Author's note: Today we have a special guest from 'Smallville', Lex Luthor :D (But since he values his life and Marvey, he's nice in here).
Step 8: Jealousy is the best policy (Project 'Green-eyed monster')
Harvey and Mike spent Tuesday pretty much the same way as Monday, trying to find a way to check on each other. But without Mike, Harvey had been incredibly busy and even had to do some of the legwork on his own. Mike only had a few chances to get out of Jessica's office but every time he attempted to go see Harvey, someone walked up to him and chatted his time away, leaving him with no other choice than to go back to the managing partner. He eventually managed to swing by Harvey's office before heading home but Harvey had already left.
So on Wednesday morning, it was no surprise to Donna that Harvey looked a little lonely in his large office. It was the perfect time to execute their next plan.
The time has come. We wish you great luck.
She texted a member of the Marvey fan club who would be risking his neck by playing his part. She just hoped that Harvey would have enough sense in him to not throw a punch at work.
It didn't take long for Lex Luthor to appear in front of Donna's area, looking sharp and handsome in his dark grey suit and burgundy tie.
"Looking good." She smiled warmly at the senior partner who would find himself on the receiving end of Harvey's death glare in a few minutes.
"Thanks, Donna. You look amazing as usual."
"I know." Donna laughed and let him into Harvey's office.
Harvey looked up from his pile of work as soon as the partner walked in. "Lex, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"
In Harvey's mind, Luthor was one of the few partners in the firm who was courageous enough to take on challenging cases. He quite liked the guy but then, he remembered how Luthor had been in the associate's break room on Monday, talking friendly to Mike.
"Harvey, I came by to ask you a favor. I already cleared it with Jessica and Mike but I wanted to get your permission myself." Lex sat down in one of the chairs.
Harvey found himself sitting straight at the mention of Mike's name. His guts told him that he wasn't going to like this.
"What do you want from Mike?" The question came out harsher than he had expected.
"I want to take him to one of my client's party tomorrow night. As my date."
"As your date." Harvey repeated incredulously.
"Yes, this client's gay and well, Mike's the prettiest guy in the office." Lex managed to smile under Harvey's lethal stare. It was a good thing that he had enough experience at faking smiles.
Harvey cursed inwardly at the fact that the party took place on Thursday night. He would get Mike back on Friday morning so Jessica could still call the shots on this one.
"And, you say that you've already cleared this with Mike?" He asked as he desperately tried to think of a male employee as pretty as his associate.
"Yes, he told me that he was single so no harm would be done in any way."
"What about Harold?" Harvey remembered Mike talking about the blond associate that sat next to him. He didn't know what Harold looked like but Mike was a blond –dirty blond- too and he looked pretty so how bad could Harold be?
"Excuse me?" Lex wondered if Harvey needed glasses. "Harold? Why would I want to take him when I can take Mike?"
Harvey really didn't appreciate Lex using the expression 'take Mike'. It sounded filthy and he didn't like it one bit.
"Harvey, I promise I'll look after him. I'll make sure that nobody harasses him and I'll get him home safely without too much alcohol in his system."
The more Lex talked, the more agitated Harvey became.
"I think he's big enough to go home on his own, Lex." He snarled and for a moment, he thought that he had seen the other partner smile.
"You think this is funny?" He snapped. He wished that Mike had consulted him before saying yes.
"It's just a party, Harvey. A harmless party." Lex smiled again and got up from his seat. "Thanks for lending him. I owe you one." He extended his hand and could tell that Harvey was trying very hard to not yank his hand off.
"No problem. Just bring him back in one piece or… well, I think you know what I'm capable of."
"Don't worry. He'll be fine. I give you my words."
Harvey watched the partner leave and poured himself a glass of scotch. He needed to drown his frustration.
For the next few hours, everyone who worked with Harvey had to walk on eggshells. Even Donna had to admit that her boss looked particularly intimidating. Harvey's mood didn't get any better when he had left his office to go find a precedent in the library. He had passed Jessica's office on his way only to witness Jessica, Mike, and Luthor talking friendly with one another. He couldn't help but feel that he should have been in Luthor's place, but he had tried to shrug it off and mind his own business. He told himself that they were probably just talking about the client who hosted the party.
Harvey's mood got a little better when he ran into Mike at lunch time. He had spotted Mike in the hallway after having lunch with another partner and was about to get his attention when a girl snatched his associate.
"Mike! I heard you found one of my earrings!" Logan opened her arms and hugged her hero.
"Oh, it's nothing, really. It was just lying there in the middle of the hallway. Anybody would've seen it." Mike awkwardly patted his colleague on the back and that was when he noticed that Harvey was staring at him.
"Thank you so much! It's one of my favorite earrings and I've been so upset, thinking that I lost it for good!" Logan hugged Mike tighter, fully aware that this would be her only chance to get so friendly with him. She didn't have a death wish and had nothing personal against Harvey; she just loved Mike a lot.
"Uh, you're welcome, Logan."
Mike couldn't understand why he felt guilty at the stiff expression on Harvey's face. He wondered if this was what being a cheating spouse felt like.
'What? Why would I think that? I'm just returning an innocent hug. Plus, it's not like I'm going out with Harvey. I can hug anyone I want.'
When Logan finally let go of him, Mike tried to wave at Harvey but the senior partner had turned around and was stomping towards the other side of the hallway. Mike felt as if Harvey was stomping on his heart but he shook his head at the ridiculous feeling and hurried to Jessica's office. He was going to focus on work and everything would be fine.
The table was turned when Mike got permission to go see Harvey in his break time. Something told him that Harvey hadn't been upset about the hug in the hallway but about him attending the client's party with another senior partner. So he had asked Jessica if he could get an opportunity to talk to Harvey and she had readily granted him permission.
Mike was on his way to Harvey's office, carefully choosing words in his mind that would enable him to explain himself properly.
'Now that he's gone through a few days without me, perhaps he'll appreciate me a little more when he gets me back.' Mike thought hopefully. He was starting to think that spending a week away from Harvey wasn't all that bad.
He grinned wickedly, deciding that he should tell Harvey what a great boss Jessica was and make him jealous, but his grin faltered when he saw the company nurse inside Harvey's office. Nusaiba had rolled up Harvey's sleeves and was checking his blood pressure.
"What's wrong with him?" Mike asked Donna with horror.
Donna looked up from her computer monitor and saw a pale puppy. "Aww, don't worry. I just called the nurse as a precaution. His blood pressure was rising, that's all."
"What happened?"
Donna wanted to say 'You're going to a party as another man's date.' but opted to let him figure it out on his own. "He's probably just tired. You leave him for three days and that's what happens."
"Ah, he needs his mighty associate back." Mike tried to say it lightly but he could hear a considerable amount of worry in his own voice.
Then he noticed how Harvey had taken off his vest and let the nurse unbutton his shirt. "What is she doing?"
Donna bit her tongue at the urgent cry. "She's trying to put a stethoscope to his chest."
"But why can't he unbutton it himself? The high blood pressure paralyzed his hands or something?"
Donna found a jealous Mike very adorable. "Come here so I can pinch your cheek."
"What? Why would you want to do that?" Mike asked, his eyes still on Harvey's open shirt.
"Harvey's not the only one who misses you, Mike."
Mike turned his head and looked at the lovely woman. "Oh, Donna..."
He gladly bent down and let her pinch him on the cheek. It was heartwarming to be missed by his team and he couldn't wait to be with Harvey and Donna again.
"Mike?" Harvey buttoned up his shirt as he saw Mike hanging around Donna's area. He thanked the nurse and called his associate into his office.
"Harvey! I heard you got old." Mike joked and sat in front of Harvey's desk, feeling better about the whole situation after getting an affectionate pinch from Donna.
"Who told you that? Luthor?" Harvey knew that Luthor wouldn't say such a thing but he wanted to find out what Mike thought about him.
"Lex? Nah, he only said good things about you."
"I wasn't aware that you two were on a first-name basis." Harvey grabbed his fountain pen and started to choke it with his grip.
Mike made a gesture with his hand to say that it was no big deal. "He insisted that I should call him Lex since I'm going to pose as his date tomorrow."
"Right."
Harvey's jaw tightened and Mike started to explain, "I wanted to check with you first, Harvey, but Jessica gave me that stern look of hers and told me that I didn't need your permission. She really scares me, you know. And, I can't really leave her office as freely as I used to when I was working in my cubicle. I feel like she watches me like a hawk."
Harvey understood but it didn't make him feel any better.
"Are you mad at me? Damn, I should've at least texted you, but I was terrified that Jessica would know that I was texting you and think that I disobeyed her."
"I'm not mad at you, puppy." Harvey didn't want Mike to suffer from this. It was his own fault that he couldn't rescue Mike from Jessica's den before a tiger snatched him away for a party.
"So you're totally cool with me following Lex to the party." Mike checked.
"I didn't say that." Harvey wished that he could throw his least favorite baseball through the window and let the whole city know how frustrated he was.
"You're worried that I'll make a mistake? You have nothing to worry about. I'll do my best and make you proud. Lex is going to die to have me as his associate but I'll be coming back to you."
Harvey had to laugh at Mike's obliviousness and feel a little happy at his heartfelt declaration. He had a very loyal associate. "Is that what you think why I'm not particularly pleased with that arrangement?"
"Uh, now that you're asking, I can tell there's a different reason."
"And, what would that be?"
Mike studied Harvey's face before answering, "You want to go to the party too. Lex told me that the client's place is really nice, even better than Jessica's." He wasn't going to let things get awkward between them again when he only had a few minutes left of his break.
As usual, Mike's words gave Harvey an idea that he could work with. 'That's right. I want to go to the party and keep an eye on them. I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing like a lawyer who knows how to lose.'
Harvey curled his fingers into a fist and lifted it. "Bump it and get back to work. As your original boss, I'm obligated to encourage you."
Mike's face broke into a bright smile and he got on his feet to bump Harvey's fist. Harvey immediately realized just how much he had missed that smile. He hadn't appreciated it enough when Mike was around, and it killed him to think that Mike would be smiling like that at the party in someone else's arms.
"I'll see you around, Harvey. Have a good day." Mike smiled softly and Harvey could read in his eyes that the kid didn't want to leave.
"Go show Jessica how good you are. Go make me proud."
Mike nodded and dragged his feet out of the office while Harvey contacted his savior. "Donna, find me a guest at that party who doesn't have a plus one yet."
Harvey finally felt a little better about the whole mess. It's not like he was going to spy on the two or sabotage Luthor's deal. He was just going to monitor his associate's work and remind him that he still belonged to him.