Obviously Oblivious

Chapter 1

The start

Donna was jabbing at the computer keys with a single-minded determination that Harvey had seen all too often when someone was stupid enough to get on her bad side. He cleared his throat, but that wasn't enough to break Donna's concentration.

Harvey tapped his fingers on her desk, and the speed of fingers over keys tapered off to a standstill. Donna flipped her hair triumphantly, jabbed the enter key, and looked up at him.

"How can I help you, sir?" she smiled sweetly.

Harvey quelled a since of foreboding, a feeling that all was wrong in the world and that he was in some strange, frightening episode of The Twilight Zone.

"What are you up to and how do I get out of it with my dignity intact?"

"Moi, up to something," Donna put a hand to her chest, clearly offended, except for a crinkle at the corner of her eyes giving away a hint of amusement. "How could you think such a thing?"

Harvey shook his head. He had more important things to deal with.

*

Mike felt like there was something amiss the next morning. He saw people smirking at him out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head they were looking the other direction or focusing on some important paperwork. Except for Donna. She was all smiles and surprisingly helpful. Mike didn't question it—he was too thankful for the help.

Especially since their case just fell out from under them, and they lost their lead witness. He was on his way to run a few prospects by Harvey when he bumped into Rachel. Literally. That's what he gets for reading while walking.

"Uh, sorry about that," He muttered, snapping the file closed. Rachel opened her mouth, but Mike's phone rang and he gave her an apologetic smile.

"Get your ass up here, Mike."

Mike winced and jerked the phone away from his ear. "I'm on my--" the other end of the line went dead. "way..."

"Wow, that was loud." Rachel said.

"Yeah, Harvey's really riding me hard," Mike said, "this case—"

Rachel snorted a laugh, then covered her mouth with a hand. "Sorry, having trouble with the case?"

"Yeah, I've got to—" he waved the file, then pointed it in the opposite direction.

"Right," Rachel said, "don't let him be too hard on you."

"Harvey's always hard," Mike muttered, "on everybody," then wondered what was up with Rachel when a peal of laughter echoed down the hall after him.

Mike was absently wondering if Rachel had been to the dentist recently since nitrous could cause the giggles like that, plus her teeth had looked really white and shiny when she was laughing at whatever had been so funny. He ran into Harvey and Louis, too focused on arguing with one another to notice him, as they headed for the elevator.

Mike caught up, handed over the file to Harvey as he stepped into the elevator, and then stared when Louis started babbling.

"You know, maybe I should just take the stairs; it would be better for my health and there's always the possibility that the elevator could—nevermind," Louis' words cut off as the elevator doors slid closed at his back. He stepped to the far corner of the elevator and studied his shoes.

Mike looked a question at Harvey, who shrugged, as if to say it's Louis; how the hell am I supposed to know what he's up to?

"You know, I never really appreciate how comfortable these shoes are," Louis said, glancing from the floor to the walls, avoiding catching either of their eyes at all costs. "And they're not even all that expensive-not that money is an issue; it's just that it's never a bad thing to be fru—oh, good we're here." He brushed past them and was halfway to his office before Harvey and Mike could do more than blink at each other.