Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 171

“Uh… Can I return it?”

“Fruits are non-returnable goods! Don’t worry, miss. We provide top-grade Musang King so it’s definitely of good quality.” så

“I know that and I do trust that your goods are of good quality, but I don’t need that many.”

“Miss, I really can’t process a return for this. Fruits are non-returnable once sold!” On the other end, the owner tried hard to express his keenness to complete the sale.

Meanwhile, Anastasia was at a loss for what to do. “Alright, then. I’ll make a phone call and get back to you.”

As soon as Anastasia put down her cell phone, she instantly grabbed the landline and dialed the number to the office of a specific man.

“Hello?” The man answered the phone in a low voice.

“Did you order me a truckload of Musang King durians?” Anastasia questioned him immediately.

“Yup. You mentioned that you wanted the freedom to have durians whenever you crave them, so I’ll help you achieve this wish today. You can have as many of them as you want.” Elliot spoke up and implied that the durians today were his treat.

However, Anastasia was quite speechless and she thought, Doesn’t he realize that one can’t have too many durians? It’s fine to have some occasionally, but if too much is consumed in one day then there are a lot of side effects that would occur subsequently. The milder symptoms would be a sore throat and as for the worst-case scenario, one would even experience constipation!

“I think you should return it. I can’t finish that many. I just had one last night so I can’t have too many at a time.”

“Why not?” On the other end, the man clearly knew nothing about durians. Although he was a knowledgeable man, there were also some things that he was totally clueless

of.

“That’s because durians can cause sore throats. I can’t have too much.” Anastasia could only try her best to explain, but the other side effect sounded slightly indecent so she

didn’t mention that.

“I never return any item that I’ve paid for. You can decide how you want to deal with it.”

“But… You…”

“I have a meeting to attend now.” After Elliot said that, he hung up on her.

Meanwhile, Anastasia had to return the call of the fruit store owner, yet the purchaser of the items refused to pay heed to her words, so she was in a dilemma at the moment. In the end, she thought to herself, I guess I’ll just treat everyone to durians, then.

Subsequently, she reached out and dialed Felicia’s number to explain the situation. On the other end of the line, Felicia was elated. “This is a simple matter. I’ll arrange for everyone in the office to have one each.”

“Okay. Please make the arrangements, then, but don’t say that this is my treat. Let them know that it’s President Presgrave’s treat.”

Upon hearing that, Felicia burst into laughter. “Are you sure that you want to let them know it’s his treat?”

“Yes, just say that. I don’t want to take this credit,” Anastasia insisted.

“Sure! We’ll leave it at that, then.”

Ten minutes later, the fruit store owner happily distributed durians by the entrance of the office, and every staff member of the company who walked past was given one. This went on and no one was left out until every piece of fruit was gone.

After all that, Grace came back upstairs in good spirits and she held two durians in her hands. Anastasia expressed her gratitude as Grace excitedly mentioned, “Anastasia, do you know who treated us to this? It’s President Presgrave! It’s the Musang King variety too. Everyone’s so happy.”

At that moment, Anastasia tried to stifle her laughter. “That’s great! I’m quite happy too.”

After Grace had walked out of the room, Anastasia clutched at her stomach and placed her head on the tabletop. She was consumed with uncontrollable laughter and she nearly fell to the ground. I wonder what Elliot’s expression will be like if he finds out about this?!

Meanwhile, in the meeting room at the Presgrave Group, the room was solemnly silent as Elliot sat at the head of the table. He gave out an air of dominance seen in a leader and under the illumination of the projector lamp, he clearly gave out the feeling of a strong president.

The people in attendance today were all the upper management team of the Presgrave Group, and each one of them was involved in running various large-scale projects all over the world. They had to report back to Elliot on the progress of their projects daily and there was no room for any errors or omissions.

The Presgrave Group was involved in various financial schemes worldwide, so the company was, in fact, much more than just a leading business in the country. After Elliot’s appointment as the president, he had kept close control of the development of the company. He ended up leading the Presgrave Group toward a much brighter future than ever.

Despite the Presgrave Group going through several financial crises, the giant corporation remained strong and continued to sail through the waves of the corporate world.

The meeting ended at 11.30 AM and Elliot went back to his office after that. At that moment, Rey stood by his side with pursed lips, and he looked as if he had something to report on.

Elliot glanced at him and questioned, “What’s wrong?”

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Rey had gone for facial expression management classes before but right now, he couldn’t contain himself and laughed out loud. “President Presgrave, the truckload of Musang King durians that you ordered for Miss Tillman was distributed to the entire company. The problem is, Miss Tillman gave the credit to you.”

Elliot’s handsome expression stiffened slightly when he heard that. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. Anyway, everyone’s full of gratitude for you.” As soon as Rey finished saying that, he instantly covered his lips and burst into laughter before quickly stifling his laughter while he covered his mouth once again.

“It’s fine to laugh.” Elliot shot Rey a look. I just didn’t expect her to be so generous and actually distribute everything.

Suddenly, Elliot recalled something and he instantly took his cell phone and dialed his grandmother’s number.

“Hello, Elliot. Do you have something to talk to me about?” Harriet’s voice rang out.

“Grandma, I would like to have lunch with you today. We haven’t seen each other for days.”

“I’d prefer to have dinner together. I have a lunch date today.”

“What sort of lunch date is it? Can I join you?”

“It wouldn’t be convenient.” Harriet spoke up frankly.

“It’s just a meal.”

“Well, I’ll be frank with you. I have a lunch date with Nigel and Anastasia today. I wanted to talk to them about their engagement the other day. I’ve decided that it’s time to pick a date for them.”

“Include me for the lunch date, then! I want to join the meal too,” Elliot responded with a smile.

“Okay. I don’t mind you joining us, but don’t you dare mess things up!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do that.” Elliot curved his lips into a smile. I’m not going to mess things up because this won’t go to plan anyway.

in a blink of an eye, it was 11.20 AM and Anastasia glanced at her cell phone from time to time as she waited for Harriet to call her regarding the lunch date.

Just then, Anastasia’s cell phone rang and she quickly grabbed it to take a look. Indeed, it was Harriet on the line, so she took a deep breath before answering the phone. “Hello, Old Madam Presgrave.” ;

“Anastasia, you can come downstairs now. My car is about to reach the entrance of your company.” It turned out that Harriet had come in person to fetch Anastasia.

At that moment, Anastasia felt quite flattered and she revealed a smile. “Okay, I’ll be downstairs shortly.”

Anastasia walked out of the entrance to see a black car parked by the entrance, and the dominantly displayed golden logo of the Rolls-Royce was unmistakable.

The driver personally got out to open the door for Anastasia as she expressed her gratitude. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Miss Tillman,” the driver replied.

And so, Anastasia got into the back passenger seat and saw that Harriet was dressed elegantly in a dark purple dress lined with golden threads. The button of the dress was made out of ruby and it was clear to the eye that it was a hand-made, commissioned piece.

3

“Hello, Old Madam Presgrave!” Anastasia greeted Harriet.

“It’s been days since we last met. What happened to your finger?” Harriet instantly noticed Anastasia’s bandaged finger.

“It’s fine. I accidentally hurt myself.”

“Was it a bad cut?”

“It’s not too serious. It’s just a minor cut.” Anastasia curled up her lips and smiled. Upon hearing that, Harriet nodded her head. “Try to be more careful next time.” With that, the elderly woman glanced out of the car window at the building in front. “Do you work here?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great. Elliot has taken over your company, so it’s part of our family business now. It would be much easier for us to help you out in the future.”

Meanwhile, Anastasia felt quite uneasy. Elliot had not only taken over Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier for the sake of helping a lowly staff like her, but he had actually bought over the world-renowned QR International Group that backed the Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier brand.

“Old Madam Presgrave, I’m fine so there’s no need to go all the way out to help me,” Anastasia expressed her sincere gratitude.

“You don’t have to be shy, child. We are obliged to do that. I’m also trying to redeem myself by helping you. It makes me feel slightly better by doing so.” Harriet’s eyes were red-rimmed as she spoke. “I am forever indebted to your mother and there’s nothing I can do to fully repay her in this lifetime.”

Surprised, Anastasia asked, “Old Madam Presgrave, why would you say so?”

“You might not realize this, but both Elliot’s parents’ passed away at the same time back then and I had to single-handedly hold the fort for the entire Presgrave Group. At the same time, I had to bring up a young Elliot. At that point in life, I held all of my hopes upon Elliot, so if something bad had occurred to him, I would have lost the remaining pillar of strength in my life. Your mother’s ultimate sacrifice gave us the Presgrave Group that we have today.”

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Anastasia’s heart sank upon hearing that. She couldn’t even imagine the state of Harriet’s situation back then. The latter was a fifty-year-old woman trying to cope with the sudden loss of her son and daughter-in-law, and she had to step up to manage a multi-million company single-handedly. Furthermore, she had to raise a young grandson and back then, Elliot was her only hope.

Right now, Elliot had grown up to become an independent man and he ran the company well, so she could finally relax and enjoy a life of retirement.

her before, she has a mighty and heroic presence in

the photos. At that time, her father had just started up his business, so Anastasia was raised by her maternal grandmother. Two years later, her father had remarried and that was when Naomi joined their family. Naomi had brought along a daughter with her. After Anastasia’s grandmother had passed away

Anastasia’s painful past, so she smiled and asked, “Anastasia, why don’t you make a guess

fact, Anastasia was quite confident that it was Nigel joining them for lunch, but she could only act confused. “Did you invite another person

to have a proper discussion. It was totally beyond my

revealed a smile. “I didn’t expect that he was

Anastasia to explain the process of how she saved Nigel in detail, so Anastasia acceded to the former’s request and thoroughly spoke about the ordeal. Anastasia also shared with Harriet some of her experiences

very intent

could naturally continue to provide support and

had received Harriet’s phone call the previous night and she had instructed him to

a result, Nigel had woken up early to go to the barber’s, and he had gotten a stylish haircut for today’s lunch

Nigel had arrived at the restaurant and remained in his car. Taking a look at himself in the mirror, he cheered for himself. “Nigel Manson, you must

Subsequently, the waiter greeted him and escorted him to the direction of

preoccupied with her thoughts as she tried to figure out how to explain the matter of the proposal

private room, Nigel instantly stood up to greet them

he directed his affectionate almond-shaped eyes toward Anastasia.

with a smile. “You’re

late for

hearing that, Anastasia couldn’t contain herself and she laughed upon hearing his words. Harriet watched their interaction and she was secretly quite pleased. They

happened to your finger? Let me have a look at it.” Nigel had noticed it almost instantly so he quickly reached

response, Anastasia hastily withdrew her hand. “I’m fine. I accidentally cut myself while

TEST

EST

you. You should avoid cooking from now

Jared’s not used to eating

table and the manager of the restaurant came in personally to take their order. At the same time, he introduced to them the restaurant’s specialties. Anastasia sat there and listened to him introduce their fresh and imported, luxurious ingredients, which were all air-flown to the restaurant, and she realized by listening to the way the ingredients were obtained

then!” Harriet announced

just the three of you today?” the manager asked with

another person joining them, so she quickly responded, “There will be

M

is it? Harriet, however, was busy chatting with

a sudden, a waiter pushed open the door from the outside and a strapping, tall figure walked into the room. He had his suit jacket in his hand,

beautiful eyes widened upon seeing the man, and she was quite stunned to find that

Elliot-the man who had shamelessly mentioned he wanted to join the lunch date the

eyes too. Why did Grandma

how come you’re here too? Don’t you have any lunch conferences to attend?” Nigel

chair and purposely took a seat next to Anastasia before he responded with a smile, “Well, I wasn’t invited to any lunch

didn’t believe a single word that Elliot said. Furthermore,

upon seeing both of her grandsons in attendance. “Elliot mentioned to me last night that he didn’t have any lunch plans for today, so I invited him

at the man in question, and she noticed that his handsome face had

from it. At the same time, he peered across from the edge of his teacup, and his dark

for Anastasia, she purposely turned in the other direction as soon as she sensed

this person to you, right? He’s my grandson, Elliot

her face as she spoke up guiltily. “Yes, we’ve met.” Not only have we met, but we’ve also even kissed more than once! It was mainly because of Elliot’s shameless personality, and

why don’t you hurry up and tell us the purpose

at Nigel, who was seated next to Harriet. “Anastasia and Nigel, I’m very happy to know that the two of you are in a relationship, so I’ve asked the two of you out today to discuss

herself, Elliot was right in

Nigel, he lifted his brows happily. “Sure! Grandma, why don’t you pick a date for us so that Anastasia and I can proceed with the wedding

a slightly gloating look on his

Anastasia shot a resigned look at Nigel before she turned to speak to Harriet. “Old Madam Presgrave, Nigel was just fooling around when

a marriage proposal?!” Harriet stared at her with

I would like to take your hand in marriage and have you as my wife. Please allow me to care for you for the rest

her head and she saw Nigel’s expectant and loving expression. She couldn’t help panicking as she pursed her lips. All of a sudden, she couldn’t seem to figure

and took a sip from his cup. His dark eyes were deep and mysterious, and

waiting for the woman next to

consider him as a prospect.” Harriet tried to matchmake the two, as she really

sudden, Anastasia found herself in a rut as

my entire soul and self would belong solely to you.” Nigel took this opportunity to confess his true feelings. He also hoped that with Harriet present, Anastasia would

Chapter 175

a moment before biting on her lower lip. At that point, she looked deeply troubled as she struggled to

tea. His thick eyelashes formed a dense

fleeting yet pleading look, but she could only manage to catch his nonchalant look from his handsome side profile. He behaved as if this had nothing to do with him, and he clearly wasn’t

herself, What did I expect from him anyway? He’s just here today to watch

do you find it quite hard to accept Nigel’s marriage proposal?” Harriet’s

he wanted an answer. It was obvious that he was mainly after a sincere

didn’t blame Nigel for that because she knew that just like Elliot, Nigel’s feelings toward her included a strong sense of gratitude. Even if he sincerely liked her, she couldn’t accept

sorry, Nigel, and I’m sorry, Old Madam Presgrave. I can’t accept Nigel’s proposal.” Anastasia lifted her head and she had a clear look in her eyes as she spoke in

the man seated next to her, who was busy sipping

is that so?” Harriet exclaimed

the patience in the world for her. He

my mind to remain single for the rest

to her, who was initially elegantly sipping his tea, choked on his drink. He quickly covered his mouth with his large palm as he hastily turned his head to stare

exceptionally calm voice, “I already have a child and he’s my whole world. Old Madam Presgrave, I hope that you can understand my circumstances as a single mother. Even

LAN

so she would naturally be able to understand the

the first child

“Anastasia, Jared’s just like my own flesh and blood, and I’ll definitely treat him the same way as I would treat my own son. Also, I’m willing to respect your wishes and we don’t need to have another child. I’ll focus on raising

quite frantic though she didn’t show it. How can that be fine? Nigel’s father is not going to agree to that, and my daughter definitely won’t allow that too! The

moment, Elliot frowned and turned to speak to Nigel. “Nigel, stop being ridiculous. You

calmly, as he intentionally wanted to show Elliot how determined

by your sincere feelings, but I’ve made up my mind to remain single for the rest of my life. I’m not going to enter into a marriage with any other man, and you’re no exception.” Anastasia made her stance clear and there was no going back

she finished her sentence. He was seated next to her, and he turned to glare at her, “Miss Tillman, you shouldn’t speak so rashly just yet. You should give yourself some room for changing your mind just in case. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for you if you changed your mind in

glared at him. “I’ll definitely do as I said, so there’s no need for you to be concerned, President

does Elliot mean

quickly gestured at Anastasia. “Come on, girl. Let’s stop chatting and grab a bite. We can talk

out and served some salad onto her plate over

Anastasia politely thanked him. “Thanks, Nigel.

us to meet, so I sincerely hope that we can come together and become family

have made acquaintance with

sacrificed herself to save Elliot and you saved Nigel’s life while overseas, so I’ve already regarded you as my family after these two huge acts of

lifted his head and exclaimed, “Grandma, what did you

to be unaware of this incident. Elliot was kidnapped when he was six years old, and Anastasia’s mother sacrificed her life to save him. We’re forever indebted to Anastasia

and Elliot also had such a great act of kindness linking the two of them. Is that why Elliot steadfastly stays by Anastasia’s side? Is he also intent on repaying Anastasia for everything that she had done, just like me?Elliot’s actions

Harriet mentioned, “I need to go to the

her cutlery and got up to escort Harriet

swung shut after them, Nigel turned to Elliot with

answered the question without flinching.

you just trying to repay her kind act, or are you truly

In all honesty,

first, so you shouldn’t fight me

clenching his

in this. The deserving person of her affections should be whoever that’s more capable. Or perhaps, to be more accurate,

which one of us manages to win her heart. If you succeed, then I’ll acknowledge her as my sister-in law, and vice versa if I win. What do you say?” Nigel bluntly announced that they should compete equally with each

Nigel knew that he was not as capable as his cousin, but he refused to give up without a fight and he wanted to try and make a bid at

then!” Elliot agreed to this solution as this was the best way that wouldn’t affect their

acted as if nothing had happened. They continued to enjoy their

of tea in place

up to toast Harriet. “Here’s

house to have some fun.

over to pay you a visit once we’re

enjoying her meal when she suddenly sensed someone serving something to her plate. She assumed that it was Nigel but it seemed to be coming from another direction, so she looked up and found out that it

glanced at him and shot him a warning look. She didn’t want to appear too intimate with him around

felt as if he was one step behind in everything. He couldn’t help wishing that he had taken over the Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier so that Anastasia could work for him and subsequently, he would be able to court her every day during working

found the meal quite bland and tasteless. It

the meal ended and Elliot took a look at the time before mentioning to Harriet, “Grandma, I’ll head back to the office

you leaving so soon?” Harriet was quite surprised to hear

we’re heading in the same direction.” As soon as Elliot finished saying that, he turned

grabbed her bag and bade Harriet farewell. “Old Madam Presgrave, I’ll

Chapter 177

to Elliot and casually

got up from his seat and offered,

and finish the meal with your grandmother. I’ll catch a ride with President Presgrave as we’re heading in

two of them left together, and he couldn’t contain the desolateness that rose up within him. Is Anastasia interested in

she became quite reluctant to catch a ride with him so as soon as the doors to the elevator slid open with a ping’, she turned to him and immediately said, “President Presgrave, thanks for your

shot her a

because you’re obviously in a bad mood so

her head and replied before quickly walking off in the direction of the street. Suddenly, a large palm reached out and possessively grabbed hold of her wrist before dragging her to the direction of a car. Elliot pulled open the door to the front passenger seat and gestured for her

too domineering! Can’t I go back by myself

ended up getting into the car and Elliot entered the driver’s seat too. Subsequently, the black car drove off and

was quite perplexed as to why Elliot suddenly lost his temper but despite racking her brain for the reason, she couldn’t

voice rang out. “You mentioned earlier that you intend to remain single for the rest of your life. Are

that point, Anastasia was stunned and she turned her head to stare at his handsome side profile. Similarly, he

was quite happy and content with the life she had with her son right now, so she found it pointless to add trouble to her peaceful

a blessed life and likewise, remaining single didn’t mean that one’s life would definitely be an unhappy

the guy who pursues you, then would you still maintain your stance of not getting married?” Elliot continued to direct questions at her. Coincidentally, their car came to a stop in front

the person Elliot

window. At the same time, she shook her head

her words. She knows that I’m referring to myself and yet, she still insists

of view? Don’t keep hiding in your own world and avoid another’s feelings.” Elliot spoke

turned her head to look at him. His current expression was exceptionally forbidding and his gaze was full of

through and you don’t know me at all, so don’t you dare jump to conclusions about me!” Anastasia was also slightly angered at that point and after finishing her sentence, she remained quite annoyed so she continued on her tirade, “I told you this before. I don’t need you to repay me for anything, so could you please suppress your feelings for me? Nothing will come out of this relationship. Stop the car. I want to get out