Shorter than usual for me, for that I apologize. I'm nearing the end of my little melodrama here, so I'm struggeling to finish it. Please forgive any spelling and grammar errors, they will be fixed eventually I promise :) Drop me a line, let me know what you think of this next chappie! Enjoy:)

Jenna had finally persuaded Erik to let her go back into the office to help Bernard who had gotten swamped, as their client list got longer. She walked up the stairs and into the office; she smiled at Sophie the new secretary that Bernard had recently hired. She stepped into the office, smiling at Bernard who looked quite harassed.

"Ah, Jenna you have perfect timing" he said relieved to see her. He handed her a folder, "This client is coming in for one last meeting in 10 minutes, but I have to go to a work site to do an inspection. Do you think you could handle this?"

Jenna took the folder "Of course, you go and do what you need to."

"You're sure?" he asked warily.

She laughed, "Go, I'll be fine" she sat down and read through the file, familiarizing herself with what the client wanted.

She watched in amusement as Bernard hurried around the office for a moment before leaving quickly for the building site. She returned to her reading when a knock on the door interrupted her. She looked up at Sophie.

"Excuse me Mademoiselle, but Monsieur Richard Young is here"

Jenna rose, "Show him in Sophie"

A cheerful young man of about 25-26 walked in. Jenna smiled "Hello Monsieur Young, my name is Jenna Marcus"

He kissed the back of her hand, smiling. "You speak impeccable French Ms.Marcus" he replied with a heavy English accent.

She smiled "Thank you, thank god for French Au Pairs"

He laughed, seating himself across from her. "Indeed"

She cleared her throat "Well I've been looking over your account, and it looks like we will be able to meet your demands as it were, without a problem. Here are the designs Mr.Deveraux drew up for you," she said as she handed him the drawings.

He put up a hand "I don't need to see the drawings, I trust Mr.Deveraux to design a home for me that I would approve of"

Jenna nodded, setting the drawings back down "Alright, well in that case you're set to go."

He rose "Perhaps you would care to have lunch with me?"

She blushed "Thank you for the kind offer, but I'm engaged"

"I'm not proposing Marriage, just a friendly lunch"

"On the condition that you allow me pay for my own meal" she responded after a moment of thought.

He frowned for a moment, but managed to push aside his chivalry "Done, even though my mum is rolling in her grave at this point" he responded jovially.

Jenna laughed, pulling on her coat and picking up her purse. They walked to a small café around the corner. After they ordered their food, they settled into an uncomfortable silence.

"You said you are engaged?" he inquired as he sipped his coffee.

She nodded "Yes I am"

"When are you getting married?"

"May 9th"

"That soon?" he asked, trying to hide the surprise in his voice.

"Yeah, it's actually turning into a nightmare."

"That I can imagine. You're American?"

She nodded "Yes I am, was it that terribly obvious?"

"Not really, though being a foreigner myself it's easy to find others as well"

She laughed, picking up her teacup and taking a sip. He watched her for a moment.

"You have the sweetest laugh," he said softly.

This sobered Jenna instantly; she set her teacup down shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Richard picked up on it.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to make you nervous."

She waved a hand "That's alright" she sighed, "It's me who should apologize. This was a bad idea" she began digging through her purse, pulled out a few euro notes and threw them on the table to cover her meal. "This has nothing to do with you, you're nice but I just feel like I shouldn't be here"

"Who is this fiancé who won't allow you to have lunch with another man?"

She sighed, "He's been hurt before, and I don't want to cause any problems between us. I love my fiancé, very much"

He looked defeated "You have a good heart Jenna…I didn't mean to offend anyone"

She smiled "I know, you didn't. This is me, being nutty I guess" she smiled embarrassingly.

He rose, and kissed the back of her hand "No, this is you being in love. I'd hate to see what happens to the poor fool who tries to step between you two"

Jenna smiled "Thank You Richard. Have a good day"

He nodded, watching her leave disappointed. He sighed, sitting back down to finish his coffee.

Jenna hurried to her car, and drove home. Stupid Jenna! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid! She raged at herself as she drove home. She flew in the door, throwing her coat and purse onto the table. She made a beeline for the kitchen, where she proceeded to turn the entire room upside down in her quest for chocolate. Finding cookies, she grabbed a few and headed to her office suite upstairs.

She collapsed down at her desk, turned on her CD player and let the haunting melodies of Evanescence float around her. She nibbled on her cookies as she checked her email. She had the music on so loud she didn't hear Erik come in, not that she would have any way. She screamed, dropped her cookie and whirled around when Erik laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Forgive me, ma belle. I didn't mean to scare you," he said with a chuckle.

She sighed and relaxed back into her chair, as Erik leaned against her desk watching her. She was nervous, she knew she didn't have a reason to be nervous. She hadn't done anything wrong, any normal person would understand…but nothing was normal where Erik was concerned. She looked down at her lap, unsure how to bring up the subject. Erik broke the ice for her.

"How did your meeting go?"

"It went well, he seemed pleased."

"Good, I tried to call but Sophie said you had already left"

She bit her lip; there was something in his voice that set off warning bells in her head. She wasn't afraid of him, she wasn't afraid to get into a fight with him. Lord knows they had already had plenty of shouting matches. But she didn't want him to think she was having second thoughts or that she doubted her descion.

"Yes, Richa-Monsieur Young invited me to lunch" she said nonchalantly.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his golden eyes blazing at this point. "You went to lunch with a young man? By Yourself? A bit foolish don't you think my dear? He could have been a murder"

Jenna rose and took his hands in her, hoping to diffuse the situation before they did start screaming at each other.

"Erik, it was just lunch and I ended up leaving right after we got coffee. I knew you wouldn't want me to…" she paused "I just knew you wouldn't like it. Even though he's a perfect gentleman"

She could tell by the firm set of his jaw that he wasn't happy with that response. She sighed, suddenly very tired.

"Erik, not every man out there is trying to steal me away from you. And even if they were, I love you. I want to be with you, I am with you. But I do have male friends, and I think I might in time have considered Richard a friend. You have to trust my love for you."

Erik saw her stooped posture, and heard the resignation in her voice. He suddenly felt very bad for his stupid behavior. She is a child of the light, just like Christine was. She responds to other people, as people do her as well. She works a room like apro, people are drawn to her. He knew it that instant if he wanted to keep her, he would have to let go of his insecurities and let her be the social butterfly she truly was.

"Forgive me my love," he said quietly, squeezing her hands before placing a light kiss on her lips. "You should be friends with whoever you please…I'm sorry my darling"

She smiled at him "It's alright Erik, I do understand why you are so untrusting in these kinds of situations. It's just going to take time for us to get everything sorted out."

He nodded, kissing her cheek "I'll let you return to your email and I will see you at dinner."

Jenna nodded, kissing him before letting her headrest on his shoulder for a moment before he left the room. She sighed, returning to her laptop groaning as she saw an email from her mom regarding wedding plans.