Ch. 11

"Hey Valerie, line three for you," Randy Hill was saying, holding up the phone receiver at his desk. "For me? Are you sure?" she asked. "That's what the man said," responded Randy. "Ok. Thanks, Randy." She went to her desk and punched the button for line three. "This is Valerie Spencer," she said.

"Yeah, Valerie? This is Sonny Corinthos. I was wonderin' if you could make some time to stop by my restaurant today. Got somethin' I wanted to discuss with you."

"Wow," she mouthed silently. Sonny went on when she didn't reply, "You still there?"

"Sorry, Mr. Corinthos—I'm still here. I can stop by for lunch, if that's a good time for you. Where exactly is your restaurant?"

"Call me Sonny. Pozzulo's, down on First. Ask anybody in at the cop shop—they can give you directions."

"I'll try to be there in a couple of hours, Mr.—Sonny."

"Hey, no rush, you know? Whenever you get here."

"Actually, this is perfect. I have something I wanted to discuss with you, as well."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes, I do. I look forward to meeting you."

"Same here." They disconnected, and Valerie sat at her desk looking gobsmacked. Randy saw her shaking her head and asked, "So who was it?" "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." "Try me." "Sonny Corinthos, that's who." "Sonny Corinthos. Mob boss Sonny Corinthos. Detective Falconeri's father, Sonny Corinthos. Whoa. I didn't even know you knew him. What'd he want?" "I don't know him, but I guess that's changing today. He said he had something he wanted to discuss with me. Should I be worried?" "I don't think so, but you might want to mention it to Falconeri before you go see him." "No," Valerie considered, "I think I should see what he wants first before saying anything to Dante about it. And don't you say anything, either." "Hey, I'm a vault! You don't want him to know, he won't hear it from me."

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After Map Questing the directions to Pozzulo's, Valerie set out on her trek to Sonny's restaurant. She was nervous, she admitted to herself. She'd had a gun pointed at her thanks to her crazy uncle Luke but she'd never met a genuine crime boss before. Even though she was staying in his penthouse, she felt removed from him because they had never met. She knew peripheral things about him—what kind of wine he liked, the kind of sheets he preferred on the bed, what style of furniture he liked. She knew he had a contentious relationship with Dante. She knew he and her cousin Carly had been married to each other several times. She knew he was Public Enemy Number One to Jordan, both because of the crime angle, and because of his new-found relationship with her son T.J. About who he really was, however, she had no clue. She guessed she would form her own opinions based on today's meeting.

She entered the restaurant and was immediately hit with the combination scents of strong coffee, marinara sauce, and strangely enough, sugar. Glancing across the room, she saw a man in a dark suit taking a bite of a cannoli and washing it down with what smelled like espresso. He spotted her and waved her over to his table. So THIS was Sonny Corinthos. He looked like power. And charm, she thought when he stood and extended his hand to her, saying with a dimpled smile, "I'm Sonny. You must be Valerie. Good to meet you. Have a seat. You hungry?" Before she had a chance to answer he was shouting over his shoulder, "Hey, Marco! Get out here!" Marco appeared to be a waiter, if his uniform was anything to go by, and she found herself wondering if it was a legitimate job or a cover. "Get this lady anythin' she wants." To her he queried, "You like Italian food?" "I love it," she answered. "Good, good. Enrico, my chef, is the best. Make you whatever you want." He gestured at the menu at her side, which until now, she hadn't noticed was there. "Go ahead," he told her, "order." She perused her many choices and finally chose Shrimp Fra Diavolo. "I'll get Enrico right on it," Marco told her, and promptly disappeared.

Sonny leaned forward on his arm, his thumb supporting his chin as his fingers covered his mouth. They studied one another briefly across the table before Sonny angled his head and said, "I've heard a lot about you. Now that we've met, I'm starting to see what my son sees in you." Valerie sat straighter in her seat and slightly raised her hand as she replied, "Mr. Corinthos—Sonny, Dante and I are just fr-" Sonny cut her off with a laugh, "Hey, you don't have to give me the, 'just friends' bit. It's complicated, I know, 'cause of everythin' goin' on right now. Part of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"About my friendship with Dante, you mean?" Her stomach sank. She was about to be warned off one of the only friends she had in town by his mob boss father. One for whom she had come to care very much. Her pulse sped up, and she swallowed nervously.

Sonny was about to continue when he noticed her slight agitation. "Hey, what's up? You don't have to be nervous with me." He laughed even more when she exhaled in relief. "What'd you think I was gonna say?"

"Honestly, I thought you were going to warn me away from Dante. He's been a good friend to me…"

"No, no, just the opposite. Look, things are kinda rough for him right now. He's gonna be goin' through a divorce soon, he's worried about his kid, things like that. I think, from hearin' how he talks about you, that he's comin' to depend on you, a bit. He likes bein' with you—you make him feel better. I want you to keep doin' that for him. Keep bein' someone he can depend on." Marco interrupted them by placing her meal on the table in front of her, saying, "Enjoy." "Thank you, Marco," she said gratefully. She sat there for a moment, closing her eyes and inhaling the aroma of the food and the complementary espresso Marco delivered to accompany the meal. "Wow," she grinned at Sonny, "this smells like heaven!" "Go ahead," he said, gesturing toward her plate as he returned her grin, "it tastes even better." She sighed in gastronomic rapture after taking a bite. "This—is—excellent!" she declared after dabbing her lips with a napkin. She went on, "I couldn't eat like this every day; before long, I wouldn't be able to fit through the door!"

Sonny chuckled at her near-orgasmic response. "I'm glad you like it. Every now and then, Enrico likes the chance to show off. But gettin' back to what I was sayin', I don't want you to start shuttin' Dante out when things start rampin' up. I love her, but Lulu is no picnic when she's crossed. I just wanna know you'll be in his corner when he needs you."

"He's been there for me so many times since before I even came to Port Charles, so I have no problem returning the favor. I'm wondering, though, why you're really asking this of me."

Sonny shifted in his seat and leaned forward again. "'Cause I don't want you to get hurt here. There's gonna be times when he'll turn to you, and it might seem like he's usin' you. In a way, he might be. He's hurt, he's angry, he's my kid. We sometimes respond to things in negative ways. You might start feelin' like the rebound girl or somethin', and there might be some truth to that. Fact is he and Lulu were solid 'til she ran off to Canada with Dillon Quartermaine and lied about what she was doin'. Set this whole thing in motion, as far as I'm concerned. He's in freefall now—actin' out a little bit. So I want you to be careful. Stay close, but be careful."

"I see what you're saying, and I appreciate it. I'll try to be careful. It's hard, though, because I care for him a lot. I don't want to get hurt and I don't want to hurt him. It's kind of tricky."

"Balancin' feelings always is. Now that I've met you, though, I'm thinkin' you're gonna be ok." He pointed at her nearly empty plate. "You want a cannoli to wash that down with?"

"I don't think I can eat another bite!"

"Marco!" he suddenly barked. When Marco appeared Sonny said, "Wrap her a cannoli to go. And take away her plate." He turned back to Valerie and reminded her, "You said on the phone you had somethin' to discuss with me, too. What was it?"

Valerie unconsciously mimicked Sonny when she also leaned forward on her folded hands. "I wanted to thank you," she stated, "for the use of the penthouse. You don't know me from Adam, but because Dante asked for a favor, you're allowing me to stay there. I'm grateful. But it feels wrong to be living there rent free. How do I fix that?"

Sonny sat back in his seat and said, "Well, ok. I wasn't expectin' that. I don't need your money, Val—can I call you Val?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Ok, yeah, well, as I said, I don't need your money. The penthouse is paid for, the utilities—hell, I don't even know—someone on my staff takes care of all that stuff. I don't know what to tell you…"

"Maybe if I gave you a set amount each month-"

"Let's do this. I got a couple of charities at General Hospital I fund. Take what you would be givin' me and give it to those charities instead. Two birds, one stone. That work for you?"

"It's a deal, Sonny. Thanks. And thank you for the meal—please tell Enrico he outdid himself."

"I'll do that. I'm glad to have met you, Val. I like that Dante has you lookin' out for him."

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Valerie was reenergized and wired by the espresso she'd had for lunch as she returned to the PCPD carrying her cannoli. Her mood was upbeat as she sat at her desk, swaying to the last song playing in her head from the car radio. Dante smiled as he entered the squad room and saw her bopping away. He laughed and said as he approached her desk, "I see the movement but I don't hear the music. What're you so happy about?" "I," she replied dramatically, "just took a meeting with the great Sonny Corinthos. He fed me, he gave me espresso, he gave me" –she pointed with both index fingers at her 'to go' box—"cannoli! I liked him very much, I think, no, I KNOW he liked me, and I'm very high right now because his espresso is no joke!" She went on mumbling to herself, "I don't think he put any booze or anything in it, but I definitely feel wired." Aloud she told him, "Yep, I think I could run a marathon right now!"

"Why'd you go see Sonny?"

"He called and requested my presence. Since I wanted to talk to him about something as well, I accepted his invitation. But seriously," she said, coming down to earth, "I liked him. Of course it's hard to tell how someone is from only one meeting, but I liked him. He's a nice man—very concerned about you."

"Don't let the charm fool you. Sonny knows how to use it to his advantage, but there's also another side to him I hope you never see. What did you want to talk to him about?"

"I felt bad about living in the penthouse rent-free. We made a deal that the money I would give him every month will be going to the hospital charities of his choice. Pretty cool, yes?"

"Paying rent wasn't something you had to worry about," he told her with a frown.

"Maybe not, but you have to pay yours every month, don't you? If I was living anywhere else, I'd have to pay it. It didn't feel right to be living there without paying anything. Now I don't have to feel like a charity case, because I'll be giving to charity. It's a win-win, Dante." She went back to dancing in her chair to her imaginary music.

Dante was curious now—he wondered what exactly she and Sonny had spoken about. It looked like he was going to have to make his own trip to Pozzulo's…

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