'According to me' is the only 'according to' that matters.
Charlie flung herself down on the couch in Harvey's office and pulled a book from the khaki messenger bag she had deposited there earlier. Now that she had calmed down, Charlie wished that she hadn't been so candid with her brother.
She texted Mike, requesting that he stop by if he had a spare moment in his afternoon. Mike Ross hadn't been working for Harvey for very long but he and Charlie had bonded quickly. Charlie found it easier to confide in Mike. He was much more understanding and he knew how to keep a secret if she asked him to. If Harvey was just coming to think of Mike as a younger brother figure, Charlie had already adopted him as an extra big brother.
Within five minutes, Charlie was scooting over to give Mike a place to sit down beside her. He unbuttoned his suit as he sat and placed his feet up on Harvey's coffee table. "What are you doing here?" Mike asked, picking up the book she had been reading and glancing at the title before setting it aside.
"Not moving from this office until Master Harvey allows otherwise," Charlie answered in a tone that Mike noted was fully intended to mock his boss.
"That's not what I meant. Why aren't you at school?" he asked as he shook out his wrist and checked his watch. It was still early afternoon.
"Oh, that," Charlie answered with a brief smile. She shifted closer to Mike and put her feet up beside his.
"Yeah, that," Mike conceded.
"I may have been sent home early on somewhat questionable terms."
"Questionable terms. I see. Does Harvey know that yet?"
"He has his suspicions. Haven't discussed the details yet. Jessica stole him away before word vomit took over."
Mike laughed. "Lucky. What was it this time?"
"Well, I was in US Gov—"
Mike had shifted away from Charlie so he could observe her face better. Judging by the look on Mike's own face, Charlie could tell that he was not remotely impressed but he wanted her to continue.
"Just listen, Mike. It was all Heskett's fault. She's such a—" Charlie intended on filling in the space with a curse of some sort, but she let out a frustrated groan instead.
"He might kill you, Charlie. Hell, I kind of want to kill you."
Charlie's Government teacher, Isabelle Heskett, was the youngest daughter of one of Harvey's more difficult to please clients. Mike watched Charlie, shaking his head. He had spent limitless hours working on the Heskett account but they were still barely making progress. Negotiations on the merger were at a near standstill. Mike couldn't fully blame Charlie for that, but he knew that Mr. Heskett and his people were notoriously petty. It wasn't entirely uncommon for the subject of Charlie and Isabelle's connection to come up either before or directly following a business meeting with Mr. Heskett and it was rarely a positive discussion.
"You have gotta stop getting in trouble, and especially with her."
"No, Mike, please just listen to me."
Mike nodded, settling himself in for the story. Mike was always willing to listen.
"She was giving us this diatribe during the debate, spouting all this false information and I just offered my opinion, supported completely by fact by the way. And apparently, that was a 'gross act of disrespect'…her words, not mine. It's just ridiculous. She sends me off to Ollie for just breathing the wrong way. Plus, she's a goddamn imbecile. She wouldn't know the law if it hit her in the head. I'm not meant to be smarter than someone with a master's degree."
Mike could hear Harvey in clips and phrases as he listened to Charlie talk. He would never tell either of them, but Charlotte and Harvey were so alike that it could be almost too much at times. But Mike liked them both and cared for them both, even if they could be a pain in the ass.
Charlie delved further into her explanation while Mike continued to listen. If he hadn't known better than to encourage Charlie too strongly, Mike would have told Charlie that her argument was sound and had more depth and was more knowledgeable than he had seen from associates he worked with in the bullpen. But Mike knew Harvey wouldn't appreciate him encouraging Charlie's behavior. He kept his praise light.
"Charlie, you're right. I know that you know your stuff but Harvey is still going to kill you."
"He won't kill me. I'm his favorite sister."
Charlie offered Mike a smile. Favorite sister, only sister. Same difference.
"Favorite sister or not, you're not making his bad day any better."
"Bad day? He seemed fine." Charlie was typically good at picking up on these things, especially when it related to her brother.
"Right before you got here, Heskett put the merger on hold again." Mike shook out his watch to check the time. "And I better get back to work on that."
"Seriously? Goddamnit! She is such a crazy bitch." Charlie made the connection that Mike was avoiding in his own mind. He didn't want to blame Charlie for his extra work, for Harvey's grumpiness, or for a botched merger.
"What was that, Charlotte?" Harvey had slipped into the room, unnoticed by either Mike or Charlotte.
"Nothing," she answered quietly.
"Right." Harvey's eyes lingered on his sister until she looked away and he shifted his stare to his associate. "Back to work, pup. I don't pay you to put your feet up and entertain my kid sister. I can hire a nanny for that."
Mike excused himself without a sarcastic comment and Charlie pulled her book back onto her lap. Harvey took his time with pouring himself a drink before sitting down in the seat adjacent to his sister's spot on the couch. He noticed that Charlie shifted further away from him and he took a sip of his drink, feeling the room temperature liquid burn a bit in his throat.
"So, I think you were just about to tell me exactly why Pearson-Hardman has been blessed with your presence this afternoon."
Charlie's eyes stayed on her book. "Let's just skip to the part where you tell me I'm grounded," she replied, her tone dull.
"I'm not playing games, Charlie." Harvey set his drink down on the end table and focused his undivided attention on his sister.
"It's not a big deal. I didn't even get in trouble, not really anyway."
"Charlotte." Harvey waited for her eyes to meet his. "I want you to put the book away and tell me what you did. Right now."
She followed his direction, closing the book and setting it on top of her bag. "All I did was stand up for what was right, Harvey. I did exactly what I was taught to do, what you taught me to do."
"Somehow, I doubt that."
"She was lying. She was just making stuff up. And when I pointed it out, that stupid teacher said that I was wrong. That I was the one making it up, that I hadn't done my research. I always do my research. I proved that idiot wrong and she just didn't like it. She said I was being 'disrespectful' and sent me to Ollie's office and—"
''Which teacher?" Harvey asked, his voice low as it interrupted her rant. He already knew who his sister was in trouble with. It had become a theme of sorts over the course of the school year. Charlie froze, staring back at Harvey, cringing as she met his eye. She knew Harvey wouldn't kill her like Mike had suggested but he was still intimidating when angry. "Which teacher are you talking about, Charlotte?"
She looked at her shoes. "Promise you're not going to yell."
"I'm not going to promise you a damn thing and I won't ask the question again."
"It was Heskett. If you'd just hear me out, you'd agree with me. And according to Mike—"
"No, Charlotte, I'm not going to hear you out and I don't give a shit what my associate thinks. According to me is the only 'according to' that matters as far as you're concerned. And according to my memory, you were supposed to be letting this little feud go."
Charlie shifted back towards him. "She started it. She was just being a bitch because—"
"Charlotte, I've heard enough," he shouted, "You're grounded. Get your homework finished."
Charlie grumbled. Harvey hadn't even entertained her side of things.
"And when you're finished with that, you can help organize the Coleman briefs. We'll discuss this at home."
In the process of getting her books back onto the couch, she felt the need to have the final word. "You already said I'm grounded. I think that pretty much sums it up."
"Charlotte, drop the attitude."
Harvey thought he might lose it as he watched his little sister's eyes roll in her head. Sometimes he missed the more easy-going little girl Charlie had once been. She had always been a bit too serious, a little too grown up and aware of things, but at least she hadn't talked back to him back then. "Give me your phone."
"But—" she started.
"I would prefer not to humiliate you here in front of everyone, Charlotte. Just do as I ask."
Charlie slipped the phone into Harvey's hand. Before she could walk back to the couch, his free hand clasped around her wrist. "And no more distracting my associate. He's got extra work to do to make up for the fact that you can't keep your mouth shut."