Swimming with Sharks (4 page)

At dinner, Alex was seated between Sergio and Paul McIntyre, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings. The other people at their table were Vincent Levy and his wife—who showed no surprise at seeing his head of M&A at Sergio Vitali’s side—the famous real-estate speculator David Baines, Senator Fred Hoffman, and a few other important members of high society. After listening to Levy’s and MacIntyre’s wives discussing Cayman Islands vacations, and the building commissioner’s wife raving about the wonderful luxury apartment that Vitali had generously placed at their disposal, she quickly wrote off the wives of these influential men as uninteresting. She had never cared for female companionship, and this type of women’s talk seemed like the epitome of wasted time to her. Instead, she concentrated on the conversations among the men at the table as they discussed a construction project on Staten Island. As Alex’s eyes wandered through the splendidly decorated ballroom, she noticed many celebrities. The realization that she was sitting among them filled her with an intoxicating sense of victory. But the other attendees were also eyeing her with curiosity, because it was scintillating for Sergio Vitali to appear in public with a woman who was both completely unknown and beautiful.

Alex enjoyed Sergio’s undivided attention the entire evening. He made her laugh time and again with anecdotes about the people around them. The seven courses of the gala menu were exquisite, and the accompanying wines were wickedly good. After the official speeches were given, Sergio asked her to dance. Alex wasn’t a particularly good dancer, so she was glad that they could hardly do more than turn on the overcrowded dance floor.

“Did you see Vince Levy’s face when he saw us together?” Alex giggled. “What do you think he’s thinking?”

“He probably thinks the same thing as everyone else here.” Sergio smiled. His blue eyes examined her with an intensity that triggered a familiar sensation in her body. “Namely, that we’re sleeping together.”

Alex managed a relaxed smile.

“If I had known that you had such a bad reputation, I wouldn’t have gotten involved with you,” she said.

“Really?” Sergio raised his eyebrows. “I thought you didn’t care about my reputation.”

“Indeed, I don’t,” Alex said with a smile. “But I do care about
my
reputation.”

“That’s what I like about you, Alex,” Sergio responded with amusement. “You remind me of myself. You’d do anything to reach your goal.”

“Certainly not anything,” Alex countered. “I might be ambitious, but there are definitely limits.”

“And what are those?”

“Why don’t you find out?” Alex stared deep into his blue eyes. Sergio returned her gaze. His hand slid from her waist to her bare back, and he pulled her closer to him. How had she managed to keep him at a distance for six weeks? She longed for him with every fiber of her being.

“You know I will,” he murmured. His voice so close to her ear sent a shiver down her spine. “I want to find out everything about you.”

They danced for a while without saying a word, until the music abruptly ended and the band took a short break. Sergio held Alex tightly in his arms, gazing at her while the other couples left the dance floor. They turned back to the table, her holding his arm. Time and again, Sergio—who apparently knew everyone there—stopped to introduce her to someone. Once they’d reached their table, Alex felt Sergio’s body flinch at her side and stiffen for a split second. She followed his gaze. Paul McIntyre and Senator Hoffman, a white-haired giant, were talking to another man
who looked vaguely familiar to Alex. The man stood up and put on a thin smile when he saw Sergio.

“Ah, good evening, Sergio.”

“Good evening, Mayor Kostidis,” Sergio responded smoothly.

Of course! That was Nicholas Kostidis, the mayor of New York City, who was incredibly popular but controversial. She had seen his distinctive face often enough on television and in the newspapers. Before he became mayor, he made a name for himself as a district attorney who prosecuted many investment bankers and who also earned a reputation for being America’s most successful Mafia hunter. Alex studied him with curiosity. He was about the same age as Sergio, yet he wasn’t as good-looking in a classic sense. He would have seemed almost insignificant at first sight—compared to the imposing appearance of Senator Hoffman, Paul McIntyre, and the handsome Sergio Vitali—if not for the forceful intensity of his fiery, almost-black eyes that impressed and unsettled Alex. Kostidis’s posture exuded self-confidence and power. Sergio and the mayor sized each other up with cold looks. Alex could almost physically feel the tension between the two men, who were quite similar, despite their completely different appearances.

“Alex,” Sergio finally said, “have you met our esteemed mayor, Nick Kostidis?”

Kostidis turned his gaze toward her. His eyes, both cool and burning, hypnotized her.

“No, I haven’t.” She returned his gaze with a smile. “My name is Alex Sontheim. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Sergio raised his eyebrows mockingly as she spoke. Kostidis’s face showed skeptical interest as he extended his hand and held hers for a moment.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he said politely, leaning closer to her. “It’s always nice to see a new face among the all too familiar crowd.”

Sergio interrupted before she could respond.

“I hear that you managed to bring the Zuckerman case up to the investigation committee,” he said casually.

“Oh, yes!” Kostidis smiled, letting go of Alex’s hand. “It took a lot of effort to convince them, but I think that it’ll be worth it.”

“I highly doubt it, but I wish you the best of luck,” Sergio replied, also smiling. Alex looked 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. It
seemed 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 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 contemptuous
words. 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.”