Author's Note : Hi Guys! Thank you for following/reviewing the story. Just to refresh your memory—Chapter 1 highlights:

Harvey wants his name on the door but Jessica feels he isn't ready yet.

Harvey messes up a case as a blond boy distracts him with his antics that are cute and misleading enough to hold him off an important meeting.

I am here with the second chapter and would love to know your thoughts on it. Happy reading! :D


"Harvey!"

"Harvey I am talking to you!"

"No Louis what you are doing is called growling and I don't respond to that kind of behavior." Harvey was seated on a couch in Jessica's office, his cool confidence exasperating Louis in every sense of the word.

No one who saw him now could have guessed that little more than an hour ago Harvey had been immensely embarrassed to realize that he had been naive enough to be fooled by a young man. The reason he was back to being mighty pleased with himself was that he had already appointed his best undercover city-spy looking into Travis Taner and the stage actor whom he had hired to fool him.

"Don't you dare sit there looking like you haven't disgraced the firm. You messed up big time!" yelled Louis. "Why aren't you saying anything to him?" He looked accusingly at Jessica.

"Because she knows that it wasn't my fault and I will still win the case in court." said Harvey casually. He was bored by now. Louis never failed to attack him whenever he made a mistake. Correction. Whenever it looked like he had made a mistake.

"I have had enough!" hissed Jessica "You guys make me feel like a hassled mother trying to reason out with her stubborn, incorrigible kids."

"Are you calling me incorrigible or stubborn?" asked Louis.

"I am telling you," said Jessica raising her voice, "That I did not have kids of my own for a reason! So I will not let the two of you push me around. Get out of my office and for god's sake grow up!"

Louis left like a wounded warrior and Harvey walked out with uplifted spirits. He rolled his eyes the moment he entered his office.

"Donna what are you doing inside?"

"Oh you know perfectly well that I'm here to embarrass you about what happened this morning!" she laughed. "It kills me every time I imagine your face." Donna had finally got something new to tease Harvey about, all thanks to the blue-eyed boy.

"Enough. Just because you are the only one who knows what happened doesn't mean you get to torment me. And you would be pleased to hear that I am not annoyed anymore. In fact I am going to change this into a win."

"Oh really! How?" asked Donna.

"First by beating Travis Taner in court and second by stealing his apprentice."

Donna frowned and looked confused.

"Oh god Donna why don't you use the lawyer-brain you always claim to have acquired over the years?" he asked sarcastically. "Isn't it obvious that the boy had been paid off by Taner to pull that trick on me? I just need to find that kid and scare the shit out of him by pointing out all the charges I can press on him! And by exaggerating the consequences. Then when he pleads me to spare him I shall agree but on my own conditions. So you see, he drops from the people-who-mess-with-me category and makes it straight to the people-who-owe-me category."

"Harvey you get people to owe you all the time! So what's really going to make this a win?"

"The fact that he is a smart kid! Donna he fooled me, me! Imagine how useful he could be in few cases. Never hurts to have someone smart owe you one."

"I just don't think it will be as simple as it sounds," shrugged Donna.

"Why? Whose side are you on?"

"On yours of course. But Harvey you can't deny that simple is boring. And judging by what happened this morning, this kid seems anything but boring." She smiled her characteristic Donna smile and went back to her desk leaving Harvey to wonder if indeed it was going to be as simple as he thought.


Harvey left his office in the evening to meet Kate at a book stall three blocks away. Kate was attractive and pleasant but her best asset was her observational skills that had made her the most sought after spy in corporate circles.

"He is a lawyer," she mumbled without looking up from the magazine that she was reading as Harvey came and stood beside her. He picked up a book and pretended to read the back-cover while speaking. "So after five hours of research you come up with the fact that Travis Taner is a lawyer. You might want to consider retiring soon."

"I wasn't talking about Taner but the boy who works for him."

"What!" Harvey had to catch the book from slipping out of his hands. Donna would be thrilled to know that she was right about his plan not working. But he was Harvey Specter. It was only a matter of time before he came out with a new game plan.

"He is not a kid either," continued Kate, "He is 24. His name is Michael Ross. He works as an associate under Taner."

"He is eight years younger to me which means he is a kid," said Harvey.

"But he thinks of himself exactly what you thought of yourself when you were his age," she quipped, "which means that he is a self-praising, arrogant lawyer who thinks he can get his way with everything."

"And what do you think?" asked Harvey sensing that there was more to Kate's remark.

"I think over-confidence kills," she said looking up at Harvey and holding up something for him. That's when he realized that it wasn't a magazine but a file that she had been reading. He took it from her hand and raised his eyebrows as he read the contents.

"Don't look so surprised," Kate smirked, "He forgot it on the table when he was at dinner with his client. I had nicked it by the time he came back looking for it. It took me only a second to figure out that it helps you win the case."

"What?" she asked, amazed at how Harvey simply looked at her and smiled like he was enjoying some inside joke. Wasn't he supposed to be impressed with her and hike her commission?

"You were right," he finally said. "Over-confidence does kill. Kate, you should definitely consider retiring."

He smiled to himself as he got into his car and texted the second best in his spy network.

I will give you a name and I want to know where he will be in an hour's time. Michael Ross, age 24, blond, blue eyes, has a mischievous grin and walks with swag.

It did not surprise Harvey how confident he was about the last two details. Either he had read the boy really well this morning without realizing it until now or he had a very good memory of what he had been like eight years ago.


When Harvey stepped into the pub all eyes turned to him. The crowd mostly consisted of youngsters and probably new office-goers and none of them wore a three-piece tailored suit to the evening hangout. Avoiding all the attention that he and his suit had attracted he looked around for familiar golden hair and found it atop a small head visible next to the bar. As the crowd parted he saw that the young man was wearing a maroon t-shirt over blue denims, happily chugging beer and chatting away animatedly on the phone.

"Nice to hear your voice finally!" said Harvey taking the high-chair next to him. The boy coughed and spilled beer on the table. He mumbled something on the phone hastily and disconnected.

"You want me to call you Michael or Mike is fine?" Harvey asked not surprised by the dramatic effect his sudden appearance had caused.

"Mike is fine," said the boy after having taken a moment to recover from the shock of finding Harvey next to him. "I knew you would somehow find me Mr. Specter but I didn't know it would be this soon," he admitted. "You know you are kind of old for a hang out place like this!" His eyes twinkled in a way that reminded Harvey of his antics in the morning.

"And you are far too young to try and fool me for the second time on the same day!" said Harvey dumping the file on the table.

"Hey that's the file I lost today!" shouted Mike looking shocked and worried.

"Shut up and drop the act. You didn't lose it. You left it for Kate."

"What? Really Mr. Specter!" he sighed shaking his head. "The contents of this file is the key to proving that Mr. Carter senior is a lousy business man and that the school is in urgent need of maintenance. In short this wins you your case. You think I will leave something this important on the table for some woman to take it to you?"

"No I think you won't forget something like this on a table at all unless you wanted to."

"You are crazy Mr. Specter."

"No. I'm a genius. I read people and once I do that I know what they are capable of," said Harvey casually, signaling the bartender for a drink.

"And when exactly did you read me? During my Oscar-worthy performance this morning?" asked Mike trying to look innocent.

"No during your momentary slip from character when you gave a triumphant smile before leaving."

Mike watched silently as Harvey gulped down his scotch. He had come to learn the eat-or-get-eaten rule of the world the hard way and had always used his wit and sarcasm as a defense against being swallowed whole by the likes of Travis Taner and Harvey Specter; but this conversation was definitely not going well for him and he wondered what bomb Harvey was about to drop.

"Since you are not going to admit anything let me tell you what I think," said Harvey, "I think as much as you want to become a bad-ass lawyer you really are a pussy. You know that cutting Joe out of the school's management means that the school shuts down within a year. Even though he is over-sensitive he has what it needs to bring a business like efficiency to his father's philanthropic initiatives which in the end will benefit children who can change their lives around given proper training and opportunities. But you couldn't tell that to Taner as he would have told you that what happened to the school or its children after he won the case was none of his business. So when you realized I was having you followed you planted the file right under Kate's nose." He paused to smile at Mike and then continued in a voice lower than before, "And if you are going behind his back now then you have definitely done this before in his previous cases. You go behind his back and assist the other side in some obscure way whenever you think he is on the wrong side."

"I don't understand what you are talking about," said Mike shaking his head, "It was my job to hold you off the meeting today."

"Yes and you gladly did it because settling would not have ensured Joe's inclusion in the schools' management."

Harvey thought his final words had the flair of a grand finish that would make Mike surrender but Mike just stared at him in silence. And then the strangest thing happened. His feet started tapping nervously while his expression remained calm and confident. In fact his face grew more determined by the second while his knees started shaking badly. It was the most amusing thing Harvey had ever seen and he could no longer keep a straight face.

"What are you doing?" He burst out laughing and couldn't stop for a long time.

Mike finally sighed in defeat. "I thought if I kept looking at you with confidence you would start doubting your own words."

"And you were concentrating so much on your face you forgot that the lower half of you was panicking?" asked Harvey still trying to control the fit of laughter.

"Actually the whole of me is panicking," confessed Mike "but I could only control my face. I guess I'm not good at multitasking." He suddenly looked a lot younger than he was. In fact he resembled a hapless teenager who suddenly found himself in a tight spot and did not know how to get out of it.

"Don't panic. I'm not going to tell Taner," said Harvey wiping the corners of his eyes that had started watering from laughing so hard.

"What? Then why did you take the trouble to figure all that out of you don't plan to blackmail me with it?" asked Mike.

"I did plan to blackmail you, but you deceiving Kate blew my mind. She's the most intelligent.."

"If you think she's the most intelligent then sorry to say Mr. Specter you have a crappy team of spies working for you. You should fire her immediately," said Mike easing up a little. "At one point of time I even got her thinking that I was checking her out, you know just to amuse myself." He grinned.

"Are you trying to tell me you weren't?" asked Harvey, "She is pretty hot."

"I couldn't care less Mr. Specter. I'm gay. Wait a minute did you not realize that till now? And I thought read people!"

"Yeah their psychology not their sexuality. And you took the risk of pulling my leg when you know I can get you fired."

"All I know is that I blew your mind," smiled Mike.

"A moment ago were panicking and now you are being cocky."

"Well what can I say I adapt really well to changing situations. Okay Mr. Specter if you had your fun and are done gloating on the fact that you got me and that I owe you one for not going to my boss with my secret, I really need to get home."

"Call me Harvey," said Harvey extending his hand. Mike shook his hand and smiled.

"It was nice to meet you Harvey, twice in day."

Mike had just walked a few steps when Harvey called out his name again.

"Mike, just one more question. If you don't like working for Taner why do you do it anyway?"

Mike laughed. "What came first the egg or the hen?"

"Is that supposed to answer my question?" laughed Harvey "It makes no sense."

"Not until you think about it. Goodnight Harvey."

Harvey had two more drinks after Mike left. It had been an interesting day and Mike Ross was an interesting character. In Donna's words 'anything but boring.'


Thank you for reading. Hope you liked the chapter. :)