Chapter 5 - The Road Ahead
Mike thought about his stupid decision to kiss Kurt all morning, while he was getting ready, and especially while he was waiting in front of his apartment for Kurt's car to pull up to take him to work. Why did Kurt have to suggest that they ride together? It's almost like he didn't know that Mike was going to threaten to ruin everything by trying to kiss him.
He knew instantly that Kurt wouldn't be making a big deal about it - it just didn't seem like his style. Kurt would brush it under the rug and pretend that Mike hadn't done it, so that was what Mike needed to be able to do too. He just needed to act normal about the guy he tried to kiss and was rejected by. Who happens to be his new tutor. Jesus Christ, Mike was in a bind.
What he didn't know was that Kurt was going to be the least of his worries that day, and that more surprises were waiting just around the corner.
Kurt pulled up at his apartment precisely at the time he said he would, and not a minute later. Typical, Mike thought, barely suppressing a fond eye roll as he walked towards Kurt's stationary car. Why Kurt drove in the middle of New York City was beyond him, but he seemed to enjoy it.
He looked poised behind the wheel, just another think Mike knew that he would be amazing at. He was starting to develop this image of Kurt as some kind of paragon, a celestial body who could do no wrong even if he tried. He hadn't seen Kurt fuck up yet, in any kind of arena, so the presumption of Kurt's reputation remained shiny and intact.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?" Kurt grinned at Mike climbed into the car, which smelled like new leather and pine.
"Oh you know, just going through things I might need to know today."
Kurt snorted and shook his head. "You're such a damn liar. But I knew that already."
"You're a very fun person to be doing this whole fraud thing with."
Kurt's lips tightened as he concentrated on the road. "For the sake of any potential record, I am going to have to deny any knowledge of what you are talking about, Michael."
"Wow, you should be a lawyer."
"So should you."
And just like that, last night's awkwardness was jus that, last night's, melted into the ground and run over by the tires of Kurt's car. This was a good sign to Mike that whatever they (and Harvey) were getting themselves embroiled in would turn out okay, because he trusted that Kurt would see them through to the other side without any major repercussions.
Mike should've known not to put his unbridled faith in someone else.
Not because trusting Kurt was a bad thing, just that he had no control over the actions of others who might have wanted to get in the way.
And Mike's life had been filled with enough intrusions for him to know better than to ignore them.
As soon as Mike stepped into the office, he knew something was going to go wrong. Call it a feeling, call it future maybe-a-lawyer's intuition, Mike wasn't sure. He didn't know whether this would be the day he got busted. Every second he spent in the office, the niggling voice in the back of his mind warned him that any second he could slip up and be in a great deal of trouble. And what was more, that now meant trouble for Harvey and Kurt. Getting other people involved in his mistakes was something Mike was always prone to doing, even when he knew that it was wrong. It meant something to him that he wasn't going through this alone.
He felt Kurt start to walk alongside him and he tried to deflate a little, knowing that Kurt and everyone else in the office would notice it. Harvey sniffed out fear and guilt like a bloodhound and Mike knew that he was a decent liar, but not good enough to fool someone like Harvey.
"You're overthinking," Kurt hissed. "Play it cool, weirdo."
Mike nodded, more to himself, as he crossed the bullpen and got to Harvey's office.
Harvey's eyes narrowed instantly. "What's wrong?"
Kurt scoffed and put Harvey's coffee on his desk in front of him. "Mike's spinning out in his brain about something. It's likely no concern of ours."
Harvey looked to Mike for confirmation.
"I'm fine. Just mentally reviewing what I went over with Kurt last night."
"Good," Harvey nodded, lacking the subtext that Kurt possessed. "I'm already working on something this morning. Jessica's orders, so not my first choice of clientele."
"What's the case?" Mike wondered.
"Uh uh, you're not touching a case until you can be trusted with one. We'll do a check-in at the end of the week and see where you're at. For now, you can be another body."
Kurt nodded in agreement. "What's the case?"
"Some coffee place is under fire for employee mistreatment. Should be fairly easy to nail down with the testimonies we're going to get today, but it's important we play it right. Kurt, I'd like you to look after the witness today."
"Babysitting? Isn't that more Mike's speed?"
Harvey sipped his coffee. "It's not just babysitting. The store has lawyers watching over the proceedings. I think something dodgy is going on there. I want you to buddy up with her after her deposition and see what she doesn't say in that room. Anything useful we can use."
Kurt saw the task for what it was, his first official way to prove himself. While coaching Mike and getting Harvey's coffee were both important tasks to the man in their own right, Kurt had yet to really use his assets outside of his intelligence. Harvey needed to know that he could go above and beyond to get information from clients and witnesses. And he would do just that.
Harvey turned his head. "There she is now. Pretty little thing, but a bit naive. You'll have no problem with her, Kurt."
Mike's eyes widened.
"Shit," Mike whispered. "I know her."
Mike stared at his ex-girlfriend through the glass of Harvey's office, wondering why of all the people in the entire city, she had to walk through the doors to his new firm.
"Know her as in 'she served me at a restaurant once' or 'I've been inside her'?" Harvey wondered aloud.
Mike blinked back the bad memories before they derailed his train of thought and turned to his colleagues. "First one, that led to the second one."
"Nice."
"I feel like we're all getting off track here," Kurt interrupted a little too firmly for everyone's liking.
"Right," Harvey nodded. "Mike, stay out of sight until she's gone. Know anything about her little bodyguard?"
Mike had yet to notice the man standing next to her, and his jaw clenched reflexively as he saw him and really took notice. "Fucking Trevor."
"Oh, there's a story there," Kurt replied unhelpfully.
"She was sleeping with him the entire time we were together. They hooked up in my bedroom at my fucking birthday party."
"That's low," Harvey whistled. If Harvey Specter thought something was low, that meant it was most definitely heinous.
"Want me to have them arrested?"
"On what charges?"
Kurt shrugged. "Being fucking idiots? I could argue it in court."
"I'm sure you could," Mike shot back, anger pouring off his body in violent waves.
Harvey stood up. "I'm going to go greet them, and then we'll go straight to the conference room. Kurt, you okay handling the douchebag?"
"I specialise in it."
"Good. Mike, stay—."
"Stay out of sight, yeah yeah I know."
"Go see Donna, she'll keep you busy with something."
Mike huffed as he slunk out of the office, trying his best to escape notice. It seemed as though Jenny and Trevor hadn't noticed him as he approached Donna's desk, where Rachel was also lingering.
Harvey nodded to Kurt and they left the office too, greeting Jenny and Trevor instantly, exchanging the litany of handshaking and politeness that was required of them. Kurt noticed Trevor's gaze and handshake lingering just a little too long, but it wasn't something he was bothered about at this early stage of knowing the man. That was just what men were like.
"I'm sorry, I'm a little early, Mr Spector," Jenny said sheepishly.
Harvey waved a hand. "Not a problem. We can get you set up in the conference room. Do you want anything? A water or coffee or anything?"
"Anything but coffee," Jenny wrinkled her nose, making Harvey chuckle.
"You're just through that door there, I'll be with you in a few minutes."
Jenny nodded and left to take her place in the conference room, pouring herself water from the jug that had been provided already.
When Trevor went to follow, Harvey stopped him. "If you could wait out here for the during of the deposition, that would be great. My associate, Kurt, will answer any questions you might have about the proceedings."
As Harvey walked around Kurt towards Donna, he put a hand on his shoulder. "Bad vibes. Can you handle it?"
Kurt nodded subtly and turned to Trevor. "It's good that you showed up for Jenny. It's not easy when people have to do things like this. You're a good…boyfriend? Friend?"
"Friend. I ruined the boyfriend thing a while ago."
"Ah. Well, it's good that you're on good enough terms to be here for her."
Trevor nodded. "I owe her a lot." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Couldn't keep it in my pants. Can't prosecute for that, can you?"
Kurt smiled falsely. "I'm sure there are many who would want to try, but not in most cases."
"Thank god. Pretty face like mine wouldn't hold up in jail."
Kurt chuckled politely, knowing that Trevor was obviously fishing for compliments, compliments that Kurt was not eager to give him.
At his silence, Trevor pushed on. "You're not disagreeing."
Noticing Trevor inching closer to Kurt, Mike tensed up from across the room.
Donna put a hand on his back. "Don't make a scene, Mike. You'll just make things worse. Kurt's handling it."
"He doesn't know Trevor like I do."
Donna raised an eyebrow. "Are all guys this obtuse? Look at the way he's standing. His posture is tensed, hands behind his back as to not give Trevor any wrong ideas, his head held high and any engagement with Trevor's whole ugly shtick is just posturing. Even Trevor knows this."
"I don't like him looking at Kurt like that."
"Donna's right," Rachel added. "You don't want to get involved. If Kurt needs help, he'll ask for it."
"No he won't," Harvey interrupted. "But you're right otherwise. Mike, just look away if it bothers you."
"When he's treating Kurt like a piece of meat? I'm not just going to ignore that."
"Nobody's ignoring it."
Mike narrowed his eyes. "You're testing him."
"I'm always testing the both of you. Right now, you're not doing so hot."
Mike sighed and continued to eavesdrop on the conversation as best he could.
Trevor stepped in front of Kurt. "What trouble do I have to get into to get you as my lawyer?"
Kurt huffed. "I'm an associate, but it's my duty to recommend that don't get yourself into any kind of trouble. But I'm glad you recognise my potential."
"That's not exactly what I was talking about," Trevor purred, sliding his hand up Kurt's arm.
Mike saw red.
Before Kurt could rip away his arm and chew Trevor a new one, Mike was upon them instantly, all but baring his teeth like a maniacal predator.
"Take your hand off him."
Trevor's eyes widened. "Well, well, well, looks like little Mikey Ross is making his way in the world. Come to show Jenny what she gave up? Not that it would do much good."
Mike balled up his fists, but Kurt put a hand on him.
Kurt sighed. "Mike. You're making a scene."
Mike grabbed Trevor's arm. "Me? He made a scene when he put his hands on you."
"He's not the first and he won't be the last. The client is right over there and you need to step away."
Trevor smirked. "You heard him, Mikey. He doesn't want you here. He's not the first and he won't be the last."
Kurt manoeuvred the situation so nobody was touching and felt several sets of eyes on him. He knew that Harvey was lingering, but he also imagined Jessica and Louis were hovering somewhere, watching over the situation.
Mike was quickly intercepted by Donna, who reluctantly walked him around the corner to calm down.
Kurt pointed a finger at Trevor. "You're here to support your friend through something stressful, not to hit on her legal team. I would recommend next time you think twice before putting your hands on someone. What you have just committed is sexual harassment. I suggest you don't try this again."
Harvey tried to ignore the ironic sensation of how hot this was making him. Kurt telling people off should be a category on porn sites, he decided. The way his jaw moved, the way his voice dropped at least an octave from his high, polite register when he was talking naturally or trying to impress someone.
Trevor sniffed. "You'd be lucky to slide into bed with me. Ask Jenny."
Kurt grimaced, looking the man up and down. "I won't be doing that. How about you go and cool off somewhere where I can't see you and be here for Jenny?"
"Aw come on, babe, I'm just having fun. You look like you're wound pretty tight. We could take one of those conference rooms, roll down the blinds, and I could unwind you…"
Trevor's hand found arm again.
Kurt grabbed his wrist, tightly but nonchalantly, and twisted just in the right way to really cause him some pain. "Do not lay your hand on me again. I may not look tough, but I assure you it will not end well for you. Go and sit down around the corner, out of sight, and if you make one more wrong move, I'll have security escort you from the premises."
Trevor groaned in pain. "You're kinky, princess. I kinda like it."
"And you're a terrible friend to Jenny. Now go sit down." Kurt released him and Trevor rubbed his arm.
"Fuck you, I bet you don't even give head. Prissy bitch."
Kurt waved sardonically as he walked away, not noticing Jenny's confused expression from inside the conference room. Harvey gave her a 'one sec' gesture with his hand as he slowly came up behind Kurt, breath hot on his ear.
"You alright, Kurt?"
Kurt didn't ignore the way that Harvey's low growl shot down his spine. His instincts told him that Harvey had done so on purpose. "Just fine, thank you, Harvey."
"You handled that admirably. Didn't even swear like I would've."
Kurt preened. "When my name's on the masthead, then I'll think about telling him to go fuck himself."
Harvey cracked his knuckles. "Say the word and I'll knock his lights out."
"You're supposed to be my boss, not my attack dog."
"Can't it be both?" Harvey grinned.
Kurt turned and took a slight step back from Harvey. "I think Mike's got that covered."
"Does he?" To anyone else, Harvey's question might have appeared fairly innocuous, but Kurt was learning to pick up on Harvey's subtext. It was difficult as the man was the most calmly put-together person Kurt had ever met, including himself which he had previously thought impossible.
Kurt read the room and smiled. "See the way he's breathing hard, folding his arms, shooting daggers at the space Trevor had occupied?"
Harvey took a step towards Kurt again. He nodded silently. "He looks like someone just shit in his cereal."
"Because someone did," Kurt muttered. "Mike Ross is fiercely loyal to those he deems worthy. No matter what his status in the company, he's someone you'll want on your side when the going gets tough."
Harvey frowned. "Are you saying he's not already on my side? He kinda owes me a million at this point."
"You and I both. I'm just saying, don't piss him off. He's untrained, untested, and undisciplined, which means what?"
"That I'm in big trouble with Jessica if this gets out?"
"Always thinking about yourself," Kurt rolled his eyes. "It means that he's a loose cannon. If he's pointed at you when it goes off, let's just say, I'd hate to be you."
"I'm Harvey Specter," Harvey replied, as though that settled everything.
"Which means you're a well-documented figure in the legal world. Everyone knows your name, everyone knows your stories."
Harvey grinned. "Are you supposed to be making me feel great? Because it's working."
"God, I wish you'd let me finish a point," Kurt scowled. "That means that everyone knows your strengths…and your weaknesses. Mike wouldn't have to look very far to know how to get to you. And he'd have me, of course."
"Oh, would he now?" Harvey raised a brow. He hadn't realised things had progressed to that stage with the two of them. "You saying you'd choose him over me?"
"It's not about choices, it's about allegiances. Yes, you'd probably be the smarter horse to back. You're smart, resourceful, and experienced. But Mike's young, hungry, and full of both passion and aggression towards the world. Both make for incredible assets when channelled the right way."
"You're such a dork," Harvey summarised. "I can't believe I hired you."
"You can't believe you hired me and I haven't slept with you."
"What's that now?"
Kurt smirked. "Let's not pretend now like that's not one of the key reasons you hired me. I'm no stranger to leering strangers, Mr Specter. I can tell when someone's staring at my ass even when I'm walking away and nobody in this office looks at it more than you."
"I'm a man of taste," Harvey shrugged.
"You're a man on the cusp of a Title IX complaint," Kurt shot back, but the edges of his lips teased something more flippant.
"You enjoy it too much to complain about it," Harvey breathed hot in his ear. "Oh look, Mike's coming back."
"Donna's worked her magic once more, it seems." Harvey stepped away from Kurt slightly as Mike approached the two of them. "I trust you've calmed down enough to do your job."
Mike sighed. "I apologise to both of you. I stepped out of line and I was severely unprofessional."
Harvey clapped Mike on the shoulder. "Thanks. Even though I know those are Donna's words."
Kurt smiled. "No harm done. I appreciate you having my back. I could've handled it, but it's nice to know that chivalry isn't dead."
"He's such an idiot," Mike scoffed, meeting Jenny's eyes accidentally for the first time. "Shit, she's seen me."
Harvey gasped mockingly. "In a room full of glass windows? I wonder how that happened. Just smile cordially and go look busy."
Mike gave Jenny the best fake smile that he could muster and walked away, grabbing the first piece of paper he could see and pretending to make several copies of it.
"I think I've kept her waiting long enough," Harvey sighed.
"Go get her ready. I've got Mike."
Harvey patted Kurt's back. "I bet you have."
He walked away without another word, leaving Kurt to ponder on those words while he mentally worked out his game plan for the day.
Mike's instincts about having a bad day only grew more true before lunch.
Kurt had been called over by Donna to discuss something Mike didn't know about, leaving Mike to continue looking busy, 'copying' files, which really meant memorising their contents and learning as much as he could without actually interacting with anybody who wasn't Kurt, Harvey, Rachel, and Donna.
A voice knocked him out of his stupor, but it wasn't one of the ones he was the most familiar with.
"Ross, I need you over here."
Mike had a quick glance around for Harvey or Kurt, but could see neither of them. He was getting slowly better at looking at his surroundings though, as Kurt had instructed.
His feet were moving independently of his body as he realised that there was nothing stopping him from walking over to Louis Litt, no lie to hide behind or no man to save him this time.
Louis sighed. "You walk like a sloth. I have a task for you."
Mike swung his head around to Harvey's office. "Harvey usually gives me jobs to do."
"Are you doing one right now?"
"No, but…"
"There are no 'buts' in the law, Mr. Ross. Here's a list of things I need before the end of the day."
Louis handed him a long sheet of paper, with complicated phrases stacked all the way down the page.
Mike's eyes widened. "This is…"
"Too much for you?" Louis cocked his head like he was challenging Mike, who gritted his teeth.
"No. I'll just to have rearrange my lunch plans." It was a pretty pathetic excuse but he thought he might have gotten away with it as Louis shrugged.
"Is there another damsel in distress for you to step in and save?"
Mike's eyes narrowed immediately, body unaware that he was speaking to his superior. "Kurt's not a damsel. And Trevor was being an ass, of course I was going to help."
"I don't think Mr. Hummel requires any help from you, Mr. Ross."
"I didn't know that at the time. I'd rather be wrong than risk something bad happening to Kurt."
Louis sniffed. "Very…noble of you. Pearson Hardman has its own white knight. Come see me when this list is done and not a second sooner."
Mike paused. "Does Harvey know you've requested me for the afternoon?"
"You may be one of Harvey's acquisitions, but you're an associate here just like everyone else."
"So that's a no. Shall I tell him or would you like to?"
Mike knew that he was pushing his luck with Louis, that the man would only tolerate a certain amount of snark before he started to push back, pushing the boundaries of Mike's lie until he picked it apart.
It was best if Mike gave Louis no reason to suspect anything was wrong. Which meant, in layman's terms, keeping his head down and getting on with the work he was asked to do, even if he had no idea how to do most of it. From a brief glance at the list, he knew that it mostly consisted of menial tasks, things he probably would've learned early on in law school, but it was the same old problem of not having learned the basics. He knew his torts, he knew precedents in the back of his mind and could recite many statutes from memory, but the hands-on things were trickier. They could be learned, but muscle memory wasn't something one could acquire from devouring textbooks or even watching.
Louis glared at him. "I'll make sure Harvey gets the message. For now, you have things to be getting on with."
Mike knew the end of a conversation when he heard one, so he just nodded and retreated from the room, brain already throbbing with all of the things he would have to do. And not just do, but do well. Kurt and Harvey were working on something and Mike's legs wanted to carry him to the office, but his stubborn, independent brain wanted to figure things out for himself. So he wisely picked a spot out of Louis' direct eye line before he properly appraised the list, scanning his internal files for things that he knew how to do already, re-ordering and prioritising those before he tackled the harder stuff.
Mike got to work, slowly but surely, taking a few trips to the bathroom to privately Google things that he wasn't sure about. He passed Kurt and Harvey a few times, both of them giving him subtle nods of encouragement, but he faked confidence with the best of them, such skills had acquired the job for him after all, so they had no reason to doubt his abilities.
It was during a particularly taxing trip to the research library that Mike's stomach rumbled harder than it ever had before. And Mike could eat, so that was saying something indeed. As he rifled through old cases, the smell of something enticing filled his nostrils.
Being the man that he was, he followed it all the way to the other end of the alphabet to find Rachel Zane standing holding a slice of pizza.
"We're not supposed to bring food in here, so you'd better eat quickly."
Mike forwent his usual gratitude in favour of wolfing down the slice, licking his lips clean and sighing in relief. "Thank you so much. You just saved me."
"No, but I'm about to. You're looking in the wrong section."
Mike frowned. "How do you know what I'm doing?"
Rachel smiled like one would smile at a small child who was trying their best. Mike didn't love it. "Because Louis uses this list every year."
"He does?"
"Are you surprised?"
"I guess not. But why me?"
Rachel pulled out a book and handed it to him. "Chapter 4. Because you're somewhat of a question mark. You're not like Kurt or the others, you don't display the typical qualities of someone who would work here. He was already curious about Harvey hiring two associates, but you've made him even more curious. So he's testing you."
"Great," Mike groaned. "And I'm going to fail. Does anybody actually get through all of this stuff?"
"Only one, as far as I know. And you're going to make that two."
"I doubt it. There's like a hundred things on that list."
Rachel bit her lip. "How many have you done?"
"I don't want to say," Mike pouted.
"Mike."
"Fine. Twelve."
"God," Rachel muttered, looking at her watch. "And it's what, one-thirty? Okay, we can do this."
"We?"
Rachel smiled. "Harvey wants Donna looking out for you guys, and I do whatever Donna says, so I'm going to help you."
"I…are you sure?"
"Do you want to know if I'm sure or do you want to finish the list?"
Mike flicked to Chapter 4 of the book Rachel had handed him. "Good point."
"Read this, I'll be back in twenty minutes. And don't ask questions."
"Yes ma'am." Mike took a seat on the floor and started to devour the book in the way that he actually would, creating an imprint of the words in his brain.
Rachel took a long, hard look at him before leaving the library.
Eighteen minutes later, Rachel poked her head around the corner, half-expecting Mike to have fallen asleep or something. But he was further ahead in the book, looking genuinely interested in the contests. Huh. Maybe he would make it.
"Finished?"
Mike held a finger up, eyes darting across the page. He looked up a few seconds later and nodded, looking a little dazed but regaining his focus.
Rachel handed him a sizeable stack of papers. "Here. Everything you need aside from the final task."
"Everything?"
"There are 86 tasks completed here, all yours to hand to Louis. Just look at the final entry, you'll need to prepare something."
"Rachel I…this is really nice of you."
Rachel shrugged. "I need to rebalance my karma. Plus, I want to see how this all plays out."
"How what plays out?"
"Oh, nothing. Good luck, Mike."
"Thank you. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that I'm a complete dumbass."
Rachel grinned. "I won't. As long as you go on recognising that you are a complete dumbass."
"Believe me, that's something I'll never forget. Enough people remind me of it every day."
"You mean Kurt," Rachel smirked.
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to," Rachel shot back, "that's your guys thing. He lords his superiority over you and you take it on the chin and give as good as you get. Or at least you try."
"You think he's superior to me?" Mike scoffed, not because he didn't believe it himself but because it was strange to hear something spoken so matter-of-factly.
Rachel stared at him pointedly. "Of course he is. We both know it. What I don't know is how Harvey came around to giving you a shot. You must've pulled off a pretty good interview. What'd you do, blow him?"
Mike tried very hard not to think about blowing Harvey because he knew that he wouldn't be able to recover from any in depth thoughts about it, but Rachel was, quite obviously, already onto him from the jump.
"I guess not, Harvey likes them more composed than that. Guess you'll have to try harder."
Rachel walked away before Mike could even form a rebuttal, leaving him in a state of shock, holding on tightly to the papers that comprised everything butthe final bullet point on Louis' task list.
Mike stared at the final task.
100. Come into my office and tell me why you think you belong at the firm. No bullshit.
Mike sighed heavily. What the fuck.
Mike decided to wait a few hours before he paraded into Louis' office, not wanting to arouse suspicions about what would've taken anyone else longer than it had supposedly taken Mike.
He walked smugly into Louis' office, without knocking, and dropped the papers on his desk. "As per bullet point 100, I think I belong at this firm because as evidenced by these papers, I'm a hard worker, I can think on my feet, and unlike most of the robots who work here, I have a reason to study the law. I didn't have a long line of Harvard grad ancestors or enough money to donate a new library. I had a clear mind, a passion, and the drive to succeed. And finally, because I was good enough to be hired. You will find the files in numerical order, all stapled accordingly. And with that, I believe that's everything, Mr. Litt. See you tomorrow."
Louis raised a brow before looking up slowly, seeing Mike grinning above him. He took a quick look at the papers and tossed them aside. "I didn't expect this to take up your entire day, Mr. Ross."
If Mike hadn't spent the day with the What Would Kurt Hummel Do? Mindset, he would've exploded, wondering how on earth he was supposed to have completed all of the tasks in any less time.
But Mike was trying to be more deliberate with his choices and instead took a breath, collecting himself. "I wanted to make sure everything was done to the best of my ability. I haven't done anything for you yet, Mr. Litt, so if I knew you preferred expediency over thoroughness, I would've made sure things were done a little faster. Next time I'll know better."
Mike was almost taken aback by how much he sounded like Kurt. He was sure that Louis was thinking it too judging by the way the older man grinned at him.
"Next time, I'll have one of the more competent associates handle my workload. But I have to say…not bad."
Not bad.
That was all Mike got after a full day of completing the most menial tasks possible in a law office.
Not bad.
Mike wanted to punch the guy. But instead, he smiled gracefully and excused him from the office with little more than feigned politeness.
As Mike walked across the bullpen towards Harvey's office to debrief him, he approached to find Kurt and Harvey pulling on their jackets.
"Leaving without me?"
Kurt and Harvey turned as Mike opened the door. "Yes, actually."
Kurt grabbed his briefcase. "Rachel filled us in."
"I'd be a goner without her."
"I think we all would," Kurt said, smiling.
"Got any plans tonight, Ross?"
Mike looked to Kurt. "Are we not studying tonight?"
Kurt shook his head. "You've used your brain enough today. Harvey's taking us for drinks."
"I'm so in. Today has been…yeah."
Kurt handed him his things. "Must've been pretty hard seeing Jenny and Trevor out of nowhere."
"Kinda hasn't left my mind all day. I didn't get to ask how the deposition went."
Harvey shrugged. "It was fine. She was clearly nervous, but so were the lawyers the company sent. She's got a good case."
"Good. I hope it works out for her."
"You do?"
"Uh…yeah?"
Kurt grinned. "You're a better man than me. When my high school boyfriend cheated on me, I considered having him killed."
"That why you went to law school, so you could defend yourself and get away with it?"
"Pretty much."
Harvey ushered them out of the office. "Come on, you two. I want scotch."
Donna was waiting for them all at the elevators. "Booked you a table at the usual place, Harvey. James was surprised you wanted seating for three. I spun a thread."
"Of course you did," Harvey smiled boyishly. "Now he's going to be gossiping with the waiters."
"Like he doesn't already. Send him my regards."
"I will."
"Have fun, you three," Donna purred as the men stepped into the elevators, the doors shutting behind them.
The trio sat at a table at an upscale bar, the kind that Mike had scarcely been in before. Even Kurt, who came from semi-comfortable money, was dazzled by the glamour of the place. The music was light jazz courtesy of a band who played on the other side of the bar, letting the music fade into a soft din as it reached their ears.
"This is a pretty nice place," Kurt commented, sipping on his martini. "I can't believe you got a beer, Mike."
"We have work tomorrow!" Mike cradled his beer defensively.
Kurt and Harvey shared a look and a laugh.
"What?"
"You so didn't go to Harvard!" Kurt chuckled.
"Yeah yeah, I get it, I'm the poverty-stricken layabout and you guys are the 1%."
"Get yourself a real drink and come join us," Harvey quipped.
"I think I'm fine with the beer, thanks. Besides, I don't need to give any more reason for that waiter to scrutinise me. It's like he knows I don't belong here." Mike gestured to the waiter who was bringing drinks to a nearby table.
Harvey grinned. "Relax, that's James. He's wondering what the deal is here."
"And what exactly has Donna told him?" Kurt wondered.
"Judging by the looks he gave me earlier, I'm sure you could figure it out."
Mike's eyes widened. "You mean she…?"
"Uh huh," Kurt chuckled, glad he could successfully complete the Rocky Horror reference before Harvey could answer first.
"Interesting."
Harvey appraised Mike curiously. "Doesn't seem to turn you off."
"Does it turn you off, Harvey?" Mike shot back.
Harvey sipped his scotch and grinned. "No. No it doesn't."
"I didn't think so."
Kurt sipped his martini and said nothing.
"What are you thinking about?" Mike asked.
Kurt shrugged. "Just trying to think of a way to keep you away from Louis until you're more ready for this. We're lucky Rachel intercepted today, but we won't always be that lucky."
"Kurt's right. Ideally, we need to keep you off the main floor. Louis doesn't usually do much exploring, rather preferring to send associates to the library."
"Wait a second. The library." Kurt suddenly had a lightbulb moment. "What about research duty?"
Harvey smirked. "Say more."
"We've got several big cases coming up and more come in every day. You could assign Mike to be something of a research assistant for the time being. It keeps him occupied doing something that he's actually good at, helps him learn at an accelerated rate, plus it keeps Louis off his back." He turned to Mike. "You should've come to find me."
Mike groaned. "You were in with Harvey, I didn't want to disturb you."
"Disturb me? I'm in charge of keeping your secret in the office, Mike, you should've come to me."
Harvey put up a hand. "Actually, I'm in charge of keeping the secret in the office."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "You just love to assert dominance don't you, Harvey?"
"Don't pretend you don't love it."
Kurt shrugged. "Wrong place, wrong time."
"It's a good idea nonetheless," Harvey replied.
Kurt preened but Mike sighed.
"Wait, I accepted the job because I want to help people. How am I supposed to help people stuck in a dark library doing research?"
Kurt shrugged. "How are you supposed to help people if you get caught and jailed? This keeps you out of the way until you've paid your dues and can do this legally. Once you can successfully convince someone that you went to Harvard Law, we can officially get your diploma made. It'll be a process, but if you want this then it'll be worth it. You do want this, don't you?"
Harvey pouted. "You always seem to take these big speeches from me."
"It's a talent of mine. If you want them, you need to step up and take them before I do."
Mike smiled. "I'd rather neither of you give me those big speeches."
"I'd rather you not need them," Kurt shot back, but his voice was so full of mirth that Mike knew immediately it wasn't an attack. "Soon, you'll be a grown up and won't need any cover stories."
Harvey chuckled. "Settle down, you two. Now, there's a part of me that highly expected this whole thing to blow up in our faces two hours into the week. But we made it. We should drink."
Kurt raised his gin. "To me."
Mike and Harvey stared at him, mildly amused.
Kurt smirked. "Fine, to us I suppose. But I'd like it on the record that my initiative is the reason we're still standing."
Harvey grinned. "Trust me, nothing about this will be going on any record."
"Speaking of that, I've been really meaning to ask you just why on Earth you'd hire him in the first place."
Mike eyes bulged. "Whoa!"
"Oh not like that, we all see Mike's potential, blah blah blah. What I want to know is what made you think trying to pass him off as an associate was a good idea. You already had the perfect candidate for the job."
Harvey finished his first scotch and set the glass back down. "I honestly couldn't tell you."
"Bullshit," Mike decided. "You know exactly why. You were impressed."
Kurt scoffed. "Please, I impressed him. You brought a good memory and faintest stench of weed. I could argue in court that Harvey was experiencing a secondhand high and made a delusional decision."
"At least wait until you step foot in an actual courtroom before you start deciding that you can win all these cases for yourself."
Kurt grinned. "The second I'm allowed to fight my own cases, it's over for everybody else."
"I fully believe it," Mike agreed.
He felt a jolting pang of jealousy flash over him as he thought about Kurt's history, Kurt's present, and Kurt's future in the world of law. Mike would have to fight tooth and nail for everything he had from this point on, purely because of circumstance. He knew it was unfair to hold those feelings of resentment to those had what he wanted, but he still felt that way. He had to break the law, and do so continuously, to even get a shot at helping people in the way he'd always wanted, and he was willing to do that.
He'd had a few close calls up until this point and that couldn't continue. He thought about Trevor and Jenny, and the surprise on Trevor's face when he saw him. Mike decided then and there that he would do whatever it took, tell whatever lie he had to tell just to keep himself protected. He had the passion, now he had an incentive to do better. He had been telling the truth earlier to Kurt, he did hope things went well for Jenny. He just hoped that maybe he could stick it to Trevor somewhere along the way, when he was making the kind of money that could really do that.
As he looked around the table at Kurt and Harvey sharing some anecdote about Harvard, he realised that his success depended a lot on what they would be willing to do to keep him safe. If the worst came to the worst, could he trust them to cover for him? It was said that lawyers were all inherently selfish and power-hungry, but he didn't think that applied in this instance. Sure, Kurt and Harvey could be arrogant and condescending sometimes, but they were ruled by a core goodness, despite what Harvey Specter would have him believe.
Mike knew above all else, they would have his back. Just as he would have theirs.