Since the time Mike remembered his life had been swiveling between being tragic and comical but never before had it taken such a sharp turn from one to another. What he had supposed to be lengthy negotiations with each party trying to outsmart the other was reduced to a ten minute monologue by Harvey Specter, the end of which saw two bulky, armed men scuttling out of the door as fast as their feet could carry them.

"Umm.. What just happened?" Mike asked in a dazed voice.

"I saved your ass! That's what happened!" Harvey looked around the place distastefully while Trevor searched for appropriate words. "How did you do that?" he asked wondering if he should have begun with a thank you.

"What you guys witnessed was a Specter-special. Now if we are done with this funny business, I am taking you out to dinner. Let's get out of this obnoxious place."

At first Mike didn't realize he was being spoken to. By the time he did Harvey was already heading towards the door.

"God Mike! Where do you find such specimen?! Not that I'm complaining," laughed Trevor earning himself a stern look from Mike.

"Okay I know it is too soon for jokes. I promise Mike I will keep out of trouble for a really long time now."

Mike rolled his eyes and they got up to leave. "Enjoy your date" smiled Trevor clearly enjoying his new found freedom.

As Mike walked towards Harvey's car he had a funny feeling that the man at the driver's seat was checking him out. He must have conveyed his approval or disapproval to Harvey because both men were laughing at something when he got in.

"Ray here thinks that your boyfriend hit a jackpot with you."

"Trevor isn't my boyfriend but thank you for the compliment. Now would you mind explaining why the hell you poked your nose in my business?" He looked accusingly at Harvey.

"What? Is that a thank you?" asked Harvey sarcastically.

"No it isn't. Because now Trevor will think that no trouble is big enough for him to quit dealing."

"Are you implying that you set the whole thing up to trick your friend?" Harvey was surprised and mildly annoyed. His biggest strength lay in reading people and if Mike continued to surprise him like this he would soon find himself doubting his talent. "Is this how you live your life every day? Can you not do a single thing without a hidden motive? This is so annoying Mike!"

"You are just mad because your 'Specter Special' went to waste," laughed Mike.

"It wasn't a waste, not to your friend..

Ray smiled to himself as their banter continued. He directed the wheels to Harvey's favorite restaurant without waiting for instructions. After all it wasn't often that Harvey got to enjoy conversations that he could not entirely own.

Harvey's choice of place seemed just as classy and perfect as the man himself, with the perfect lighting, perfect decibel of background music, just the right amount of fragrance wafting through the air. Mike was having a wonderful time. This had made it to the top ten evenings of his life and probably the only one where he could be completely himself. No pretenses, no fake laughter, no forced concern. He loved how effortless was the flow of conversation. They shared funny stories, mostly professional, spoke about their passion for law and pulled each others' leg from time to time. Mike did not understand why Harvey had shown such interest in him but he knew that he would readily accept the offer of a second date, even if it increased his chances of getting fired by Travis Tanner.

Many light hearted and interesting conversations later the duo was relaxing in the roof-top lounge in comfortable silence. Harvey had just recognized the soft music playing as one of his dad's compositions and had closed his eyes letting the chords touch his soul.

"What are you thinking?" asked Mike softly.

"About how I wish I had not slept through the long hours my dad tried to discuss his music with me."

He still had his eyes closed but his face broke into a soft and sad smile.

"I developed a taste in his music very late, after he passed away," he continued, "It would have been nice to know what went on in his mind when he composed certain pieces."

"Well that's easy to guess," said Mike enthusiastically, "Have you never tried it before. Trying to guess the inspiration behind a song or a book or a.."

"How do you know if you are guessing right?"

"You don't. That's the fun of it."

"Oh Mike you are such a kid!" laughed Harvey. "How you survive in the corporate world masking this innocence is beyond me!"

His comment made Mike realize how he had let his guards down in front of Harvey. He had not felt the need of saying something smart and or promoting his genius to be accepted in the world this evening. How much he had missed this! Silence dawn on them again and while Harvey continued to enjoy the music Mike thought about the eventful evening he had had. The scene in the clubhouse had reminded him of a fond childhood memory. He was seven and was being bullied by a twelve year old in the park. The big bully had a big dog that kept salivating at the sight of Mike. His father had come along when he heard Mike crying and given the boy a mindful. A comforting feeling of security had swelled inside him back then and he did not want that feeling to leave him ever. It had left him quite unceremoniously, four years later, along with his parents.

That memory held the key to why Mike yearned for security in all his relationships, why he needed his men to be protective of him and why it had never worked out with Trevor who was too busy screwing up his own life from time to time. Seeing Harvey Specter deal with the armed men in the clubhouse had given rise to that familiar soothing feeling in his chest. Even though the men weren't real goons, Mike was floored by the confidence and daring shown by Harvey who of course had no idea of his ploy.

"Now what are you thinking?" asked Harvey bringing Mike out of his reverie.

"Umm.. I.. I was thinking about my dad too. So what was it that you wanted to tell me at the bus-stop in the morning?" asked Mike in his haste to change the subject.

"Oh you remember!" exclaimed Harvey as he sat up a little. This was an important conversation.

"I hardly ever forget a thing Harvey."

"I know. Which is exactly why I am about to make this offer to you."

"What?"

"I want you to work for me. Leave Tanner. Come to me. I will pay you twice of what you make working for Tanner."

"Why?" asked Mike, his voice unreadable.

"What do you mean why? I like the way you work, the way your mind works. You can be an asset to my firm."

"Harvey you know how it works with me. Either you tell me the whole truth or don't say anything at all."

Harvey stared at him for a moment before sighing, "Fine. I want to make name partner but before that I need to prove some things to my mentor. One of those things is forging capable individuals for the future of the firm. I don't think I have the time or the inclination to mentor someone but if I have to pretend then.."

"Wait you mean to say you will pretend to be my mentor but not actually be my mentor?"

"Either way you are going to learn a lot. That's the thing about Pearson Hardman. Even the secretaries learn law by just patrolling the corridors."

Mike didn't answer and Harvey grew impatient.

"Look Mike you are a bright kid. You fooled me, and my corporate spy and god knows how many times you have done that to Tanner when you assisted the other side. I can make use of your smartness and you will get to learn like never before. Think and let me know," said Harvey as he motioned the waiter for the bill.

Mike's insides started ridiculing him. How could he be so naive again? What he had come to think of as a date was in reality a business meet. Hadn't he realized early in his life that anyone he ever met would only want to make use of him? That he would always be an asset to them? Why then did he repeat the same mistake again and again? He mentally reprimanded himself for letting his emotions get the better of him. When he spoke again he was the Mike who was smart and opportunistic, who knew better than to think of the world as a compassionate ground, who was determined to make it big beating all odds and make use of every opportunity that came his way, every Travis Tanner or Harvey Specter whom he impressed with his skills.

"I will think about it. Thank you for the dinner." he said in a business-like tone, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Where are you going? Ray will drop you to your place," said Harvey.

"No thank you. I would rather go on my own. I will revert to you soon." With this he left the restaurant thanking the universe for bringing him back to reality early, much before he could lose his heart completely to Harvey Specter.

Harvey wasn't surprised at Mike's curt departure. He hadn't expected Mike to readily accept his offer. After all Mike had only known him for a couple of days. He was bound to feel some loyalty towards Tanner even if he did not agree with his style of working and loyalty was a likable quality. He hoped that Mike would revert soon, and revert with a Yes!


Hi all my wonderful readers! :D A big thank you to all of you who favorited/followed this story. Please let me know how you like the story so far in your comments. Constructive feedback is most welcome :)

P.S. I recently moved to a new city with a new job and settling down seems to be taking a long time. Hence the delay in updating. I promise to try and update faster.