The elevator doors of Pearson Hardman slid open, and Harvey stepped out. His secretary Donna Paulsen was already standing there. She didn't look surprised. She never did. She had known that his hearing was over and also what had happened.
"Let me guess, you're back because you missed me," she said.
"Not in the mood, Donna," Harvey said and walked past her.
"Ooh, that look usually means either you didn't get your daily bagel oooorrr....."
"I didn't lose," he said.
"Well, that's not comforting. I'll call the judge and tell him he made a mistake. Harvey Specter doesn't lose."
Donna grinned slightly, finding the situation amusing. However, she didn't push him too much. She knew him well, better than most and understood that he wasn't taking this well.
"I got blindsided," Harvey admitted under his breath.
"I remember you telling me that you don't get blindsided."
"Apparently," Harvey said flatly, "I do now."
They arrived at his office, where he sat down and opened his laptop.
"Oh, Jessica asked for you the second you arrived."
"Why didn't you tell me that before I sat down?" he asked.
"It thought it would help you walk off your shame."
"Donna!"
"Just making sure. And before you say anything, this is why," Donna said and handed him a thick folder.
Harvey took it, glanced down, then frowned.
"What is this?"
Donna smiled.
"This," she said, "is Adriano Mattei."
"The kid in the circus suit?" Harvey scoffed.
"Yes, the 'kid' who just made a federal judge shut you down without letting you finish a sentence."
"Get out!"
"Touchy."
Harvey rolled his eyes and opened the folder. After only one second, he stopped.
"…This is fake."
Harvey got up and walked out of his office, walking towards Jessica's. As he walked, Lewis Litt moved next to him with his usual interesting gait.
"Harvey, we need to talk about the Tanner Case. I went over the do--"
"Not now, Lewis. I've got more important things to do," Harvey said and entered Jessica's office. He moved forward and dropped the folder on her desk.
"What is this?!" he asked.
"Hello, Harvey. Please sit down," she said.
She had the look on her face that she had when she either had the longer end of the stick, was planning something or was secretly amused. Although she wasn't purely amused at what happened, she couldn't help but understand it and think of it as logical.
"How was the hearing?" she asked.
"You know how it went. What is this?" Harvey asked, pointing at the folder.
"Have you read it?" she asked.
"It's bullshit. If anyone wants to make you believe that he has such a résumé, then he's lying and should be reported. This is a forgery if I've ever seen one and not a good one."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Someone just entered the best grades on the internet and then copied them on a paper. Each page is somehow more ridiculous than the last. Listen to this:
Harvard Law School: Summa Cum Laude, highest cumulative score ever recorded, Joint enrollment approved under "exceptional theoretical allowance.", JD completed early, MD was completed concurrently.
Doctorate in Engineering through cross-registration, which technically exists but has never been used! Perfect scores. All of them. LSAT. MCAT. GRE. Bar exams in Harvard, the University of Bologna, and the University of Tokyo."
Harvey slammed the fouler on the table again.
"Which idiot would take the bar in three different countries? And his age doesn't add up either. Ergo, this is a complete fabrication. Japan?! Seriously, who came up with this?"
Harvey sneered, but Jessica didn't say anything. Seeing her not reacting to his words, he looked at her.
"What?"
"Tell me," she said calmly, "why you lost."
Harvey hesitated and breathed in.
"He blindsided me. I assumed he would need time to prepare since he had taken over the case and that he would settle."
"And?"
"And he wasn't interested in settling. On the contrary, he was arrogant."
Jessica's eyes sharpened.
"You tried to intimidate the young lawyer into accepting your deal, and didn't prepare a plan B for when it might not work. You let your arrogance get the better of you and, more or less, lost this case. Tell me how close I'm getting."
"We haven't lost anything. It's not over."
"You know as well as I do that you never go to court--"
"Unless you know you can win. I can win."
"Right. Because that's why you wanted to settle in the first place," she said, sarcastically.
"I was--"
"Enough. Listen to me, Harvey. I had this checked out three times! The information you read here is legit and not forged. Everyone knows Adriano Mattei as the most outrageous genius Harvard Law has ever seen. He never attended lessons and only took the tests, passing them with such ease that it baffled everyone. They thought he was obviously cheating and had him take several different tests to make sure. He was given special tests at the end to make it harder for him, but it didn't change anything."
"If that were true, then how come no one ever heard about him?" Harvey asked.
"He keeps a low profile. Works at a small firm where he is the only lawyer, handling a wide range of cases. I don't want to hear any more excuses. I always give you a lot of freedom because you give me results. Show me results. You do want to become Senior Partner, don't you?"
Harvey frowned, nodded, and then left Jessica's office. After he did, Jessica grabbed the folder again and looked at it. After thinking about it for a while, she took up the phone.
"Yes, get me everything you have on Mattei Kurogane. Get it to me fast."
.
Adriano walked along the streets of Brooklyn with his briefcase in hand and his other hand in his pocket.
"Ay, Avvocato mio, how was the court?"
Adriano looked to the side. He smiled lightly, seeing the retired seamstress.
"A drag, Carmela."
"Everything is a drag for you, Adriano. You need to get yourself a girlfriend, pronto," she said.
Carmela Russo lived three blocks from Adriano's office in a narrow brownstone that smelled old, but had been renovated thanks to Adriano. Ever since he found this place and made it his office, he had been spending money renovating the buildings and kicking out corrupt landlords. Adriano knew Carmela because he helped her when her landlord tried to evict her over a technicality, just to sell the building and set up a bigger, newer one. Although he never explained how he did it or that he now owned the place himself, Carmela had started feeding him at least twice a week and scolding him for being 'too thin'.
"You know no one is interested in someone that looks like me," he told her.
"Don't give me that, you rascal. I know your father," Carmela argued.
"Well, we can't all be as lucky as my father. Some of us are merely human," Adriano smiled lazily.
When Carmela heard that, she shook her head and switched to Italian.
"Ay ay ay, I have never heard more bullshit in my life. Now, get out of here and take some time off; you work too much. And eat more. If you collapse, your mother will chew me out."
"I hear you."
Adriano continued walking and reached the building where his office was located. Before he could enter, though, a group of kids saw him.
"Hey, Adri! What's up?!"
"Yeah, where've you been, bro? Been looking for you all day."
"Hi, Adri."
"Luca, Malik, Hana, good to see you three. I was just at court, so that's enough working for today," he told the three.
Luca Morales was a 12-year-old Italian-Puerto Rican. He was loud, but protective of the younger kids on the block. Malik Romano was a 14-year-old African American. He was tall for his age, serious and acted older than he was. He mostly kept their group out of trouble. Finally, there was Hana Okokku. 10 years old, quiet, always reading and very observant. She was Japanese and connected with Adriano through that. There were more Japanese around, especially because of Adriano and his business, but she had a bit of a crush on him.
Adriano talked with the three for a while, exchanging banter and telling them stories, before finally walking into his office. It had a narrow entrance. Old hardwood floors, refinished but not replaced; the walls were painted a warm off-white colour. There was no receptionist's desk. Adriano walked in and then opened another door.
This was a rectangular room, closest to the entrance, since this was where Adriano's secretary, Aiko Tanaka, worked. Entering here, one could feel the orderly and calm presence of Aiko. There was a large, solid-wood desk which was immaculately organised. A high-quality laptop sat on it, which Aiko was working on right now. A paper planner, a small desk clock, pens and a phone were on there as well. Several framed calligraphy and Japanese art pieces decorated the wall, and a few personal pictures could be seen as well.
Seeing him enter, Aiko stood up and bowed very lighly, showing her respect as she addressed him in Japanese.
"Welcome back, Namakemono-kun. I trust you were successful?"
Namakemono meant 'lazy one', and Aiko usually said that fondly. Adriano had tried to get her to call him by his first name, but she wouldn't. So lazy one it was. And she didn't say this condescendingly at all. She said things the way she saw them and was as truthful as she could, given the information she had. And that's something Adriano greatly valued about her.
"It was, Aiko, thanks for asking. Any calls, while I was out?" he asked her.
He moved through the door and entered his office. His office was not any larger than Aiko's. It was just as clean, but almost empty. There were no books, no fancy chairs or an expensive mahogany desk. All there was was a PC screen, pictures of Adraino's family, a chaise longue and a comfortable chair with a modest desk. If anything, one would think that this was the office of a second-rate lawyer who didn't have enough money. But that couldn't be further from the truth.
"Yes. Four calls that matter," Aiko answered.
"Mm... only four? I must be slipping. I expected at least six."
Aiko looked at Adriano for a moment and then nodded her head.
"How could you possibly know that?" she asked.
He smiled, a lazy curve of his lips, and walked further into his office, setting down his briefcase and taking out his laptop.
"... Well, there were six calls. But I said four mattered. First, Chiaki Inaba."
"Chiaki called? Why?" he asked.
"She was a bit stressed. Ichiro is getting impatient about you reviewing the revised production risks assessments, and asking himself if you were still of the opinion that the board was overcorrecting?"
Adriano exhaled and looked at the ceiling.
"They are. Tell Chiaki I'll call tonight. No, actually, tomorrow morning. His time. He'll listen better before caffeine wears off, and we can placate their worries."
Aiko nodded and made a note.
"Second," she went on, "Luca di Montezemolo."
Adriano winced theatrically and dropped into the chair behind his desk, leaning back far too comfortably for a lawyer who was supposed to work.
"Let me guess. Legal exposure, sponsorship clauses, and someone panicking?"
"Primarily. He wanted to know whether pulling out of a certain American partnership would trigger cascading penalties under EU competition law."
"And?"
"I told him you already knew the answer," she replied. "And that panicking would not improve it."
Adriano smiled.
"Perfect. Send him my condolences and the memo," he said.
"Which one?"
"The one I mailed you."
"You created the memo before knowing he... never mind. But you do know what he thinks about memos? How long is it?" she asked.
"Short. Two pages max. Any longer and he'll pretend not to understand it."
"Of course."
She checked the final line on her notepad, her expression shifting—just slightly—into something more cautious.
"And lastly," Aiko said, "someone from banking. Norman Robinson."
"Oh? And why?"
"He's from the Private side. They asked specifically about your thoughts on current U.S. Treasury bonds."
Adriano straightened a fraction, fingers steepling lazily.
"They're having problems, and they wanted to know whether you still believe the pattern you warned them about last quarter is accelerating."
"Let me check," Adriano said, starting to type on his laptop. "Anyone else?"
"Yes, your mother called."
Adriano froze. He slowly turned to Aiko.
"Why did you not lead with that one?"
"Because you usually get this way, whenever I tell you she called. She told you not to cancel on your lunch tomorrow."
"Alright."
A few minutes later, Adriano looked at dozens of small tabs showing him the bond movements and the market. He didn't say anything. Aiko knew that he was currently taking everything in and compiling it faster than any computer in existence ever could. She left without saying a word and started making him tea. He liked her tea.
Aiko worked for Adriano's mother, Reina Kurogane Mattei as a secretary, until she had sent her to take care of her son. As the owner of a Japanese Business Empire that no one seemed to realise, she was impeccably controlled and professional, to the point of seeming terrifying and cold. But family was sacred to her, and betrayal was unforgivable. She was the reason Adriano's unimaginable and incalculable mind was put to use, and he didn't waste his days away looking at clouds and sleeping. She pushed him to achieve something. It could be anything, even cleaning toilets, she told him, but he had to do something.
And as such, Reina Kurogane Mattei had unleashed the most intelligent and lazy man on the world.