  We compute the hard X-ray spectra from a hot plasma pervaded by small cold
dense clouds. The main cooling mechanism of the plasma is Compton cooling by
the soft thermal emission from the clouds. We compute numerically the
equilibrium temperature of the plasma together with the escaping spectrum. The
spectrum depends mainly on the amount of cold clouds filling the hot phase. The
clouds covering factor is constrained to be low in order to produce spectra
similar to those observed in Seyfert galaxies and X-ray binaries, implying that
an external reflector is required in order to reproduce the full range of
observed reflection amplitudes. We also derive analytical estimates for the
X-ray spectral slope and reflection amplitude using an escape probability
formalism.
