The Monte Carlo Affair: Across A Crowded Room (IATO Series Book 2) by Eliza March, Elizabeth Marchat Page B

carved wooden doors made the building look like a regal palace. There were even a few crenellated towers for effect. Numerous flags, representing the royal house, stood at attention along the walled parapets. The silk materials whipped in the warm summer breeze. The vision looked like something out of a fairy tale.
    “This casino isn’t anything like Vegas,” Emily mentioned to Kate under her breath. She shifted self-consciously while they waited for the valet to help them out of the car and escort them to the stairs.
    “So, Mosel Reinhardt sponsors this event?” Kate asked Emily.
    “Yes, my grandfather had something to do with this charity years ago. Now, the Charity Ball is held here at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino. Wait until you meet him. He’s a platinum blond, German-born god of a man. The playboy of the Riviera also owns Delta Star, the company I’m working for here in Monte Carlo.”
    Emily whispered to Kate, “More importantly, he’s a known illegal arms dealer with contacts to the terrorists I believe killed Dad.”
    Emily had managed an invitation from Mosel for Kate and Jorge. Her invitation had been more of a command, since he was still in relentless pursuit of her. While she tried to hold him at bay, Jason had kept Mosel’s interest up by dating her on off days, keeping the competition between the men hot and heavy. She hoped she survived the onslaught of attention. This wasn’t the first time they made her feel like a ping-pong ball in play.
    Before she ascended the steps, Emily rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and got into character. Those days in high school plays handling the props had never prepared her for this!
    * * * *
    Mosel Reinhardt walked into the ballroom like a CEO walking into a meeting of the board. He glanced around, appraising everything, and with a slight smile, approved. He checked the buffet tables and the activity at the bars spread around the room. He noted the smiling faces of his guests, the efficiency of the staff. The music played, upbeat and modern, not his personal favorite. Steely rock would be out of place here, more appropriate at the clubs he frequented almost nightly.
    Lights twinkled from the enormous authentic Austrian crystal chandeliers, interspersed impressively from the ballroom ceiling, as well as from sconces, reflecting along the mirrored walls. “Good, everything is going as planned. Is the girl coming tonight?” he asked, questioning his companions, two muscular men always present to do his bidding.
    “She said she would be delighted if she could bring her friends. She’s taking an extended weekend trip with them tomorrow, but we included them in the invitation. We encouraged their presence, believing she might not come without them.”
    “Good thinking. The more opportunities I have with her personally on a social level, the more opportunities I’ll have with her.” He added almost absently, “She is different than the others. Tell me as soon as she arrives.”
    Mosel walked off to recheck the card room setup.
    The Charity Ball, an event his family’s wine distribution business sponsored for years, covered his arms dealing. He continued the ruse to maintain contacts with all the right people despite his periodic reputation at unacceptability. He unwittingly exposed his darker side from time to time. He sneered as he thought how he was presently notorious among the genteel aristocratic society he ran with, for making some politically incorrect statement to a woman he hit on during a fundraiser. After her quick rebuke, he discovered she was “press.” The woman rapidly exposed his callous nature to anyone and everyone in his acquaintance, and then some. So Mosel sporadically worked at improving his image with his political and social acquaintances through his charities.
    Currently, his most recent female conquest was trying to put herself to right for the evening in his private room upstairs. While he impatiently waited for another woman