Chapter 41 - Harvey

Daniel Hardman is a fucking cockroach; always crawling back. He is suing the firm for wrongful termination of his ex-girlfriend, and at the same time he put me under investigation. I've been running around all morning pulling strings and trying to close the matter before they dig too deep and start looking into Mike too. But I've been hitting walls every time.

I curse under my breath as I leave my meeting with the last person that could end the bar's investigation. I grab my phone and get to Mike's name.

However, my phone starts ringing before I can press call. It's a facetime call from Ana. Last time we facetimed was because she was in the hospital with Haley. She must be finishing up her night shift at this hour. She probably went by the room to check on them one last time and Haley asked to see me. What can I say? I'm the best uncle.

So, I relax and smile a bit as I get in my car and answer the call.

"Hello!" I say cheerful as I see Ana on my screen. The connection isn't great, but it looks like she's back at her place.

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you. Do you have a moment?" she asks

"Of course. Shot" I reply

"So... First of all I'm calling you from the iPad because I broke my phone"

"How did that happen?"

"I talked with Daniel..." she reveals

"Yeap, that'll do it. Did he call you?"

"No, I came home a little while ago and got served with a subpoena, calling me to testify at your hearing. So, I called him to see what that meant and he drove me to my limits once again"

"God damnit" I clench my fist, "It's ok, I'll take care of it before it gets to the hearing" I reassure her.

"I'm sorry, Harvey" her voice breaks and she wipes her eyes

"It's not your fault"

"It is. I... I went to talk to Monica Eaton after leaving your apartment yesterday"

"What? Why?"

"I went to ask her the one question that's been on my mind since I found out about her; Why. But I swear I didn't say to her anything about the lawsuit or implicated anything that would suggest I know about it" she explains, "I just-- I didn't think--"

"Hey, hey. It's ok. You couldn't know this would happen" I try to reassure her before she starts crying

"I should've known! I know Daniel and his tricks too well. So, I should've known he'd find a way to use anything against you. And now you might lose your licence because of me"

"I am not going to lose anything, Ana. And even if I do, I would never blame you for it. Do you understand?"

"I don't want to have to testify against you" her voice breaks

"I'll get you out of it. Give me two hours" I state.

We hang up and I change my route. Now that I know Hardman is basing the investigation on Ana's testimony, all I have to do is find a way give her the right to not speak. Unfortunately, the fact that I'm under investigation is preventing me from representing her and making our conversation confidential.

•••

I knock on Ana's door, having nothing but an envelope with me. She takes a moment longer to open the door and freezes when she seems me. At the same time, I notice her red puffy eyes.

"Woah, woah, have you been crying?" I ask immediately as I step in

"What are you doing here?" she asks wiping her face

"First, you're going to tell me why you're crying" I insist

"Why do you think?" she rolls her eyes

"I told you I'll take care of it" I show her envelope

"What is this?" she wonders as she takes it

"The one piece of paper that could prevent you from testifying. It's already filled out, I just need your signature and an hour of your time" I explain as she rips the envelope open.

She takes a moment to read the document. "Absolutely not" she says and slams it on my chest

"Ana, this is the only way--"

"No, I'm not doing it" she insists

"It's just a piece of paper"

"It's a marriage license!" she raises her voice.

"Come on, it's not like we weren't heading down this road already. What's the deal if we take this step a few months early? Nothing between us is going to change"

"Of course it will! We'd be married and I'm not--" she cuts herself off. "I don't want it to be this way. It's not just another contract for me. It's a life decision, which last time didn't play out well" she reminds me.

"You think I want to do it this way?!" I raise my voice too. "You think this is how I imagined marrying you? I am fully aware that this is not even close to what you deserve. But I don't see another way out of this shithole right now!" I point out

"The shithole that I put you in"

"Stop doing that, it's not about you! It's about me. And Mike. And Jessica. Because if they keep investigating me they will eventually find something much bigger than breach of confidentiality and we'll all be in jail" I admit. "And when that happens, it's gonna be Hardman's opportunity to swoop in and take everything. So, I'm sorry this is not how you imagined things but I don't have another way to get you out of it and stopping that damn investigation!".

Ana stops arguing and lowers her head nodding. "I'll go get dressed..." she says, not louder than a whisper and heads to her bedroom.

I collapse on the couch with a sigh, dropping my head back. I don't like this one bit. It feels like I'm letting Hardman destroy one more good thing for us. But I truly don't see another way out.

Ana comes out of the room less than 10 minutes later. "Do we have rings or shall we wing that too?" she asks

"It has to appear legit so I got us rings" I reassure her

"Did you or did Donna get them for you?" she assumes as she puts her shoes on. "Did she write you some vows too?" she adds

"Ana--"

"Of course... Let's just get this over with" she says and leaves first.

I take a deep breath, grab her keys from the table and follow her out.