Swimming with Sharks Read Online Free PDF Page A

back and forth between them in confusion. Pure hatred was boiling beneath their politeness.
    The ferocity and fearlessness in Kostidis’s eyes contradicted his friendly tone of voice.
    “Thank you,” he said, “but in my experience luck won’t save you when you dive into a pool of sharks. In any case, I wish you a pleasant evening. Enjoy yourself. Miss Sontheim, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
    Alex simply nodded. Kostidis patted Paul McIntyre on his shoulder and moved on.
    “Asshole,” Sergio growled once the mayor was out of earshot. He pulled Alex’s chair closer so she could sit down. She wasn’t quite sure whether or not she liked Nick Kostidis, but he was an extraordinary man in any case. This is what she told Sergio after they sat down at the table again. Sergio looked at her with a mysterious expression in his eyes.
    “Nicholas Kostidis is the plague,” he said in a cold voice. Alex looked at him in astonishment. “He is a power-hungry, ruthless fanatic who is obsessed with the idea of turning this city into a children’s playground.”
    “But safety and a lower crime rate are good things.” Alex, who’d heard about the mayor’s no-tolerance policy for combating crime, objected innocently. Sergio gave her a piercing look for a moment and then laughed.
    “They certainly are.”
    “Kostidis is a demagogue and an agitator,” Vincent Levy noted after ensuring that no one else was listening to him. “He’s dangerous because he doesn’t accept anything but his own truth. He is so popular with ordinary people because his truth is so simplistic.”
    He lowered his voice.
    “He has turned this city into a police state and—”
    “Kostidis can do whatever he wants,” Sergio interrupted him, casually waving at a waiter, who immediately refilled their glasses. “Even with his tailored suit and silk tie he’s nothing but a pathetic little Greek from Bed-Stuy, with a bark that’s louder than his bite.”
    Both men laughed disdainfully.
    “What investigation committee was he talking about?” Alex inquired.
    “It’s Kostidis’s new obsession,” Sergio said dismissively. “He’s been after me for years. He keeps trying to intimidate my employees, hoping that someone will reveal a dark secret in my past and serve it to him on a silver platter. His hatred of anyone who has an Italian name is pathological. Maybe he was beaten up by an Italian bully as a child.”
    He laughed carelessly and raised his glass.
    “Here’s to our mayor and his incredible ambition, which will someday do him in.”
    Alex saw the cold sparkle in Sergio’s eyes, but she preferred to keep silent. There was no reason for her to side with Kostidis.

     
    A half hour later, she excused herself. She smiled as the motion of the crowd ushered her through to the foyer; she had almost forgotten about her encounter with the mayor. It was a great pleasure for her to belong among these privileged people who don’t think twice about spending more money on a dinner than an average worker earned in half a year. She wandered around the long corridors of the Plaza for a while before she realized she was lost. She found herself in front of the entrance to the kitchen, turned around, and almost collided with two men who were moving quickly toward a door with a sign that read Personnel Only. To her surprise, Alex spotted Nick Kostidis. Itseemed that the mayor was trying to leave the hotel through the back door.
    “Oh!” Kostidis smiled once he recognized her. “Did you plan on inspecting the kitchen, Miss Sontheim?”
    He remembered her name! The other man’s cell phone started ringing, so he walked a little further away to take the call.
    “No, I…I’m just a little lost,” she replied. Kostidis was only slightly taller than Alex. She couldn’t stop staring at his dark eyes. He had unusually long and thick eyelashes for a man.
    “You’re not from New York, right?” he asked.
    “No, I’m from Germany. But I’ve