"Smith, Wilber - Hungry as the Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith Wilbur)

Nobody had given him a thing, not once in his life. He had taken
advantage of every stock option in his contract, had bartered bonus and
salary for those options, and now those 100,00 shares were worth three
million dollars, meagre reward for the labour which had built up a
fortune of sixty million dollars for the Christy father and daughter.

It had taken Duncan Alexander almost a year to get those shares.

He and Nicholas had bargained with cold loathing. They had hated each
other from the first day that Duncan had walked into the Christy
building on Leadenhall Street. He had come as old Arthur Christy's
latest Wunderkind. The financial genius fresh from his triumphs as
financial controller of International Electronics, and the hatred had
been instant and deep and mutual, a fierce smouldering chemical reaction
between them.

In the end Duncan Alexander had won, he had won it all, except the
shares, and he had bargained for those from overwhelming strength. He
had bargained with patience and skill, wearing his man down over the
months. Using all Christy Marine's reserves to block and frustrate
Nicholas, forcing him back step by step, taxing even his strength to its
limits, driving such a bargain that at the end Nicholas was forced to
bow and accept a dangerous price for his shares. He had taken as full
payment the subsidiary of Christy Marine, Christy Towage and Salvage,
all its assets and all its debts. Nick had felt like a fighter who had
been battered for fifteen rounds, and was now hanging desperately to the
ropes with his legs gone, blinded by his own sweat and blood and swollen
flesh, so he could not see from whence the next punch would come. But
he had held on just long enough. He had got Christy Towage and Salvage
- he had walked away with something that was completely and entirely
his.

Nicholas Berg lowered the newspaper, and immediately his officers
attacked their breakfasts ravenously and there was the clatter of
cutlery.

There is an officer missing/he said.

It's only the Trog, sir/Dave Allen explained.

The Trog?

The Radio Officer, sir. Speirs, sir. We call him the Troglodyte.

I'd like all the officers present.

He never comes out of his cave/Vinny Baker explained helpfully, All
right/ Nick nodded. I will speak to him later.