High Society Sabotage

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Ten minutes into the party, Sara Montgomery knew she'd been spotted by a potential target. And she couldn't be more pleased. She stole a glance at Kyle Prescott as he worked the large birthday party for his stepfather. He wound his way through the society and corporate types gathered at the Turner ranch as if he'd done so all his life. Sara laughed softly to herself. Hehaddone so all his life. She noted the sideways glance he sent her way. One corner of his mouth lifted, as if he knew she watched him. She smiled, hoping the man would read her expression as a sign of interest and not for what it really wasa smile of satisfaction. Satisfaction that she'd found a potential means to infiltrate TCM, her latest assignment for Prescott Personal Securities and the true reason Sara found herself at TCM CEO Stephen Turner's birthday party. After being briefed on the investigative findings to date, Sara had developed several options for achieving her goal. Oddly enough, charming her way into Kyle Prescott's life had fallen somewhere toward the bottom of the list. As the man mingled with other partygoers, circling ever closer to where she chatted with a TCM employee, Sara realized she should have put Kyle Prescott at the top of her list. He was the perfect in, assuming she played her cards right. Which she would. The playboy represented everything she loathed about the society scene, but what did it matter? Sara had a job to do, and she'd do it well. She always did. She wasn't about to let the sour taste left in her mouth by a polite society gathering such as this one distract her from her objective. Access enough inside information on TCM to find out who was operating the bogus Kingston Trust and the scheme to buy up land for the oil beneathno matter what the ultimate cost. Considering the rising body count of Kingston Trust investors, Sara knew she had to work quickly, and effectively. If Kyle Prescott represented the pawn she needed to get inside the workings of TCM, so be it. She had every intention of stopping the conspiracy before the next victim fell. The mission called for her to blend in with the society crowd, so blend in she would. She took a sip of her champagne, noting the weight of the crystal flute in her hand. The ballroom at the Turner ranch had been decked out from corner to corner in only the finest linens, flowers and crystal. Candles, which Sara understood to be handdipped by children at a local charity Stephen Turner supported, adorned each table as centerpieces. While the glitz and glamour of the entire scene made the small hairs at the base of Sara's neck lift, the presence of the candles provided a tender, human touch that made the entire visual tolerable. While Sara had always hated the party scene, her older sister, Annemarie, had lived for it. She'd died for it, as well, being murdered at a party days before what would have been her comingout ceremony. Sara had refused to attend the same party and her parents had never forgiven her, as if somehow Annemarie's death wouldn't have happened had Sara been in attendance. Sara's heart gave a sharp twist, the familiar ache squeezing her chest. Maybe they were right. Maybe she could have made a difference, had she only been there for Annemarie. Sara had gone through with her own debut a year after they buried Annemariepart of the Montgomery family plan to prove the unsolved murder of their oldest daughter hadn't destroyed them. Attending the debutantes' ball was the last thing Sara ever did to please her parents. They certainly didn't approve of the life she'd created for herself since then. She blinked away the memories as Kyle Prescott neared. Now was the time for razorsharp focus on the present, not blurryedged memories of the past. She studied the man casually,