Chapter 1

The light flickered in Jessica Pearson's office one last time and went off, and in a moment, so was she. Just like that, he was the only one left in the firm . Not something he was accustomed to. All through his career, he was the first one out the door, not because he didn't work as hard as Louis or the other partners, but rather to the contrary.

He left first because he got his shit together before everyone else did, which in the moment seemed like the most cruel irony of all times. If only. If only he had gotten his shit together the one time it mattered the most, the woman of dreams wouldn't be marrying some pretentious second tier (Stanford) douche he himself introduced her to, at the New York City Corporate Gala last summer .

Timothee Hamilton. Even his name reeked of pretentiousness.

He had found it while scavenging for the Mckernon deposition transcript amongst the other paperwork on his table a couple of hours ago and since then, hadn't flinched one bit from his chair. You'd think that the 'save the date' envelope was having a staring competition with him, and it wasn't he who was winning. That lifeless entity lay motionless on his table but lorded more power over him than Jessica or Hardman or Cameron Dennis ever could and had more potential to hurt him than any threats from any of his clients or competitors.

He kept staring at it blankly, and kept looking away, without so much as the courage to break the flimsy seal until he had chugged down two Macallans.

Once that was underway, he felt like he had more control over his nerves and took a paper knife to cut through the seal, but before he could actually read any of the content inside, the best closer of the city did what he usually did best, close. He closed the damn envelope faster than the speed of light, shoved it down his pant pocket and dialed the only number he could think of in the moment. Not as much control over the nerves as he thought.

An hour later, Harvey Reginald Specter was his ever so charming self again, having momentarily forgotten about Tiny Tim (as he liked to call the aforementioned Stanford douche. Donna's Charles Dickens obsession had seemingly rubbed off on him over the years) .

With his Cheshire cat grin and his suave demeanor restored, you'd never think that the man sitting across from Dana Scott at the most regal Michelin star restaurant in town, Piccado's, was a complete nervous wreck a few hours ago. Scottie and Harvey went way back. Harvard, to be precise. Scottie would be in town for a case and Harvey would try to charm his way into a dinner or a negotiation deal or both. They'd been playing this game for years, without getting anywhere substantial. He was still looking to have a good time and she was still in love with him, so, none was the wiser, and there they were, on the same ride all over again. They dined, wined and reminisced about the days gone by at law school. In particular, their first moot court. " I wiped the floor with your ass, Specter " said the brunette.

" Maybe I let you do that because I needed a reason for you to touch my ass " said the cockiest lawyer in all of New York with his world famous grin.

It was just like old times.

But was it really?

Harvey seemed distant that night. Under the light of the chandelier, his face seemed worn out, as if he had aged by ten years overnight.

Scottie asked if anything was bothering him and he sheepishly leaned forward and whispered " Yes, in fact there is. The thought of you getting to my ass one whole year before I could get to yours, keeps me up at night. "

Scottie scoffed mockingly, while rolling her eyes, both amused and exasperated by the realization that she was out on a dinner with a 39 year old man child. Harvey winked with a coy expression and ordered another bottle of wine.

As the night wore on, the owner of the restaurant, Marco Piccado came over to their table to greet them. Marco had been the firm's client for more than a decade and Harvey had been a fan of his Italian food for just as long. It was a good symbiotic understanding they had right there.

Harvey introduced Scottie and Marco to each other and the three sat down to have a glass of wine before Marco had to attend to other guests.

Before leaving Marco, like everyone else who knew Harvey, inquired about Donna, and Scottie interjected excitedly -

" Oh yes she's getting married in the spring at the Plaza "

Harvey was taken aback, with a flushed look on his face, as if someone had exposed his biggest insecurity to the world.

" How'd you - "

" Find out ? Oh I received my 'save the date' in the afternoon today. You didn't think she'd get married and not invite me? We're better friends than you give us credit for, Harvey " said Scottie, playfully touching his arm and smirking but in a manner that made Harvey feel that this dinner might have been a bad idea.

Once Marco left their table, Harvey tried hard to explain that he didn't call her because he was upset over the very agressive reminder of the upcoming nuptials in the form of that goddamn envelope, but instead of buying what he was trying (but failing so miserably) to sell, Scottie just took his hand, caressed it softly with her fingers, with a hint of tears in her eyes, nodded in disbelief that one of the smartest people she knew could be so stupid when it came to matters of the heart. She had seen everything she needed to in that one moment of absolute heartbreak for Harvey when she brought up Donna's wedding because Harvey had no poker face, no armour, no walls when it came to the redhead.

" Harvey, I don't hate you for this. I don't even blame you for this. I know you really want to believe that you're just platonic with her and this unease , this...this heaviness in your heart that you feel right now is because once she gets married the banter and the fun will change and that's about it. But as someone who...cares for you, Harvey, I need you to understand … "

Scottie held his hand tightly with both of hers, pressing firmly, with more conviction and courage than even she thought she could muster and said " I need you to understand that it's time. It's time you stop fooling yourself. Because, Harvey, after the "I do" , you can never go back."