Before David answered, they entered Jasmine’s new office. There was a lot of space: shelves, a large desk, a comfortable-looking leather chair, a computer, a sketching board—everything she could possibly need. Above all, the view from the window, overlooking Central Park, was amazing. Beautiful.
“The client’s name is Cole Ward. The project isn’t really big, but he’s an old friend of my father’s.” Something in David’s voice changed a tiny, tiny bit when he talked about this Cole Ward. Was that jealousy? Envy? “In fact, the project is laughable,” he scoffed, “it’s nothing we would normally do, but my father insisted on it.” Oh, now Jasmine could identify his tone—bitterness. Apparently, Mr. Hall Senior thought really highly of Cole Ward; perhaps David felt his father favored the other man? Were they the same age? That would explain a lot.
Shrugging, Jasmine turned her attention from the big windows back to David again. “What’s the project?”
“Only renovating his mansion.” He said it as if it were normal that people lived in a frigging mansion. Jasmine almost giggled at her thoughts.
“You like the office?”
“Yes, thank you, it’s more than perfect.” At least her answer seemed to please him enough to forget the bitter feeling from before.
“Come on then; let’s welcome our new client!” Again, putting his hand on the small of her back like he owned her—nerdy but arrogant man—he led her down the hall to a big conference room. Behind the glass walls was a long table with about twenty seats around it. Also a man in his late sixties—Mr. Hall Senior, Jasmine recognized—and another one in his mid-thirties stood behind the glass talking to each other. It had to be Cole Ward if David gritting his teeth was anything to go by.
Through the glass, Jasmine could see that they got along very well. While Mr. Hall smiled the whole time and in a fatherly gesture laid his hand on the younger man’s shoulder, Cole Ward seemingly only had one facial expression. A scowl. Presumably, Mr. Hall didn’t know his counterpart any differently, so he didn’t take the dark, intense stare personally. He seemed to enjoy his conversation very much.
Something about Cole Ward was familiar to Jasmine, only she couldn’t put her finger on it. Certainly she would remember if she’d ever seen his gorgeous face! Somehow his clean-shaven features with the edgy jaw and cheekbones were the perfect equivalent to the statues of old Rome. Like a god. He was to die for. Seriously. There was something tragic about him that pulled her toward him, something hurtful, something…off.
At once, her breathing quickened. She should have been excited to meet Mr. Hall Senior; instead she felt like a shy schoolgirl confronted with her crush. Shit. Determined, she balled her hands into fists and took a deep breath. There was no time left because David had already opened the glass door to the conference room for her. At least his game included manners. Even if she wasn’t interested in him, she could appreciate that.
Nodding her head in thanks, she passed him. When she entered the room with David, both men on the other side of the conference table fell silent. One after the other they turned slightly, facing the two of them directly.
“You must be Miss Frost!” Mr. Hall exclaimed, a friendly smile taking over his face. He walked around the table to greet her and his son at the door. With both hands, he clasped Jasmine’s fingers and gave a firm shake. “Welcome, welcome!” If it wasn’t for the foxlike intelligence in his bright blue eyes, the gray-haired man could easily be misjudged as just a friendly older man. But he was so much more than that. Oh, he was sharp; no wonder he had led his firm to success.
“Thank you for having me.” With a warm smile of her own, Jasmine responded. Already she liked Mr. Hall way better than his son.
“This is Cole Ward—” Before the head of Hall & Son could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.
“Cole is fine. We’re going to spend a lot of time together when she leads the renovations of my house.”
Simultaneously both Hall men asked, “What?” while Jasmine burst out, “I’m leading the renovations?”
Abruptly Jasmine jerked her head around, staring at Cole. Surely, he meant she’d help David with renovating Cole’s…um…Mr. Ward’s house. Right? When their gazes locked, something dark and dangerous flickered through his eyes. His irises were almost black in their color. Still, for the blink of an eye, she could see even darker shadows within them. She couldn’t break the stare, felt like a deer caught in headlights. Nothing good awaited.
“I was thinking David could oversee your project,” Mr. Hall argued. “It’s Miss Frost’s first day; she only accompanied David because she will be working with him. David has much more experience and—no offense, Miss Frost—is the better choice here.”
“None taken,” Jasmine said sweetly. With an inner laugh, she felt David puff his chest at his father’s praise. That was the first time, since being in the same room with Cole, that David didn’t stare with contempt but with glee at his client. He must feel like he was competing with Cole for the affection of his father, otherwise he wouldn’t have looked so jubilant at being praised in front of Cole. It was funny how grown men could turn into kids when faced with old adversaries.
“I want her.” At Cole’s simple statement, which was spoken in a hard voice, Jasmine was ripped out of her own thoughts. Blinking, she again stared up at Cole. His dark blue suit couldn’t hide his strongly built body or his tremendous height. He seemed to be around six foot six or even taller. In order to look at his face, Jasmine had to tilt her head back completely.
“She’s creative. That’s what I want. Something fresh and new.” The deep rumble from his chest sent vibrations through Jasmine’s whole body.
“How could you possibly know that? You don’t even know her!” David, outraged, pointed at Cole then at Jasmine. Damn it, it wasn’t her fault. No need to get all pissed at her when she’d done nothing wrong.
David’s angry words didn’t faze Cole; the calm mask of his face never changed, and his intense stare didn’t leave Jasmine for even a second. That simple fact made shivers run down her spine. It was like watching a horror movie—you absolutely knew that something bad was going to happen, but you couldn’t do anything about it, couldn’t warn anyone, just had to keep still, hope and watch.
She was doomed.
With a nod, Cole pointed at Jasmine’s clothes. God, she really should have worn black today, for Christ’s sake! “I know enough,” he stated. “Look around.” There was no need to say any more; both Hall men knew that Jasmine was the only one wearing color in this office, probably in the whole building. “I want that attitude in my home. She’s going to do the job, or no one.”
“I can’t change your mind, can I?” Mr. Hall asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. Obviously, he knew Cole too well to expect anything different.
“No. Her or no one.” He didn’t even look at Mr. Hall when saying the words. Immediately Jasmine’s cheeks flamed red; she swallowed hard. Why would he prefer her over David? It didn’t make any sense. Of course, David was arrogant—didn’t mean he was bad at his job, though. In fact, he was excellent. Jasmine had been excited to work with him. Now? Not so much anymore.
Like a toddler, David stomped his foot. “I can’t believe this!” he exclaimed dramatically, before storming out of the conference room, fuming.
“Excuse my son; he was really looking forward to this project.”
“Sure,” Cole murmured, not even trying to make it sound like he believed Mr. Hall’s excuse.
In response, the older man chuckled, gently slapping Cole on the back. “You know how he is—very passionate in everything he does. He’ll calm down.”
In answer, Cole only nodded. Still bathed in his sole focus, Jasmine felt more and more uncomfortable. Normally she was a self-confident woman, but this Roman god of a man threw her off. Stepping from one foot to the other, she tried to only look at Mr. Hall when he began speaking.
“So, Miss Frost, seems like you’ll be living in Bellport for a few
weeks.” This time it didn’t matter how friendly Mr. Hall sounded, his words still shocked Jasmine to her core.
“W-what?” With wide eyes, she stared at him.
“Well, Cole lives in Bellport—that’s about two hours from here. We planned for David to sleep in one of the guest rooms; Cole has more than enough space. When the plans for the renovations are all finished and the workers can start, it will be easier to supervise them from there.”
Although his words made total sense, Jasmine’s mouth still fell open. She was supposed to live with that predator for a few weeks? In Bellport? What? But she’d only just started working here. In New York City, damn it!
“You’re going to enjoy your time there—Bellport is a beautiful little town,” Mr. Hall told her. So it was decided then, wasn’t it?
♥♥♥
Chapter 3
“YOU CAN’T BE serious!” Finally, Jasmine had found her voice again. After the men had decided everything, Cole left the conference room, obviously expecting her to follow him. From then on, she was supposed to invest all her work time into the renovation of his mansion. Which pretty much meant she was supposed to jump when he asked her to. That wasn’t how she’d pictured her new job at Hall & Son at all.
While rattling out his address in Bellport and telling her when to show up, he’d already marched toward the elevators. Either he didn’t care that she had to jog in order to keep up with him, or he just wasn’t used to having others with him. Though Cole had the undeniable aura of a loner, his suit told another story. Since he was a businessman, he had to work with people on a regular basis, right? So he just didn’t care. Great.
“Could you just wait a second?” she snapped when she almost broke an ankle because she stumbled. Running in high heels definitely looked easier in the movies! At her tone, he stopped and slightly turned his head around. Due to him halting so quickly, Jasmine almost walked into his back. Breathing hard, she came to a stop only inches from his body. A wall of heat hit her, so she immediately backed off. “Sorry,” she mumbled, looking down at the floor. Her tone really had been short of polite. “Your legs are longer; you’re too fast.”
Hesitantly, Jasmine raised her head. When their gazes met once more, he nodded shortly. Then he started off again. But at least a little slower than before. “You should take the rest of the day off; pack your things. Tomorrow we’ll begin right away. You can take a look at the place and then come up with some ideas.”
“Thanks for explaining how to do my job.” As soon as the words slipped out of her mouth, she bit her lip. What on earth had gotten into her? This Cole Ward just rubbed her the wrong way. “I mean, I’ll be there. Bright and early!” She tried a smile, but he only pressed his lips together. Was that a smirk? He looked like a cruel commander right before ordering a village to be slaughtered or something equally horrible. In the old days, he probably would have been the black knight, so to speak. Not the white knight in shining armor—that was obvious.
“Just be on time.” He gave the order as soon as he’d stepped into the elevator. Quickly she followed. Side-by-side, they were the only people in the small space—probably because normal people didn’t go to work just to leave an hour later. The others were busy behind their desks. And Jasmine? She had to get along with this strange giant.
“I’m always on time.” Gritting her teeth, she stared straight ahead, not daring to look up at him. Otherwise he would notice that she wanted nothing more than to yell at him. How dare he ruin her very first day at her dream job? She’d wanted to create interesting new buildings—something David did on a regular basis. And now? Renovating a mansion was like being demoted on her first day of work.
The fact that Cole Ward spoke about her like he was talking about an object annoyed her immensely. When he’d discussed the details with Mr. Hall, it had sounded like an art deal being made. Hopefully, he at least eyed her as a beautiful painting. Stupid rich guy; probably had too much money for his own good, Jasmine thought in silence. What else could have made him so cold? His facial expression still hadn’t changed; the only proof that Cole Ward had any feelings were the shadows in his eyes. Whenever he looked at her, his irises darkened even more. Not in a good or sexy way—it wasn’t lust that flickered in his eyes, but something much more powerful. Aggression or hatred, even. Why had he insisted on…?
“Why do you want me to work for you when you look at me like that?” The truth just came out of her. Now that she’d asked the question, she couldn’t take it back, nor did she want to. No, in fact, she needed to know what the hell was going on here! Stepping around so she stood right in front of him, she raised her chin. “So?” she demanded.
“Look at you like what?” he asked in such a flat tone she almost believed she’d imagined everything. Only, the dark shadows in his irises appeared again.
“There you go,” she said. “We don’t know each other, so why do you hate me?” It didn’t matter that he looked familiar to her; a lot of people looked kind of similar to each other. That must be all it was; with a hundred percent certainty Jasmine knew she wouldn’t have forgotten the face of a Roman god.
When he came one intimidating step closer to her, Jasmine refused to show any weakness. He was a wolf in sheep’s—no, man’s clothing. His broody stare was that of a predator, so Jasmine only craned her head further and stared right back. “Hate you? No. Perhaps you just remind me of something.”
His deep rumble sounded honest. Surprised, she raised her eyebrows. Anyway, it didn’t make a difference, did it? “If I remind you of something you hate, it doesn’t make sense that you passed on David for me.”
“It makes perfect sense to me,” he contradicted, again stepping forward. This time she needed to back away, or his suit jacket would have brushed her chest. It didn’t make any difference, though, because he immediately came after her until her back met a wall. Not cool. Angered, she pushed her hands against his chest. He didn’t even blink.
All around her she only felt his heat, taking over her body until she began to shiver. Was it fear or something else? “Do we know each other?” he more growled than asked. Had he just smelled her neck? What the…? He was worse than David.
“Let go of me or I swear, I’ll hit the emergency button!” Was her voice really that shrill? She’d meant to sound threatening, not breathless or frightened.
“Do we know each other?” he repeated as if she hadn’t said anything. He gripped her chin with one hand, turning her face from side to side as if searching for some clue.
“No, we don’t,” she gritted out. “I don’t remember ever having seen you before. You must have mistaken me for somebody else.”
“Not likely.” When his entire body pressed into her, Jasmine readied herself to scream for help or smack the fucker on the head with her purse. From now on, she should keep bricks in it. For good measure. Take that, asshole! Only, when her body shivered again, she noticed that it wasn’t fear after all. Cole didn’t hold her in place with his hands or imprison her by laying his hands against the wall next to her body. No, in fact, she could have just stepped aside and fled him the whole time. Had she let him corner her?
Jasmine didn’t know what to think. Unsure, she swallowed, blinking up at his dark eyes. Apparently, he was lost in thought, probably still trying to figure out where they could have seen each other before. Well, good luck with that! “We’re going to figure this out,” he abruptly told her, and it sounded like a promise of much more. With his fingertips, he brushed her cheek. She wanted to hiss and sigh at his touch. Stupid, confusing body of hers!
As her breathing quickened, her chest brushed his. It couldn’t be normal, how strongly she reacted to him. Inside, her heart raced.
“I’ll be waiting for you.” One last time he stared right into her eyes—or even deeper, into her very soul. With his intensity, he probably could do that kind of thing. Hell, this man probably could do a lot of scary things. Oh, and good ones, too, so many good things. Her mind began to wander and a si
gh came from her lips. Shit. She hadn’t meant for him to hear that. From his stare it was clear, though, that he had. Before he backed away from her, he brushed his body against hers. Was he testing her or himself?
Although her heart raced even faster when she felt his hard, muscled torso, her anger made it to the surface. “Get the hell off me!” Her tone was menacing— something more than unusual for her cheery self. Not even that could faze him; he just dipped his head to her neck and fucking bit her.
“See you tomorrow.” As if he’d perfectly timed it, the doors of the elevator opened so that he strode out, leaving her breathless, shocked and…sexually frustrated. Asshole.
Flustered, she too, left the elevator. Checking her phone, Jasmine realized that Mr. Hall had not only given her the day off but had also sent her all the details about Cole’s mansion via e-mail. Hence she could only go home, accept her fate, do the packing, and have a tiny nervous breakdown. After that encounter in the elevator, she was supposed to live in the same house as Cole? Should she pretend nothing ever happened? Ignoring him wasn’t possible since she was going to have to work with him on a daily basis. For weeks. Dear God, have mercy!
With slumped shoulders, she left the building. Like always, the streets of New York City were jammed with traffic; thankfully Jasmine had taken public transportation. Half an hour later, she was home. When she entered her overpriced apartment, she still wasn’t sure what to think of Cole or her body’s reaction to him. All her thoughts faded, though, the second she was greeted by the small furball. Chester was a black and white French bulldog puppy.
Whereas Jasmine hadn’t planned to get a dog, especially not just months before starting her new job, Chester hadn’t cared about her reservations. He’d stormed her heart in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t a normal French bulldog but was missing one ear due to a genetic defect. The breeder had dumped him without looking back or giving the pup the chance to find a family that loved him despite his little flaw. The prospect of not getting the full price for Chester must have been enough of a reason to throw the puppy out. When Jasmine had found him by pure chance, he’d been half-dead. She’d rushed Chester to the nearest vet—thanks to her smartphone for the maps app!
Good Grief Page 2
