Good Grief

  Good Grief

  a novel by

  VERA ELLE UNITA

  Second edition September 2019, first published May 2017

  Copyright © 2017 by Hippomonte Publishing e.K., Gradmannstraße 7, 88213 Ravensburg, Germany.

  Cover design: Hippomonte Publishing e.K.

  Cover photo: © by Kirichayphoto, www.bigstock.com, stockphoto-ID: 282101554

  Editing: Hope Vincent, Flat Earth Editing, www.flatearthediting.com

  Proofreading: Judy Zweifel, Judy's Proofreading, www.judysproofreading.com

  Typography: Hippomonte Publishing e.K.

  www.hippomonte-publishing.de

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions of it in any way whatsoever. For information address Hippomonte Publishing e.K., Gradmannstraße 7, 88213 Ravensburg, Germany; kontakt@hippomonte-publishing.de.

  Table of contents

  About the book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  About the author

  About the book

  He wanted nothing more than to forget his past.

  Until she came along, bringing color back into his world.

  Now he’ll do everything to make her his.

  Jasmine Frost had imagined the first day at her new job quite differently. How on earth could she have known the arrogant billionaire Cole Ward would insist on her leading the renovations of his mansion?

  To oversee the renovations, Jasmine moves in with Cole. Turns out, the mansion needs more than a little makeover, and she is stuck with that growly bear of a man for weeks. He doesn't even like her French bulldog—who the hell doesn't like puppies?

  Still, they can’t withstand the strong attraction between them. The dark look in his eyes is intriguing and Jasmine can't keep herself from digging into his past. But what if she doesn't like what she finds?

  Fast, steamy, insta-love romance novel. Standalone, no cheating, HEA guaranteed.

  Chapter 1

  ~ five years ago ~

  STORMING INTO THE emergency room in the middle of a Friday night really hadn’t been the thing Jasmine Frost had yearned for all day long. Going out for some drinks with her friends, yes. Forgetting the horrible week and tremendous load of work she’d had, yes. Finally relaxing and enjoying herself—hell yes! But watching helplessly as her friend Chloe stumbled right onto the road and was hit by a car—no, no, no! That definitely hadn’t gone as planned.

  She should have been looking out for Chloe. After one or two drinks too many, the girl wasn’t able to walk straight on her high heels anymore. Instead of watching Chloe, Jasmine had been distracted by their friend Bella who had been asking if they should share a cab. Suddenly Chloe was falling; it had happened so fast and…bam! The screeching sound of the car brakes was the first thing Jasmine heard. After that, chaos had broken loose. The driver of the car jumped out of the vehicle, screaming that he hadn’t seen Chloe coming and that she’d jumped in his way. Chloe sobbing, Bella crying in disbelief and panic, bystanders rushing to the scene and actually taking their fucking phones out to take pictures! Jasmine had been so mad when she’d seen the first one approaching. Sadly, she hadn’t been able to do anything about it because apparently, she was the only human being who’d kept her cool that night.

  Immediately, she’d called an ambulance then rushed to Chloe to see if there were any wounds that needed pressure on them. Of course, Jasmine hadn’t dared to move Chloe, afraid to do more harm than good. Thankfully, the ambulance had arrived quickly and seized control of the situation. Only a few minutes later, they’d taken Chloe with them. After telling Jasmine to which hospital her friend would be brought, they had driven off with flashing red lights and a deafening siren.

  That was how Jasmine had ended up in the middle of the emergency room at about midnight, Bella at her side. Her poor friend was still crying—the sweet, petite woman didn’t take well to violence, let alone watching her childhood friend Chloe get hit by a car. Why wasn’t Jasmine freaking out? Well, with an everyday-hysterical mother, a child grew nerves of steel. Thanks, Mom, Jasmine thought, with humor, to herself. After all, her mother’s outbursts had paid off.

  “Sweetie, I have to go and find out where they brought Chloe. You just sit down here, okay?” Not waiting for an answer, Jasmine gently pushed Bella onto one of the chairs in the waiting area. Then she gave her a tissue. Well, actually three or four tissues—her friend could use them. Because of her mom, Jasmine was an expert at consoling people. Only now, there wasn’t really time for it. No matter if Jasmine didn’t seem worried, she still was. Only she didn’t show it.

  In a friendly manner, she petted Bella’s shoulder. Soon after, Jasmine rushed off to get them some answers. Behind a glass wall, there was a desk and a computer. Thank God, there also was a nurse sitting there. Through the little window, Jasmine tried to get the attention of the older woman. Five minutes later, she knew exactly where to find her friend, but she and Bella couldn’t get to her because Chloe was still in surgery.

  When Jasmine told Bella that, her fragile friend began sobbing. Luckily, that caught the attention of a young intern who happened to be awed by Bella’s ethereal beauty. After he’d dropped the two of them off in another waiting area, this time much closer to the operating rooms, he promised to get intel on Chloe. Another ten minutes later, Bella finally stopped crying her eyes out—her best friend was okay; apart from a complicated fracture of her leg and lots of bruises, she was okay. The relief was so immense; both Bella and Jasmine began to laugh out loud, which seemed to freak out the intern. The hell with it! They were half as drunk as Chloe—they were allowed to laugh way too loud and perhaps even as hysterically as Jasmine’s mother.

  After the intern had fled, muttering something about why the pretty ones always were the crazy ones, Bella and Jasmine hugged each other for a little while. Everything would be fine. They began to talk and even laughed about the fact that such a horrible week could get even worse. An hour later, Chloe was wheeled out of the OR. Bella was way too small compared to Chloe to ever pass as her sister, so it was Jasmine’s turn to try her luck. Thankfully, the ER surgeons were way too exhausted to ask too many questions or look at Jasmine too closely. In the end, they let the two of them through.

  While waiting for their friend to wake up from the anesthesia, Jasmine took it upon herself to go look for snacks. That was just who she was—taking care of everyone around her. Not too far from Chloe’s room, she found a vending machine. Jackpot! They even had cupcakes and sandwiches in there. It didn’t matter that they probably tasted like sand; the women just needed something to eat after each of them having had two cocktails before. Since she wasn’t sure if Chloe was allowed to eat so soon after surgery, Jasmine set out to find that intern again but stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a man hunched down on a chair in a lonely corridor.

  Never in her life had she seen such grief.

  He had to be tall because he made the chair look very little. His hair was dark brown, a rich color like coffe
e beans. His face was covered by a full beard; long strands of hair fell in front of his eyes. Everything about him emanated power—strongly built, clenched fists, and a pain, which almost seemed aggressive in its pureness, marred his features. This tall, hard stranger of a man was tragically beautiful. He didn’t seem to care that his tears dropped down onto the linoleum floor of the hospital. If Jasmine interpreted his body language correctly, he only cared about keeping himself from exploding.

  With one look at him, she knew that no one would ever want to face this man when totally unleashed. He was power through and through; perhaps that was why his grief had made her heart stop for a beat; it just seemed so out of place on such an edgy face. What could possibly have made that enormous guy so devastated? It must have been something truly horrible.

  Still frozen to the spot, Jasmine couldn’t decide if she wanted or feared to know. Apart from the fact that it wasn’t her business, of course. With a start, she turned around, giving the man some privacy. A little ashamed of herself, Jasmine shook her head at her behavior. She had been enthralled. Quickly, she went back to her friends, the intern and her questions for him completely forgotten.

  After Chloe had woken up, the three of them talked through the rest of the night until they collapsed one after another. Bella, at some point, had crawled into bed next to Chloe; Jasmine comfortably sat in an armchair. Her eyelids were heavy. She was so tired, the buzz from before long gone—and damn, the cupcakes out of the vending machine really had tasted bad. Later she wouldn’t be able to explain what had made her rise from the chair in spite of it all. Wandering through the corridors, she called herself a lot of names, idiot being one of them, but the man was still there.

  His tears had dried—didn’t mean he looked any better than before, in fact, his face was even more ashen. There were shadows in his irises as if he was being haunted. Perhaps by what had happened? Memories? For a moment, Jasmine hesitated then she slowly approached him like he was a wounded, trapped animal. One could never know how it would react to help: snap or be thankful.

  “Hi there,” she murmured while letting herself fall into the chair next to him. Apparently, he had been so focused on his inner struggles, he hadn’t even noticed her. At the sound of her voice he jumped, turning his face in her direction immediately. His eyes burned; all the pain within them made Jasmine shiver and swallow hard. “I’m so sorry.” The words automatically left her lips. In reaction, she pressed a hand to her mouth. Pulling her legs up, she hugged herself protectively. Perhaps from his grief, perhaps from the wild ire at the whole world in his eyes. Like he had been betrayed. By life?

  “You don’t even know,” he eventually breathed out, though it sounded more like a snarl. At least he didn’t tell her to go, so she would stay with him for a while. If he needed to talk, she would be right there.

  “I don’t need to know.” In answer Jasmine only whispered. “I can see it in your eyes.” Letting out a hard breath, she couldn’t help but touch the sharp cheekbone on the right side of his face. Fascinated and mesmerized by the all-consuming emotions on his face. Never had she known that a person could feel so strongly.

  At her touch he flinched, so she quickly pulled her hand back. What had she been thinking? They were strangers! Shocked by her own behavior, she wanted to scramble back to her feet. “I’m sorry. I overstepped,” she murmured. Before her toes even touched the floor, a giant hand wrapped around her wrist.

  “Stay,” he simply demanded. So he wasn’t mad at her?

  “O-okay.” She let herself relax back into the chair. Only then did he pull his hand away. He propped his elbows on his thighs and again stared at the floor. When he’d spoken to her, though, her gaze had jumped to his eyes and she’d been able to identify the color. Or well, lack of color. They were black as the night, surrounded by long thick lashes, perhaps thanks to some Italian ancestors? Would explain his crooked nose, Jasmine thought absently.

  Although having told her to stay, he didn’t say anything to her after that. Hence, they remained in silence for a while until Jasmine couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “I can’t possibly know what you’re going through, but it will get better. It always does; I promise you that.”

  “This one won’t.” He didn’t sound angry; he spoke as if he’d only stated a fact. At his certainty, her heart fluttered. How could she hurt so much for a total stranger? Perhaps the eyes truly were the gates to one’s soul and in his unguarded state, he had let her see right to the bottom of the endless pain inside of him. He hurt so goddamn much.

  “You don’t know that for sure,” Jasmine argued simply because she couldn’t let this dark stranger give up on hope. If one let hope go, there was nothing left.

  As if he knew what she was thinking, he murmured, “There is nothing left. I feel numb.” One look in his eyes told Jasmine that it wasn’t true. Perhaps he wanted to feel numb, but the truth was completely different.

  Despite his reaction from before, she again reached out. When she laid her fingers over one of his hands, she didn’t let go, even when he winced. “It’s okay,” she promised. Even she herself didn’t know what exactly she was promising him. There were no other words, though. After a while, he accepted her touch. Well, he didn’t move his hand, but his whole body was strained like a bow. Finally, she told him, “Feeling like that is okay. You can’t numb the pain.”

  “And how do you know?” he gritted out between clenched teeth. Ah, there it was; the trapped animal that snapped. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t be able to scare her away—he might be tough, but Jasmine was pigheaded. Ha!

  “It won’t work. I’ll stay.” With that, she stared right back at him, taking all his anger; she could handle it. “Pain is like love; you can’t choose to feel it and when it has you in its clutches, you can’t get rid of it anymore. But over time, it can fade.”

  At her gently spoken words, he blinked. Once. Twice. A nod. There was nothing left to say. Throughout the rest of the early morning hours, she held his hand; somehow it felt just right. Each of them lost in thought, at least he wasn’t alone with his grief anymore. Sometime around five thirty in the morning, she must have fallen asleep. When Bella found and woke her only two hours later, the tall stranger was gone.

  ♥♥♥

  Chapter 2

  ~ present day ~

  TODAY WAS THE first day at her new job. Jasmine was already very excited. It was her dream job, after all. Working at Hall & Son was—in her line of occupation—like working for the president. Only the best architects in the country made it that far. God, Jasmine was so excited! The last five years, she’d worked her ass off to get exactly where she was now. New York City. She’d made it.

  Yes! If she hadn’t been walking through the entry hall of a high-class building where only men with expensive suits and women in elegant dresses were to be seen, she probably would have taken the time for a happy dance. Like a toddler. Well, not so appropriate in this environment. Biting her lip, Jasmine held the giddiness in and made her way to the elevators without embarrassing herself in front of all these way-too-serious-looking people. Her new colleagues. Sigh.

  Only when standing in the overfilled elevator did she notice that she was the only one wearing a color other than black. In fact, Jasmine had put on a beautiful red dress and a scarf with floral print on it. In her opinion, she looked very elegant—especially since she was known for her nonexistent fashion sense. Bella had helped her. Her friend had sighed and told Jasmine that her wardrobe didn’t offer many good but only very—very, very—bad choices. In the end, they had found something acceptable, so it was okay.

  Now that she’d seen the people who worked for Hall & Son, Jasmine began to wonder why on earth they had hired her. She was excellent at her job, naturally, but as soon as the guy next to her in the elevator wrinkled his nose at her colorful scarf, it became very clear to her that she didn’t fit in here. Not at all.

  Thankfully, when the doors of the elevator opened on the eleventh floor, s
he saw a familiar face. The “son” part of Hall & Son had been the one to approach her at a gala three months before. After that, they had met twice at her favorite café to talk business. He was a total geek but absolutely sexy with his serious gaze, the light brown teddy-bear eyes, bright smile, and dimples. But unfortunately, he knew it. That probably had been the only reason Jasmine hadn’t reacted to his flirting. Most likely he was a womanizer…or a manwhore. Nonetheless, she was very thankful he’d believed in her creative mind and had given her the chance to work here. Also, after the guy in the elevator, Jasmine probably had been happy to see any friendly face.

  “Glad you’re finally here.” David Hall greeted her as soon as she’d stepped out of the elevator and crossed the short distance between them.

  Her smile was honest when she looked up at him. At least one person in this office didn’t care about her colorful wardrobe! “Good morning, David. I’m glad to be here,” she answered.

  “Let me show you your office. We’ve a big client coming in later, so we’re in a bit of a hurry.” With that, he put his hand on the small of her back and gently but firmly pushed her in the right direction. The touch felt uncomfortable—they didn’t know each other well enough for that. Still, she let him. Making a scene on her first day probably wasn’t the best way to start her new job. Anyway, she could teach him a lesson the next time he touched her in a too-familiar manner. David Hall certainly wasn’t used to women telling him no. Well, another lesson to be learned, right?

  “Does the boss always show his new employees around?” Jasmine asked suspiciously. Hopefully, he had given her the job for the right reasons. This morning she’d been so damn happy; now the feeling faded more and more. Damn it.

  At her question, David winked down at her. “Only the important ones.”

  “Well, thank you. I appreciate it.” It was a total lie; Jasmine didn’t like special treatment. “What big client is coming in later?” She wanted to know, aiming to steer the conversation strictly back to business.