Chapter 36: Alliance Maintenance
Day 146, Louis pulled me into an empty conference room.
"Close the door."
I did. He looked worried.
"Harvey's been making comments about your 'independence problem.' He wants you reined in."
"He wants me submissive. There's a difference."
Louis paced to the window, back again.
"Harvey's a senior partner. I'm a senior partner. You're making me choose sides."
My chest tightened.
"I'm not asking you to choose. I'm asking you to evaluate fairly: have I done good work?"
"Exceptional work."
"Then support that. If Harvey has professional concerns, address them professionally. But don't sacrifice quality because Harvey's uncomfortable with someone not fitting his model."
Louis stopped pacing, looked at me directly.
"I'm with you."
Relief washed over me.
"But Scott—be careful. Harvey doesn't lose gracefully. When he decides someone's a problem, he makes them a problem until they leave."
"Noted."
Louis left, and I sat alone in the conference room for five minutes, processing.
Harvey's going to make my life difficult. Louis is protecting me but worried. Jessica's watching. This could go very wrong, very fast.
Day 148, late evening in the research library.
Mike appeared at my table.
"Can we talk?"
I gestured to the empty chair.
He sat, looked uncomfortable.
"Harvey told me to stay away from you. Said you're a bad influence."
Of course he did.
"And you're telling me this because...?"
"Because it's weird. You and I aren't friends, but you've never been anything but professional with me. I beat you for Harvey's mentorship and you congratulated me. You won the mock trial and you were gracious."
Mike paused.
"Harvey's treating you like you're sabotaging the firm, but you're just... working hard and succeeding. That doesn't add up."
I appreciated the honesty.
"Thank you for not defaulting to Harvey's judgment."
"I'm my own person. Even if Harvey forgets that sometimes."
First real conversation we've ever had. Mutual recognition of being underestimated.
"For what it's worth," Mike continued, "I think you're good at what you do. Different from how Harvey does it, but good."
"Different isn't always bad."
"No. It's not."
He left, and I sat alone with the realization that Mike Ross—Harvey's protégé, the fraud I couldn't expose—just showed more independence than I'd given him credit for.
People are full of surprises.
Day 150, Jessica summoned me again.
"Harvey expressed concerns about your team player capabilities."
I sat across from her, deliberately calm despite the anxiety.
"Harvey expressed concerns about me not following his specific model of success."
"Explain the difference."
"I collaborate well—Louis can attest to that. I deliver exceptional work—my case record shows it. I build client relationships—Meridian chose us because of my preparation. Harvey's concern isn't about teamwork. It's about control."
Jessica's expression remained neutral.
"Continue."
"Harvey wants associates who defer to him. I defer to competence, not seniority. That's not a team player problem. That's a power structure problem."
"That's arrogant."
"That's honest."
Jessica leaned back, something like amusement in her eyes.
"I'll handle Harvey. But Scott—your independence is an asset until it becomes isolation. Make sure you're building bridges, not just winning cases."
"Understood."
"Dismissed."
I left understanding the subtext: Jessica was protecting me for now, but her patience wasn't infinite.
Harvey has influence. I have performance. The question is which one matters more to Jessica when she's forced to choose.
Day 150 evening, Donna found me at my desk reviewing case assignments.
"Harvey's making your life difficult."
"Harvey's making his own life difficult. I'm just existing independently."
Donna sat on the edge of my desk.
"That's naïve. Harvey's a senior partner. He can absolutely make your life difficult if he wants."
I set down my pen, looked up at her.
"Then what do I do?"
"Keep being excellent. Keep building relationships. And trust that excellence wins eventually."
"Does it?"
Donna's expression softened.
"It does if you're patient enough. Harvey became Harvey by outlasting his rivals, not just outworking them. This is a marathon, not a sprint."
Marathon. Not sprint.
The System could calculate short-term wins—probability assessments, strategic advantages, tactical victories.
But long-term survival? That required something different. Patience. Alliance maintenance. Political navigation beyond mere calculation.
"I don't know if I'm good at marathons."
Donna smiled.
"Then learn. You're good at learning impossible things."
She left, and I sat alone in the bullpen as it slowly emptied for the evening.
Ten months at Pearson Hardman. From overlooked associate to partnership track to Harvey Specter's active opposition.
Progress. But also exposure. Vulnerability. Risk.
[SYSTEM ASSESSMENT: LONG-TERM SURVIVAL STRATEGY]
[CURRENT ASSETS: LOUIS ALLIANCE, JESSICA PROTECTION, CLIENT BASE, DONNA RELATIONSHIP]
[CURRENT LIABILITIES: HARVEY OPPOSITION, JENNIFER PARK RIVALRY, VISIBILITY WITHOUT INSULATION]
[RECOMMENDATION: STRENGTHEN ALLIANCES, DIVERSIFY CLIENT BASE, MAINTAIN PERFORMANCE]
[WARNING: SINGLE MAJOR FAILURE COULD CASCADE INTO CAREER TERMINATION]
The System's right. I'm one bad case away from Harvey having ammunition to destroy me.
Can't let that happen.
I went back to work, but the weight of Harvey's opposition pressed down like a physical thing.
Made an enemy of the firm's most powerful litigator. That was either the bravest thing I've done or the stupidest.
Probably both.
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