RUSH ;; SUITS

XXVII. Called Bullshit

MIKE

It was late at the office, and I was pretty much alone. Well, Donna, Harvey, and Olivia were there, but two of them are kinda off limits at the moment.

I was tired, my eyes were fluttering shut.

"Goddamnit.." I said as I quickly snapped out of my thoughts.

When is this shit ever gonna end? I'm overflowing with guilt ever since Olivia left, and not to mention I miss her touch and her everything like hell.

Plus, it's hard to smile when she's living so peacefully without me.

Again, I was snapped out of my thoughts when a redhead wagged a finger at me.

"Mike, Mike-- hello??" Donna said. "Are you dead inside?"

"Is that a genuine question?" I sat up straight in my chair.

"Yes." Donna laughed softly and took the chair next to my cubicle. "Harvey wanted me to give you this."

Donna then handed me a folder with the 'Pearson-Ryker' logo on it.

I opened the folder and read "MOCK-TRIAL DETAILS."

"What is this?" I asked Donna, my fingers brushing around the document. "Looks serious."

"You tell people you went to Harvard and you don't know what a mock-trial is?" Donna scoffed.

"Obviously, I know what a mock-trial is." I then scoffed back. "Just asking why is this.. relevant. You and I both know there are a hundred things clouding my brain right now."

"All associates need to watch." Donna smiled. "And if you're unlucky enough, Louis is gonna pick you to be in it."

"Ah, so it's a school play. Fun. I totally have time for that."

"You have no idea how much this could launch your career here, Mike."

"Ah, so it's a practical exam? Even better."

Ever since Olivia and I cut contact, I've been as closed off as ever. I couldn't.. think properly. I could process things and write briefs, sure. But I couldn't.. feel the same way. I don't think I ever could again.

My spark went missing.

"Your tone is telling me you're still bothered by 'it'." Donna suddenly pushed my thoughts away from me.

"'It' being?" I said a bit more sarcastically.

"You know what 'it' is." Donna tilted her head to the right, just by Olivia's office. "Better yet, you know who 'it' is."

"Donna.." My voice trailed off and my eyes went back to my lap.

"Don't avoid the topic, Mike." Donna shook her head. "You're not the first guy around here she's got wrapped around her finger."

"I cannot believe you--" I sighed.

"It's true, Mike. You're not. But you wanna know what's different about you?"

"What?"

"You've got her wrapped around yours too."

The soft silence filled the air for a minute. My eyes went back to the Pearson-Ryker folder. "Who's Ryker?"

"They merged with Raymond Ryker. No big deal. Back to the topic." Donna said nonchalantly, like the merger wasn't a big deal at all.

"Raymond Ryker?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "There's no way Harvey agreed to that."

"He didn't. Jessica didn't let him have a say."

"No shit."

"He's only tolerating it now because Hardman's out of the picture." Donna added.

"There's no way she could've pushed through if absolutely no one knew about this."

Donna gave me that look.

"She knew about it, didn't she?" I muttered out.

"She's the only one Jessica could run to — aside from Mr. Sunshine himself." Donna chuckled a bit. "But this conversation is not the point of anything that's going on in your — or Liv's — head right now."

"I don't want to talk—" I tried to reason (yet again) but I was cut off.

"I'll tell you something, but you absolutely can't tell a single soul that I did." Donna did not give two shits about my fake 'I-don't-give-a-shit' attitude.

I faced her as the office felt more empty now that we were talking about Olivia.

"When I first started to work with Harvey, he introduced me to Olivia. Told me their story; I'm sure you know it by now." Donna sighed, "But you know an additional little detail he told me, Mike?"

My ears perked up. "What?"

"You can't lie to her." Donna, very softly, said, "When they were moving out of their family's house when she was 13, Harvey tried saying that it was because company coming in and they needed to go away for a bit."

"Olivia called bullshit." I stared into Donna's eyes — not in disbelief though.

"At 13." She laughed. "The girl has always had this.. sense. Like the one I have; she's just more in lawyer shape, you know. Her heart is a bit colder, she's a lot tougher."

All I could do is let a breath out.

"And to think you lied to her.. and she believed you. That shows how much trust she had for you, Mike. It shows how much trust you had to break." Donna added, "So, yes, the Specters.. they're closed off. But once you crack them open, it's hard to seal them back up. Which is surprising because you did it."

"I know.. I'm an asshole. I get it."

"My point is she might've actually loved you, Mike."

Then, I shut up. My mouth just.. closed. No smartass response.

Donna then patted my back, "Mock trial's on Wednesday."

A/N: miss me? HI GUYS!! HOW'S EVERYONE DOINNN?? it's been quite a while, I know. but I'm back (for two weeks, at least) and I'm gonna make the most of it. I know this is a bit short, but it says enough. school's been SHIT lately.. but this fic is still pretty cool 😘😘 anyway.. welcome BACK to rush guys!! we're back to my fav Donna sticking her nose in places where it doesn't belong.