Alright, folks. This is my first Lie to Me fic, so please review and let me know how I've done. I've got some other ideas in my head, so if response to this story is favorable I'll see about writing those.

Rated T for violence, adult themes, and mild language

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Washington, D.C. - 8:14 AM

Cal Lightman stormed through the front doors of his company like a man on a mission. Ignoring the hesitant smile of the errand boy passing him, he stopped abruptly at the front desk and peered down at the woman sitting behind it.

"Has Doctor Foster called in yet?" The receptionist, Heidi, looked up at her boss with a disarming smile.

"Good morning, Doctor Lightman." She had been working for the Lightman Group since its inception almost six years ago, and though she'd been intimidated at first by the namesake's rather acerbic nature, she'd grown accustomed to handling him. Lightman paused for a moment, his lip curling in indignation, before he sagged his shoulders in defeat.

"Good morning, Heidi," he returned shortly, and Heidi's smile widened.

"Doctor Foster left a message on your personal voicemail early this morning." Lightman nodded once then, without a thank you, turned on his heel and strode toward his office. The lights turned on as he passed through the door, and he tossed his jacket over the arm of the couch on his way to his desk. As Heidi had said, the small red light on his desk phone was blinking, and he pressed the play button as he sank down into his leather chair.

"Hey Cal, it's me," Foster's voice filled the room, and he felt a bit of his anxiety diminish. "I made it in all right. Mr. Harrington met me at the airport and dropped me to the hotel with no problems. It's just about noon here, but I'll be napping for the rest of the day so call at your own risk." He laughed at that, picturing her glaring sternly as she spoke. "I know I said it before I left, but it bears repeating in case you weren't listening to me the first time. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, and don't come down too hard on Eli and Ria. I'd like to still have employees when I get home." A yawn defused her strict tone and her voice softened. "Take care of yourself, Cal." The message ended with a beep, and he noted the time stamp.

"Six hours," he muttered, jotting down the time difference between where he was and where Foster would be for the next week. The Lightman Group had been asked to lecture in Paris to a joint-branch police force regarding interrogation techniques and deception detection. Deciding that Foster was the better diplomat of the two of them, Cal had agreed to muddle through the week without her.

Now, however, he was regretting that decision as Heidi entered his office quietly with a stack of folders.

"What's this, then?" he eyed her shrewdly as she set the files on his desk, but she just smiled back.

"Just a few daily things that Doctor Foster usually handles. With her out of the office, she said you would take care of them." Cal glared at the files as if they had offended him, but Heidi just waited patiently until he flipped the top one open.

"Weekly expense report?" he muttered, sliding it over to reveal the next one. "Monthly Budget Analysis," and another, "Employee Performance Reviews." He cursed under his breath before offering Heidi a quick, silent apology. Having grown used to her boss' sometimes colorful language, she just smiled back expectantly.

"Just sign them, Doctor Lightman. Doctor Foster already looked them over before she left."

"Couldn't she have just signed them all ahead of time?" he grumbled as he fished a pen from its place beside his monitor.

"Possibly," Heidi answered truthfully. Cal sent her a glare, but the receptionist was unfazed. Once all the reports and analyses had been signed and dated, Heidi gathered them up and slipped out the door. Cal glanced at the clock – eight thirty – noting it was probably still too soon to call Foster back. Given the time difference and the jet lag, he guessed she'd probably sleep until she had to be up the next morning. Still, he thought it right to call her later and make sure she ate dinner at least.

That left him at least four hours to fill until then, and he searched his office in vain for something to do. Not finding anything, he swiveled in his chair and stared out at the morning cityscape of DC. In truth, Foster's office had the better view but he'd let her have it when they'd moved in because he knew how much something like that meant to her. On more than one occasion he'd slipped into her office as she stared aimlessly at the city before her, lost in thought. He tried it now, staring at the passing cars and people below while letting his mind wander.

He sat still for all of three and a half minutes before the silence got the best of him and he bolted from his chair to find something to occupy his time. Loker and Torres were sitting in their shared office, each typing away on their respective laptops. Torres looked up at he entered, question written all over her face, but Loker kept pecking away at his keyboard.

"What are you doing?" Eli looked up quickly, and Cal detected a quick flash of guilt before the younger man covered with a half-smirk.

"Doctor Foster hasn't even been gone a day and you're already going stir crazy?" he asked bluntly. Cal shook a finger at him and let him know with a raised eyebrow that he wasn't fooled.

"So crazy that I thought about cutting my number of employees in half. Which of you should I keep around, huh?" Eli's smirk widened at the empty threat and he stood quickly.

"I've got an interview with that private school headmaster at eleven, and Ria was going to get started on that module you assigned her yesterday. If you want the interview, I can stay here and help her get through it." Torres didn't bother hiding her offended expression, and Lightman laughed.

"Nah, I'm not doing your dirty work. Besides, it's my science so if Torres has any questions I should be around to answer them. Get to work, then." He made a shooing motion with his hand as he turned and sauntered off, leaving his employees to share a knowing smile behind his back. "And stop that!" he yelled back.

"Ten bucks says he cracks by noon." Loker sank back into his chair to finish the email he'd begun composing to a girl he'd met in a bar the night before.

"No bet," Torres returned quickly. "With Foster gone, Lightman's going to be unbearable."

Three hours later, Cal had reorganized his bookshelf, dusted and vacuumed his office, and got caught up on all the boring paperwork he'd been putting off for a month. As he sank down on his couch, he ran a hand over his face in a weary gesture.

"It's going to be a long weekend." A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts, and he grunted an acknowledgement before it creaked open.

"Doctor Lightman?" It was one of the ever present techs that seemed to flit about like ghosts around the office. Most of the time, Cal took no notice of them. Now, however, he looked up at the young man with an annoyed expression.

"What is it now?" he barked, causing the boy to jump back a bit in response. "Oh for heaven's sakes...what do you need?" He had very little time for the pesky interruptions, which is probably why most of them went to Foster with their questions.

"I was just wondering...well, not really wondering but curious really...I mean, usually Doctor Foster handles this stuff, but she's not here. You know that, though, don't know why I said that." He seemed to stumble over his words, rambling faster and faster as he watched his boss grow increasingly perturbed.

"Just spit it out, son. Sometime this century would be nice."

"Right!" the boy shifted his weight from one foot to the other and straightened his back in preparation for delivering his message. "It's just the research assignment Doctor Foster gave us last week. We finished the preliminary reports and need someone to look them over." Cal stared blankly at the boy for ten silent seconds before he burst from his seat.

"You know, now's not the best time," Cal turned the boy around and shoved him none too gently toward the door. "After lunch, yeah? Don't let the door slam on your way out." He waited until he was alone to let out a quiet growl of frustration. He checked the clock as he threw himself into his desk chair, finally giving in to the urge that had been pestering him all morning.

The phone rang almost five times before it clicked to life, and Cal heard the rustling of fabric as the person on the other end adjusted the receiver. Finally a quiet, exhausted voice filled his ear and he couldn't help but smile.

"Cal, what do you want?"

"Just checking in, Foster. How is Paris?" he asked, lilting his voice with the native pronunciation of the name. She laughed at his obvious question, not at all fooled by his nonchalant tone.

"Blissfully quiet," she responded easily. "How are things at the office?" Cal seized onto the opportunity and began a tirade against the massive amount of paperwork he'd been forced to do. Ever the psychiatrist, Foster listened patiently until he'd run himself out.

"That's just the daily stuff, Cal. You'll also have to handle payroll tomorrow so it's ready for Friday, and don't forget to pay the bills either." Cal growled something unintelligible, and Foster just chuckled. "Consider it payback for waking me up," she said. "Any other reason you called?"

"Nah, just wanted to check in. You've got a busy day tomorrow?" He heard her stifle a yawn and a twinge of guilt went through him for waking her up. Then he eyed the stack of paper Heidi had somehow snuck onto his desk and he didn't feel so bad anymore.

"Mr. Harrington is picking me up in the morning, and I'll be giving lectures all day. There's some formal dinner tomorrow night, then I've got the following day free to see the sights before I have to be back at the conference hall for more talks on Saturday." Cal grimaced at the thought of all that mingling, and he faked a sympathetic whine that belied his smile.

"Better you than me, darling. I'm going mad just thinking about all that." She laughed her agreement, punctuated again by another yawn. "I'll let you get back to sleep. I just wanted to check in."

"Everything's fine. Don't drive the staff too crazy while I'm gone." The smile he heard in her voice told him she wasn't fooled by his fib.

"Will do, Gill. You be careful." She didn't even bother replying to his warning, just said goodnight and hung up. Cal held onto the receiver for a few more minutes, soaking up what was probably the last connection with his partner for a couple of days. After a few seconds of silence, he shook himself out of his thoughts and tossed the phone back onto the cradle. His company wasn't going to run itself, especially with Foster halfway across the world. He decided that with her gone, it was time to lean a bit harder on his subordinates. Smiling shrewdly at the thought of finally drilling some science into Torres' head, he set a determined scowl on his face and strode out into the hallway.

Well, there you have it. The Prologue. This will be 7 chapters in total, and I'll probably update once a week unless there's an overwhelming demand for more. Ta!