Read Online A Corisi Christmas (Legacy Collection #7) by Ruth Cardello - Free Book Online

to hear his father say he was proud of him. When they did speak of his business his father would only caution him to soften his approach, tread more carefully, risk less. That wasn’t how Asher operated nor was it how he wanted to. He had goals for himself and his company, and if that meant crushing his opposition, it was nothing more than the way of the world. Eat or be eaten. Expand or perish. Asher’s father had been a great man, but he should have fought harder for what he had. Asher was determined to not make the same mistake.
    Nothing and no one stood between him and a goal. When Asher had first started his biochemical company and then expanded it by undercutting the prices of the competition, his father had said, “Be careful. When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
    Asher had given up trying to explain how the world worked to his father. His parents were perfectly happy in their middle-class home, driving their ten-year-old cars. They certainly weren’t poor, but they considered themselves better off for not having fought his mother’s family for anything other than their children’s trust funds. How a man who had once been one of the most influential US senators and a woman who’d been born into the top of the privileged one percent could be satisfied with obscurity was a constant mystery Asher had given up trying to solve. One of Asher’s brothers, Lance, believed their mother had been afraid of her father as well as her sister. Both were dead now so that was another topic that held little interest for Asher. Had his mother ever appealed to him for help, Asher would have dealt with both of them for her. He feared no one.
    There was a light knock on the door and Ryan Corson, Asher’s personal assistant, entered. He was a reliable, unflappable, problem solver and that had made him an indispensible member of Asher’s team. He was paid well above his job description because he had proven himself in a variety of ethically complex situations. Asher didn’t need a conscience; he needed a team that would follow his orders without hesitation, so those were the people he’d surrounded himself with.
    “Mr. Corisi is quickly becoming impatient,” Ryan said. “Shall I send him in?”
    Asher sat on the edge of his desk and checked his watch. “Tell him I’m on a conference call for five more minutes.”
    Ryan grimaced. “He may not wait.”
    “He will. He’s curious.”
    “I’ll tell him, but I’m guessing not too many people make Mr. Corisi wait for anything.”
    “Exactly,” Asher said with a flash of teeth. Dominic was known for losing his temper easily. “Always play to your opponent’s weaknesses.”
    Ryan gave Asher a curious look. “Is he our competition? He’s in an entirely different industry.”
    Asher pushed off the desk. “Every person who is not on my team is against it. Remember that. Dominic is getting impatient. Good. Keep your opponent off balance and it’s easier to get information from them.”
    Ryan neither agreed nor disagreed. He retreated to his office and to the likely unpleasant task of informing one of the most powerful people in the country that he needed to cool his heels for a few more minutes.
    Asher slowly checked the messages on his phone, straightened the already straight papers on his desk, and finally opened the door of his office. “Dominic, thank you for coming.”
    Dominic turned and gave him a dark look Asher pretended not to see. Dominic growled, “When you said it was a matter that couldn’t be spoken about on the phone, you piqued my interest.” Although Dominic didn’t mention it, his irritation at being kept waiting was obvious. “This had better be important.”
    Asher smiled smoothly, deliberately ignoring that as well. “Come in. Ryan, hold my calls.” He waited until he knew Dominic was paying attention and added, “Unless it’s Freethy. Then put him through.” He heard Dominic’s impatient huff and hid his satisfaction at