Well, I certainly had fun coming up with this part. Thanks for waiting so patiently for this update! Enjoy!
Mike was terrified of Donna's powers of persuasion.
"And that's a good idea, how?" Mike asked incredulously, leaning forward over Donna's desk for emphasis.
"Well, he can't very well go walking around as a floating suit, can he? So the logical solution is—"
"No!" Mike screamed, cutting off Donna and convincing himself it was worth her wrath. A naked Harvey wandering the building was just way too creepy.
"It doesn't matter what you think, does it?" Donna said, turning to peer at Harvey through the walls of his office.
Harvey was ignoring them, sipping his coffee and presumably reading something floating in front of him. It was a disturbing image, and Mike frowned worriedly.
"Harvey, listen to reason, here!" Mike pleaded through the intercom.
Jessica suddenly appeared down the corridor and Mike gave Donna a quick look of panic. He blushed furiously, hoping she hadn't heard what they'd been arguing about.
Jessica walked right by them and swung the door open to his office and dropped some folders on his desk. She then turned around and looked straight at Mike, like he was her next target.
"Thanks, Jessica. I'll have the Turrell case wrapped up by tomorrow," Harvey's suit spoke up.
Jessica stopped and turned around slowly, examining the empty suit in lazy repose on Harvey's chair, a file floating mysteriously before it. "Oh. Excuse me, Harvey. I didn't see you there."
The floating file flopped forward suddenly, but Jessica was already walking out, a small smile on her face as she shook her head.
Mike let out the breath he'd been holding in, a nervous giggle escaping him.
"Donna, is Turrell here, yet?" Harvey's voice called.
"Not yet."
"Good. Mike, stop looking like an idiot and go find this damned file we need for Turrell." Mike nodded and wobbled down the hall. "Wait," Harvey called after him. "There's no time. I'll just come with you." And suddenly there was an empty suit walking next to Mike.
Mike wondered if he should protest Harvey's joining him and revealing his…"condition," but then decided that if Jessica didn't seem to care, then Mike shouldn't either.
He made a small snort and Harvey asked, "What?"
"You totally wanted to get away from Donna and her creepy suggestions, didn't you?"
"Tell her and you're dead," Harvey warned.
Mike made a zipping gesture along his lips.
…
"No, that's not what happened."
Gregory had gone to the copy room to make copies, obviously, for something Louis needed. But he'd hesitated at the door as he recognized a certain voice.
He peered in and saw Mike Ross arguing with what appeared to be a floating suit, with its sleeves stuffed in its pockets in a lazy pose.
He listened more closely.
"It was not my fault! C'mon! That's totally unfair!" Mike was whining.
Gregory couldn't make out what the other voice was saying. It was on the far side of the copy machine that Mike stood before, and the sounds from the machine distorted its voice.
"Oh, right, because that was a good idea," Mike shook his head. "I can, too! I'm not totally incompetent, you know."
There was a slight chuckle that Gregory thought must have come from the floating suit, but he was distracted from the conversation by a presence behind him. He turned to see Harold standing at his back with a confused look on his face.
"Why are we hiding behind the corner of the copy room?" Harold asked with a frown.
Gregory pulled him further behind him, hoping he was hidden from view should Mike turn around. "Quiet! Mike's in there talking to a floating suit."
"Ohh," Harold said thoughtfully. "Wait, what?"
"Shh!" Gregory said. He focused back in on the conversation beyond the door.
"No. Believe me, I would love to see his reaction, but no. Please, don't. He'll make my life even more of a hell." Mike sounded defensive and panicked, and Gregory wished he'd been able to hear the other voice more clearly. Who were they talking about?
"What are you morons doing?" a new voice asked behind Harold. Gregory whipped his head around to glare at the new intruder. A smug and smirking Kyle stood, holding some folders in his hands, probably so he could copy them. Gregory gave him a look, held a finger to his lips and returned his attention to Mike.
"Ooh, who're we spying on?" Kyle asked, more quietly, but still too loud for Gregory's taste.
"Mike and a ghostly suit," Harold whispered conspiratorially. Kyle leaned around Harold and peered over Gregory's shoulder.
"I can't see anything. Move over, Harold," Kyle said.
"Ow! I was here first, Kyle," the blonde whispered back.
Gregory ground his teeth in annoyance, and rounded on the two men. "Will you two shut up? They're going to hear us!" he whispered furiously. They glared back at him but shut up.
He returned to the scene in the copy room.
"What? Of course it's noisy and smells like paper. It's a copy room." Mike said in exasperation.
The suit's voice said something, but as usual, it was lost to the sound of the machine.
"I can't hear anything," Kyle said angrily. Gregory elbowed him in the ribs.
"Yeah, right," Mike scoffed, this time lifting the top of the machine to place a paper down on the scanner. "I bet you don't even know how to use this thing." He pushed some buttons on the screen. It made one copy and then he shoved that and some other papers in the tray on top, fiddling with some more buttons. The first paper went through, but then there was a familiar sound of a paper jamming.
Mike frowned down at the machine and raised a hand in defense towards the suit. "Shut up. It's just jammed," he muttered dejectedly. He leaned over the top to fiddle with the caught paper. "There we go," he said brightly and pushed the continue button.
Mike started laughing at something that was lost in the noise of the machine again, but his chuckle was choked off suddenly.
His arms beat desperately against the sides of the machine and he was making weak gasping noises. The suit straightened in a sudden motion but it wasn't quick enough.
Gregory cursed. The idiot that was Mike Ross had gotten his tie caught in the little wheels of the paper feed tray of the machine, and it was killing him. He ran into the room and grabbed some scissors off the supply shelf and cut through Mike's tie. He noticed that Kyle and Harold had followed him in.
Gregory let Mike fall to the floor clutching his throat, and looked around the copy room, but the floating suit was gone. Had he imagined it? But then, who was Mike talking to?
"Are you alright, Mike?" Harold was asking the man. Mike's face was bright red as he sucked in the blessed air. He weakly nodded his head.
Kyle frowned down at the man and then shared an annoyed look with Gregory.
"Thanks," Mike wheezed out.
"Whatever," Gregory said nonchalantly.
Mike pulled himself to his feet and leaned heavily on the machine, which was now jammed with the remains of Mike's tie.
"What happened?" Harold asked, concerned.
Mike shook his head. "Tie…got stuck." He glared at the machine and mumbled, "Stupid thing tried to kill me."
Harold heard this and came to a startling conclusion. Or at least, Gregory assumed he did because Harold stood up with a gasp.
"What?" Kyle asked with a sneer.
"It must have been the ghost!"
Kyle and Gregory looked at each other, and Mike just stared at the blonde.
"The ghost," Gregory dared.
Harold nodded vigorously.
"What?" Kyle said incredulously.
"The ghost of…" he paused dramatically, "Phil the Phantom!"
"Phil?" Gregory asked disbelieving.
"The phantom," Mike said, sounding just as unbelieving of Harold's stupidity as Greg and Kyle.
"Yes," Harold insisted. "Phil the Phantom. He was an associate here at Pearson Hardman ten years ago. He was given so much work by the senior and junior partners that he had a nervous breakdown, and died in his cubicle!"
"Which cubicle?" Kyle asked, crossing his arms with a smirk. Poor Harold didn't even realize he was being made fun of.
"Actually, I think it was the one Mike has," Harold said seriously, and turned a worried frown at Mike who had by now mostly recovered.
"Harold, that is by far the dumbest thing I have ever heard. And I've had conversations with Mike!" Kyle said.
"Hey!" Mike grumbled.
"But it's true!" the blonde argued. "He goes around the halls of Pearson Hardman, terrorizing the associates and imitating the senior partners!"
"Where's your evidence?" Kyle demanded. Gregory actually turned to Mike to share an eye roll. He couldn't believe Kyle was even arguing about this.
"Well, the ghost that tried to kill Mike was wearing a suit! Did you see that thing? Only a senior partner could afford that kind of suit."
Mike frowned confusedly at Harold at the mention of the ghostly suit. "Umm, actually, that wasn't a—"
"That's ridiculous! Why would it bother to wear a suit when it could just be invisible?" Kyle said, ignoring Mike.
"Well, maybe he hypnotizes you or something, makes you believe you're talking to a senior partner so you have to do what he says."
"Right. If that's your only piece of evidence then I think you've lost the jury," Kyle snorted, looking to Gregory for support, who managed just in time to mimic the look on Kyle's face. Mike gave out a quiet chuckle and Gregory shook his head at him.
"Okay, well that's not all he does!" Harold said desperately.
"This has to be good. Okay, I'll bite. What else does 'Phil the Phantom' do?"
"He steals things from you. From all the associates, and you never find them again."
Kyle burst into laughter.
"Well, how else do you explain where all my highlighters go?" Harold yelled.
Mike made a coughing noise and Gregory looked at him to see him fiddling with his shirt collar and looking suspiciously embarrassed. He suspected there was a simpler answer to the case of Harold's missing highlighters.
"And what kind of name is that, anyway? 'Phil the Phantom,'" Kyle continued, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Yeah, that is a pretty terrible name," Gregory added.
"What about, 'The Specter'?" Mike asked with a slight chuckle. Gregory knew the man was obsessed with his boss, but that was just sad.
"Keep your weird man-crush obsessions to yourself, Ross," Kyle said, and Gregory glared at him. He'd wanted to insult Mike about that!
"I'm not—I was trying to tell you—"
"Look, I didn't come up with the name! That's just what it was! His name was Phillip Jenkins, I swear!" Harold said, cutting Mike off.
"Really?" Kyle laughed. "Prove it. Prove that someone named Phillip Jenkins actually worked here."
Harold puffed up his chest. "Okay. I will," he said and marched out of the library, probably heading for the records room. Kyle followed him out, laughing and joking the whole way.
Gregory turned to stare at Mike, trying to discern what the man was hiding.
"Thanks," Mike said shyly. "For, y'know…my tie."
Gregory gave him another steady stare for good measure, before heading out. Just as he started to round the corner, he turned back and said, "I'm watching you, Ross." The man just stared back at him in confusion.
Hope you all like that section! There will be more hijinks with invisible!Harvey in the next chapter. i promise! Reviews, please? :D
