The Vienna Grand Imperial's administrative boardroom was very different from the sleek skyscrapers with glass walls and steel columns of Manhattan. In this place, the walls were adorned with large, gold-leaf frames and large chandeliers of crystal were suspended from the frescoed ceiling, giving a warm, brilliant light to the long mahogany conference table. The multi-billion dollar winter budget session was finally in session, and the silence, smothering tension was palpable inside as a corporate execution was imminent.
Casel was in the corner of the room, her figure outlined against the high arched window overlooking the raining city. For the past three weeks she had been wearing casual, fussy ski clothes that she had bought when she moved to the mountains, but now she was wearing a perf
