It's late. It's been a long day. He had done too much paperwork and had had enough crying witnesses to last him a lifetime. Damn pro bono cases and Louis' need to shift them off onto him. All Kyle wanted to do right now was pack his desk up and go home and sleep for a solid five hours before he has to do this again.
And possibly have a drink. Or five. And some shots. He's not going to be picky at this point.
But before that can happen he still has more work to do; one more brief to lookover and research before he's free. Research that Rachel Zane had already refused to do for him on the grounds that she was too busy doing work for Jessica Pearson and that he was apparently an 'ungrateful douchebag who didn't deserve her skills'.
He had been offended as she'd stalked past him and then sauntered up to Mike Ross' desk to drop a stack of papers on his desk with a smile. Kyle had seethed at that little action because Ross wasn't the winner here, Kyle was goddamnit. Why was Mike Ross getting the attentions and affections of people like Donna and Rachel and Harvey Specter? This was unfair, unjust, and what the fuck made Mike Ross so appealing to the female population? Kyle had more style, more money, and was clearly the better choice as a partner. All Mike Ross had were those feelings of his and when were they ever going to do anything for him?
They were going to get him burned. Feelings were dangerous in this line of work. Kyle had quashed out his the second he'd entered law school. The second he'd known what it took to be a great lawyer he had been doing his best to get rid of them. He needed them to win, needed them to impress pretty girls, but they only led to one thing, getting him results. Results were necessary to be successful.
Kyle wished that the results he so desperately liked getting would appear on the page he was rereading right now or in the form of a thought on how to get Harvey Specter's attention away from Mike Ross. That is if he could find Ross or Specter because the two of them had been barricaded in Specter's office for most of the day trying to find something for their case.
"Fuck," Kyle muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting nowhere with this and Louis wanted it by eight. He had two hours to find something or he was...well not dead but certainly in deep shit. He'd won something big but he was still an underling. "God."
"You know if you keep staring at the paper like that you're going to give yourself a headache."
Kyle's head snapped up and he found Mike Ross standing by his cubicle, giving him a critical eye. He looked tired but Ross was fucking smiling like he had just won the best prize.
"I already have one thank you very much," Kyle snapped. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in court?"
"Already went and won thanks," Mike countered, and well fuck, Kyle can't even say anything to that. A win in actual court is a win.
"How much?"
"Almost half a billion won," Mike replied. "The client was ecstatic."
"Well...what did you want? To gloat?" Kyle asked.
"I was just coming to get my stuff and heard you talking to yourself," Mike said.
"And? You do it all the time....and why are you standing there, you hate me."
"I don't hate you," Mike replied. "I think you're a sneaky underhanded bastard but I don't hate you. Hate is a strong word."
"I did what had to be done Ross."
"And I saved an important working relationship and friendship," he countered. "I don't regret what I did. And by the way you really should thank Rachel for helping you."
"I....well...fine," Kyle grumbled because perhaps he should do that. "What do you want again?"
"Told you, just getting my stuff, client is taking Harvey and I out to celebrate," Mike shrugged. "Thought I'd make sure you weren't going crazy."
"I..."
"Libel," Mike replied.
"What?"
"What you're working on, the opposition has been dragging your client's name through the mud. Look there and you'll find what you need."
"What? How did you..."
"Before the Hamlen case I was working on it, thought occurred to me earlier today when I was meeting with another client," Mike shrugged.
"And you're helping me why?"
"Not you, your client. Nice guy with a wife and two kids," Mike said. "Who deserves some justice."
"And....you realize I'm not going to give you credit for this?" Kyle asked as he checked what Ross had suggested and well hell, there it was right there. He had an in, he had something for Louis, all because of Mike Ross.
"Oh I know," Mike said as he went over to his cubicle to grab his bag and other things.
"And that this certainly doesn't make us friends?"
Mike snorted.
"I wouldn't want it to. I do however; think that you can owe me a drink."
Kyle paused, Mike Ross had just saved him two hours worth of work, a lecture from Louis, disappointment from Louis, and well, yeah Kyle could admit that he owed him one.
"I can do that...why are you doing this again?"
"For your client and his family," Mike said. "I still think you're a bastard. Also, stop hanging around Harvey's office."
"You threatening me?" Kyle asked, defensive almost immediately as Mike just snorted.
"More like saving you, Donna has a letter opener and she's not afraid to use it, care to guess where she'll aim?" Mike asked. Kyle shuddered.
"You know...the mock trial...I won fair and square."
"We settled," Mike said. "There was no winner or loser and at the end of the day it was a mock trial. Not the real thing."
"I still looked better to the senior partners."
"Maybe, but whose the one going up to the Hamptons in two weeks with Harvey to go boating with Shawn Dern and his wife?"
Kyle felt his mouth drop open as Mike just smirked. Really? Mike Ross was...well...damn.
"Who knew you had a spine," Kyle tried to sneer but he failed miserably because getting invited to go with not one but two Senior Partners anywhere was an accomplishment and apparently Mike Ross had managed to get things done. Then again, he had helped to win a case worth half a billion dollars and Jesus where was this coming from? Kyle hated Ross. He hated when others did things better than he did. "You still suck."
"And you're still an underhanded bastard!" Mike called out as he headed towards the elevator where Kyle found that Specter was waiting for him, tapping his foot. Kyle watched as Specter looked down the hall to him, and narrowed his eyes. Shit. Kyle ducked down and went back to looking at his file. He was chickening out but he was not prepared for this encounter at all. It also gave him time to process the fact that he and Mike Ross had actually had a civil conversation? Had Ross actually been nice to him? Had Kyle agreed that yes he owed Mike Ross a drink?
Was this the twilight zone? What the fuck was happening here?
