"What took you so long?" Rachel asked her in a hushed tone. She saved Donna a seat at the back row of the theatre, where no one could recognize them. The row is perfect for it is so dark, one would think it's a make out spot.
"New bodyguard problems," Donna hushed back while taking her seat. They were watching a rerun of Hamilton, and since it was a weekday, few people were around. The musical was already starting when Donna arrived, but not far enough to make her miss the backstory.
Rachel looked at her in confusion. "You have a new bodyguard? Since when?"
"Since I went home a while ago. Mitchell had to "take a break"," Donna replied with air quotes. "So who's the new guy? Is he any good?"
"Harvey Specter. He's annoying. I can't wait for Mitchell to come back. This Specter guy is so strict, the reason why I was late is because he wouldn't let me go unless Louis told him to let me go."
"But you're cleared whenever you go out with me?"
"Exactly! Stephen probably didn't tell him. God, he is just someone I'd like to punch whenever I get mad. And I get mad when I look at him."
"Wow," Rachel was in awe. She had never seen Donna show her hatred to a guy before. She wasn't even like this with her ex-boyfriend. She might not have met this Harvey Specter but she wishes him luck, he's officially on Donna's bad side. And you do not want to be on her bad side.
Donna slumped into her seat and let out a sigh. She focused her attention on the musical, trying to forget the unfortunate events that happened earlier that night. Donna was about to fully forget about the bodyguard situation when she noticed Rachel was still staring at her.
"What? Is there something in my face? Are you realizing you're in love with me? Oh no, Rach, what would Mike say?" Donna asked teasingly. Rachel only rolled her eyes. "You are so dramatic. I'm just surprised you're this riled up all because of a guy. I need to see him like right now."
"Are you out of your mind? I'm here with you to forget about this problem, not talk about it."
"So he's a problem, now?" Rachel questioned her.
You're my problem now Miss Paulsen.
"Yes, he is. A problem that needs to be gone. Now let me enjoy the musical, Rachel. This conversation is over," Donna said, not letting Rachel speak another word. Rachel put her hands in the air in retreat and put her attention to the musical as well.
Halfway through Act One, the two of them were genuinely loving the show but there's something else they'd want to do together. After all, their gossip are long overdue now. Donna was the first one who thought of it.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Donna asked mischievously. Rachel tilted her head to the side and smirked. "I thought you have a strict bodyguard outside?"
Donna shrugged. "We'll manage. Come on, I know a spot."
She didn't wait for Rachel's response, instead, she grabbed her best friend's hand and dragged her towards the exit. Donna guided them through the hallways, skipping the elevators and proceeding to the fire exit. Rachel expected that they would go up to the rooftop but was surprised when Donna was going down.
"Are you trying to kill me? Where are you taking me?" Rachel curiously questioned. Donna hushed her in response. They continued downstairs until Donna opened the fire exit door. There was only one lamp light outside, a place where equipment was being transferred in and out of the theater. By the corner, there was a small ledge, and Rachel knew this was the spot Donna meant.
"You always seem to surprise me," Rachel comments as she takes her seat beside Donna, who is already sitting comfortably on the ledge. Donna smiled at her, and it was the first big smile she showed tonight.
"After I booked my very first show when I was 15, this was the place I visited. I wanted to come back to my roots. I remember I was looking for the comfort room when I accidentally opened that door. There was nothing but this ledge when it opened. And I don't know, I felt weirdly free and safe back then. I knew it was my spot," Donna shared.
"That's a cute story."
"Yeah."
"So back to the gossip, details about the new bodyguard, please?"
"Rachel," Donna said in a warning tone. "Oh please! He's probably someone interesting because you cannot stop talking about him. Is he attractive? You never stop talking about a guy when you find him out," Rachel pointed out.
"What? Ew! Yuck! No! He is disgusting to look at!" Donna exclaimed as if she was disgusted with the thought of finding Harvey attractive. Which she thought he was. But not that she would admit that to Rachel.
"If he's not hot, I guess he's just an asshole then?"
"Yes!"
"Why do you hate him so much, Donna? He's doing his job."
"Yeah, well, he's way too good at it. He's forbidding me to live my life. This is exactly why I was so against with the personal security idea in the first place. I don't get to be free with it. Mitchell and Stephen are fine, they're cool, they let me loose but Harvey? I feel like a prisoner now."
"Tell Louis you'd want a replacement."
"Already did. But considering this is Harvey's first official day, Louis begged me to be nice so here I am, playing nice."
"Just don't stress more about this, Don. He's just a temporary replacement, what could go wrong?"
What could go wrong? Donna started listing multiple scenarios of what could go wrong. She imagined that she would be stuck in her penthouse forever, just going out to work or snapping at him in public causing a new scandal. Harvey Specter is a threat to her career.
Donna was about to invite Rachel to sneak out and get a drink when a dark figure reached them. It was difficult to see who it was without the light but the second the shadow reached the lamp post, Donna became furious.
"Time to go, Miss Paulsen," Harvey informed her. "The show ended five minutes ago."
"Oh! You must be Donna's new guy. I'm Rachel Zane, her best friend," Rachel introduced herself before Donna could even speak. Harvey nodded at her in greeting, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Zane."
"How did you know I was out here?" Donna asked, mentally taking note to kill Rachel later for being friendly. "Lucky guess," Harvey stated. Donna stared at Harvey in suspicion and fury. Why must he always ruin her mood?
She was about to say a witty remark of some sort but Rachel stopped her from causing another useless fight with Harvey.
"You know what, it is late. I think I'm going to go. It was nice meeting you, Harvey. See you around," Rachel bid him goodbye, turning around to whisper silently "HE IS HOT" to Donna while discretely pointing back at Harvey. Donna glared at her, which was her sign to hurry in leaving.
Before Harvey could talk again, Donna put her palm in the air, signaling Harvey to shut up.
"Don't you ever think about talking to me right or else I'll fire you."
As if he didn't hear the threat, he gestured for Donna to where her car was parked.. Donna had no choice but to follow him because what more could she do?
When they reached her car, no one said a word. The whole ride back to her penthouse was dead silent. Donna couldn't even think about anything else but the way her life turned into a living hell ever since she had a new bodyguard.
A few minutes later, the car halted, indicating that they had arrived at her place. This time, she didn't wait for Harvey to open her door. She did it herself and practically sprinted towards the elevator hoping Harvey wouldn't make it. She kept on pressing the button to close the elevator doors but the door wasn't fast enough. Harvey beat it to it.
Donna cursed internally. This was not what she was expecting for her night to end. She was imagining going to the bar with Rachel, getting a few drinks to make them tipsy then going home and acting like her life hadn't changed.
But as usual, Harvey Specter likes to ruin the mood.
The elevator dinged when they reached her penthouse's floor. Donna walked out first, followed by Harvey at a safe distance. When they reached her door, she fished for her keys inside her purse. She could feel Harvey's gaze at her and she hated herself for feeling something hot about it.
She used her key to open her door but before she could rest peacefully, she turned around to see Harvey still observing every move she made.
"I hate you so much right now. If it weren't for Louis, you'd be fired," Donna pointed a finger at him.
"Just doing my job, Miss Paulsen."
"Fuck you," she cursed before closing her door but she swore he heard him say a "We'll see" right before she shut her door.
We'll see indeed.