Mike in the next few chapters. The faint of heart beware.
