Jess Bilson walked out of the courtroom feeling like she could take on the world. She had just won her first high profile case, and it had been a bear. The defendant, Mary Casey — pop singer beloved by millions — had just been acquitted of all charges of shooting her boyfriend, pop singer Mark Sills, to death after he hit her one too many times. The jury had ruled in favor of the self-defense plea that Jess had been arguing.

Jess had been thrilled beyond belief when she was given the assignment. She had no idea how much work it was going to be but she took it all in stride and committed herself to working around the clock to make this a huge win for her firm. The legal fees that Mary Casey had paid towards her freedom were a staggering eight million dollars. It had been the highest profile case of the year and the fact that Jess had been chosen to lead the team was beyond anybody’s expectations.

Jess was only four years out of Harvard Law, but during that time she had worked her tail off to prove herself. She routinely put in ninety hour weeks with the firm, and often did more. She also had won every single case she had been assigned, starting off with minor felonies, and then working her way up to murder cases. She had a perfect track record of 24 - 0.

The thing that made her stand out among her peers — she loved to win. She loved to play the game and she treated every case as a wonderful game that she had to master. Each was an exciting Chess game with a different strategy and a different game plan that had to be worked out. Jess had learned long ago that everything in life must be approached this way because everything was a competition.

Jess unbuttoned the button on her blazer and let out a sigh of relief, allowing her large belly to have some room at last. It wasn’t easy finding suits that made her look this good, which was a burden that all bigger girls had to deal with. Jess made no fuss about it, but she had always been a bigger woman. She actually revealed in it and she felt that it made her an even bigger force to be reckoned with in her career. She was living proof that sexy and powerful was all in the attitude. She was a pretty woman, but she knew that if she were shy and introverted about her body then she would never have the kind of success she wanted in life, in business or romance.

Jess had never had problems with men not being attracted to her large curves, her fleshy backside, or her amazing chest — which was what she was most proud of and could make men drool or have traffic accidents if she left them on display. She smiled at the thought and remembered how much power all women could have over men if they just embraced their sexual nature a little more.

When she got back to the office the whole place was abuzz with the news of her win. She basked in the adulation and the jealousy of her so called ‘’peers’’, as she made her way to her cramped office. She was a fourth year associate and she wondered how much longer she would have to deal with a small office. With the win on the Casey case she was starting to feel that an elevation in status was in order.

She sat down behind her desk and grabbed a bottle of mineral water from her mini fridge. It was fully stocked as always.

She immediately began doing some work on the Discovery aspects of the next case she had in line. No rest for the wicked, she thought. Discovery was where all the evidence was examined and presented during the pre-trial process. Many cases were won or lost right there, so it was imperative that it be done right.

It was a sexual assault suit. A dental hygienist was accusing her boss, Dr. David Morse of inappropriate sexual misconduct of his patients while they were under anaesthesia. He had paid her off for over a year to keep quiet about his indiscretions, but a few of the patients had filed complaints that they had evidence of his activities while under sedation. Obviously he wanted all of this kept quiet since he was a highly respected dentist in Beverly Hills, who had a thriving practice and several sports cars that he had to pay for. And then there was the prison thing. He wanted to avoid that, apparently.

She was just getting into her routine and starting to get some great work done when a knock came at her door. She looked up and saw Kelly Coffman, Alex Mather’s secretary standing there.

“Hey, Kelly. What’s up?” Jess asked.

“Alex wants to see you in his office.”

“Ok, thanks.”

Jess took another sip of her water and began the long walk down the hall and up the stairs to Alex’s office. She was a bit concerned as to why he wanted to see her. Was it just to congratulate her? He usually just did that through a simple email or if he passed her in the hall first he would give her a nod about it, but this was a huge win for the firm.

She had to admit that she was a little nervous. There was something about being in the boss’s office that made her feel like a little kid being sent to see the principal. Although none of her principals had ever been as hot as Alex Mathers. He was thirty-six, tall; handsome with a devilish smile that made you want to melt because you just knew he was up to no good. Jess had never been one to chase after bad boys, but for some reason they always seemed to be the ones that ended up in her bed. There was something about the swagger and the cocky nature of a bad boy that just made you want to surrender to them. You could see the “I don’t give a damn” attitude in the way they walked, the way they talked, and in the gleam in their eye. It was a very intoxicating package.

She had noticed Alex giving her gushy and flirtatious glances ever since she had started working for the firm four years ago. He was one of the founding partners and he was amazing at what he did. She had been privileged enough to sit in on several big negotiation meetings with Alex and he always amazed her by the way he just so nonchalantly persuaded people to see things his way. He never got upset or lost his cool in any way. He relied on a cold, calculating instinct that used other’s emotions against them.

Jess had been attracted to him from the moment she laid eyes on him, but she wasn’t one to mess around at work. Work was to be kept completely separate from her outside social life, which she didn’t really have time for. Her family kept wondering when she was going to meet the right guy and settle down, but for now she was having too much fun winning at work. She had the occasional male visitor who would keep her company when she was in the mood, but they also knew enough to go away when they were no longer needed. That was the way she liked things. Relationships had always been too complicated to deal with. As far as she was concerned it was too much risk, for too little reward.

She had known Alex had a thing for her from pretty much the first week she had worked at the firm. He had allowed his gaze to linger too long and inappropriately at her chest and her ass on more than one occasion. She had been flattered and took the whole thing in stride. She knew there were jittery women who would have been flabbergasted and reported such a thing, but Jess enjoyed the attention. Her hard work and determination had catapulted her to where she was and it would take her even higher one day, but using what the Good Lord gave you was just icing on the cake.

Alex had been married at the time, but he had recently gone through a messy divorce. Rumor had it that it was because he was messing around with someone else, which Jess knew to be much more than just a rumor. Alex was not only a cad, he was a shameless one and he didn’t try to hide his personal life from anyone. But being the brilliant attorney that he was, there was no chance in hell his ex-wife could lay her hands on any more of his money then he had decided was fair. That was too bad, because the man was loaded.

Jess knocked on the door to his office, waited for his response, and entered with a laid back smile on her face. She was instantly distracted by the look in his eyes and his chiseled good looks. The man was sexy beyond belief. It even rattled her sometimes and she never got rattled by anything. She prided herself on being in total control at all times, but something happened when she looked into his eyes that left her feeling vulnerable and open to suggestion. She had often dreamed of making love to Alex, but she would never have allowed herself to be the one to initiate an over the line move like that. If you did that then you automatically relinquished control to the other person. That was never going to happen to Jess.

“Jess, have a seat,” Alex said. His voice was smooth as silk and it sent shivers down her spine. She wasn’t sure if it was attraction or fear. They often felt similar when you were in a room with Alex Mathers.

“Thanks,” she said taking a seat across from him.

He didn’t speak for a few moments. He just smiled and looked at her, as if sizing her up for something. She tried to remain poised and continue to keep his gaze and not lose the power struggle that was in place. She couldn’t take it any longer and dropped her gaze for a second. When she quickly glanced back up Alex’s smile widened.

“So, you’ve had quite the day,” Alex said.

“Yeah, it turned out pretty well for us.”

“Not just for us, but for you as well. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what a huge win that was today.”

“No, you don’t. I’m just glad that the cards went our way.”

“We definitely had the right person for the job,” Alex said.

“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate the opportunity.”

“We’ve been working together four years and I’ve asked you repeatedly not to call me sir. Plain old Alex will do just fine.”

“I’m sorry, Alex.” She had always felt pretty odd about calling a boss by their first name. She thought she was getting better with it, but apparently it still needed some more work.

“When I first approached the senior associates and Dean about putting you on the case, I was given many strange looks. It is an unusual thing to put a fourth year on one of the biggest cases the firm has ever had, but I had faith in you.”

“Thanks, Alex. I had wondered why I was given the opportunity, but I’m more than grateful for it.”

“I see something very special in you Jess. You remind me of myself when I started out at Davis and Reilly before Dean and I ventured into business together. I love to see ambition and I love to see talent mixed in with it. I find it exciting, fun, and dare I say — sexy.”

Jess felt herself blush a bit when he said the word “sexy”. She wasn’t entirely sure why. It had to be the animal magnetism the man projected behind every movement and every gesture.

“Well, I guess that is one way to put it,” Jess said.

Alex smiled that bulletproof flag of confidence.

“So, what are you doing tonight to celebrate?” Alex asked.

Jess had to stop and think for a moment. She had not made any plans, actually. She figured she should probably do something, but she had work to do — as always — and she was looking forward to unwinding at the end of the day with a few drinks and some Chinese takeout. This was pretty much what she did after every day. She was starting to realize that she had no social life, whatsoever, sometimes.

“No plans really. I have a lot of work to do getting ready for that Jones case.”

“Oh, yeah. That looks like a fun one. I swear I love what we do because of all of the entertaining things we get to learn about; what people do to each other. It never ceases to amaze me and I’ve been doing this a while.”

Jess laughed.

“I guess that’s true. We do keep ourselves entertained,” Jess said.

“Well, I think you can take one night off and have a little fun. In fact, as your boss I demand it,” Alex said.

“Ok, I’ll do that.”

“To make sure you follow my orders, I’m taking you out tonight.”

Jess swallowed hard. She tried not to let the surprise show on her face or in her voice, but she was suddenly extremely nervous. Alex had just asked her out. "Asked" being a loose term here, but he was setting up a date between the two of them.

Jess had thought about this on more than one occasion and she’d had fun with the harmless flirtation that had gone on between them for a long time, but she had never seriously thought it would end up as anything other than that. Now here he was asking her out. She was finding it hard not to blush like a schoolgirl as she continued to stare into his eyes, but she kept her stronghold on her emotions just as she always did. She prided herself on being a closed book with a lock on it; no one could read her poker face. It had taken years of careful structuring to master the ability to turn that on at will.

“Ok, I guess if it’s an order then I have to follow it,” Jess joked back.

Alex continued to smile at her and lock her into a power struggle of eye contact. His eyes were magnetic and they tended to hypnotize you if you stared into them too long.

“Good. I’ll pick you up at seven. Have you been to Spagno’s?”

“I have not been there, but I have heard great things.”

“It’s amazing. It is by far the best Italian food on this side of the city.”

“That sounds great. So, I’ll see you then?” Jess said.

She got up to leave and Alex quickly came out from behind his desk to walk her to the door. Right before she opened the door Alex grabbed her arm gently and pulled her towards him. Her first instinct was to recoil in shock but she didn’t. This was happening and she decided she was perfectly ok with it.

Alex pulled her close and kissed her on the lips. It was just a slow peck really, but it broke the ice on their current relationship status and definitely ushered in the arrival of a new path for them to follow, together.

Jess smiled at him, letting her gaze linger on him a bit longer as she stepped out into the hallway. She felt like she needed a cigarette right then, and she wished she had not quit three years ago. But it was going to take more than a kiss from the invincible and perfect Alex Mathers for her to break her nicotine recovery.

She discovered that she was smiling from ear to ear and she could not stop. It was like a floodgate of endorphins had opened up inside of her body and she felt like she was literally glowing. Other’s smiled at her as she walked down the hall as if they thought she was smiling at them, but she barely even looked at them as she made her way back to her desk.

She turned on the small stereo she kept in her office and sat back to enjoy the moment. It was definitely going to be an interesting evening.