Chapter 10

Harvey arrived at The French at exactly 7pm. The maître d' informed him that the rest of the party were already there and showed him to the table. Alex's dad was the first to spot him and stood to greet him with a warm handshake and a pat on the arm. Before Alex had a chance to say hi, her dad was introducing him to his wife, Grace. Alex liked how Harvey was dressed tonight. He had on a beautifully tailored grey suit, but he wasn't wearing a tie and had the top two buttons of his white shirt undone. Perfect for the semi-formal setting of The French she thought.

Harvey greeted Grace and kissed her on the cheek; it was only then that he had a chance to turn his attention to Alex. She stood to say hi and kiss him on the cheek. Once again she looked beautiful. The French was a reasonably formal restaurant so her outfit of black cigarette pants and grey shirt was perfect. Harvey was a details man and he noticed how the electric blue embroidery on her shirt perfectly matched the colour of her blue shoes which were satin and had a buckle on them. Donna entered his mind as he recognised the shoes as the ones Mr Big bought for Carrie in an episode of Sex and the City – Donna had shown him a video clip of the episode and declared that she wanted a pair of the famous 'Something Blue' Manolo Blahnik's, as a reward for all her hard work. Harvey had tried his best but thanks to the success of the show they were sold out everywhere. Donna had never let him forget this.

The dinner went by quickly as Alex's parents told Harvey stories about her making Alex blush but balanced it out with asking Harvey about his life and telling him about theirs. Everyone was having a genuinely good time. Harvey had agreed to the dinner mainly because it was a way to spend more time with Alex, but the reality was that he was glad he was there as he was really enjoying being part of a family dinner with no dramas. Alex was lucky to have parents that were still together and still clearly in love.

Alex's mom was recalling a particularly embarrassing story so Alex took the opportunity to excuse herself and go to the ladies room. After fixing her makeup she checked her phone. Four missed calls and a text all from Henry. The text simply said '911'. That was their code for 'call me back NOW'! She dialled his number and he answered straight away. He explained that someone on the table he was hosting at the Tiffany ball was sick and could no longer come so there was an empty spot. He had to fill the seat with a high profile or wealthy individual so needed Alex's help. "Or I thought you could kill two birds with one stone and bring that handsome devil you've been seeing lately. I googled him, he's high profile and wealthy" Henry added and laughed. "Henry! I can't believe you googled him! I'm with him now actually, well I'm in the ladies room, he's sat with my parents. Long story! I'll ask him and let you know. But I'm pretty sure he'll say yes." She hoped he'd say yes. Despite her better judgement, Alex really enjoyed spending time with Harvey.

As Alex returned to the table the waiter came and asked if anyone wanted dessert, everyone declined as they were too full from their first two courses. But Alex's dad announced "my daughter's favourite is on the menu so she'd like the profiteroles please." "No, dad. I'm too full". But it was too late, the order was in and the waiter had gone. Alex ate as much as she could of the dessert but declared she was about to burst.

As 9 o'clock rolled around Grace declared that it was probably time they called it a night as they had to pack and were leaving early in the morning. Colin asked for the bill. When it arrived Colin was about to pick up the pen to sign it off and add it to their room bill but Harvey beat him to it and snatched it up. He pulled out his wallet. "No, no, Harvey. Dinner is on me" Alex's dad said. "I'm afraid it's not Colin. Alex and I had a little wager this afternoon and the loser had to pay for dinner" he said smiling at Alex. "That was dinner for us two, not my whole family" she corrected. "Please, let me pay. You've been so kind letting me join your family dinner and I've had a great time. It would be my pleasure and I insist. Besides, a bet's a bet". Harvey handed the waiter his card. Alex's parents thanked Harvey as everyone got up to leave Grace hugged Harvey and expressed how much she'd enjoyed his company tonight, sentiments repeated by Colin. Alex told them she'd come up to their room shortly to say goodbye to them properly, clutching her stomach she told them she'd have to go for a walk around the block first to try and walk off her unwanted dessert.

As Alex and Harvey walked down the stairs to the main lobby Harvey asked if he could accompany Alex on her walk. "Sure, that'd be nice" came her reply. "Excellent" Harvey said as he held out his arm for Alex to loop her arm through. It felt good to be this close to her, he thought. They walked down the street and rounded the corner, Harvey pointed out his building and they chatted comfortably as they walked the streets of the city.

"So" Alex declared. "I got a call from Henry when I went to the ladies room. He's got a spare seat on his table at the Tiffany ball on Thursday. Someone got sick and dropped out. He was wondering if I had any high profile and wealthy clients I wanted to invite and then he asked if I wanted to invite you instead." "Hey! I'm high profile and wealthy" Harvey protested. "So you'll come?" Alex asked. "Sure, it'll be fun. Plus this way I don't have to wait over a week to go on a date with you" Harvey said. "Oh, no, this isn't a proper date – you're doing me a favour. You still have to take me on a proper dinner and drinks style date when I come back to New York next week". Harvey laughed. "I better call Henry to let him know. He was starting to panic." They ducked into a quiet doorway so that Alex could make the call. She told Henry that Harvey had agreed to come. Harvey heard Henry say "oh, thank god" on the other end of the line and smiled at Alex, then Henry added "does he know it's $2,000 a ticket?" "Don't worry about that, I'll sort that out with you" Alex replied. "Well tell him to bring his credit card for the auction" Henry added. Alex started to talk over him before Harvey heard any more "ok then Henry, speak to you tomorrow, love you, bye."

"Well, that's a nice last minute surprise. I'm looking forward to that" Harvey declared. "You know you can't embarrass me right. There's going to be lots of celebrities and high profile people there. I'll need you on your best behaviour" Alex teased. "I think I'll be ok" Harvey assured her.

As they rounded the corner Alex apologised again for Harvey having to endure her parent's stories but Harvey explained that he'd had a really good time and that he thought her parents were great. "Ah, thanks. They are pretty great. I hope I'll be as happy as they are someday" she said. Before Harvey could respond a young guy came sprinting down the sidewalk out of nowhere and ran straight into Alex knocking her off her feet and ripping her arm out of Harvey's. She hit the sidewalk hard and lost her purse and one of her shoes in the process. In that instant, Harvey was torn – did he help Alex or run after the guy and beat the shit out of him? He chose to help Alex. She was starting to sit up and was muttering profanities at the disappearing youth as he gathered up her purse and found her shoe. Harvey leaned down to help her up "Jesus, are you ok? Come here" he motioned for her to put her arm around his neck. She did as she was told and he helped her up and half carried her to the steps of a nearby building. "Sit down, let me look at you" he ordered softly and kneeled down in front of her. He was shocked at how strongly he wanted to protect and care for her.

Alex was in a bit of a daze. It all happened so quickly. All she knew was that she'd landed awkwardly and her ass and her wrist hurt like hell. She liked how protective Harvey was being though. Harvey set her purse down on the step next to her and lifted her foot so that he could put her shoe back on. "You ok Cinderella?" he said as her foot slipped into the shoe. "I think so, Prince Charming" she replied before adding "I'm going to have a massive bruise on my right butt cheek tomorrow." "Ouch!" he replied with a smile.

This was the first time Alex had looked vulnerable since he'd met her Harvey thought and all he wanted to do was look after her. He brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She reached up and touched his hand and instantly regretted it as pain shot from her wrist and she winced, totally killing the moment. "What is it? Your wrist? Did you hurt it? Let me see" Harvey ordered. "It's fine, I can still move it. I landed on it so it's probably just bruised" she said. "Let me see. Where does it hurt?" he ordered again. "Here and here" she said pointing to her wrist bone and the inside of her wrist. Harvey took her hand in his and shocked her by gently kissing her wrist bone before looking her in the eyes. He turned his attention back to her wrist and asked "and here?" pointing to the inside of her wrist. She nodded her head slowly so Harvey repeated the process kissing the inside of her wrist. Then they just stared at each other. What was this? They both felt it. Against her better judgement Alex pointed to her lips and said "and here". Harvey let out a little laugh and Alex thought the way his nostrils flared a little when he did so was adorable. He admired her move, 'smooth' he thought. He leaned in and placed the most tender kiss Alex had ever had on her lips. As he pulled away he was smiling and noticed that she was too. "Better?" he asked. "Much" came her reply.

As Harvey and Alex entered the lobby of the Westley Harvey led them over to Guest Services to ask for an icepack for Alex's wrist, they said they'd get one sent up to her suite immediately. Alex was so used to looking after herself it felt odd to have someone fussing over her. She quite liked it though. At the same time Harvey was thinking how much he liked taking care of someone else.

Harvey's thoughts were interrupted by someone saying his name really loudly "Harvey Specter, how the hell are you buddy?" Harvey turned and instantly recognised the tall guy walking towards them as one of his old Harvard classmates. "John, wow, great to see you." Harvey liked John and was pleased to see him. His timing was off, but it was good to see a friendly face. Harvey remembered his manners "John, this is Alex. Alex, this is John, we went to Harvard together". Alex leaned in to greet John as Harvey said "what are you doing here buddy?" "In town for a meeting, leave in the morning, you got time for a drink?" "Err, yeah" he said looking unsure at Alex. "It's fine, you guys catch up. I need to go and say goodbye to my parents. We were about to say goodnight anyway" she assured him. "Just excuse us for one second John" Harvey said turning to face Alex. "Are you sure you're ok? Make sure you ice your wrist." Harvey ordered. "I'm fine. Bruised, but fine. Go and have a drink with your friend. I'll see you Thursday." She assured him. "OK" he said smiling at her "I'm really looking forward to being your date" he said as he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly. "Goodnight Harvey and thanks for looking after me tonight". "No problem, any time" he said. This time they kissed goodnight on the lips.

This is my first fanfic so I'd really appreciate any feedback and reviews. Thanks for reading!