A/N: This was inspired by Hellcsweetie's (Luisa's) twitter prompt thinking about a new worker at Pearson Hardman accidentally reporting Darvey to HR because as we know both Harvey and Donna are too flirty for their own good especially with each other. So props to her for this idea and I really hope other ppl attempt to write this prompt bc there are so many cute stories revolving this premise, because this was just my short quick take on it and I'd love to see more!
I also want to mention that this story has a follow-up/prequal(?) from the HR Department's view! I'll post it as a second chapter on this fic and my 12th chapter on my multi-fic Through The Eyes of Others.
HR Department
Donna was puzzled at the email she had just received from HR. She hadn't been emailed from the proper Law firm's HR department, personally, in years. It was usually Carmen on her personal email shooting her funny gossip tidbits, or the quarterly mass email about updated regulations at Pearson Hardman, and she definitely never got one with the subject line reading Sexual Misconduct Complaint File RC-79 Re: Miss Paulsen.
Donna felt her blood freeze and her frown deepen as she was about to wonder if it was perhaps a spam email that read incredibly realistically, but her name and the sender's official email address gave her pause. Shit. This was real.
But who the hell would file a sexual harassment complaint against her? She knows she definitely haven't touched anyone inappropriately at the office, her last physical relationship with anyone who worked here was a second year associate eons ago back when she first started, and he had left the firm four years ago. She ran her head through every interaction she'd had recently at work. Did she touch someone's shoulder, encroach on their personal space unknowingly, had she made a flirty joke that landed wrong with someone- Pete the coffee guy, the new male assistant Jessica had, perhaps Harold who she'd teased till he turned red as a tomato last Wednesday out of boredom?
Donna decided to end her curiosity with the cold hard facts and finally read the email, before she even clicked on it however, Harvey called her in.
"Donna, my office now."
Donna jumped up at the sudden voice, hastily closing her computer and heading to his office, gaging what her boss could possibly want right now.
"Harvey, the Henderson case is almost proofed. I just need to double check Litt's lackey's work before-" Harvey stopped her explanation by raising his palm up, and tilting his jaw at her.
"That is not what I wanted to talk about." Donna narrowed her eyes at his serious tone yet slight hint of amusement she found in his eyes.
"Oh-kay."She said hesitantly, "What did you wanna talk about?" Donna asked as she smoothed down her skirt and sat down across from him.
"Well, I wanted to talk about why in god's name I was just CCed on an email from HR about someone filing a sexual harassment complaint. I thought you kept your blue jokes just for me after hours."
Donna blanched at his statement, which was both serious and sarcastic at the end.
"Oh my god she sent it to you too?"
"Well I am your boss, I should be informed of these…instances." Harvey cocked a brow at her and Donna rolled her eyes.
"You can't seriously believe I was harassing anyone do you? This has to be a mistake!"
Harvey knew she was not an actual sexual harasser, the idea of it practically laughable with the amount of times she'd complained about abusers in power, the general and sexual harassment women took on a daily basis, and the mistreatment of them as second class citizens. But still, you didn't get an email from the HR department about sexual misconduct unless she'd acted in… a certain way with someone in the office.
(That certain way being one of his favourite versions of Donna: flirty, open, salacious- something he hadn't openly had since The Other Time)
"Well Donna, you always told me to believe a victim first and foremost unless evidence was given for me to believe otherwise in these circumstances."
Donna scoffed at his crass joke. "I'll have you know no one has ever complained about my attention on them- ever." Donna leaned her weight onto her arms as she kneeled closer to Harvey, towering over him slightly, bending her head towards his as she narrowed her eyes threateningly at him.
He only hesitated slightly, backing his office chair a smidge to give him some space from her smouldering (scary) look.
"Well you definitely fixated someone with your flirty looks and they definitely complained."
Before Donna could respond ( wanting an elaborate description of said flirty looks) he quipped in another reply. "Whatever happened to your no co workers dating policy Paulsen?" He tsked jokingly, swallowing down the heat he felt trickle the back of his neck at the reference he's making. He felt like he was both referring to The Other Time, and admitting his annoyance at her stupid rule, something he always tried to hide from her.
Immediately, Donna picked up on the insinuation, and maybe she was more sensitive to the situation than he realized because she didn't let it go like she normally would instead her eyes seemed to set ablaze. "What are you, jealous?" She asked half mockingly half in an outraged tone.
Harvey narrowed his eyes back at her, not liking her (right on the money) insinuation.
He decided to change tactics. "What the hell are they filing a complaint about anyways?" He asked annoyedly, partially annoyed with her and the fact she was flirting with someone so aggressively it violated firm policy.
"I don't know!" Donna snapped irritatedly back at him. Harvey frowned. "What? You don't know? What's the date today? I wanna write this down as the day the all mighty Paulsen ran out of answers."
Donna bit the inside of her cheek. "Ok wiseass, I had just gotten the email before you summoned me over here, so I didn't have time to look at it properly yet. Move." She said as she rounded to his side of the desk, shoving his chair slightly as she leaned forward to click on the unopened email herself.
As Donna finally read the email Harvey tried very hard to focus his attention on the letter as well, ignoring Donna's wispy hairs falling across his shoulder, her vanilla warm scent tickling his nostrils, and the side of her neck etched in faint freckles he wanted to familiarize himself with greatly. He swallowed loudly, averting his gaze from the letter, to her gold eyelashes, down to her chest, and back to the letter itself.
"Oh my god." Donna whispered to herself.
"What?"
"Oh. My god." Donna repeated, this time letting out a crazy laugh.
"Donna what?"
Donna shook her head softly, still chuckling as she turned around to face him, her face barely two inches away from his.
'It's you." she replied simply.
"What?"
"Someone filed a complaint on your behalf. Apparently some new associate overheard us last week and filed a report because they weren't positive our relationship was… kosher."
"Are you serious?"
"Deadly." Donna smirked, suddenly finding the entire situation humorous.
Harvey averted his eyes back to the screen, trying to get more details on the file. It wasn't just against Donna, but him as well, citing inappropriate behavior and what type of offense this would be.
He racked his mind trying to remember the incident. He recalled an interaction with the redhead revolving a few size matters jokes, a melon reference and one or two points revolving vanilla sex (that they both know is not the case with either of them).
"So… do you?" Donna asked, smirking slightly at him, snapping him out of his trance.
"Do I what?"
"Do you have an issue with my fixated attention on you?" Donna had inched her head impossibly closer, her voice had turned sultry and low and fuck this was hot.
"I-" Harvey swallowed not sure what he was going to say but not trusting his voice not choking on the view Donna was giving him of an incredibly forward version of her.
"Well? Is this an issue Mr. Specter?" Her voice had somehow went an octave lower, her eyes fluttering slightly.
Jesus, she just had to use that greeting.
Harvey's lips parted unknowingly, they were crossing lines right now he was aware. Both HR induced and Donna induced lines and frankly, he was finding it hard (literally) to remember why he should stop.
"Guess you are just keeping the blue jokes for me."
That snapped Donna out of her Marilyn Monroe act, his words kind of playful yet somehow coming out like a white flag waving defeat, from him or her- she wasn't sure yet. But she didn't like the insinuation it gave her.
"Don't flatter yourself." She stepped back and raised her posture upright, giving them ample space between them. A beat of silence fell between them as they reverted back to their normal versions of themselves, with defined lines clear between them.
"Well this is humiliating. I'll call Carmen and sort it out."
"Who the hell is Carmen?"
Donna sighed, not surprised Harvey didn't have the faintest clue about other department heads in the firm, to him the buck stopped with Jessica and him, shortly before her.
"Carmen is the head of the HR department, you know the thing that keeps you on your toes so you don't shag just about everything that walks in a skirt or heels here?" Donna clarified sarcastically, a twisted smile on her lips.
"You're telling me you can simply talk your way out of this filing?"
Donna frowned. "Don't belittle my ways, I don't even have to talk my way out of it, I just have to ask."
Harvey's eyes glistened in awe as he shook his head slightly at her. There were still things that surprised him about Donna.
He was hoping that never went away.