Swimming with Sharks Read Online Free PDF

lived here for twelve years.”
    “Germany!” Kostidis gave her a friendly smile. “The land of poets and thinkers! What brought you here of all places?”
    “My career,” Alex responded.
    “Do you work here?” He raised his eyebrows.
    “What did you think?” She gave him a mocking look. “I’m not a rich heiress. I was with Morgan Stanley for six years, and now I work at LMI.”
    “Aha. Banking. The big money.” Kostidis laughed, but his eyes remained serious and inquiring.
    “I like my job.” Alex suddenly felt the need to justify herself. “I like this city, too. New York is so alive.”
    “Yes, indeed it is.” Kostidis nodded. “My parents came from Greece, but I was born and raised here and never had the desire to live anywhere else. I spent some time in Washington DC for professional reasons, but I felt like I was in exile there. For me, there’s just New York. I love this city despite all of its shortcomings. And I put all my energy into making New York a more beautiful and livable place.”
    Alex stared at Nick Kostidis. She was amazed at his sincere excitement and passion. He gestured with his hands when speaking, and his lively mannerisms captivated audiences. She remembered again that Levy had called him a demagogue and thought about Sergio’s contemptuouswords. Now that she had met Kostidis in person, she was no longer surprised at how he had won the mayoral elections with such an overwhelming majority. He had an almost magical magnetism and the rare talent of making a person feel like the most important human being in the world. The people of New York loved and worshipped him because his words were followed by actions. He had done more for public safety and improving the quality of life than his predecessors had accomplished in ten years.
    “Nick?”
    The young man with the thin blond hair and the smug look on his face had finished his phone call and was coming toward them. He eyed Alex with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
    “Are you coming, Nick? We have to go.”
    “I’m coming,” Kostidis said, without averting his penetrating stare from Alex. “I’ll catch up with you, Ray.”
    “Okay.” The man obeyed reluctantly.
    “My babysitter.” Kostidis smiled regretfully. “One appointment chases the next, and Mr. Howard makes sure that I show up everywhere on time and stay long enough. I don’t envy him.”
    He extended his hand to Alex.
    “It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Sontheim.”
    “Yes, I…I think so too,” she stuttered and sensed to her chagrin that her cheeks were turning red like a schoolgirl’s.
    “Allow me to give you some advice, even though we hardly know each other.” Kostidis leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. “Be careful with your choice of friends. Though it may be exciting, swimming with sharks is dangerous. Unless you are a shark yourself, which I don’t believe.”
    He let go of her hand and smiled again.
    “By the way, you’ll find the restrooms by going downstairs from the foyer.” He winked at her one more time before opening the door and disappearing. Alex was stunned. She dealt with important andinfluential people on a daily basis and had long stopped being easily impressed by them, but Nicholas Kostidis just managed to do exactly that.

     
    Sergio Vitali entered the warehouse at the Brooklyn docks. The sign above the entrance door said Ficchiavelli & Sons—Italian Wine and Food Company. The last thing he wanted was another pointless discussion with his wayward youngest son, but Cesare had screwed up big time once again. Nelson had bailed Cesare out of jail that morning, and Sergio ordered him to bring the boy to Brooklyn. The offices, warehouses, cold-storage rooms, and loading ramps were deserted on this Saturday morning. There were three men waiting for Sergio in the front office. He greeted Silvio Bacchiocchi and Luca di Varese with a nod and scrutinized his youngest son, who looked back with a mixture of defiance and