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.

a great woman and though I’ve never spoken to her before, she has a mighty

old-back then, so her impression of her mother was just the exceptionally heroic-looking woman 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 due to illness, her father finally brought Anastasia back home to

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

was quite confident that it was Nigel joining them for lunch, but she could only act confused.

was totally beyond my expectation that you were the little girl who saved

revealed a smile. “I didn’t

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 with Nigel when they were overseas. Meanwhile, Harriet listened on and concluded in her

such, the elderly woman was very intent on

Manson Family, then Harriet could naturally continue to provide

also heading in the direction of the restaurant. Nigel had received Harriet’s phone call the previous night and she had instructed him to dress up well for lunch today,

he had gotten a stylish haircut for today’s lunch date. His

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 win Anastasia’s heart today and get her to agree to your proposal. Good

open the car door and got out of the car to enter the restaurant. Subsequently, the waiter greeted him and escorted him to the direction of the private room

arrived at 11.50 AM. Throughout their journey, the latter was preoccupied with her thoughts as she tried to figure out how to explain the matter of the proposal to Harriet, so that Harriet could give up on the

they entered the private room, Nigel instantly stood up to greet them

said that, he directed his affectionate almond-shaped eyes toward

him with a smile.

wouldn’t dare to be late for

words. Harriet watched their interaction and she was secretly quite pleased. They are indeed

me have a look at it.” Nigel had noticed it almost instantly so he quickly reached out to hold her hand and

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

TEST

EST

you. You should avoid cooking

used

order. At the same time, he introduced to them the restaurant’s specialties. Anastasia sat there

us one of each, then!” Harriet announced with

it be just the three of you

suddenly recalled that there was another person joining them, so she

M

mysterious guest? Who is it? Harriet, however,

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, and he was dressed in a white dress shirt paired with black trousers. In short, his attire was minimalistic yet full

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

into the room was in fact Elliot-the man who had shamelessly mentioned

eyes too. Why did Grandma invite him along? He’s just going to ruin

you have any lunch conferences

pulled out a chair and purposely took a seat next to Anastasia before he responded with a smile, “Well, I wasn’t invited to any lunch conferences, so I had no choice but to barge in and

sure there are plenty of people keen to give you a treat.” Nigel didn’t believe a single word that Elliot said. Furthermore,

mentioned to me last night that he didn’t have any lunch plans for today, so

that moment, Anastasia turned her head to glance at the man in question, and she noticed that his handsome face had stiffened slightly. Elliot clearly didn’t expect that Harriet would expose

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

direction as soon as she sensed his eyes on

this person to you, right? He’s my grandson, Elliot Presgrave. You guys must have encountered

as she spoke up guiltily. “Yes, we’ve met.” Not only have we met, but we’ve also even kissed more than

“Grandma, why don’t you hurry up and tell us the purpose of

turning to glance at Nigel, who was seated next to Harriet. “Anastasia and Nigel, I’m very happy to know that

right in his guess! Harriet

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

Elliot crossed his arms together and looked at the woman next to him with a slightly gloating look on his face as he waited to see how she was going to handle

the other hand, Anastasia shot a resigned look at Nigel before she turned to speak to Harriet. “Old Madam Presgrave, Nigel was

fool around with a marriage proposal?!” Harriet stared at her with

solemnly spoke up. “Anastasia, I was quite serious during the marriage proposal. I would like to take your hand in marriage and have you as my wife. Please allow

point, Anastasia lifted 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 out how to express her rejection with Harriet present. After all, she was mindful

Elliot, he reached out and took a sip from his cup. His dark eyes were deep

the woman next

Nigel’s sincerely in love with you, Anastasia. He’s a great guy and I do hope that you can consider him as a prospect.” Harriet tried to matchmake

herself in a rut as she mumbled,

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

Chapter 175

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

gracefully sipped some tea. His thick eyelashes formed a dense canopy and his eyes were covered thus masking the intense, penetrating

shoot him a 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

was quite frustrated as she grumbled to herself, What did I expect from him anyway? He’s just

hard to accept Nigel’s marriage proposal?” Harriet’s warm voice suddenly

expectant look in his eyes was evident because he wanted an answer. It was obvious that he was mainly

her included a strong sense of gratitude. Even if he sincerely liked her, she

accept Nigel’s proposal.” Anastasia lifted her head and she had a clear

to her, who was busy sipping

that so?” Harriet exclaimed in

he had all the patience in the world for her. He was determined not to back down

have made up my mind to remain single for the rest

on his drink. He quickly covered his mouth with his large

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 if I choose to remarry, I wouldn’t have another child because I want to focus my love and efforts on my son. I think Nigel deserves

LAN

support. After all, the latter was a woman, so she would naturally be able to understand the situation of a mother’s refusal to build a new family with a kid in tow. If

was inevitable for the

that, Nigel instantly expressed himself, “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

Nigel’s father is not going to agree

moment, Elliot frowned and turned to speak to Nigel. “Nigel,

can make my own decision on this matter,” Nigel replied calmly, as he intentionally wanted to show Elliot how

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

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

I said, so

Elliot mean

tense so she quickly gestured at Anastasia. “Come

Anastasia. Try this.” Nigel reached out and served some salad onto her plate over the

that, Anastasia politely thanked him. “Thanks, Nigel.

have been destined for us to meet, so I sincerely hope that we can come together and

176 “I’m blessed to have made acquaintance with all of you

Nigel’s life while overseas, so I’ve already regarded you as my

Nigel was caught by surprise as he lifted his head and exclaimed, “Grandma, what did you just

incident. Elliot was kidnapped when he was six years old, and Anastasia’s mother sacrificed her life to save him.

widened in surprise aş he couldn’t quite believe his ears. It was beyond his wildest dreams that 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

“I need

got up to escort Harriet from her seat. Meanwhile, Harriet happily walked

to Elliot with a sharp look in his eyes. “Elliot,

Elliot answered

just trying to repay her kind act, or are you truly fond of her?” Nigel interrogated

valid to me.” Elliot voiced out in a low voice. In all honesty, he was indeed quite reluctant

so you shouldn’t fight me for her

clenching his fist

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

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 other. As such, if he failed in his bid and the other party was Elliot, then he

to give up without a fight and he wanted to try and make a bid

to this solution as this was

men immediately acted as if nothing had happened. They continued to enjoy their meal and sip from their teacups, and the confrontational vibe from earlier

in place of

toast Harriet. “Here’s a toast

have some fun. I would very much like to meet him,” Harriet

you a visit once we’re free.” Anastasia agreed without any

was engrossed in 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

him a warning look. She didn’t want to appear too intimate

arose within him. He 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 hours. However,

found the meal quite bland and tasteless. It felt

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

Harriet was quite surprised to hear

I’ll send Miss Tillman back too, since we’re heading in the same direction.” As soon as Elliot finished saying that, he turned to Anastasia, who was still in her seat. “Let’s go,”

her bag and bade Harriet

Chapter 177

and casually commented, “Thanks for the kind offer, President

up from his seat and offered, “Anastasia, I can give

your grandmother. I’ll

of them left together, and he couldn’t contain the desolateness that

man next to her was in a horrible mood. Elliot had a dark expression on his face and it was as if he had suffered a huge loss in his business. Instantly, she became quite reluctant to catch a

Elliot shot her a

bad mood so I’d better avoid courting

deal. I just want to catch a cab;” Anastasia lifted 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 to get into his

I go

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

to why Elliot suddenly lost his temper but despite racking her brain for the reason, she couldn’t quite figure it out. He was an unfathomable

that you intend to remain single for the rest

his handsome side profile. Similarly, he turned his head too and shot a

no intention of getting married anyway.” Anastasia wasn’t accustomed to telling lies and she was quite happy and content with the life she had with her son right now, so she found it

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

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 of the traffic light, so he kept his piercing

that the person Elliot was referring to was

gulped and turned her head in the other direction to look out of the window. At the same time, she shook her

stabbing pain in his heart upon hearing her words. She knows that I’m referring to myself and yet, she still

of view? Don’t keep hiding in your own world and avoid another’s feelings.” Elliot spoke through gritted teeth as he directed

him. His current expression was exceptionally forbidding

annoyed so she continued on her tirade, “I told you this before. I don’t need