Harvey sat back and stretched, wincing as he heard the cracks of a stiff back. He was working late, again. He smiled wryly, he had expected everything to get easier after his promotion, but he found himself staying as long as always if not later. He just couldn't put the cases down unless he was absolutely sure he had done everything he could that day. And she was always there with him.

Then he was smiling again, looking out through his glass doors at the curtain of red-blonde hair that shielded Donna's perfectly made up face. He'd hired her with the knowledge that she was resourceful and brilliant with research, but some of the information she came up with….It was beyond him. Of course, he had tried to get her to spill more than once, but she had just grinned that beautifully lopsided grin and told him:

"Come on, Harvey. A magician never reveals her tricks. That just ruins the fun."

I guess I didn't quite know what I was getting into, He thought. But I should've figured, given how it all started.

He lost the grin as he remembered just how her employment had begun. He'd never told anyone, not Jessica, and especially not her, how scared he had been. Sure, he acted confident, but he always acted confident. No matter what, that was his shield. But damn had he been scared. Not really for himself, he'd had his Sig, but for her. Donna had been defenseless, alone, and a drunk was pointing a gun at her back. Any other secretary would have broken down into tears and probably gotten shot.

But then, she isn't any other secretary. Nothing close.

She had been calm, as calm as he had been. She punched a Junior Partner in the face after he sexually harassed her, and then had her back turned to that same man plus his gun. But for all he could tell, she might've been watching a sunset. He shook his head, grinning for a moment and then losing it again as he wondered what kind of experience she must have had to be that composed in such an insane situation. Neither of them spoke much about their past, a mutual understanding existed that it was easier that way. But he still wondered how a woman grew up to have that much control. And he wanted to know if firecracker wit ran in the family. Maybe her brilliance was in the genes.

And I almost lost her, before she was found.

He would kick himself a million times for not just hiring her the second he got promoted. He just didn't think that Cranford would go that far.

Idiot, he thought, not sure if he was talking about himself or Cranford.

It was one of the reasons he'd been so scared. There had been that fear that she would get hurt and it would be his fault because he had done what was "best for the firm" and left her in the hands of a creep. He felt his stomach tighten in anger at the thought of David Cranford. The man was one twisted bastard. The way he menaced Donna was just sick, "I'm not done with you yet". The words played back in Harvey's mind and he shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn't been there. At the time it hadn't taken most of his self-control not to just shoot the man on sight. The fact that he probably could have talked himself out of it had not helped his restraint.

I'll never risk her again.

Three months later and he still felt guilty.

And what a three months it has been.

She wasn't really a secretary. Magic was more like it. Their first full day had been memorable. On his desk when he arrived was a cup of coffee somehow steaming hot, exactly the way he liked it, and from his favorite café down the street. He never got this coffee unless he picked up himself. He turned to look at her desk but she was busily typing and putting away files. He was settled at his desk and just starting to organize the papers from his current case, when she walked in. He looked, only raising his eyebrows to show his surprise at her entrance. She waited a beat at the entrance, (a habit that would disappear within the week) and moved forward once he nodded.

"The Markham briefs from Harry (an associate he had assigned them to a week ago), and this is the information you wanted on Alex Nealan (the man Harvey was currently suing for corporate embezzlement)." She handed him the papers, which were organized to the point of perfection, and asked,

"Anything else?"

"Not right now." He said, slightly bemused by her efficiency. "Wait, hold on a sec"

She turned back towards his desk.

"I only gave you the research assignment last night. How did you find all this in less than a day? This is damning proof, and you found it overnight. How?"

She merely smiled and put a finger to her lips. He grinned and understood the fruitlessness of that sort of question.

"O.K. clearly never going to get an answer there. Alright, Markham briefs. I happen to know that first of all, Harry never gets anything done in less than a week; and two, he is out sick today. So how did you get them to my desk."

"Email is hardly a recent invention"

"That does not answer part one" She grinned and it was so sexy Harvey was sure it was illegal.

"He's a young impressionable associate. It was not that hard to convince him."

Harvey was suddenly quite worried that a woman could look that good when talking about threats.

Hell, he decided, it's a woman after my own heart.

Watching that red hair, thinking back on the first months, Harvey realized what had happened. She had gotten to him.

Goddamn, it's been a while since that happened.

Harvey didn't really do close relationships. He hadn't been one for hanging out in high school, for one he was too busy trying to get the money together for college. Besides, the other guys had been interested in sex and football. Harvey knew a fair amount about both, but he didn't feel the need to talk about it for hours on end. His first real friend hadn't come along until Jessica had found him and taken him under her industrial-strength wing. But even then she hadn't turned into anything more than a mentor until he was more of an equal than student.

Maybe it was his definition that was off. Harvey didn't consider a person a friend until he trusted them absolutely; and most didn't last the trial of proving their loyalty. Donna had passed the test in record time and with flying colors. Naturally. She had exactly what he needed, exactly when he needed it.

He had come to anticipate this level of perfection, but every once in a while she would pull information out of thin air. He had a feeling her web of sources was bigger than anyone knew. He was aware she literally had ears in every corner of the firm, but she also came up with material on businesses, other firms, even an occasional governmental employee. He was beginning to wonder if she was CIA at some point.

He stopped asking for her source by her second week, it was a waste of his breath. By her first month he started showing his appreciation instead. Just as he came to anticipate occasional pieces of information, Donna would come to expect an expensive bottle of wine or jewelry when her findings were particularly important to the case. Harvey knew when credit was due, and he was sure to give it.

So the months ran on, and everyone noticed the slight change in Harvey. He was still that calculating, flawlessly dressed, smooth-talker he'd always been, but he was just a little quicker with the smile and a little faster with the joke. Especially around his new secretary. By the end of the first month rumors were flying, but they were quickly squashed by the three scariest people in the firm: Jessica, Harvey, and Donna. The two partners were both privately impressed by how quickly Donna had built herself a reputation. Harvey had a better clue than most as to how she'd done it; he figured blackmail. Given her ability to size people up at a moment's notice, he reckoned she had picked out the ringleaders, and then convinced them to change their tune. Donna could be very persuasive.

Now of course, the associates, the secretaries, the techs, even some of the partners (though they would never admit it) feared that mock serious expression and the inevitable takedown that came after it. Somebody had said once that her reputation had gotten ahead of her and that her bark was worse than her bite. There was a short silence that came as everybody checked over the shoulders to ensure that she wasn't about to jump out and get them.

Then another man said,

"That may be true, but her bite is still poisonous"

Hey thanks for the idea reviewers, I had fun writing this one. So if you did like it, let me know because I'm thinking about writing one from Donna's POV. If you didn't like it, be honest I'd appreciate it, and I'll write about something else.

Thanks!