"I don't need any more friends," Phyllis said quickly. "I've made a pretty good practice of losing friends, so don't take this the wrong, Joe, but I'll pass on the friendship offer. Now, if you'll excuse me …" She gestured towards the door and looked back towards her computer.

"There might be something else you need." He waited for her to look at him before he took a seat.

"From you? I can't think of anything I could possibly need from you."

"Oh Phyllis. You've always so incredibly self assured, haven't you? It's admirable if not a bit naïve. You're the CEO of a major corporation and still don't see your own shortcomings."

"You're the one that just got released from prison. I think you should probably worry about your own reputation before you go criticizing mine."

Joe grinned. He loved the feel of banter and it had been so long since he'd been able to engage in it without the fear of real retribution. In prison you never knew when a good natured joke could be taken the wrong way and bad moods and misunderstandings had a way of turning into bloodshed there. "I'm not talking about your reputation. I'm talking about your professional acumen, your ability to thrive in a lion's den."

"Lion's den? I see you haven't lost your flair for the dramatic."

"Don't pretend that this is some big happy family." Joe's smug face beamed at her as he leaned back in the plush leather chair. "You and I both know that there's a line of Abbott's stretching down the hall that would love to see you out on that gorgeous ass of yours."

"Do you have a point, Joe?" She intentionally side stepped his compliment, knowing he was attempting to woo her, to use his charm to seduce her into hearing him out.

"I always have a point. It's one of the things you'll love about me."

She sighed. "Then why don't you make it and then leave because I have a lot to do. As you so keenly observed, I'm the CEO of a major corporation and I don't have tie to play cat and mouse with you."

"Fair enough. I think we could help each other," he said simply. "I happen to know that you would benefit from some of the experience I've garnered in my life."

"Serving jail time? I think I'm good," she quipped.

"We're both accustomed to fighting for what we want, what we deserve, what we need. We've both had plenty of time to get used to being the black sheep of the town, the pariah, the …"

"One of us might be slightly more deserving of that title than the other. Don't think I've forgotten what you did to my sister, Joe. I'll never forget what you put her through and if …"

"I love Avery. I always will and if there was one thing in my life that I could go back and redo. If I had one chance to change something, that's what it would be. I never wanted to hurt her. She was the best thing in my life and …" He watched as Phyllis listened intently to his words and he thought he saw a flicker of understanding on her face. She knew what it meant to have deep regret, to hate yourself for hurting someone you loved, to wish more than anything that you could go back and recapture moments, but to know that your actions would haunt you forever regardless of your intention.

"I can't change what I did," he continued. "All I can do is try to be better now and I am going to try to be better. I'm going to be a better person. A person that deserves another chance."

"Is that why you're here? You think I'll tell you where Avery is? You think that if you can worm your way into my good graces that Avery will think you're a changed man and you might have another chance with her?"

"I'd be lying if I said I never thought about getting another chance with Avery, but that's not why I'm here talking to you. I'm here for exactly the reason I told you. I'm here because I think we can help each other. I need a job. I need stable work. It's not easy for someone that just got out of jail to get hired. I think you might know a little bit about that. I also happen to know that you could use a few big wins around here. There's a lot of folks in this town that think you've got no business in that chair. I've got a hunch that it would feel pretty damn good to prove them wrong."

Phyllis listened to his words intently. "Okay," she said. "And how are you going to help me do that."

"I've got skills. I've got years of experience in commercial real estate. I've got connections, the kind of connections that don't go away. I'm also a damn good promoter and, no offense, but you could use some good promotion right now. You need someone that can help you secure good leases, good properties. You need someone that can spin a story and make a customer believe what you're selling. You need someone that's as good at it as I am and you can't afford anyone that has the skills that I do."

"Uh huh." Phyllis crossed her arms as she stared at him suspiciously. "You just made my point for me. I can't exactly afford to be bringing on real estate consultants and promoters right now. No matter how nice it might be, I have to work within my budget and I don't have the budget to pay anyone right now. So unless you're planning to work for free …"

Joe smiled. This had gone better than he ever could have planned. "I think we might be able to work out something."

"I need to see Phyllis," Billy stopped in front of Ted's desk as he stared at the closed door.

"She's in a meeting right now," Ted answered.

"Well, tell her I'm here. Tell her it's important that I talk to her." Billy shuffled his feet as he waited for Ted to move as quickly as he usually did. Phyllis rarely refused a meeting with him.

"I think she wants to finish this one first," Ted said hesitantly. "This one is ... she seemed ..." He hesitated again, wondering if it was prudent to reveal much more about the nature of the incident.

"What?" Billy asked. "Who's she in there with?"

"He wouldn't say," Ted admitted. "But she didn't really seem too thrilled to see him."