<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/0/07/Charmed_helen_b.png)</div><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">H</span><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">ELEN</span> <span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">B</span><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">RIANNE</span> <span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">M</span><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">ITCHELL</span> <span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 7pt;"><br/>          it is in you to carry on      |      it is in you to lay down fears that hold      |     it is in you to find your way home          </span></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;"><em>not quite satisfied, but...</em><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 8pt;">   » melinda . chris . anduin . tray </span></span><br/><hr/><br/>Being the youngest of the three, Brie let Chris take the lead on how to handle the situation with Mr. Fording. She knew he didn't necessarily agree with her words, given that look in his eyes (they all but shouted<em>really?</em>at her), but she also didn't feel that her assessment of fighting a demon inside the house, rather than out, would have been wrong. She had to hide a smile, though, at Chris' sarcasm and biting comments - leave it to him to show his protectiveness of the family in such a roundabout way.<br/><br/>Brie listened to his explanation, and his credentials, but still found herself unsatisfied.<em>Private investigator, huh? Of course, how else would he have found out about the manor?</em>She remained pleasant on the outside, but she made a note to herself to be careful around him in the future. She didn't buy the story - it was too pat, and his cover too much of a coincidence. She didn't want to fall into the same kind of complacency that had almost gotten her aunts Phoebe, Piper, and Prue killed when Cole Turner had posed as an ADA to get close to the family. Brie didn't believe in coincidences, and as trusting a person as she was, she valued her privacy too much to really let this go without saying a few words about it.<br/><br/><strong>"Actually, we do mean to rush you,"</strong>Brie said calmly as she took his clipboard and signed the remaining paperwork.<strong>"First of all, your company was told that I would not be in town until Monday at the earliest, which today is not; any paperwork would have to wait. Second of all, there is no paperwork that could possibly need filing at eight o'clock on a Sunday night; I had already been planning on heading to the studio early tomorrow morning to take care of any necessary paperwork that needed doing. I appreciate your zeal in trying to contact me, but I don't appreciate you interrupting my privacy and that of my family's long after business hours, and coming uninvited to our home."</strong>She crossed her last<em>t</em>and dotted her last<em>i</em>, then handed the stack of papers back to him.<br/><br/>She waited for him to put the papers away and meet her gaze again before speaking.<strong>"I'm sure you meant well, but please don't do this again in the future. I won't hold it against you and it won't affect our business dealings, but I take great pains not to take my work home with me."</strong>Brie was enthusiastic about her job, and was working very hard to get her life going in this direction of becoming a mentor, teacher, and guide for troubled teens. However, she took her family (and her legacy from her family) very seriously as well. Her severe tone seemed at odds with her gentle demeanor, but her expressive brown eyes made her emotions all too clear for her guest.<br/><br/><strong>"I will be sure to make my way to the studio to meet you there at eight, for any other discussions that need to take place before you can get started. We can talk more tomorrow."</strong>With that, she sighed and put on a smile, escorting him to the front door and shaking his hand firmly.<strong>"I hope you have a good night, Mr. Fording. I'll see you tomorrow morning."</strong><br/><br/>Once he made his farewells and began walking down the stairs, Brie blew out a breath and shut the door firmly behind him, locking it and running an agitated hand through her hair.<em>Since we're going to P3, I should probably try to get changed into something a little nicer...</em>She felt just slightly apathetic as she looked down at her clothing. Having slept all day and then having to deal with this made her want to just crawl back under the covers and sleep some more, but it'd been way too long since she and Tray had had a good talk, and even longer since she'd had a chance to see Austin. Brie knew he probably wasn't interested, being who she was (his friend's sister), but her longtime crush on him still fluttered around in her belly whenever she saw him. She couldn't help it; he was just that attractive.<br/><br/>Shoving away from the door, Brie met Chris and Melinda in the hallway, some of her good humor restored now that her mind was looking forward to P3, Tray, and Austin. And dancing. Always dancing!<strong>"I'm sorry about the tone I used with Bianca, Chris. I guess we really haven't had a chance to get to know each other at all, and she seemed really ticked off about that, and maybe other things."</strong>To Melinda, Brie flashed a smile.<strong>"Are you going to come to P3 tonight? Tray and I were going to go, and it sounds like PJ is over there already. And I need to coordinate the next couple of weeks of work at Summerland, I want to put in some more time at the studio to keep an eye on that carpenter."</strong>Brie popped her head into the kitchen to let Tray know she was going upstairs to change, and then firmly placed all of her worries aside while she hurried upstairs to get read - she was going to dance tonight!