Chapter 3

At 3:00 on the dot, Ann buzzed Alexis to let her know Mr. Corinthos had arrived and was waiting in the foyer.

"Show him in, Ann, but leave the door ajar just a little on your way out." Alexis wanted to be very cautious on this first meeting with someone she held no prior knowledge of.

"Good afternoon, Miss Davis, thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

Alexis put down her pen and started to rise to meet the gentleman and stopped dead in her tracks. She had never seen such an attractive man before in her life. He was about her height with black wavy hair and eyes so black you could get lost in them and never want to be found. He had a strong face with features that could melt a woman's heart and a moment later change and cause the hardest of criminals to quake in their shoes.

"Miss Davis, is there a problem?"

'Wake up, Alexis. It's just a man. You've dealt with them before. WAKE UP.' Her thoughts were quickly getting the best of her. She needed to pull herself together, and fast. "Uhm.. excuse me. Good afternoon, Mr. Corinthos, please have a seat. Wh... What can I do for you? ... I mean, how.. how can I help you?" 'Oh great, there goes my professionalism and what happened to the power I'm supposed to feel while wearing this stupid suit?'

Drawing on years of training, Alexis gradually gained control and began to walk around her desk to shake hands with the gorgeous man who had just walked in and stole her breath. She slowly reached her hand out to welcome him. As he took her hand she felt a quick stab of electricity shoot up her arm. Evidently he felt it too as they both snatched their hands away at the same time.

Alexis was mortified. "I'm so sorry, new carpet was put in last week and I forgot to ground myself before I shook your hand. I'm uhm, s-s-sorry." Inwardly rolling her eyes she quietly screamed her frustration. 'Oh, Alexis, how stupid was that. Ground myself? Yea, you need grounding alright!'

"No harm done, Miss Davis. It happens to the best of us sometimes."

As Alexis look into his eyes to see if he was actually serious. She was taken by surprise by the twinkle in his eye and the deepest sexiest dimples she had ever seen in her life. 'Oh no, girl. He is definitely trouble with a capital 'T'. You have got to pull yourself together and get this meeting back on track. A business track, that is.'

"Please, Mr. Corinthos, have a seat and we'll begin. 'Ok, that should do it. It was professional and I don't think I stuttered once.'

Ann turned to go and as Alexis requested only partially closed the door. However, as Alexis reached her desk and turned around she noticed that not only was Mr. Corinthos right behind her but, he had also completely closed the door behind Ann. 'Oh dear, it just got a little warmer and little more confined in here. No, Alexis, it's ok. You're a grown woman and a professional. You can do this. What is that I smell? NOOOO!... it cant be. No one can smell that good at 3:00 in the afternoon. ALEXIS, GET A GRIP!'

"Thank you, Miss Davis, and please call me Sonny."

Sonny could tell that he wasn't the only one having trouble getting through the introductions. Miss Davis was obviously having trouble as well. She seemed a little flustered and evidently she was having as much of a problem with the heat in the office as he was.

Unlike Alexis, Sonny had done his homework. Her win loss ratio was exactly why he chose this particular woman for the job he needed done. He needed the best and according to his national and international contacts Alexis Davis was the best. He just wasn't prepared for the vision that met his eyes when he walked into her office.

She was beautiful. Her eyes were only a couple of shades darker than her chestnut hair and from what he could see there was definitely the beginnings of a pair of very shapely legs. He caught himself wondering just how long those legs were. The suit she wore hugged her and although you couldn't see any of the concealed curves of her body, there was just enough suggestion to cause the imagination of any red-bloodied Cuban to run wild.

While he was busy taking in the view he never missed a single expression that crossed her face. She spoke volumes with her face without ever saying a word and what he saw only increased the pace of his blood. Sonny knew immediately that he needed to shut down the fever that was raging through him. The longer he gazed at her the more he was painfully aware of how out of control his body had become.

Slowly regaining her composure Alexis suddenly realized that by putting his first name and his last name together, the man sitting across from her was none other than Sonny Corinthos, a well-known casino owner, coffee importer, and the most respected Mob Boss in the east. 'I am going to fire that woman the moment I get out of this predicament,' she fumed.

"Mr. Corinthos, I'm not sure you understand the nature of my practice. I am an advocate of children. All of my clients are under the age of 18. And unless I'm very much mistaken, I don' think you meet that criteria. So, if that is all, then I think we can just chalk this up as a misunderstanding and we can both get back to taking care of our very different and incompatible careers."

'Oh, that was good', she thought. She managed within the space of a few minutes to recover her composure and put him in his place at the same time. She had no use for this man no matter how good he looked. Mr. Corinthos' reputation had preceded him and very little of it was good. There was a lot of smoke following him around and she had always known that where there was smoke there was fire. And she had been burnt enough in her lifetime. She didn't need Sonny Corinthos in her life at all.

"Miss Davis, as I said, please call me Sonny and I do know what kind of practice you have and I have done enough of my own research to know that you are good at what you do. And what I need from you is for you to help me get custody of my child. I will pay you whatever you want. But, I need you to know that I won't take no for an answer."

Although Alexis held her face void of any reaction to what he said, she was definitely floored by the reason for his appointment. Since when did he acquire a child? She didn't know he was married. And what made him think she would help a mob boss with his reputation gain custody of any child. All of a sudden his last statement sunk into her consciousness.

"I beg your pardon, did you actually tell me that you won't take no for an answer."

"That's exactly what you heard and if you'll give me a little of your time I'll explain why I need your services specifically and why I won't take no for an answer." Sonny knew by her expressive face that she had finally recognized him and that this wasn't going to be easy. But, he knew that when he finally left her office today it would be with her acceptance of him as her first client over the age of 18.

"Mr. Corinthos, although I am sure you have your reasons for wanting custody of your child, what you evidently do not understand is that I would not willingly put a child into a situation that I felt would be detrimental to that child. And forgive me for saying it so bluntly, but, your lifestyle is not one that would endear me to even consider placing a child anywhere near your home." Alexis was done with this arrogant, self-absorbed Cuban and she was ready to end their association immediately. "So, Mr. Corinthos, I do believe we have concluded our business, and as I do have other clients to see today, you'll excuse...

"Miss Davis, you have no idea who I am, you do not know my child, and you do not know his mother. So based on what you do not know, maybe you could come down off of that high horse of yours and give me the benefit of the doubt and listen to the background of the situation before you begin making judgements regarding a situation you know nothing about." Sonny was angry now. How dare she condemn him without even hearing his case!

Glaring icily at him, she held her silence to keep from allowing the conversation to completely degenerate. Alexis had not been so incensed with another human being in years. However, she had enough reasoning left to know that what he said, no matter how he said it, was the absolute truth. She had tried, convicted and sentenced him based on hearsay. She held no evidence of any wrong on his account or any of his associates. Alexis was wrong and she didn't like it one bit, but...

"Mr. Corinthos, you're right. I apologize for my judgements against you. I have no evidence of any wrongdoing on your part. Please forgive my breach of professional etiquette."

It was now Sonny's turn to be speechless. That was the last response he expected from her. With that one response, his respect for her grew immensely. Now he knew without a doubt, she was the only one that could help him get custody of Michael. And he wanted that more than anything. He would do anything to get Michael free from his ex-wife. But, even with the knowledge that his choice of attorney had been absolutely correct, he knew that the next couple of hours were going to be the hardest of his life. It was now up to him to convince her that he was the only one who could take care of Michael in the way that Michael needed to be taken care of.