The Night We Met Chapter 2, a suits fanfic

Ch 2 - The Night We Met

She leans her head back against her desk and wipes at the tears smeared across her cheek, mind wandering back to that night in the bar…. The night they met.

She spots him strutting across the bar, black suit, blue stripped tie, hair slicked back. The trademark grin and celebratory stance told her he was the guy she was looking for. The man standing at the bar was Harvey Specter.

"Jay, can I get a Macallen 18?" she listens to him order a new drink, noticing he hasn't yet finished the one he's placed down on the bar.

She tosses a piece of her hair over her shoulder and takes a breath, this is her shot so she speaks up, making a flirty remark about how he should at least pretend to finish the drink someone bought him. He's far more handsome than she pictured, her eyes immediately drawing to his jaw line as he turns to greet her.

"I'm sorry, do we…?"

"Know each other" she interrupts, she can't help it, its's part of who she is, she reads people exceptionally well

"Not yet. But today's your lucky day" she adds, letting herself flirt with him. She wanted to work for the man, and if flirting a little would help her get there, so be it. It helped that he was annoyingly handsome, and she could tell just by the way he greeted her, he knew he was charming.

"And why's that?" he asks

"Because it's the day you get to meet Donna" she grins. God, she was outdoing herself.

"And let me guess, you're Donna?"

"Oh, you have no idea how Donna I am" she adds. And he really didn't. Not that either of them knew it, but it would take him the better part of their time together at the DA's office to figure out just how 'Donna' she was.

"Well Donna, I'm…"

"Harvey Specter" she cuts him off.

Harvey pours himself a second drink and lays back on the couch in his office, letting his mind wander back to that night in the bar… the night they met.

God, who was this woman? He thinks to himself.

He had wandered over to the bar to get himself a real drink, unlike that bourbon his colleague had ordered for him to help him celebrate his first big win. That's when he spotted her. The women across the bar in the yellow and blue plaid dress, fit to her body perfectly. It was her hair that first caught his eye as he made his way towards the bar, a deep shade of red that demanded attention. She turns around and his breath catches in his throat, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

He orders a new drink from Jay, and turns back around, scanning the room for her. He was flying high after his first real victory and he decided he wanted to celebrate. He doesn't spot her at first, and then suddenly, she's standing in front of him, commenting on his inability to finish the drink that was bought for him

She's far more confident than almost any other women he's ever met, and for a moment he wonders if maybe they've met before.

"Not yet. But today's your lucky day"

Was she flirting with him?

"And why's that?" he flirts back, intrigued and unable to keep his eyes from roaming from the low plunging neckline of her dress

"Because it's the day you get to meet Donna"

God, this woman was just about as self confident as he was

"And let me guess, you're Donna?" he says, flashing her a grin he hopes comes across as charming

"Oh, you have no idea how Donna I am"

"Well Donna, I'm…"

"Harvey Specter" she cuts him off.

How the hell?

"Do you really think I would be talking to you if I didn't know who you are?" she adds

His mind is processing a million miles a minute. How could this woman possibly know who he was? He'd just won his first case and had hardly made a name for himself as a lawyer, yet, here she was, knowing who he was. He was slightly disappointed she didn't approach him just to flirt with him, after all he knew woman found him attractive, it wouldn't have been a surprise.

"How exactly do you know about me?" he asks

"I know about everybody. What I don't know is why this is the first case you ever took to trial?"

"Because it was a white-collar crime…" he begins, continuing to explain why, but not sure why he's decided to explain his reasoning to someone he doesn't even know.

"Which makes it the kind of case…"

"That puts your name in the paper" she finishes his sentence for him once again

"You're not just another pretty face, are you?" he wonders out loud. He had never met someone so perceptive before. It's like this beautiful woman standing next to him in the bar had sought him out for some reason.

"I'm not. So maybe you should buy me a drink and we can continue this conversation in the corner"

Damn it. She was flirting with him. He'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't curious, so he calls over to Jay and orders Donna a drink. It must be his lucky night, a big win and drinks with a beautiful woman, what more could he ask for.

She watches as the confusion washes over his face, clearly trying to figure out how she knew who he was. Boys, they were just too predictable, she sighs.

"Do you really think I would be talking to you if I didn't know who you are?" she adds

"How exactly do you know about me?" he asks

"I know about everybody. What I don't know is why this is the first case you ever took to trial?" she gets straight to the point

"Because it was a white-collar crime not some drug dealer on the corner, which makes it the kind of case…"

"That puts your name in the paper" she finishes his sentence for him once again, she really can't help herself, it's just too much fun watching him get flustered when she does it.

"You're not just another pretty face, are you?"

Oh god, now he was flirting with her. I guess you can't blame the guy, he is human after all, she thinks to herself. Might as well use the flirting to her advantage, she smiles.

"I'm not. So maybe you should buy me a drink and we can continue this conversation in the corner"

He calls to the bar tender and she smiles to herself, that was way easier then she thought it would be. Harvey Specter, she thinks, you have no idea what you're in for.

He finds himself seated across from her at a tall table in the corner of the bar

"Okay, enough about me, let's talk about you" he says, tone dripping with desire as she places her martini glass down on the table

"Ou, my favourite subject" she banters

"You know what I think, I think your favourite subject didn't come up to me just to find out why I went to trial" he adds

"You want something" he tests the waters, trying to direct the conversation towards the one thing that's been on his mind since the moment he laid eyes on her

"I sure do" she answers

Alright, now they were getting somewhere, he thinks to himself. He was wondering how long she would tease him with the flirty remarks without leading on that she wanted this evening to go anywhere. The way she answered him with a bat of her eyelashes, leaning forward ever so slightly causing his gaze to drift once again to the low neckline of her dress gives him the final confidence boost he needs.

"I think I might be ready to give it to you" he flashes his trademark grin

He asks her about herself and she can't help but grin at his surprisingly boyish charm. For someone who wanted to be a big shot lawyer, he had a lot to learn.

"Ou, my favourite subject" she jokes

"You know what I think, I think your favourite subject didn't come up to me just to find out why I went to trial"

Hm, she supposes he actually was more than just a pretty face, she did seek him out for a reason, a reason far more important than the flirting she kept finding herself getting swept up in.

"You want something" he adds, pupils dilating as she watches his eyes make there way to her chest before return back to meet her gaze. Then again, maybe he wasn't as quick as she thought, he gave in to her flirting far to easily.

"I sure do"

"It's not sex" she smirks, watching his face fall slightly as he tries to recover some of that top-notch confidence he displayed moments before.

"Never mind then" he mutters before sipping his drink, causing her to chuckle at his reaction. She had to hand it to him, at least he was honest, and she'd always found honest men to be incredibly attractive.

"Wow, you're going to be that honest about it" she voices her thoughts, at least the honesty part of her thoughts

"Saves time" he reasons, still trying to save face

"Well in that case, I want to move to your desk" she figures she better shoot her shot while she has the chance

"And why's that?"

"Because it's no secret in a few years you're going back to Gordan, Schmidt and VanDyke" she tells him

"And let me guess, you want to come with me when I do?"

Ou, so close, yet so far, she thinks. Gotta give the guy credit for trying to do her whole 'Donna' thing when he barely knows her though.

"No, I don't" she rolls her eyes

"Then why?" he questions

"It's not sex" she smirks, causing his face to fall before he can regain his composure. Shit. He read that one wrong.

"Never mind then" he tries his best to play it off like her words didn't sting, and like he hadn't misread the situation. He was supposed to be an up and coming lawyer after all.

"Wow, you're going to be that honest about it"

"Saves time" he admits, suddenly curious why she was spending so much time getting to know him if she wasn't interested in coming home with him.

"Well in that case, I want to move to your desk"

Ah, there it was. But why would she want to go work for him? Besides, he thought they had chemistry, maybe she didn't feel it, otherwise she would definitely want more than to just come and work with him.

"And why's that?"

"Because it's no secret in a few years you're going back to Gordan, Schmidt and VanDyke"

"And let me guess, you want to come with me when I do?"

"No, I don't"

"Then why?" he questions. This woman has him stumped, just when he thinks he has her all figured out, she throws him another curve ball. It's a good thing he likes baseball (and red heads) or he would have stopped playing long before this point.

"Because I'm going to be an actress, and I want somebody who understands that there's more to life then just the DA's office. And that I can give my all to them, but still step out for the occasional audition"

"You're stepping out on me already?" he teases. Unaware that for the next decade, the woman sitting across from him stepping out on him would become one of his biggest fears, one he would spend sleepless night after sleepless night trying to prevent from happening.

"Yes, but the important thing is I'm telling you about it in advance" she grins as the waiter brings over a drink from a gentleman seated across the bar.

"I don't know who that is, but I'm telling you he is bad news" she comments, and in that moment, he decides she can come work at his desk. What's the worst that can happen? If it doesn't work out, he can fire her and move on with his life.

He sighs, snapping back from his thoughts and looking at the skyline shining outside his office window. He may have been an idiot back then, who hired her partly because her intuition intrigued him, and partly because he was attracted to her, but at least back then he had the courage to be honest about it. If that version of himself could see him now, drinking alone in his office, afraid to tell her how he really felt, he would laugh in his face and call him a coward.

Looking back on it, he was glad she didn't go home with him that night. That she was sensible enough to stick to her guns and go after what she came for. She hadn't changed. In all the years they'd worked together, she'd always been the sensible one, the one who went after what she wanted for her career, and the one who knew they shouldn't sleep together if they worked together, despite how badly he wanted to. If he had taken her home that night, sure they would have had a great night, maybe even a couple of great nights, but they wouldn't have developed the bond they now share. He valued her friendship dearly. He cared about what she thought, and at the end of the day, Donna was his best friend, and the one person he couldn't live without. If he had taken her home the night they met, they wouldn't have all of this. The late-night drinks in his office, the hand bag excursions, dinner at Del Posto. His name wouldn't be on that wall, because without her, he never would have made name partner, he probably wouldn't have ever left the DA's office. Sure, he wouldn't have lost Mike, Rachel, and Jessica, but he also wouldn't have had the opportunity to get to hire Mike, work with Rachel or get to learn from Jessica. And that thought alone, terrifies him.

On the opposite side of the wall, Donna finds herself staring out the window, smiling as she replays that night in the bar over and over in her head. She was proud of how far she'd come. When she approached Harvey in the bar that night, her plan involved a temporary position at his desk before she made it big on Broadway, now here she was, the COO of one of Manhattans best law firms. She owed a lot of her success to him. Not in the sense that he handed it to her, but without his encouragement she doubts she would have worked as hard as she did. It was odd, how intertwined their success was. It was as if one without the other simply didn't work. They built off each other, pushed each other to do better.

Sure, she stuck around at the DA's office longer than she had planned to, she liked the job and if she was being honest with herself, she enjoyed Harvey's company. She was undeniably attracted to him, but she would never act on her feelings, not when they could complicate the good thing her and Harvey had going. He learned to embrace her Donna thing rather quickly, and they had been an unstoppable team since then.

Even though she is incredibly grateful she didn't go home with him that night, she wonders what would have happened if she did. She figures they would have had a night, or two, of fun and then go their separate ways. She didn't let herself believe that their connection that night was so strong that they would have gone home together and fell madly in love…

What if…
He asks her about herself and she can't help but grin at his surprisingly boyish charm. For someone who wanted to be a big shot lawyer, he had a lot to learn.

"Ou, my favourite subject" she jokes

"You know what I think, I think your favourite subject didn't come up to me just to find out why I went to trial"

Hm, so she supposes he actually was more than just a pretty face, she did seek him out for a reason, a reason far more important than the flirting she kept finding herself getting swept up in.

"You want something" he adds, pupils dilating as she watches his eyes make there way to her chest before return back to meet her gaze.

"I sure do"

"I think I might be ready to give it to you" he responds, almost causing her to giggle at the blunt directness of his statement. Well, at least she knew where his head was at, and she had to admit, he was charmingly handsome. If she wasn't here for a reason, she could see herself going home with Harvey Specter. He was incredibly attractive, smart and it turned out he was easy to talk to. What was the harm in letting herself have a little fun, she thinks. After all, she has a job, did she really need to work with him? Screw it, he wanted her to go home with him, and she wanted to go home with him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she flirts as he motions for the cheque

He follows her out of the restaurant and calls a cab, opening the door for her before climbing in beside her. The conversation is light-hearted and fun on the way back to his place, and they talk about her potential acting career and his interest in baseball. Once inside his apartment he pours her a drink while she looks around.

"Wow, nice place" she observes

"Thanks, I decorated it myself" he grins, handing her the glass of scotch

He wanders over to the record player and starts a soft jazz song before joining her on the couch, sitting so close she can feel his heart beating. He places a hand on her thigh and smiles over at her.

"So why did you really come up to me tonight?" he asks

"Truthfully? I wanted to work for you" she admits, staring into his deep brown eyes, nearly forgetting the reason she approached him that night

"And now?" he whispers, as he closes his eyes and leans in to kiss her. His lips gently pressing against hers as his hand comes up to cup her cheek. He pulls back slightly, leaving a small gap between their lips.

"I'm not so sure" she answers in a whisper, before tugging his collar towards her and slipping her tongue past his. Damn it, he was good.

The next morning, she searches his bedroom floor for her dress as he begins to stir.

"Leaving so soon?" he calls, catching her in the act

"I have to get to work" she smiles back, finding the dress and slipping it on before walking back towards the bed

"But you can call me" she smirks, placing a gentle kiss on his lips and sliding him a piece of paper with her phone number before making her way out the door.

He calls her the next day, and they relive that night they met a dozen times in the next few weeks. As the weeks drone on, they spend the night together less often until finally she meets someone in acting class and tells him she can't do this, whatever this is, anymore. He runs into her a few times in the years to follow, at bars or coffee shops. Just quick hellos are exchanged as both recall that amazing first night they spent together. She nearly forgets the reason she introduced herself to him in the first place until one day she reads about him winning a case for the DA's office in the paper. She'd left the DA's office to pursue an off-off Broadway production of Cats and it looks like Harvey Specter was still working there. Hmm, she supposes she made the right call by not switching to his desk since he didn't seem to have become the lawyer he wanted to be.

Mike Ross, who? Harvey Specter, New York's best closer, never heard of him. Pearson Specter Litt, what was that? – wasn't it Pearson Hardman?

But, now, after going on 13 years of working side by side, what would happen if they went home together? Would it be like that night they met? Or would everything they'd built in the process make that night worth the wait?

Moving to his desk was the greatest decision she'd made in her adult life. She considered Harvey to be her best friend, even after everything they'd been through. He was the one person she couldn't stand to live without. Granted, that fact had complicated her personal life several times, the most recent being her relationship with Thomas. Harvey was right, Thomas was perfect. He was a gentleman, he had a great career he was passionate about, he always asked about her day and he seemed genuinely interested in the work she did. Yet, she'd seemed to have found his only flaw and couldn't manage to let it go, despite how badly she wanted to. He was no Harvey Specter.

She sighs as she looks out at the city illuminated outside her window. She doesn't regret one thing about that night they met, without it she wouldn't be here, kicking ass at a job she never knew she wanted. She wouldn't have met Mike, or Rachel, who had quickly become incredibly important people in her life. Thank god the Donna of 12 years ago knew better than to go home with Harvey. If she could see the Donna of today, she wonders if she would be disappointed in herself now. Because here she was a decade later, sitting in her office thinking about going home with Harvey Specter.

Alone in his office once again, lost in thought Harvey is grateful she decided to switch to his desk all those years ago, giving him the opportunity to get to know her, to fall in love with her.
A mere 10 feet away, she's also grateful for that day, the day she had the courage to introduce herself to the man that would change her life forever.

I hope you guys enjoyed the first flashback (and I hope it was easy enough to follow along with)! xx