Chapter 2 - Harvey

After the funeral, Jessica went back to the office but I decided to visit Daniel's estate. By the amount of cars parked outside, I assume that about half of the people that attended the service are inside. I look for a black BMW with plates that match those of the car Anastasia left the cemetery in earlier as I make my way to the entrance.

The door opens before I knock, revealing Sarah on the other side. "Hello. I'm Harvey Specter" I introduce myself

"I'm Sarah. Umm, I saw you talking to my father at the service. Are you friends?" she replies

"We used to work together" I explain

She nods, "Did you know my mom too?" she wonders

"Not as well as I would have liked" I admit

She nods again. "I was just going out. I need a walk and some air. Dad's just over there. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you" she says letting me in

"Thank you. I'm sorry for your loss"

"Thank you".

I fight the urge to ask her about her sister, given that today is probably hard enough on her. I let her leave first and then I walk inside the house. I leave the basket I brought on the kitchen counter. Daniel spots me and excuses himself from the other guests to come over.

"You brought food" he notices as he approaches

"New York's finest" I confirm

"You didn't want to come empty-handed"

"I didn't want to come here at all" I admit

"But you want to make sure I don't come back" he assumes.

"Yes" I confirm. "Look, Daniel, when we found out about your little scam, I wanted to go public. Jessica said no. Didn't want to damage the firm's reputation. But you've been gone a long time. Now when we tell everyone what you were up to, our reputation will be fine, yours won't" I warn him

"As I said before, I haven't decided what the future holds for me. And all your little threat is doing is making me want to come back" he reveals.

"If you come back, here's what's gonna happen. Your daughters are gonna find out what kind man their father is. Everything. Anastasia might be older and estranged enough that it might not affect her, but Sarah... She will never forgive you, and then you'll be left truly alone" I threaten

"You wouldn't do that"

"I will" I insist.

"Why are you doing this?" he asks

"To protect my own. Do us all a favor and set up shop somewhere else" I say and head out already.

I pick up my phone and call Jessica as I leave. She doesn't pick up, so I leave her a voice message. "It's done. He won't be coming back" I say and hang up.

"He'll come back" I recognize Anastasia's voice immediately, like a song I haven't realized I remembered until the first note played.

I turn around and find her sitting by the curve a few feet away from the mansion's front door. She wasn't here when I come in; I wouldn't have missed her if she was. So, either Sarah didn't see her or she didn't recognize her which would mean that they had no communication in the last 14 years.

I take a good look at her. I'm not gonna say that she looks exactly like she did at 22 because that would be a lie. She isn't the same girl I remember, but then again I am not the same either. Time had done its work, but in the best way possible. Her beauty has matured. The edges of her face sharpened, making her cheekbones pop out more than they used to.

There is a quiet confidence in the way she holds herself now, an ease that hadn't been there before. A sense that she'd learned how to exist in her own skin. I try to steal a glimpse of those hazel eyes that have engraved themselves into my memory, but she keeps her sight down to the ground.

"He'll find a way to come back" she repeats as her fingers toy with the gravel between her legs. That's when I notice a big rock on her ring finger. My heart skips a beat.

"If Daniel has taught one thing after all these years is that revenge is a dish that's always served" she adds

"I doubt it" I reply

"Ok" she sighs, not insisting further.

Silence fills the space between us. I approach her slowly, giving her the opportunity to stop me if she wants. I sit on the pavement besides her, leaving a few inches of space between us.

"I saw you at the service" I speak first

"To be honest, I was surprised to see you there. But now I understand it's because you want to ensure he won't decide to come back to work"

"No, I would go to pay my respects to Alicia either way" I reassure her. "I'm really sorry for your loss, Ana"

"Thank you" her voice breaks.

"I'm assuming things haven't changed much between you and Daniel" I say

"No. But it's fine, I never expecting him to change or see the wrongs in his behavior. He is not that kind of guy. Almost like you"

"Ok, people need to stop comparing me to him" I state, causing her to chuckle slightly.

At the same time, a tear escapes her eye. I offer her my handkerchief. She hesitates a bit but takes it eventually. My eyes focus on her engagement ring one more time. She still hasn't looked at me in the eye.

"He didn't even tell me that she died. My aunt was the one who told me last night, and I went to the service straight from the airport. She told me that mom wasn't doing well the last 2 months. They had 2 months to prepare for her loss. Meanwhile, I didn't even know that her cancer was back... And I didn't get to say goodbye..." a sob comes up her throat but she drowns it against my handkerchief

"I'm really sorry. You should go inside and tell everyone in there that's praising him what a piece of shit he really is" I suggest

"I'd love to, but I don't have the energy to fight with him right now. That's why I didn't disturb him at the funeral earlier and decided to not knock on the door. If he wanted to actually talk to me, he could have come find me"

"His loss"

"You always said that" the corner of her lips raises in a soft smile

"It's true" I insist.

She nods, looking down. She fidgets with her ring.

"Where is the lucky guy?" I wonder

"He couldn't come. He had some appointments he couldn't reschedule"

"Your mother died, and he can't move a meeting to be with you?"

"Not meetings, but patients. He is a neurosurgeon" she reveals

"Still--"

"Let's not continue with this" she cuts me off. "I hear things are pretty good for you in the firm. You made senior partner" she mentions

"You hear things all the way to Seattle? I must be awesome then" I smirk

"You heard that I'm working in Seattle -in an industry you never had an interest in? I must be even more awesome then" she smiles and finally looks at me.

There she is! There is also that old flutter in my chest.

"That's because I know everything" I claim

"Oh yeah? Please, explain to me what adrenoleukodystrophy is" she asks.

I love that this hasn't change about her. She never let me get away with any bullshit I threw her way. And she was always up for a challenge.

"Ok, that doesn't count" I argue

"You've gone soft, Specter"

"Never been soft, never will be" I state

"I beg to differ" she smirks

I smile back at her as our eyes meet.

•••

I return to my cubicle, pushing Louis' stupid cat toy off the side of his cubicle on my way. I am one argument away from peeing all over that bastard's cubicle and blaming it on the real cat he's hiding under his desk when he is here.

The bullpen is almost empty. Almost. Because there is a woman sitting at my cubicle.

"Can I help you?" I ask

"Yes, actually. You can start by moving your things..." she mentions and I recognize her voice immediately.

I spin the chair and roll her closer to me. "No way. Sugar? You're stalking me now?" I chuckle as I sit on the desk

"Stalking you? You're the one who just came up behind me!" she argues.

God, she's lippy and gorgeous. She's wearing big square glasses, with dark green rim that makes the green in her hazel eyes pop. And as I look down at her I can't help but notice the way her cleavage peeks out of her shirt's neckline. Sugar tits indeed.

"You're the one who sneaked in a law firm and sat at my desk" I point out

"I didn't sneak in. I was-- Oh, no..." she sighs

"What? You remembered how I beat your ass last week?" I smile

"First of all, I destroyed you in the ring. And secondly, I was sent here to find Harvey Specter"

"You know my name"

"I know your name. I know you're Jessica Pearson's project; you're still in law school which she is paying for, but you also work as a first year associate now that she made Senior Partner"

"Wow, you don't sound like a stalker at all" I reply ironically

"My dad told me all that before he sent me down here. See, I'm graduating with a biology degree from NYU soon and have already applied to medical schools, but he wants to convince me that law is more fun and that I should change career paths before I get accepted into one. So I agreed to his request come in and shadow a talented lawyer my age, and Ms. Pearson suggested your name" she explains. "But now I think she missed the talented part" she adds

"Trust me, Jessica doesn't miss anything. And as far as the shadowing goes, I think she would have notified me if something like that were true" I state.

"Harvey..." Jessica's voice fills my ears, followed by her steps. "Great, I see you already met Ms. Hardman" she smiles

"Ms. Hardman?" I look at her.

"Right, I forgot to introduce myself. Anastasia Hardman" she offers her hand

"Your dad... Of course, I should have seen it coming" I drop my head

"You should" Anastasia replies, "Is this really your most talented one?" she asks Jessica

"I am the best you're going to find in this town, sugar" I state

"Then I hope you work better than you punch".

•••

"Well... It was good seeing you again, Harvey. But I have to get going" she says

"Of course" I stand up first and offer my hand to help her up. She accepts it and thanks me. She fixes her coat and then her hair. "For how long will you be staying? We could maybe grab a coffee and catch up" I suggest

"I don't think that would be a good idea" she avoids looking at me and fidgets with her ring again

"Right" I close my eyes, wondering how I already forgot about that damn ring. "It was great seeing you too, Ana" I wrap it up quickly

"Goodbye, Harvey"

"Goodbye".