4.
"We're going to be here all night, aren't we?" she asks, though her eyes do not leave the paper she is scanning.
"Won't be the first time," he answers.
She flashes him a small smile before turning her attention back to the files.
Harvey has found himself bringing extra suits to the office and showing at the New York Sports Club on 5th avenue during a particularly grueling caseload. It's been mentally and physically fatiguing, but trial is just two weeks away. Donna has been fulfilling far more second-chair duties than is required of her, but he's hurting for the help.
They sit across from each other in the small research library on the 12th floor. Off in the distance, he can hear a vacuum as the janitor makes his late night rounds. He finds himself glancing up at her more often than not, more out of sheer habit than anything else. She taps her highlighter against the desk lightly and bites her lip, bemused, but seemingly ignorant of his spying. Uncomfortable, she shifts in her chair. Her legs brush against his, and she looks up, mumbling an apology that trails off as she meets his gaze.
Harvey's look is steady, unmoving. Not for the first time, he finds himself toeing the line that has planted itself between them. But then immediately following the possessive attraction comes the guilt, the what ifs, the fear.
Here's the guilt.
"You should go home," he says, gesturing to the hallway behind her.
Donna narrows her eyes, understandably suspicious and discards her highlighter before crossing her arms across her chest. He has never offered her a reprieve before.
"Wouldn't want Jack to think I'm a slave driver," he explains.
It is the first acknowledgment Harvey has made of the other man's existence, despite the months between their encounter.
"Why do you care what he thinks?"
"Oh, I don't," he assures her. "But that doesn't mean you should be here instead of with him."
"Well," she sighs, "I can't tell him. Because I haven't seen him in nearly two months. You can though."
"Oh."
That was a surprise. He swears he still hears her hushed conversations as he approaches her cubicle, the hasty exits from the conversation when she knows he's near. It must be someone else, then. It does not surprise him that she has men falling at her feet. Perhaps that relationship was a passing dalliance in a steady stream of passing dalliances.
It's none of his business, he tells himself.
After a few more hours, he prompts her to leave once more. The weariness on her face is evident, and she is a little easier to convince this time.
"We should both leave," she insists, flipping the folder closed in front of him. "You've been like a zombie the last week. It's sad."
Harvey stands, glancing at his watch, which reads a cool 1 am. It's an improvement over the other nights, he supposes.
"Let me drop you off in the Village," he says, hailing a cab on the street below.
Donna knows not to argue, though the roll of her eyes is not lost on him. They climb in the car, hands side by side on the middle seat between them. He swallows hard, glancing at her briefly to see she is intent on watching the city scroll by through the window. The silence is suffocating, and an idle mind always seems to lead into the what if phase.
She's single (or as single as she's ever going to get, it seems). But they work together, and Harvey has always lived by the rule don't shit where you eat. He'd inevitably screw something up, or perhaps one of them would lose interest, but all the scenarios end the same. Their working relationship, which is truly the stuff legends are made of, will go down the toilet. And he's realized that his success over his tenure at the DA's is in no small part because of Donna. Donna who is always willing to put up with his bullshit, his ego, his more-than-meager day to day demands.
Donna signals to the driver to stop in front of a five-story walkup.
"See you tomorrow," she says.
Her eyes meet his and he clenches his jaw. "Sleep well," he replies, sincerely.
She hesitates for a moment, but then she climbs out of the taxi, glancing back once as she unlocks the door. He releases a breath he didn't know he was holding.
At the offices, he manages to keep Jessica off his back for a time, but really, he sees no end in sight for his service at the DA's office. He is mulling over just that thought when he strolls into the office on a Sunday evening. He swings by Donna's unoccupied desk to pick up some paperwork when he sees the light in Cameron's office, but the man isn't within.
He hears whirring and muttered swearing coming from the copy room around the corner. He pokes his head in and chuckles.
"Donna's the only one who can tame that wild beast…" he trails off as he sees Cameron's face, writ with fear for just an instant before it falls behind of mask of practiced nonchalance.
"What are you doing here so late? Aren't there any more women in New York City you can schmooze?" his voice is tight, unnatural.
Harvey approaches him slowly, patting the papers against his open palm rhythmically. "Apparently not."
Cameron turns back to the machine and yanks out a paper that is jammed in the shredder. He tucks it away into the folder in front of him and snaps around on his heel. "Well, I'll just have to get Donna's help tomorrow, if you can spare her for a few minutes."
Harvey grabs the folder from Cameron's hand as he tries to walk past and lays it open on the small side table. It takes but a minute for the realization to set in.
"He's guilty, Harvey-" he attemps to start, pleading.
"How many times have you done this before?"
Cameron runs a hand through his graying hair, suddenly looking much older than his forty-five years. "This doesn't concern you. Go home."
"What the hell were you thinking?"
"You know as well as I do that the defense is going to win if we hand this over. Mackenzie killed that young couple in cold blood," Cameron says, holding his hand up in an attempt to stifle the argument that will undoubtedly ensue.
"How many of my cases?" Harvey says, his voice suddenly low, threatening as he steps towards his boss. His mentor. And after the last two years, his friend.
"You know what I'm doing is right," Cameron whispers. "It would be a travesty of justice if he were to walk."
Harvey laughs humorlessly and plants the folder in the center of Cameron's chest with a bit more force than is necessary. "Practice what you preach."
He doesn't come in on the Monday, or the Tuesday. Donna leaves two voicemails, assuming he is ill, though there is an edge to her voice that makes him know she isn't buying it. Harvey Specter doesn't take sick days.
He calls Jessica to accept the position at Pearson Hardman, and that he will start next Monday. He is ready. He's learned everything he can. It's time to move on.
Those words are like a mantra, running through his head as he packs the box at his desk late that night. Only Greg has stopped by to say goodbye, hoping they can stay in touch. He knows it's a polite sentiment, nothing more.
"Trying to sneak away?"
"I was going to call you."
"I don't believe that," Donna says, coming to lean up against the cubicle wall.
Harvey places the lid on the one box he's packed away and turns towards her. She fingers the light silver pendant around her neck, out of nervousness or idleness, he cannot tell.
"What did he do?" she asks, quiet. She knows.
Harvey glances around him, and satisfied there is no one in earshot, he stuffs his hands in his pockets. "You were right," he replies simply.
Her eyebrows knit together as she shakes her head, perplexed. "You're just going to let him walk? As if none of this ever happened?"
"He won't do it again," Harvey assures her, leaning against his now clean desk. "Even though I'm gone, I know he won't."
"That doesn't make everything ok," she retorts, her expression darkening as she glances down the hall towards Cameron's office. Then, she meets Harvey's gaze, suddenly seeming to realize the finality of his words.
They both say nothing for a time, simply watching each other, their postures mimicking each other.
"Well," she says, standing straight and brushing off her tweed skirt. "Goodbye, Harvey."
Donna steps towards him and cautiously puts her arms around his neck and hugs him. He responds by reciprocating, pulling her closer, and the feeling of her warm body against his and the clean scent of her hair is comforting.
He leans back and gauges her expression. Her breath is a little more hurried, her cheeks slightly flushed, and then he realizes. She is waiting, leaving it up to him. This could be it, that line between professionalism and personal affection has been blown apart right in front of them.
"What if I'm not ready to say goodbye?" His hand trails down her arm and he captures her hand in his.. "Come with me."
Her hand goes limp in his as she blinks, surprised. "What?"
"I convinced you of something even more preposterous right in this room over two years ago." The déjà vu is more than apparent.
"Yeah, but you have even less leverage this time. You can't just hire a legal secretary at Pearson Hardman like you own the place."
"No," he agrees. "Give me 'til tomorrow afternoon, and then you can give Cameron your two weeks' notice. I'll talk to Jessica."
Donna narrows his eyes at him. "Harvey…"
"At least think about it until I call you tomorrow," he smirks. "You'll see a hefty raise, increase in benefits and vacation, and you won't have to work with Cameron anymore. Those are three things you always talk about wanting."
"The grass is always greener on the other side," she warns.
"The private sector is always greener, trust me."
The smile tugging at the corner of his lip is almost impossible to restrain. He loves watching her as the gears turn in her head, her expression contemplative. She notices his staring.
"Let's get out of here before someone calls security, seeing as you're a disgruntled ex-employee," she says, waving him off.
That night they talk in hushed voices over martinis, about the past, the present, and the potential future. They are at a fork in the road. If she stays, he doesn't think he'll be ready to never see her again. If she follows him, he won't have to worry about that possibility.
Two weeks later, that future has been cemented at Pearson Hardman.
TBC
Long time between updates, been super busy lately. I can't wait til Harvey meets Louis.