His face was full of disbelief.


    What was Calliope doing here?


    From what Ulysses could tell, everyone here for the audition today was a big shot, either a director, a producer, or one of the investors.


    And there was Calliope, sitting right next to the director. Was she part of the audition panel too?


    Ulysses waspletely thrown off. His heart skipped a beat, and he almost forgot why he was there in the first ce.


    "What''s the hold up?" Zachary, the director, nced up at him, impatience clear in his eyes. "Are you here for the audition or not? If yes, then get started. If not, then please leave. We''ve only got one afternoon and a lot of people to see."


    "Oh, sorry!" Ulysses stammered, sweat prickling at his brow. His nerves were already shot, but now, after seeing Calliope here, he was even more on edge.


    He knew things had gone south between his family and Calliope. The Jewell family was convinced she''d stolen Grandpa''s inheritance. They''d all crossed her, and she had every right to be furious.<fn152c> The rightful source is Find[?]ovel</fn152c>


    If she saw him, she probably wasn''t too happy about it. No way she''d let him sail through this audition.


    Ulysses managed a weak, ironic smile. He had no clue why Calliope was here, but after the initial shock, he just kept his mouth shut.


    Zachary pressed him again, so Ulysses snapped himself back to reality and started his audition.


    Everyone watched as he performed, and after a while, a few people nodded their heads, clearly impressed.


    When he finished, Ulysses didn''t leave right away. Instead, almost unconsciously, he nced over at Calliope.


    She didn''t even spare him a look.


    He frowned, burning with curiosity about why she was there, but he also knew that even if he asked, she probably wouldn''t answer. Besides, he had a sinking feeling he wouldn''t be getting this role.


    "Ulysses, right? Why are you still here? Do you have something else to say?" one of the producers asked, looking up from her notes.


    "Sorry!" he apologized quickly, hesitated for a second, then shuffled out the door.


    "That kid did pretty well," Zachary remarked, furrowing his brow. "Probably the best fit for this part today, but he seemed kind of clueless."  s


    Calliope said nothing.


    *


    The afternoon shed by as actors


    came an


    I went for their au actose,


    what felt like no time thest


    finished


    s


    The team gathered to discuss the final selections.


    "These ones are all solid. I''d go with these picks. Zachary, what do you think?"


    "We''re in agreement on three. Looks like we''re split on the other two. Callie, what about you?"


    Calliope nced at her notes. "I''m pretty much with Zachary on this."


    After some back-and-forth, they finalized the cast list.


    "Alright, that''s settled then. We''ll take care of the next steps from here."


    "Callie, you''ve got some personal things to sort out, right? Why don''t


    you juste back when we


    shooting


    s


    Calliope nodded, "Thanks, appreciate it."


    "Don''t mention it. It''s our job!"


    start


    "Anyone want to grab a bite? Maybe some burgers or pizza?" someone offered.


    "You guys go ahead, I''ve got ns," Calliope replied, waving goodbye as she headed out.


    She''d barely stepped into the hallway when she saw Ulysses waiting there for her.