Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 171-180

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?”

Chapter 172

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.”

Chapter 173

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.

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

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

up Anastasia’s painful past, so she smiled and asked, “Anastasia, why don’t you make a guess as to who’s the other person joining

it was Nigel joining them for lunch, but she could

of you out for lunch with me to have a proper discussion. It was totally beyond my expectation that you were the little girl who saved Nigel

revealed a smile.

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 mind that

was very intent

Manson Family, then Harriet could naturally continue

gray-colored sports car was 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, as Anastasia would

today’s lunch date. His originally quite

car. Taking a look at himself in the mirror, he cheered for himself. “Nigel Manson, you must win Anastasia’s heart today and get

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 as he

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

Nigel instantly stood up to

he had said that, he directed his affectionate almond-shaped

Anastasia greeted him with a smile. “You’re quite early

be late for lunch with you,”

words. Harriet watched their interaction and she was

had noticed it almost instantly so he quickly reached out to hold her hand and

hand. “I’m fine. I accidentally cut myself while I

TEST

EST

You should avoid cooking from now on.

used to eating

on and take a seat. Let’s order our food.” Harriet sat at the head of the 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 that this was clearly not a

one of each, then!” Harriet announced with

174 “Will it be just the three of you today?” the manager

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

M

a mysterious guest? Who is

tall figure walked into the room. He had his suit jacket in his hand, and

seeing the man, and she was quite stunned to find that

who had shamelessly mentioned he wanted to join

Why did Grandma invite him along? He’s just going

too? Don’t you have any lunch conferences

responded with a smile, “Well, I wasn’t invited to any lunch conferences, so I had no choice but to barge in and

give you a treat.” Nigel didn’t believe a single word that Elliot said. Furthermore, Nigel was quite sure that his cousin

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

Anastasia turned her head to glance at the man in question, and she noticed that

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

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

right? He’s my grandson, Elliot

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

to hold Harriet’s hand. “Grandma, why don’t you hurry up and tell us the purpose of this lunch date

glance 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

was right in his guess! Harriet has actually

happily. “Sure! Grandma, why don’t you pick a date for us so that Anastasia and I can proceed with the wedding ceremony as soon as possible? Anastasia, how does that

with a slightly gloating look on his face as he waited to

at Nigel before she turned to speak to Harriet. “Old Madam Presgrave, Nigel was just fooling around when he proposed to me that day. Don’t take it seriously. We’re just

marriage proposal?!” Harriet stared at her with an aghast look before turning to look

up. “Anastasia, I was quite serious during the marriage proposal. I would like to take your hand in marriage and have you

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 of maintaining

took a sip from his cup. His dark eyes were deep and mysterious, and one couldn’t quite tell what was

also waiting for the woman next to him to express her

you can consider him as a prospect.” Harriet tried to matchmake the two,

a sudden, Anastasia found herself in a rut as she

solely to you.” Nigel took this opportunity to confess his true feelings. He also

Chapter 175

beautiful eyes shifted from left to right. She also pursed her lips for a moment before biting on her

tea. His thick eyelashes formed a dense canopy

turned to 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 to do with

her eyes. At the same time, she was quite frustrated as she grumbled to herself, What did I expect from him anyway? He’s just here today to watch me make a fool of myself, or perhaps he’s just here to have some

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

evident because he wanted an answer. It

her included a strong sense of gratitude. Even if

Nigel’s proposal.” Anastasia lifted her head and she had a clear look in her eyes as she spoke in a

seated next to her, who was busy sipping tea,

that so?” Harriet exclaimed in

but he wasn’t angry with Anastasia, because he had all the patience in the world for her. He was

because I have made up my mind to remain single for

initially elegantly sipping his tea, choked on his drink. He quickly covered his mouth with his large palm as he hastily turned

she explained in an 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 if I choose to remarry, I

LAN

definitely garner Harriet’s support. After all, the latter was a woman, so she would naturally be able

inevitable for the first child

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 Jared with you.

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 Manson Family line needs to be

that moment, Elliot frowned and turned to speak to Nigel. “Nigel, stop being ridiculous. You have to respect your parents’ wishes

as he intentionally wanted to show Elliot how

into a marriage with any other man, and you’re no exception.” Anastasia made her stance clear and there was no going back on her

instantly darkened as soon as 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

him. “I’ll definitely do as I said, so there’s no need

was taken aback. What does Elliot mean by that? I don’t get

noticed that the atmosphere seemed quite tense so she quickly gestured at Anastasia. “Come on, girl. Let’s stop chatting and grab a bite. We

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

politely thanked

must have been destined for us to meet, so I sincerely hope

to have made acquaintance with all of

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

and exclaimed, “Grandma, what did you just say? Anastasia’s mom saved

his direction and replied, “You’ve been overseas all these years, so it’s quite normal for you to be unaware of this incident. Elliot was

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 of taking control of the QR

Harriet mentioned, “I need to

cutlery and got up to escort Harriet from her seat. Meanwhile, Harriet happily walked with Anastasia to the

soon as the door swung shut after them, Nigel turned to Elliot with a sharp look in his eyes.

answered the

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

voiced out in a low voice. In all honesty, he was indeed

went after Anastasia first, so you shouldn’t fight me for her affections.” Nigel

while clenching his

should be whoever that’s more

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 other. As such, if he

he was not as capable as his cousin, but he refused to give up without

this solution as this was the

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 dissipated without

cup of tea in place of champagne.” Harriet held a teacup in

up to toast Harriet. “Here’s

Jared over to our house to have some fun. I would very

over to pay you a visit once we’re free.”

was Nigel but it seemed to be coming from another direction, so she looked up and found out that it was Elliot looking at her. It turned out that he was the one who

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

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, she was now Elliot’s subordinate and he had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of

downcast so he found the meal quite bland and tasteless. It felt as

look at the time before mentioning to Harriet, “Grandma, I’ll head

Are you leaving so soon?” Harriet

Elliot finished saying that, he turned to Anastasia, who was

was momentarily stunned before she quickly grabbed her bag and bade

Chapter 177

Elliot and casually commented, “Thanks for

his seat and offered, “Anastasia, I can give

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

the two of them left together, and

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 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 offer

Elliot shot her a

in a bad mood so

reached out and possessively grabbed hold of

is too domineering! Can’t I go back

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

reason, she couldn’t quite figure it

a sudden, Elliot’s low, interrogating voice rang out. “You mentioned earlier that you intend to remain single for the rest of your life. Are you serious

she turned her head to stare at his handsome side profile. Similarly, he turned his head too and

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 pointless to add trouble to her peaceful

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

Jared also likes 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

realized that the person Elliot

of the window. At the same time, she shook her head firmly.

knows

hiding in your own world and avoid another’s feelings.” Elliot spoke through gritted teeth as he directed his deep eyes at her. He seemed to be extremely angry

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

what I’ve been 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

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