"I'm telling you, Rachel. I've never felt like that before. It was... magical," her friend tells Rachel, making her laugh.
"Donna… don't you think you're overrating it? I mean, he saved your life, maybe you're just…"
"Reacting like a teenager in love and reading too much into the whole thing?"
"Maybe," Rachel says hesitantly, raising an eyebrow.
"No, you don't understand. The second we locked eyes, it was... I don't know, the way he looked at me." Donna's eyes light up with excitement.
"Why didn't you ask him for a drink then? As a 'thank you'?" Rachel asks, making air quotes with her fingers to emphasize the words 'thank you.'
"I wanted to, but then Ian came along, and he left."
"I see."
"I love Ian, and I know he was worried. We've been through a lot, so I couldn't say anything and had to let him go."
"And now?"
"I have to find him."
Rachel laughs again. "Donna…"
"Just to thank him," she explains quickly, but her friend doesn't buy it.
"Do you know how big Manhattan is? How do you plan to do that?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'll go back to where it happened and wait for him there. He could be working nearby."
"Or he was there by chance." Donna glares at her friend.
"Can't you just encourage me?"
"I'm sorry, honey, but I think you were just thankful he saved you, and now you're reading too much into it. Meeting him again is almost impossible," she tells her softly. "I mean, you're only here for a short time, and then you'll go back to Seattle anyway."
"Yeah, you're probably right." She agrees half-heartedly. Her mind tells her it's stupid and unrealistic, but her heart tells her something else.
... ... ...
"Hey, honey," Rachel places a kiss on Mike's lips when she returns home. "I didn't expect you to be here."
"I just got home five minutes ago."
"How was it?" she asks.
"Good. I mean, I was about to leave because he didn't listen to a word I said, but he assured me it wasn't about me."
"Okay. Is he alright?"
"Yeah," Mike smiles, "but I think it was something more personal, and he doesn't want me to tell anyone. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I get that, but he seems to trust you."
"I think he only told me to prevent me from leaving."
"He did anyway," she says, leaning on him while he reclines on the sofa and drapes his arm over her.
"That's right," he smiles.
"How was your meeting with your friend?"
"Great, she's a little crazy with her ideas," Rachel laughs, "but I'm so happy to have her back in my life. I really missed her. I can't believe we lost contact back then. She used to be my best friend, but sometimes life gets in the way, and we can't change things."
"I'm happy for you," he tells her, placing a kiss on her head.
... ... ...
A few days later, when Donna is walking through New York, she sees Harvey again and stops in her tracks. He's talking to a woman, and they seem pretty close. They're in front of a restaurant.
"He's taken," she tells herself, disappointed. He doesn't seem to see her, and she only sees him from the side but recognizes him immediately. They hug and go different ways. Donna quickly hides behind a column so he can't see her but instantly regrets it.
"Maybe it was just a friend or sister," she tells herself. "Goddamn it, Donna! They didn't look like siblings," she shouts at herself. "But they didn't kiss either. A hug doesn't mean anything," she tries to convince herself and steps out from her hiding place to go over and talk to him, but when she does, he's gone.
"You idiot," she yells at herself. "That was your chance!"
... ... ...
"I can't believe you really saw him," Rachel says, incredulous.
"Close to a restaurant called something like Del Paso, or de Porto. I ate there but I have no clue about the name. After I saw him I couldn't focus on anything"
"Del Posto," Rachel corrects. "Yeah, he was there."
"That's my boss's favorite restaurant. He always tells Mike we should go there. We went, but we didn't like it as much as he does, and he said we're boring."
Donna laughs. "Maybe I should meet him. I was there; it was the best meal I've ever had."
"Maybe," Rachel says, laughing. "Now that I think about it, you two would be a good match. You're both know-it-alls." Donna playfully slaps her shoulder.
"Back to the topic. You saw him," Rachel nods, taking a deep breath.
"But he wasn't alone. He was talking to a woman, and they hugged. Maybe it was his wife, but maybe just a friend. I mean, they didn't kiss."
"Why didn't you ask?"
"Because I'm a coward. God, Rachel, I can't get him out of my head. The way he looked at me, it's stuck in my mind."
"His brown eyes and that suit. God!" 'And that mole above his eyebrow,' she thinks but doesn't say out loud. She doesn't want Rachel to think she's completely crazy.
"Do you happen to know his hair color, too?" Rachel teases.
"Blonde," Donna blurts out, making Rachel laugh out loud.
"That could really be Harvey," she adds, teasing.
"God!" Donna says out loud, hiding her face behind a cushion.
... … …
"Is everything alright?" Mike asks Harvey when he notices his friend is distracted. The last few days had been almost the same as before the betrayal, so Mike feels comfortable enough to get more involved again.
"I met Scottie today."
"Scottie? She's here?" Harvey nods. "It's a business trip. She'll leave in two days."
"Did you talk?"
"Briefly. I met her after I was at Del Posto. I didn't really know what to say. We both didn't. I asked her for a drink, but she declined," he says with a hint of disappointment. "Probably it's for the best," he adds. "It was just unexpected to see her, and it brought a few things back."
"Harvey, I know you're not touchy-feely, but I hope you know that you can always talk to me. You don't act like it, but the breakup hurt you more than you let on."
"I appreciate that, Mike," he smiles at him. "But, it's been weeks; I'm fine. You're right, it hurt, but it was the right decision, even though it was her decision. We wanted and needed different things. It would've ended in a breakup sooner or later."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you" his friends apologizes.
"It's okay Mike. I wouldn't have said anything, anyways. I rather like to act like nothing happened. You know that" he tries to joke but it doesn't work this time.
"I should've been there anyway. You were alone and you shouldn't have been" he says sadly.
"Seriously Mike, everything's okay." Harvey smiles at him "We're good know, that's what counts."
Mike nods in agreement and lets it go while he turns to leave his mentor's office.
"And Mike?"
"yeah?"
"I want you to stop blaming yourself for our breakup. It was my decision not to tell her."
"You did it for me"
"It was still my decision. Maybe that secret triggered the breakup, but like I said, we wanted different things and it would have happened sooner or later anyway."
"Okay" Mike agrees. He never liked Scottie. She didn't understand Harvey, and even though Harvey blames himself, it was her fault too. She always challenged him, turning everything into a competition at work and making mountains out of molehills in their personal life. She never trusted Harvey like she should have. Even though he feels guilty because it was his secret that drove them apart, he's somewhat relieved because she would have only hurt Harvey, and he doesn't deserve that.
... … …
A week later, while Harvey is waiting for a client, he sees a redhead through the glas wall from behind. She's at Del Posto. It's pretty full- it's midday, and everyone wants something to eat.
He doesn't think about the man he saw back then but just makes his way towards her. He pushes through the crowd, cursing, 'Goddamn it! Is all of Manhattan buying here today?" while others yell at him and express their annoyance at his cutting in line. Finally, he reaches the woman and grabs her by the shoulder.
"Excuse me?" he calls out to her, and she turns to him…
/ / /
Hey there,
First of all thanks for the your support, love to see that you like the story idea.
That's chapter 2, featuring more of Donna's point of view. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter might take a little longer to finish.
Have a nice day!