Page 64 of Galaxy Circus Act One

“Like the warlocks?” I inquire, still curious about my mysterious new friend. Can I call him a friend after one interaction? Possible friend maybe?

Before Caspian can answer, we reach my grandpas’ offices. They use these rooms to do all the admin work that goes with the circus, including the diplomatic stuff as well as the trade deals. They have three desks in a triangular shape with a large holoscreen in the space between them. All three are able to use it together, or they can separate it into three individual work spaces. They look up as Caspian and I enter. On the screen is what appears to be a human male, but I could be wrong.

“Ah, Lila, there you are. We were just telling James about you.” John gestures for me to come over. Although I can see the being on the screen, I’m pretty sure he can’t see me until I step in front of John’s desk. “James, this is our granddaughter Lila, she will be taking over management of the circus when we retire. Lila, this is James Smith, our Earth liaison. He and a team of agents monitor all the alien beings that choose to visit Earth or make it their home.”

Holy shit, he’s a real MIB agent. My excitement at meeting him is not mirrored on his face. He seems to look down his nose at me in disdain, which is impressive in itself.

“Nice to meet you, James,” I say politely, smiling at the man. Sometimes you have to kill dickheads with kindness because we all know it irritates the fuck out of them. It’s obvious he doesn’t like what he sees because he doesn’t respond for a moment. Instead, James just studies me like I’m a science experiment gone wrong.

“I knew your parents, Ms. Adams. They never mentioned you to me.” He sounds disgruntled, but I’m reeling at what he called me. Holy shit. My real name isn’t actually Lila Jenson.

I’m still floundering a little bit, and William must realize it because he quickly takes over.

“James, we will get back to you to finalize arrangements to transport that one detainee. As for any others, we have no one who wishes to stay this time around.”

“Very well. I will await your call,” James tells William, even though his eyes haven’t left mine. Awkward.

The screen blinks out, and I shudder. “Holy fuck, he was creepy. What race is he?” I ask as I shake, trying to rid myself of the unease I felt while he was staring at me. It’s like my body is screaming,Stranger danger!Stranger danger!

“Human,” Eric replies dryly, as if the answer was obvious, but I noticed none of my grandads responded to my James is creepy as fuck comment. He’s something I’m going to have to figure out when or if I take over.

“Are you okay, babe?” Caspian asks from his seat in a chair outside of the office. He must notice my tense shoulders and pinched eyebrows.

“Ah, yeah, I was surprised to hear him call me Ms. Adams. I had forgotten that the lawyer said my name had been changed. It was brain overload with everything he piled on me that day, so it had completely slipped my mind until just now when the creepy dude mentioned it.”

“Would you like to know what your birth name was?” William inquires, his eyes twinkling with delight. He’s such a pain in the ass.

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” I deadpan, and he snorts.

“Liliana Adams was your birth name, and your parents called you Lili. Liliana was your grandmother’s middle name, but wecalled her by it. I guess changing it to Lila kept it close and less confusing for a toddler.”

“Liliana.” I roll it over my tongue, and I feel a spike of familiarity in my soul.

“Would you like us to have it officially changed back?” John asks with hope in his tone.

“Yeah, I’d like to reclaim that piece of me, but do you think we could just stick to calling me Lila?” I ask my grandpas. Even though I love the name Liliana, I feel like my identity is linked to Lila.

“I think it suits you better. Liliana sounds like a lady,” Eric agrees with a cheeky grin on his face, “and we already know you’re not that.”

I stick my tongue out at him, but a pleasurable warmth flushes my cheeks. Joking and messing around with my grandpas is so much better than I thought it would be. I was expecting stuffy old men, but thankfully, their personalities are larger than life. It’s almost like having three built-in besties.

“So are you ready to visit the warlock?” Eric gets to his feet and stretches. It really is disturbing to look at this man who appears to be in his mid forties and know he’s old enough to be my grandpa. He doesn’t even look old enough to be my dad. I really must ask them about the whole aging thing. I don’t think anyone has actually properly explained that to me.

“Yeah, I guess so. Are you coming with me?” I ask my mate, and he shakes his head.

“No, I need to talk to John and William about our act now that Dylan has been booted, and then I need to go speak to the rest of the troupe. The rumors will be flying by now. I should have told them the day Dylan was banished, but I didn’t want to leave you. Is that okay? I can cancel and do it later if you want,” he quickly back tracks, as if his answer would offend me, but I shake my head and sit in his lap.

“No, that’s fine. Eric will be with me. You do what you need to, and I’ll see you later, right?”

He taps the communicator watch on my wrist. “Just call me on this.” He waves his corresponding one on his own. “The only reason I won’t answer is if I’m swimming in the pool. If I don’t, just come and find me there.”

“Okay.” I give him a quick kiss on the lips and slide off his lap. Before I can get away, he grabs my hand.

“Have fun, okay?” He winks suggestively, and I feel a small blush cross my face.

Eric snickers and leads me out of their office. I mean, I can’t bethatpredictable.

“You’re awfully cheerful,” I snap at him as we make our way to the elevator. “It was not all that long ago that you were screaming at me about mating the kraken and getting knocked up.”