Chapter Text
Mike was running. It was about 92 degrees out and he has been running for 16 blocks now. He finally got what he needed to secure his future, he just had to get to the Chilton Hotel before it was too late. He worked his way through too many files, too many databases, and put in way too many hours in at the library to miss his one shot to get out of the shitty life he has been dealt.
It was just so fucking hot. Damn the kids that stole his bike, and damn them for living with him, and triple damn them for breaking it beyond repair.
So he ran, sweat dripping off the end of his hair on the back of his neck, making the nicest shirt he owns look almost transparent around the collar. It was the shirt that he buried his Grammy in just a year earlier. The same shirt she bought him to wear to church every Sunday after his parents died. With so much bad associated with this stupid piece of fabric, Mike threw it on with little hope some good could finally be wrung from it today.
After all, bad luck has to run out eventually.
Well, that’s what he hoped anyway- until he got out of the overcrowded boys' home and discovered his precious bike in pieces and his only chance to make it to Harvey Specter’s Associate interviews was now significantly harder to make happen. It was the only chance Mike could find where Harvey was semi-public and had to actually be there in person.
Mike just needed the chance to meet the man and make his case. He knew he could make the lawyer listen. He’d tried to meet him at his firm- Pearson Hardman but he never made it past the lobby. The time he tried was 2 weeks ago, which was humiliating as he was essentially laughed out by the secretaries. He tried to wait on the sidewalk outside of the firm but the next thing he knew the place was swarming with cops and getting caught for any little thing would just make Mike’s life hell for the next six years, until he’s an adult.
It was as he was leaving he overheard some short, plump guy complaining rather loudly to a tall, determined-looking woman about the time Harvey chose for his interview and how it interfered with the other associates’ schedules.
However unfortunate for the loud man, it was Mike’s chance to finally meet the great Harvey Specter. And he wasn’t about to miss it because of the asshole bigger kids that also resided in Danbury’s Boys Home.
Finally, the Chilton was in view and Mike decided to slow from his outright run to a light jog, then finally a walk as he approached the stairs, his messenger bag thumping against his thigh in time with his heart. The Chilton Hotel is a grand place with many, many people milling about. Pausing for a second, Mike simply took it in to try to gather his thoughts and find where the interviews were happening. Fortunately, there was a group of cocky-looking 20-somethings all heading in the same direction.
‘That must be it,’ Mike thought, and quickly cut across the lobby to tail the group. Eventually, after a few turns and seeing a few signs, the group ended up in a waiting room of sorts, but Mike stayed hovering just outside of the door.
Barging in and demanding to meet Harvey will land him in the exact same spot as when he tried to meet him at Pearson Hardman. He needed something that not only got him through the door, but also gave him time to make Harvey hear him out. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long. Peeking through the crack between the door and the wall, right under the top hinge, Mike saw the door where the interviews were allegedly happening fly open and a tired looking man come stumbling out. It wasn’t the young lawyer that caught Mike’s eye though, it was the older, taller man who honestly looked annoyed at best.
He was an intense man in appearance. Not one to take lightly and could easily command a room simply by walking into it. Mike knew from this first look alone that Harvey Specter wasn’t a man to be messed with, which made him perfect for what Mike hoped he would do.
As Harvey was making his way toward his ginger secretary, Mike decided to finally unstick himself from his hiding spot. Screwing up his courage while adjusting his hair and praying his white dress shirt no longer had visible sweat on it, Mike made his way through the door, quickly drawing the attention of everyone in the room. He wasn’t deterred and quickly made his way to where the lawyer and his secretary were conferring.
He caught the tail end of their conversation, “...look for another me,” Harvey said.
Mike didn’t take the time to compute what the lawyer said, he just looked up at him and said, “Harvey Specter, I have reasonable belief that you are my father.”
__________________________________________
Harvey has been having a rough day considering it was also the day he worked towards for years now. However, there are no free lunches - as Jessica keeps reminding him, and Senior Partnership comes with him having to hire some privileged Harvard associate to kiss his ass for the next however long. The morning started so amazingly too. Jessica was finally giving him what he deserved, Louis was giving a seminar at Harvard and his next case was going to be one that he could easily fight while still putting some cocky asshole lawyer in the ground.
Things were looking up. That was until Jessica mentioned Harvey should see a therapist minutes after promoting him to Senior Partner.
“I don’t need to see a fucking therapist Jessica,” Harvey complained as soon as she slid the doctor’s card across his desk.
“That is exactly what a man who needs to see on would say, and I know you didn’t just swear at me Harvey, not after all the bullshit you put me through just to get you to this position,” the managing partner said pointedly.
Harvey stared at her in shock, an incredulous look on his face. He scoffed and threw his hands up in the air. “So what? I don’t go see this guy, braid his hair, and talk about my feelings like a little girl and you revoke my Senior Partnership?”
Now it was Jessica’s turn to look incredulous. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, “No Harvey. I can’t make you go to therapy, and I sure as shit won’t take away your position- though the fact that you even thought that I would make me question if you are even ready for it!” Her voice raised there at the end and it made Harvey lean back in his chair, a more defeated look on his face. Jessica just plowed on, “I’m just asking you to consider seeing him because you’re about to be a goddamn leader in my firm but you’re such a cocky little shit, I couldn’t even promote you until Louis wasn’t even in the same state because I knew you would make that man feel smaller than he already is and I don’t need a junior partner attempting to sue your ass for harassment!”
Standing, she elegantly clasped her jacket button and stared down at her new senior partner, “So go to therapy or don’t Harvey, but if you don’t find a way to fix your shit and start treating other people like human beings, I can’t help you anymore.”
She left quickly after that, leaving Harvey sitting at his desk with the therapist’s card staring him down from his desk.
Now, Harvey isn’t an idiot. He knows that his treatment of Louis isn’t where this card came from or Jessica would have given it to him years ago. He knows he has his issues, but not a single one of them is without a damn good reason. It’s these reasons that shaped him into the kick-ass lawyer he is now. Jessica knows this and always has, that’s why she took him on in the first place. Harvey having issues isn’t what she’s pissed about, it’s how he handled his last case. The one that earned him his promotion and drove Louis to Cambridge for the week.
A win-win in Harvey’s eyes. But apparently not fully in Jessica’s.
It was a messy case to begin with, and Harvey knew it the moment Jessica threw it down on his desk. The folder was thick and contained details on one of her clients that made Ted Bundy look like Mother Theresa. Naturally, it was Harvey’s job to get their client off and protected.
So he did. He did his goddamn job and if he had to steamroll Louis’ stupid quarterly-required pro-bono then so be it. The job got done, he earned his senior partnership, Louis threw a major temper-tantrum, and talking to this supposed doctor about his feelings isn’t going to change what Harvey saw as a good day’s work.
The lawyer’s musings were interrupted by Donna coming into his office, immediately grabbing his attention as she does with most of the general population, “So do I need to make an appointment or are you trying to set the card on fire with your laser eyes?” She quipped.
Harvey stood, adjusting his suit into place and leaving the offending card exactly where Jessica left it. “You calling me Superman now?”
“Super-who?” Donna asked innocently.
Harvey just smirked and started heading toward the elevators, Donna falling next to him.
“Before you fly off to your phone box, did you forget you have to hire an associate today?” Donna said quickly.
The annoyance visibly settled onto the lawyer’s shoulders, “No Donna, I didn’t forget I just don’t have the time today,” Harvey responded while picking up his pace in hopes of escaping this situation. He didn’t necessarily not have the time, he just didn’t want to hire someone who couldn’t keep up with him. He was Harvey goddamn Specter, no one was ever going to be able to keep up and he didn’t have the patience to train anyone.
Unfortunately, Donna had long legs and was easily able to out-pace Harvey and get in his way right as he was about to call the elevator to freedom. “Yes Harvey, you not only have the time today, I’ve blocked out the next 4 hours for you to get this done. We have moved these interviews twice already and I refuse to do it for a third time.”
Harvey sighed, accepting his fate, “When do we have to do this thing?”
Donna gave him a small smirk, “Oh, does Superman whine now?”
Harvey rolled his eyes, finally reaching to call the elevator around Donna, “He does when he has to meet people wanting to just kiss the backside of his cape until they get the chance to blind-side him to make a name for themselves.”
Donna grabbed his arm, an almost concerned look on her face as she turned to her boss to look at her, “Look Harvey, this came from Jessica. She’s the one who came to me and made sure it was on your schedule and stayed there. But that doesn’t mean it’s up to her who we hire and who we don’t.”
Harvey clenched his jaw and looked away, hand flexing - a sure sign that he’s about to go do something incredibly stubborn according to Donna, and Donna is always right when it comes to Harvey Specter.
“Fine. When do we have to go?”
“Right now, so suit up Superman. Ray’s got the hot dog you were about to go get waiting for you in the car.”
__________________________________________
If Harvey knew what would happen at the associate interviews, he would have whined a lot more at Donna.
The interviews themselves were fine. Well. No. Actually, if Harvey were being 100% honest with himself, the interviews are monotonous and boring. Each person had the same song and dance about how they were top of their class or close enough to it, or had a record of amazing mock trials or just came in acting cocky as shit riding on the coattails of their family’s name.
All things Harvey has seen before and was the exact traits of the lawyers he got the most satisfaction of putting in the dirt.
Where was the raw talent, the desire to win? Where were the brains that could back up the cockiness? None of these Harvard educated jackasses could even attempt to keep up with him, certainly not this schmuck who was stammering his way through answering what Harvey thought was a very straight forward question about what he would do if he had a gun to his head and no way out unless he turned on his client.
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Harvey held up his hand as the guy started to graphically describe everyone in his immediate family and how he would beg the guy with the gun that he would want to just see them again.
Harvey stood and made his way to the door and quickly pulled it open, determined to get this pussy disguised in a suit out of his sight, “Thank you for your time,” he said pointedly while already looking at Donna for help.
She stood as what's-his-name quickly fled the room, and Harvey followed soon after with that tell-tale annoyance lining his features again.
“Donna we’re gonna have to streamline this, I don’t know how much more I can take. Give each guy a hard time before you send them in and gimme a wink or something if they say something clever, cool?”
Donna nodded, “Okay. What exactly are you looking for?”
Harvey smirked and gestured to all of himself, “Look for another me.”
Just as Donna was about to open her mouth to tell Harvey exactly what she thought another him would look like, this rumpled kid who couldn’t look a day over 14 came barging right up to the desk they were standing behind. He looked flush and his shirt was transparent with sweat stains, his pants torn around the bottoms hiding shoes that looked older than he possibly could be. But his head was held high and he stared Harvey directly in the eye as he said, “Harvey Specter, I have reasonable belief that you are my father.”
Putting on his poker face, the one he used that made him appear trustworthy to his clients yet giving nothing tangible away, Harvey turned fully toward the kid. The pause was audible in the air as the lawyer fully took in what just came out of this child's mouth. Eventually, he finally said, “Look kid, I think you have the wrong person and I don’t really have the time to entertain this-” He was cut off before he could tell this child to scram.
“You are Harvey Specter aren’t you?” The look on the kid’s face wasn’t confusion or regret, as his tone made it out to be. It was a look of annoyance, like he knew he was smarter than everyone else in the room and was patiently waiting for them to catch up to what he said.
Harvey sighed, poker face slipping briefly as his annoyance with the day finally started to go down and intrigue slowly started to take over.
“Shouldn’t you be at home? Or school? Or literally anywhere else right now?” he asked rather pointedly.
The kid barely even flinched, “No, not really. And I’m not going anywhere until you at least hear me out, which you are going to do.”
Harvey smirked at the balls on this kid, “And why would I do that? You’re what? 9 years old?”
The kid just gripped his messenger back harder as he took another step toward the desk so he could say with a lowered voice, “I’m not going anywhere because I just told a room full of potential associates that you are obviously not going to hire that the great Harvey Specter, newest senior partner of Pearson Hardman, has an illegitimate son and wouldn’t even give him the time of day to meet him and confirm if it’s true or not.”
Harvey’s grin faded as the kid was talking, his hands flexing while a calculating look started to appear in his eyes as he attempted to stare this punk down to get him to stop making arguably valid points, but apparently, he wasn’t done yet.
“So, are you going to let all of these future lawyers of different law firms leave with the tale of ‘Harvey Specter, the-guy-who-wouldn’t-even-meet-with-a-kid-claiming-to-be-his-son-because-he’s-got-that-much-of-an-ego-problem’ or will they leave with a tale about a man who isn’t afraid to face his issues?”
Harvey was stunned into silence. That’s a first. Thankfully, it was quickly broken by Donna,
“Well Harvey, you wanted another you. Looks like you got him.”