Page 86 of I Married Kayog
For all that, I genuinely enjoyed the diversity of pieces on display. Some were a lot harder to relate to as they were so far out the mainstream definition of art that one didn’t really know how to respond to it. Others could only be fully appreciated if one possessed specific abilities inherent to their species that allowed the viewer to perceive other dimensions of the art which made it complete. In some cases, a special visual aid was madeavailable next to the display so that people could compensate for their anatomical limitations.
“A beautiful piece isn’t it?” a male voice suddenly said behind us as we were admiring a magnificent sculpture of a winged horse being hugged by a human female. We turned around to see Taylor Darby and his brother Lucas. He was the head of a powerful conglomerate that ‘invested’ in many off-world companies, usually among less advanced species. Although legal, his practices could be deemed morally gray. He often purchased or acquired controlling interests in struggling businesses, optimizing them to increase profit—which usually meant massive layoffs, automation, and severe straying from the cultural authenticity of the products being produced. In the end, it rarely benefited the local population.
Still, without his investments, many of those firms would have completely shut down, which would have been even more harmful to those communities. But that didn’t make him a saint or an altruistic man.
“Quite beautiful,” Linsea said. “I love fantastic creatures. And human mythology certainly has an amazing array of them.”
“We do. And it always surprised me that, after visiting hundreds of other worlds, we have never found a flying mount that fully matches our Pegasus,” he said pensively. “But apologies for being rude and not introducing myself.”
“Taylor and Lucas Darby,” my mate said pre-emptively with a charming smile. “It would be scandalous for me not to know who you are.”
“You flatter us and put us to shame…” he added sheepishly.
Despite his apologetic stance, the calculating glimmer in his black eyes fully matched the cold emotions emanating from him. He was a predator assessing nearby potential prey. Without our empathic abilities, we would likely have fallen for his charming demeanor. Tall, slender, elegantly dressed in a black suit andwhite shirt with a dark blue tie, he was the embodiment of the polished businessman. His ruggedly handsome face framed by neatly trimmed dark brown hair would have many women fanning themselves in his presence.
His younger brother—with whom he shared the same mother but had different fathers—exuded the same type of shark energy. His green eyes brimmed with intelligence. Whatever my feelings about them, these men radiated an unshakable loyalty to each other, which was quite commendable.
“There’s no shame to be had for not knowing me,” Linsea said in a friendly manner. “My name is Linsea Voln, and I am a recent hire of the UPO. My presence here is specifically to establish new connections and get a sense of some of the challenges that are not as broadly covered but that plague our members. Therefore, expect to see me often in the future.”
“Linsea? I’ve heard many praises about a Temern named Linsea. But I believe she was named Linsea Kenna,” Taylor said with surprise, although I suspected he already knew the answer.
“We are one in the same. This is my wonderful husband, Kayog Voln. As humans say, we tied the knot barely two weeks ago.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Taylor said with enthusiasm before extending a hand towards me.
It still baffled me that humans instinctively continued to do that, especially since it made certain species uncomfortable. In some cultures, you never touched someone else unless they were a blood relative, your mate, or a criminal either to be taken to jail or executed. Nevertheless, as it didn’t conflict with my own culture, I gladly shook his hand before doing the same with his brother.
“So what do you do, if I may be so bold?” Taylor asked me. “Are you a negotiator or ambassador like your mate?”
Once again, I got a strong feeling that he knew exactly who and what I was. It suddenly dawned on me that he hadn’t accidentally strolled over here and struck that conversation over some human art he was proud of. This man had a huge team to perform thorough background checks on the companies he might be tempted to acquire as well as the people who ran them. I didn’t doubt that he had performed a similar investigation about many if not all of the attendees ahead of this event. Information was the greatest tool and leverage in business.
“Not at all,” I said enthusiastically while stomping on my fears of embarrassing Linsea, which were trying to rear their ugly heads again. “I’m a matchmaker for primitive aliens.”
The way he faked his surprise erased any doubt I might still have had about this whole conversation being staged. His emotions reeked of mockery laced with a hint of disdain.
“A matchmaker?! Well that was unexpected. But for primitive aliens,” Taylor said looking confused, his brother nodding in a way that implied he too was baffled by that part. “Why would anyone fall back on primitive aliens? Are people truly so desperate for love that they would settle that way?”
It took every ounce of my willpower to keep a neutral expression on my face as he spewed his disrespectful drivel. A part of me believed he was deliberately trying to get a rise out of me or simply embarrass me as any good bully would.
“People do notfall backorsettleon primitive aliens,” Linsea said in a calm but slightly chastising tone. “The technological advances of one’s species do not define their value as an individual. Love doesn’t care about whether you have achieved warp speed or not.”
“Fair enough,” Taylor conceded.
“But why focus on primitive aliens?” Lucas asked, this time with genuine curiosity, although his disdain for a group he considered inferior still radiated from him and his brother.
“Because I understand them and their needs better than anyone else out there,” I said in a nonchalant but confident fashion.
Right on cue, both brothers raised their eyebrows at me in a dubious fashion.
“Is that so?” Taylor asked. “What do you base that assertion on?”
“I have a master’s degree in xenobiology, a second one in galactic history with a focus on primitive species, and I’m currently writing my third master’s thesis on the Prime Directive,” I said in a factual manner. “So yes, very few people could claim to have a better understanding of those communities. There are already a billion matchmaking agencies out there. But none of them cater to this group, in large part because they don’t know how to.”
“What Kayog didn’t add is the fact that his matches are 100% accurate, unlike the complete gamble that other agencies offer. He has a unique talent that the competition would die for,” Linsea said proudly.
To hear her standing up for me like this did the funniest thing to me. Obviously, I expected no less from her. But it was the emotions emanating from her as she did so that truly boosted my confidence. If such a wonderful female could be so proud of me just the way I was, why the fuck was I undermining myself with stupid doubts?
Taylor opened his mouth to say something else—I assumed to challenge my accuracy—but a Stornian male interrupted him with a greeting.
