Again thank you for your continued interest and for all the kind words and kudos. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
PS. I'm excited but super scared for this week's episode!

** I do not own the Blacklist or any of its characters, nor do I make any money from this **

The next morning, Elizabeth woke up with a headache. She knew she had to get up soon but resisted and turned over one more time.

Last night had been a lot of fun. She'd managed to escape reality for a few hours and had enjoyed her time out with her friends. Unfortunately, she was now experiencing the aftermath of all that fun.

She and Samar had enjoyed Margaritas and Chardonnay before they'd moved on to pitchers of beer along with tequila shots.

Liz had also became further acquainted with Saram's new guy. Aram Mojtabai was a recent grad from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and was a first year graduate student at NYU in Computer Engineering. He was a bit shy, nice and courteous and Liz was happy her friend had finally found herself someone to keep her in check. Also, she figured, if she ever had computer problems again, this guy might be able to help her instead of those geeks at the computer labs.

It wasn't until Donald and Audrey showed up, that Liz realized Dembe was also still sitting at the bar. He hadn't moved from his barstool but was joined by an older man, wore his long gray hair in a ponytail, and appeared very fit, Liz recognized him from the gym. They kindly refused her invitation to join her, then continued their conversation.

It was 2 am by the time Donald and Liz walked back to their apartment.

Her phone beeped and informed her she had email. With one eye open, she grabbed the phone, and saw a message from Director Cooper.

Miss Milhoan,

You are expected in Mr. Reddington's office (room B212) today at 11 o'clock to prepare your thesis.

You will schedule your meetings with your mentor and are fully responsible to handle your own time management.

Your thesis is due on March 30, no exceptions.

All requirements are found in attached document.

Sincerely,

Director Harold Cooper

She groaned, crawled out of bed, grabbed a bottle of water and 2 aspirins and walked to the bathroom.

Elizabeth walked through the halls of the International Relations Building. "Where the hell is room B212?" she thought, as she looked at a map of the building. Room B212 was nowhere to be found on the map, so she decided to go through the second floor again. She passed office 208, 209, 210, and saw no more offices at the end of the halfway.

She did see a small door with a sign that said "custodian". That can't be it, she thought.

Not expecting to get an answer she knocked on the door. Just as she was about to turn around, she heard a deep voice say "Yes?"

She opened the door and to her surprise saw a neatly furnished office with a full stocked bar against the wall. The other wall was decorated with a large mirror and an impressive replica of Venus of Milo. The desk was made from restored oak and the room was filled with a faint scent of musky after shave. Liz heard jazz music and spied an old record player in a corner. What the hell was this place?

"Miss Milhoan, what a pleasure." Reddington said as he turned around. "I'm sorry this room isn't more of an actual office, but unfortunately obtaining a suitable office wasn't part of the deal." He lowered his drink and invited Liz to sit down. "Please," he said. "Would you like a drink?"

"No thank you," Liz replied. She looked at him, confused and filled with questions. Before her sat a master criminal who'd requested her as his student. When he looked at her seductively she couldn't help feeling a bit in awe of him.

"Well I'm here." She said.

"You got rid of your highlights. You look much less Baltimore. Do you get back home much?" Red asked. "I haven't been home in years."

Liz really didn't know what to say. Why was he talking about Baltimore? She'd never been to Baltimore before. And why did he ask specifically for her?

"Why ask for me? I'm nobody. It's my first day as a senior. Nothin' special about me." She hoped to get some kind of answer from him.

"Oh, I think you're very special…" Reddington said. "It has come to my attention that you want to join the FBI. I'm gonna make you famous, Lizzy. We're gonna make a great team."

"Fine," Liz said. "So how is this going to work? How are we going to work together? I have a pretty full schedule with my classes."

"Let's discuss it later today." He replied. Meet me back here at 6pm, wearing a nice dress."

"How will I get a hold of you if something comes up?" Liz asked. "I couldn't find your contact information anywhere on the NYU website."

Reddington laughed. "I don't have e-mail or a phone or an address. I prefer to handle my business face–to–face. I expect you here at 6pm. Have a nice day Miss Milhoan." He walked back to the bar, grabbed his glass and filled it with scotch.

TBC

** Many thanks to Jammequin for encouraging me to keep writing and to my wonderful beta heatherpeters. Love you both! **