Donna Meets Lilly

Chapter 3 - Next Question

Harvey sat at his desk in the office. He must have read this draft about one hundred times; however, he just could not digest it or decipher what was his true argument on this case.

"Donna!" Harvey shouted.

Donna came in directly at her master's voice and immediately admonished him.

"You know, there's no need to shout for me. The intercom is on. What do you need?"

"Where's that other case file? You know the one for the client that I just signed yesterday?"

"Here it is," Donna said spotting it immediately on the small coffee table across from his desk in the spacious office. Donna took a step backward and retrieved the file. She then placed it in front of Harvey on his desk.

"Is that all you needed?" Donna asked knowing he really wanted to discuss something but was covering his frustration by shouting for something he normally would have found for himself. He was never that lazy or imperious in shouting for his secretary to find a file he placed across the room.

Donna took a seat on the couch across from the desk where Harvey had remained seated.

"Yes..." Harvey answered hesitantly.

Donna tilted her head and smirked at him. She knew he was bottling something inside himself. It had been a week since she and Harvey and his parents had dined together. Donna had received a beautiful Thank you card from both Lilly and Bobby thanking her for the beautiful accommodations and how great it had been to acquaint themselves with the very special lady in Harvey's life. Donna shook her head knowing now for sure they had gotten the wrong idea about she and Harvey.

Harvey rose from behind his desk and came to sit next to Donna on the couch. His position indicated real frustration. He folded his hands and laid his head on the top of them as they were clasped between his spread knees.

"What's wrong, Harvey?" Donna said realizing he was really struggling with something.

"Well, it's been a week since Mom and Bobby left. When I drove them to the airport, my mother kept repeating how happy she was that I had found you. I tried not to allude to any tie stronger than our long friendship and working relationship. I tried not to tell her of that other time, but I did allude to it."

"Harvey!" Donna exclaimed.

"So? You told Louis we slept together once a long time ago. I'd say we're even," Harvey yelled back.

"Shh! How did you know I told Louis? He swore he would never tell anybody and he used it as leverage a long time ago after he found out about Mike and we were all at odds with one another."

"It doesn't matter that I know he knows. It does matter that my mother figured it out."

"So I assume she's waiting for us to announce an engagement or that we've actually been married for the last 13 years!"

"Yes, she started along that path and then I mentioned about your rule."

"Harvey, how the hell did you happen to become such a flannel mouth? With your mother of all people? You don't talk to the woman for seven years and then you open yourself up like a broken dam! No wonder she wanted to pump me for more information the day before she left. She and I were on the phone and..."

Donna then stomped out of Harvey's office and over to her cubicle. She picked up a large vase with a beautiful mixed bouquet of roses. There were colors of every hue and shade of the rainbow surrounded by Baby's Breath and smaller roses of white and green leaves. She carried the vase and held them in front of Harvey.

Harvey rose and took the vase from Donna's grasp because he was afraid she would accidentally drop it. Not that he felt sentimental about roses, but they were beautiful and Donna did enjoy them he could see.

"These were from my mom?" Harvey asked.

"...and Bobby. Yes, I left the card in there because I wanted to thank them. They are beautiful, aren't they?" Donna said in a subdued voice.

"What did the card say?" Harvey asked intrepidly.

"Donna picked the card from the higher branches. She read it aloud:

Dear Donna

This bouquet is to thank you for everything. From your loving care of my son to our beautiful accommodations. I hope you visit soon with Harvey.

Love,

Lilly and Bobby

"Goddamn it, Donna! What did I do?" Harvey asked himself angrily. The last thing he needed was his mother calling him every five minutes to see if he and Donna had decided to take the plunge.

Donna took the bouquet back from Harvey before he dropped it.

"I think, inadvertently, you have made your mother a very happy woman."

"We've, inadvertently, made her a very happy woman," said Harvey with something like regret in his voice.

Later in the day, Mike Ross had decided to see his old boss about a case he was taking at the legal clinic. Mike missed interacting and working with Harvey on a daily basis, but what Harvey did not seem to understand was that Mike had always wanted to be a lawyer to help common people. Harvey it seemed wanted to be a lawyer for a more base desire of accumulating wealth for himself and increasing income for his clients as well. It was still a desire to help people. It was just a different sort of people.

On the way to Harvey's office, Mike happened to stop and chat with Donna whom he really loved as a big sister. She was a fierce guardian when Harvey was not in the office. No one went past her unless she said it was all right.

"So, where is he?"

"He's at a client's office. Betadyne. Apparently the CEO fell on a skiing trip and was unable to come here," Donna said not looking at Mike.

Her head suddenly came up and she looked at Mike straight in the face.

"By the way, dinner with Harvey's parents was lovely," she volunteered knowing that he and Rachel had probably spent a couple of sleepless nights wondering what transpired at the dinner.

Mike pretended to act nonchalantly until he hunched over her cubicle crossing his arms in front of him.

"So how's the wicked witch of Boston?" Mike asked jokingly. He really thought how wonderful it was that Harvey finally acknowledged and forgave his mother for her atrocities against him. Mike still remembered the night when Harvey told him about his parents. That was the night when they both had gotten high and figured out that Hardman and Tanner had worked hard to trap Harvey into losing his law license. Unfortunately, the only casualty was Donna who had gotten fired in finding and then destroying a planted document in trying to protect Harvey. She also had suffered humiliation at the mock trial in preparation for Harvey's real trial that had been settled before it hit the court.

Luckily, Mike and Harvey had proved the ruse and Harvey was more than grateful when Donna agreed to come back and work for him once again.

"She's actually a very lovely woman. Bobby is a nice guy, however, I can't see the attraction after knowing Harvey's father."

"Oh, I think you're prejudiced because you were so close to Harvey's dad," Mike said.

"How do you know how close I was to Gordon Specter?" Donna asked giving Mike a quizzical look.

"Oh no reason. Just something Harvey said once to me," Mike said smiling realizing that Donna would keep him standing there until he owned up to what he meant.

However, just in time, Harvey came trodding down the hall to his office.

"Mike, what are you doing here?"

"I have something I need to run past you," Mike said as he followed Harvey into his office.

"This isn't over, Mikey. You don't get out of this that easily," Donna said pointing her finger at Mike as he closed the door to Harvey's office.

He eyed Donna as if to shut her up from saying anything else about their dinner with his mother and Bobby. That seemed fine with Donna because her wordless retort to Harvey through eye contact only was not a kind one. Mike felt a chill come between them.

"So, do you want to tell me what's going on between you and Donna?" Mike ventured after the door closed behind him.

"There's nothing going on between me and Donna," Harvey said truculently. He walked Mike to the other side of his office near his massive record collection in the hope that the intercom, if on as it was usually, would not pick up what Harvey wanted to tell Mike concerning the current climate between he and Donna.

"Ok, sorry," Mike said knowing that something must have happened between them because of that chill in the air.

"Listen, I don't want to go into it right now. Let's just say my mother is over enthusiastic about my relationship with Donna.

"So? What's so secret about it? I don't know how you guys keep your hands off one another. It's so obvious how crazy you are about each other."

Harvey smirked and quickly changing the subject asked, "So, hot shot, why did you want see me?"

"Harvey I wanted to talk to you about help on a case and maybe help pro bono?"

Harvey sighed heavily. With the recent losses and gains, PSL's financial ability lending their time and resources on pro bono cases was precarious at best.

"Why pro bono? You know just because you worked here doesn't give you the right to involve the firm in your charity work," Harvey reasoned. Harvey knew that at times he has foregone his own fee as a favor to a particularly poor client or one that was appreciative of not having their ass completely handed to them, but blatant pro bono cases were particularly abhorrent to Harvey. Although essentially a kind man, Harvey kept that part deeply hidden because after all he plays to win.

"These people have just started their corporation and the last thing they can afford is a hefty legal fee which is one reason why they came to the clinic."

"What did you tell them?" Harvey questioned.

"I told them I had to consult with another attorney and get back to them as to what we can do," Mike responded taking a seat on the couch across from Harvey where Harvey sat at his desk behind his open laptop.

"Ok, what is the case?" Harvey asked

Mike smiled and proceeded to tell Harvey of his dilemma.