Hi everyone! Thanks for all the kind reviews. I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter.

I keep my chapters fairly short for a simple reason: I lack time to write more and I'd like to post on a regular basis. This inevitably leads me to write shorter chapters. Hope you approve my choice.

I know he is here, staring at me. I can feel his smile. Damn, he is so cute.

Don't look at him, don't look... you have to stay focused, Teresa. You need to evaluate all possible scenarios for when you'll meet Erica not to be caught by surprise. I'm a professional; I'm trained to deal with all kinds of behaviour. Surely Erica is no different from the other consultants we've already dealt with. Well... that's not entirely true. She escaped. In a way she is a bit like Jane, seductive and hides her cards well. Damn, the more I think about it the more I'm going to worry.

"Who touched my cup? Come on people, is there no respect left in this world?"

Jane is yelling from the kitchen. It must be the new one, Vega. No one else could make the mistake of touching Jane's cup. I'm wondering what he'd say if I was doing it myself but not telling him. It would be a good lesson... Stop diverging, Teresa; you need to concentrate on preparing this "Erica" case.

Now Jane is approaching Wylie who looks guilty like hell. Poor boy, he is so sweet. He's going to cover for Vega that's for sure. I suspect he must have more than a soft spot for the new recruit. She is fairly attractive I suppose but way too rigid. She reminds me of myself when I just graduated. I was so serious...

I must stop Jane torturing Wylie, the guy is now sweating bullets.

"Stop torturing Wylie, Jane."

He stops but cannot resist the temptation to murmur him something. I guess it's a warning to extort information later. It's not fair for the poor lad.

He turns to me and I know I need to keep my face straight. It proves challenging as he's extremely pleasant to the eye. I quickly remind myself than he disappeared for an hour.

"Tried to avoid me?"

"I would never... you know me, Lisbon..."

I don't even dare replying. I just give him my best are-you-kidding-me look. It seems to work as he drops his charmer's smile.

"... okay that was not the best choice of phrasing."

"Indeed it was not."

"So... what's up agent Lisbon?"

Is he really kidding me? He's clearly steering clear of talking about Erica. He wants me to be the first to bring the topic to the table. Okay, you want to play that game, I'm ready to have fun.

"So... Jane, you've been discussing with Cho about your next case?"

"Uh,... I cannot say that Cho discussed much..."

Okay, you want to play that card. Let's see what you're gonna answer after that.

"Cho, haven't you talked to Jane and brought him up to speed on our next case?"

"Sure, Lisbon. Jane had the file." Cho nods, factual as usual. Bless him.

"Thanks Cho. So, Jane, care to enlighten me on your thoughts?"

Jane is smiling. He knows I've won this round.

"Okay, well-played agent Lisbon. It's almost half past four and we are leaving tonight, you should probably get home and prepare a bag."

"Abbott said our flight was scheduled at 5pm tomorrow."

"That's where Abbott got it wrong. Well, technically he did not but I took the liberty to amend our flights."

"What scheme are you planning?" I hope he's not preparing something I might regret. I guess it's too late anyway.

"You'll see but I can promise you that you won't be disappointed."

He is smiling too much for it to be honest. He's clearly plotting. Oh what the hell? I might as well accept that I'll never fully know what to expect from him. It's part of his charm. I suppose that's also a reason why I've fallen for him.

"I'll catch you at the airport then. Off you go, Lisbon."

He lightly brushed the small of my back saying those words. It leaves a warm imprint though he barely touched me.

That's it for tonight. Hope you liked it. Thanks again for reading and leaving me your comments. And don't hesitate to give me your feedback/comments, especially on my English as it's not my native language.