Ficlet: That Love Is A Verb Thing You Do (Suits, Gen, 1500 words, Teen)
Summary: Melinda starts with, "I'll bet you fifty that one of those files is about me. I can see why you like him. Pretty and smart. But then, that was always your type."
Story on AO3
"No," Harvey says, "he's too smart for that. He won't respond to threats."
Mike's just about to throw out his next idea when another voice says, "Boyfriend or project?"
Mike's still looking at Harvey, so he can see the change that comes over him before he says, "Neither. You are not allowed in the building, Melinda."
"Your security isn't that good, and I've changed since I was last here." The woman in the doorway, dark hair, jaw that's somehow familiar, chin up, does a slow turn. "I'm sober now."
"What do you want? I'll tell you right now that if it's money, you're not getting it."
Mike has no idea what's going on, but this isn't Harvey as usual. This Harvey is absolutely forbidding.
"Can't I just come to see you?"
"No. What do you want?"
"Melinda," Donna says, striding into the room and stopping next to her, even though Mike knows she's not supposed to be back from lunch for twenty minutes. "You're not allowed in the building. Let me escort you out."
Melinda, whoever she is, goes with Donna, and Harvey grills Mike about the Danielson case until they get to a solution Harvey finds acceptable.
*
Mike leans over the partition around Donna's desk. Harvey isn't in, which is half the reason he's here now. "Who was that?"
"There are a lot of people who come through here," Donna says without looking up.
"You know everything." A little flattery never hurt, especially when it was true. "You know who I'm asking about."
Donna does look up, pinning him with a look that would make a lesser man crumble like a cookie. "Don't go there. Let this one go."
*
Mike's in Harvey's office again, on the couch this time, files open around him, when Melinda comes in without even knocking on the closed door.
"I can see what you like about him," Melinda says. The way she's looking at Mike is somewhere between predatory and weighing. It makes him uncomfortable, no matter what it is. "He's Danny all over again."
"Get out," Harvey says. Mike's never seen him be so rude to anyone, not even Louis, and Harvey hates Louis.
"Come on, Harvey," Melinda says. "You're a grown man and they're gone. What happened then isn't going to happen now." There's something wrong about her voice. She's needling Harvey, and it's working.
"Melinda," Harvey says, voice like ice and steel, "get out of my office, and get out of my building. Now."
"I called security," Donna says over the intercom. "You can leave now, or they can escort you out. You might not remember it, but it wouldn't be the first time."
"I was a drunk," Melinda says, "but I didn't black out that much. Harvey, we should have lunch."
"No."
"I'm sober. It could be fun."
"No!" This time Harvey yells it. "I am not having lunch with you and I am not giving you money or anything else you want. Get out." Then he says, "And stay away from my associate," just before the door opens and two guys in suits whose price tag is more like Mike's than Harvey's with broader shoulders than either of them come in.
"Gentlemen," Melinda says. "How nice to have a personal escort."
"Are you going to tell me who she is?" Mike asks when she's halfway down the hall, Harvey still watching her and Donna watching him through the glass walls.
"No." Harvey turns away from the door. "Have you found anything useful yet?"
*
The third time, Mike's at his desk, earbuds in, proofing four hundred pages for Louis and digesting seven hundred for Harvey, when he becomes aware of someone staring at him. He pulls one earbud out by habit as he looks up, and the second when he sees it's Melinda.
"Come on, Rookie," she says, sounding more like Harvey than he ever expected to hear from any woman ever. "Let's go see your boss."
Mike scoops up a batch of files and goes with her. She can make it to Harvey's office before Mike can get security up here, and as much as he might not want it, Harvey can probably use all the help he can get.
He shrugs at Donna, who picks up the phone as they walk by.
Melinda starts with, "I'll bet you fifty that one of those files is about me. I can see why you like him. Pretty and smart. But then, that was always your type."
"Melinda," Harvey says. Mike can't be sure, but he thinks Harvey might be grinding his teeth. "Stop."
"Or what? You'll tell Mom?"
That makes Harvey's jaw twitch, practically a full body flinch from anyone else. Who is this woman?
"Melinda." This time it's Jessica at the door. "I told you never to set foot in my firm again. You're leaving, and if you keep harassing one of my senior partners, I will personally fill out the paperwork for a restraining order."
"I'm not harassing," Melinda says. "I'm visiting. It's so good to see you, Jessica." Whoever she is, she's too stupid to be intimidated by Jessica.
"I keep hearing that you're telling people you've changed, and yet I haven't seen any evidence of it."
Melinda smiles. It's not a nice smile. It's like the one Harvey gets when he's about to go for the kill. "I haven't been telling anyone I've changed. I've been telling people I'm sober. Four years now. That doesn't mean I've changed."
"Very well," Jessica says. "You haven't changed. You are still not allowed in my firm." She holds her arm out, toward the door. "Let's go. That was not a request."
Melinda's smart enough to go with her.
"The Harrison briefs," Mike says, putting them down on Harvey's desk and holding onto the last file himself.
Harvey nods at it. "Out with it."
Mike puts it on the desk with the others. "Melinda Carmichael. Formerly Melinda Brooks, Melinda Lenk, and Melinda Lewis. I'm guessing you know more about most of what's in that file than I do. Her husband filed for divorce two weeks ago."
"She's getting divorced," Harvey says. "Again."
"Again." Mike looks at the file, at Harvey's fingers resting lightly on it. "Harvey, who is she?"
Harvey sits down and rubs his forehead with his thumb and index finger. "She's my sister. Half-sister, technically."
"You have a sister?" Mike blurts out. Then he blinks. "'This is what addicts do,'" he quotes.
"And a brother. You probably won't meet him." Harvey taps the file on Melinda, then shuffles it under the Harrison briefs. "What's in here that I can use?"
*
Whatever Jessica does must finally work to keep Melinda out of the office, because the next time they see her it's on the street in front of Pearson Hardman.
Harvey says, "Whatever it is, no," and walks right past her.
"He wants to have kids," Melinda calls.
Harvey stops, and Mike turns with him.
"I know, right?" she says, with a truly cruel twist to her lips. "You could do it, that love is a verb thing you do, especially with someone like your pretty boy here to do the warm and fuzzy part. I can't."
"What do you want?"
"I want you to represent me."
"No, you don't. You want to do this amicably." Harvey pulls out a business card and a pen. "I'm going to give you a number. You call it. Eileen's a good lawyer, and she'll make sure you don't screw this up."
"You mean the way I've screwed everything else up," Melinda says. She takes the card, then looks at Mike. "Are you going to listen to me about him?"
"I like women," Harvey says, "and he has a girlfriend."
"You love men," Melinda says, "and he loves you more. Who wouldn't?" That's apparently her exit line, because she walks away after she says it.
Mike stands next to Harvey while they watch her cross the street. Only then does Harvey pull out his phone.
"Eileen," he says into it. "I'm sending you a client. Melinda Carmichael. Don't let it get nasty. Mediation would be better than court. Send the bill to me." He tucks his phone back into his jacket and starts walking.
Mike, as always, has to take two steps to catch up with him. "Love is a verb?"
There's a twitch of a smile at the corner of Harvey's mouth.
*
"What's up with you?" Jenny cards her fingers through Mike's hair. It feels too good for him to raise his head from her stomach to look at her. "Come on, what happened?"
"Remember that woman I told you about? The one who kept showing up?"
"Mmmhmm. Melinda, right?"
"Yeah." Mike closes his eyes, breathes in the scent of Jenny's skin. "She's Harvey's sister."
"Harvey has a sister?"
"Yeah." Mike sighs.
"And?"
"And she called me his pretty boy." Mike turns his head, kisses her stomach. "He told her I had a girlfriend, and she said I loved him more." When her stroking doesn't change pace, he looks up at her. "Jenny?"
"You do love him more." Jenny strokes one of her hands down, over his cheek. "But he's not like Rachel. You get what you need from him already. I'm not going to make you choose, and if he hasn't yet, he's not going to."
Story on AO3
"No," Harvey says, "he's too smart for that. He won't respond to threats."
Mike's just about to throw out his next idea when another voice says, "Boyfriend or project?"
Mike's still looking at Harvey, so he can see the change that comes over him before he says, "Neither. You are not allowed in the building, Melinda."
"Your security isn't that good, and I've changed since I was last here." The woman in the doorway, dark hair, jaw that's somehow familiar, chin up, does a slow turn. "I'm sober now."
"What do you want? I'll tell you right now that if it's money, you're not getting it."
Mike has no idea what's going on, but this isn't Harvey as usual. This Harvey is absolutely forbidding.
"Can't I just come to see you?"
"No. What do you want?"
"Melinda," Donna says, striding into the room and stopping next to her, even though Mike knows she's not supposed to be back from lunch for twenty minutes. "You're not allowed in the building. Let me escort you out."
Melinda, whoever she is, goes with Donna, and Harvey grills Mike about the Danielson case until they get to a solution Harvey finds acceptable.
*
Mike leans over the partition around Donna's desk. Harvey isn't in, which is half the reason he's here now. "Who was that?"
"There are a lot of people who come through here," Donna says without looking up.
"You know everything." A little flattery never hurt, especially when it was true. "You know who I'm asking about."
Donna does look up, pinning him with a look that would make a lesser man crumble like a cookie. "Don't go there. Let this one go."
*
Mike's in Harvey's office again, on the couch this time, files open around him, when Melinda comes in without even knocking on the closed door.
"I can see what you like about him," Melinda says. The way she's looking at Mike is somewhere between predatory and weighing. It makes him uncomfortable, no matter what it is. "He's Danny all over again."
"Get out," Harvey says. Mike's never seen him be so rude to anyone, not even Louis, and Harvey hates Louis.
"Come on, Harvey," Melinda says. "You're a grown man and they're gone. What happened then isn't going to happen now." There's something wrong about her voice. She's needling Harvey, and it's working.
"Melinda," Harvey says, voice like ice and steel, "get out of my office, and get out of my building. Now."
"I called security," Donna says over the intercom. "You can leave now, or they can escort you out. You might not remember it, but it wouldn't be the first time."
"I was a drunk," Melinda says, "but I didn't black out that much. Harvey, we should have lunch."
"No."
"I'm sober. It could be fun."
"No!" This time Harvey yells it. "I am not having lunch with you and I am not giving you money or anything else you want. Get out." Then he says, "And stay away from my associate," just before the door opens and two guys in suits whose price tag is more like Mike's than Harvey's with broader shoulders than either of them come in.
"Gentlemen," Melinda says. "How nice to have a personal escort."
"Are you going to tell me who she is?" Mike asks when she's halfway down the hall, Harvey still watching her and Donna watching him through the glass walls.
"No." Harvey turns away from the door. "Have you found anything useful yet?"
*
The third time, Mike's at his desk, earbuds in, proofing four hundred pages for Louis and digesting seven hundred for Harvey, when he becomes aware of someone staring at him. He pulls one earbud out by habit as he looks up, and the second when he sees it's Melinda.
"Come on, Rookie," she says, sounding more like Harvey than he ever expected to hear from any woman ever. "Let's go see your boss."
Mike scoops up a batch of files and goes with her. She can make it to Harvey's office before Mike can get security up here, and as much as he might not want it, Harvey can probably use all the help he can get.
He shrugs at Donna, who picks up the phone as they walk by.
Melinda starts with, "I'll bet you fifty that one of those files is about me. I can see why you like him. Pretty and smart. But then, that was always your type."
"Melinda," Harvey says. Mike can't be sure, but he thinks Harvey might be grinding his teeth. "Stop."
"Or what? You'll tell Mom?"
That makes Harvey's jaw twitch, practically a full body flinch from anyone else. Who is this woman?
"Melinda." This time it's Jessica at the door. "I told you never to set foot in my firm again. You're leaving, and if you keep harassing one of my senior partners, I will personally fill out the paperwork for a restraining order."
"I'm not harassing," Melinda says. "I'm visiting. It's so good to see you, Jessica." Whoever she is, she's too stupid to be intimidated by Jessica.
"I keep hearing that you're telling people you've changed, and yet I haven't seen any evidence of it."
Melinda smiles. It's not a nice smile. It's like the one Harvey gets when he's about to go for the kill. "I haven't been telling anyone I've changed. I've been telling people I'm sober. Four years now. That doesn't mean I've changed."
"Very well," Jessica says. "You haven't changed. You are still not allowed in my firm." She holds her arm out, toward the door. "Let's go. That was not a request."
Melinda's smart enough to go with her.
"The Harrison briefs," Mike says, putting them down on Harvey's desk and holding onto the last file himself.
Harvey nods at it. "Out with it."
Mike puts it on the desk with the others. "Melinda Carmichael. Formerly Melinda Brooks, Melinda Lenk, and Melinda Lewis. I'm guessing you know more about most of what's in that file than I do. Her husband filed for divorce two weeks ago."
"She's getting divorced," Harvey says. "Again."
"Again." Mike looks at the file, at Harvey's fingers resting lightly on it. "Harvey, who is she?"
Harvey sits down and rubs his forehead with his thumb and index finger. "She's my sister. Half-sister, technically."
"You have a sister?" Mike blurts out. Then he blinks. "'This is what addicts do,'" he quotes.
"And a brother. You probably won't meet him." Harvey taps the file on Melinda, then shuffles it under the Harrison briefs. "What's in here that I can use?"
*
Whatever Jessica does must finally work to keep Melinda out of the office, because the next time they see her it's on the street in front of Pearson Hardman.
Harvey says, "Whatever it is, no," and walks right past her.
"He wants to have kids," Melinda calls.
Harvey stops, and Mike turns with him.
"I know, right?" she says, with a truly cruel twist to her lips. "You could do it, that love is a verb thing you do, especially with someone like your pretty boy here to do the warm and fuzzy part. I can't."
"What do you want?"
"I want you to represent me."
"No, you don't. You want to do this amicably." Harvey pulls out a business card and a pen. "I'm going to give you a number. You call it. Eileen's a good lawyer, and she'll make sure you don't screw this up."
"You mean the way I've screwed everything else up," Melinda says. She takes the card, then looks at Mike. "Are you going to listen to me about him?"
"I like women," Harvey says, "and he has a girlfriend."
"You love men," Melinda says, "and he loves you more. Who wouldn't?" That's apparently her exit line, because she walks away after she says it.
Mike stands next to Harvey while they watch her cross the street. Only then does Harvey pull out his phone.
"Eileen," he says into it. "I'm sending you a client. Melinda Carmichael. Don't let it get nasty. Mediation would be better than court. Send the bill to me." He tucks his phone back into his jacket and starts walking.
Mike, as always, has to take two steps to catch up with him. "Love is a verb?"
There's a twitch of a smile at the corner of Harvey's mouth.
*
"What's up with you?" Jenny cards her fingers through Mike's hair. It feels too good for him to raise his head from her stomach to look at her. "Come on, what happened?"
"Remember that woman I told you about? The one who kept showing up?"
"Mmmhmm. Melinda, right?"
"Yeah." Mike closes his eyes, breathes in the scent of Jenny's skin. "She's Harvey's sister."
"Harvey has a sister?"
"Yeah." Mike sighs.
"And?"
"And she called me his pretty boy." Mike turns his head, kisses her stomach. "He told her I had a girlfriend, and she said I loved him more." When her stroking doesn't change pace, he looks up at her. "Jenny?"
"You do love him more." Jenny strokes one of her hands down, over his cheek. "But he's not like Rachel. You get what you need from him already. I'm not going to make you choose, and if he hasn't yet, he's not going to."