Possession - Part One: Hostile Takeover Bid

“You see, Mike, there are winners and there are losers in this world. And do you want to know how to make sure you’re a winner and not a loser?”

Mike stifled a yawn and handed Louis the big stack of files he’d spent all morning retrieving from the file room.

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” he muttered. His back was aching, and if Harvey had come looking for him at any point in the past few hours then his afternoon was going to be just as unpleasant as his morning had been so far. Not that Harvey had come looking for him much lately. He seemed to have been avoiding him since the Clifford Danner case, and Mike had no idea why.

Louis gave him a reptilian smile. “I am, Mike, yes, because I look at you and see myself.”

“Really?” Mike felt faintly alarmed by that.

“Yes – I mean, you’re not as bright or as good-looking, but I can see in you a paler, inferior version of myself, as I was at your age.”

“Really?” Mike injected more sarcasm into it this time. “Will this take long, Louis, only…” he gestured in the direction of Harvey’s office.

“Winners and losers, Mike! You want to be on the winning team, don’t you?”

“Yes, Louis, I do.” Mike nodded. If he’d learned one thing from the past few months working at Pearson Hardman, it was that losing was a disgrace you wanted to avoid at all costs.

“Well, the secret, my friend, and I tell you this as a friend…” Louis leaned forward conspiratorially, beckoning. Mike hesitated and then leaned in too. Louis moved in a bit closer, so their heads almost banged together; Mike drew back a fraction.

“The secret is to keep your eyes open and look around; spot the winners and make sure you’re always on their team. That way you’ll be a winner too.”

Louis sat back and gazed at him expectantly. Mike pondered that for a moment, wondering what he was being told. This was Louis, so there had to be an ulterior motive or hidden meaning in there somewhere.

Louis gave a theatrical sigh. “I’m saying, Michael…Mikey…uh…Mike…what I’m saying is - who brings in the big payloads around here?” He had the cocky look on his face that Mike always found faintly repellent. He was looking smugly expectant, his fingers tapping impatiently on the desk in front of him as he waited for Mike’s answer.

“Uh…Harvey?” Mike ventured.

“What? No!” Louis’s face turned sulky. “Harvey’s showy, sure…he has the name, and the reputation.” He said that sneeringly. “But in terms of the big bucks, it’s me, Mike. Me. Moi. Numero uno. I’m the winner around here. So, if you want to be a winner too…”

“I should be on your team?”

“Now you’re getting it.” Louis gave a smirk. “That’s right, Mike. I’m a winner, so if you’re smart, you’ll get into bed with me.”

Mike hoped he didn’t mean that literally, but he gave a shudder at the mental image anyway.

“See…” Louis beckoned him back again. “I know, Mike.”

Mike felt his stomach flip at that. Did Louis know his secret? How? Only he and Harvey, and possibly Donna, knew about his lack of a Harvard law degree.

“What is it you know, Louis?” Mike asked carefully.

“I know you have an exceptional memory; almost photographic. I’ve been secretly testing you, Mike.”

“Well, it’s not really a secret…”

Louis waved a hand in the air. “See, facts, figures, dates…the devil is in the detail, but that stuff…well, it’s dull. I’m bigger than that. I’m a mover. I’m a dealer. You get what I’m saying?”