Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 241

Anastasia had turned a bright shade of red, and she could hear her heart beating in her ears. The man who stood in the room with her was so suave that he was basically a walking tower of testosterone.

Just as she tried to recollect her thoughts, Elliot suddenly reached out and drew her close with one arm. She gasped when he suddenly leaned forward and dipped his head, and his lips were but inches away from hers.

She blushed furiously as the air around her grew warm and became engulfed with his scent, which had a familiar tinge of peppermint to it. She blinked and realized that Elliot’s skin still looked flawless from up close.

For some reason, this goodbye kiss was becoming too hot-and-heavy for comfort. More importantly, he was gazing down at her with nothing but endearment, which made her heart beat so fast that it could fly out of her chest.

She looked away nervously, and though she tried to back away from him, his arm was so tightly wound around her waist that she could not budge. She could only cling to his muscular arm and his broad shoulder, using them as her pivot as she tried to break free.

“Three!” Elliot started counting in a voice that sounded like a low, dangerous growl.

She gaped at him incredulously. Wait! He said five seconds! How did it become three all of a sudden? This guy’s trying to weasel his way out of the deal!

However, she couldn’t let her anger settle; when she was about to accuse him of cheating, he parted his lips and said, “Two!”

This sent panic coursing through her. In a fit of desperation, she reached out her delicate hands and cupped his face. Then, she closed her eyes as she leaned forward to kiss him on his perfectly-carved lips. It’s just a kiss. What’s the big deal—

“Mmph!” Anastasia’s eyes widened when she realized that Elliot’s ferocity was probed.

He was kissing her back aggressively, seeming as though he wanted to pack all his pent-up feelings into this one kiss. At that moment, he was no longer the cool and reserved president of a company; he was a man who had relinquished all his self-control just to pour his love out for her.

He had abandoned his calm reasoning in favor of heated recklessness. He wanted to show his true self and bare his soul to her.

On the other hand, Anastasia was startled by how hungrily he kissed her that she instinctively tried to push him away. However, he did not release her, and as he demanded more of her, she found herself starting to cave into the kiss. She was losing herself, and the air was thick with electrifying tension.

Just then, the tenant upstairs moved what sounded like a heavy object, and two muffled thuds were all it took for Anastasia to snap out of her reverie. She summoned all the strength she had and pushed Elliot away before he got the better of her. He was a little confused by her sudden rejection at first, but he quickly broke into a grin as he said, “I’m very much satisfied.”

It was by sheer force of will that she managed to keep her heart from leaping out of her ribcage as she said calmly, “You may leave now.”

Elliot stared at her. She was so beautiful under the lights that he felt he could stay there and look at her forever.

A bad feeling rose in her when she met his burning gaze. Why is he still looking at me like that when he’s supposed to leave? “Are you considering going back on your word?” She was furious now. She could hardly believe that he would refuse to hold up his end of the deal after what she had just done.

He raised a brow. “Of course not. I’ll get going now. Call me if you miss me.” Then, he suddenly thought of something and asked in a confrontational tone, “You’re not planning to carpool with that programmer punk to work, are you?”

She was at a loss for words. She didn’t think it had anything to do with him whether she carpooled with anyone or not.

Before she could say anything, a frosty look flashed in his eyes as he ordered imperiously, “You are not allowed to have any man other than myself in the passenger seat of your car, Anastasia.”

She nearly burst out laughing, but she kept a straight face as she drawled sarcastically, “Is that so? I should probably have all the men in the company line up to take a ride in the passenger seat of my car. What are you going to do about that? Fire all of them?”

Elliot was stumped by this for a few seconds, but when he thought about how he had given the programmer a stern warning earlier that evening, he figured that the man would know better than to try his luck with Anastasia.

This was the first time Anastasia had ever encountered anyone so outrageously demanding and controlling. It was as if he wouldn’t be happy until he could pick out all the molecules in the air and force her to only breathe in the ones he deemed fit. Perhaps he should try getting global warming under control and do everyone a great service!

“I’m leaving now,” he said as he gave her a long, hard look. After that, he grabbed his keys off the table and left without putting up a fight.

Anastasia was skeptical as she watched him leave, and she wondered if this truly marked the end of his constant presence in her and Jared’s private life. She began to question if he really would hold up his end of the deal, and she found herself hoping that that would be the case.

As she lay in bed that night, sleep evaded her once again. She couldn’t stop replaying the scene of the kiss from earlier, and there was no shaking it off no matter how many times she had tossed and turned in bed. She was starting to think that Elliot had cast some kind of spell on her.

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Anastasia didn’t know why she would think of Elliot now and then even though they had already agreed to go back to being strangers. No, stop this, she chided herself. I have to stop thinking about him. I still have work tomorrow. She still had to work for a living, and she couldn’t afford to lose sleep right now. In fact, she had to catch up on rest.

However, the more she tried to convince herself to sleep, the harder it was for her to actually drift off into slumber. She gave up in the end, and at some point, sleep came to her without having to be beckoned.

Early the next morning, she woke up and opened her eyes blearily. Then, she reached for her phone and texted Oliver, telling him to meet her at the basement parking lot later.

Her phone rang shortly after, and she answered the call. “Hey there, Oliver. How much longer will you need?”

“Uh, Anastasia, I don’t think I can carpool with you anymore. I… I need to make a trip back to my hometown, and I’ll probably be there for half a year,” Oliver said on the other line.

“That’s sudden,” she remarked. “Did something happen back home?”

“Oh, no, it’s just… I figured I should keep my parents company for a while. Anyway, don’t worry about me. Remember to drive safe to work,” he replied, adding a gentle reminder at the end.

She nodded and said kindly, “Well, you take care as well and don’t overwork yourself.”

Oliver’s reluctance did not wane even after he had hung up, but he was admittedly relieved. After all, getting too close to Anastasia would only evoke the Presgraves’ wrath and put him on their assassination radar.

When Anastasia had dropped Jared off at school, she got a text from Felicia telling her to drive safely to work and that she had already helped her check into work. Upon reading this, Anastasia felt a surge of warmth go through her, and words couldn’t describe how grateful she was to have such a considerate person for a superior.

Now that she was no longer anxious to get to work on time, she slowed down and found herself maneuvering through the streets easily. She hardly hit any traffic on the way, and by the time she pulled into the company building’s basement parking lot, she deliberately chose not to park in the spot Elliot had reserved for her, but in one of the ordinary spots instead.

She had only just gone up to the office when Grace told her that Felicia wanted to see her. Since she didn’t want to dawdle, Anastasia headed straight into Felicia’s office.

Felicia was dressed in a rose-red suit today, adding a vibrant edge to her already-professional appearance. Although she was 36 this year, she was still full of life and zest.

Presently, it was only after Anastasia had walked into her office that she looked down at Felicia’s fingers as they flew across the keyboard, and she noticed the diamond ring Felicia was wearing. She couldn’t help smiling as she leaned forward and asked knowingly, “Felicia, has someone perhaps… proposed to you?”

At once, Felicia grew bashful as she glanced at the ring on her finger. “You’re the first one to notice, and yes, I’m seeing someone right now.”

“Congratulations! Do I hear wedding bells?”

“No, we’re still in our early stages! We just want to take things slow for now.” Felicia was known to have strong ideals, and it went without saying that her values and principles in life were carried into her newfound relationship as well.

Having exchanged pleasantries, Felicia opened up a cabinet and produced an intricately-wrapped gift box. Then, she opened it to reveal an ornate jewelry case painted over with floral motifs. In the case were nestled two necklaces that glittered breathtakingly under the natural light.

“I didn’t think these would be ready so soon!” Anastasia exclaimed in surprise. The necklaces were designed by her, and she had toiled over them in earnest. To see them brought to life now made her feel like she was on cloud nine, and any other designer would relate to this.

Felicia hummed in response as she gazed at the jewelry proudly. “The workmanship and the design are flawless. If these weren’t limited edition pieces, I would have petitioned to have them sold at all of our boutiques.”

“What time will the client be coming to collect these?”

Needless to say, Felicia had contacted the customer at the very first instance. “I’ve already given them a call, and they said they’ll be here in the afternoon.”

Anastasia nodded. “Let’s have lunch together. I’ll make reservations.”

Felicia agreed to this with a nod.

When Anastasia left the office afterward, she did not notice the malicious gaze fixed on her.

Alice had never expected Anastasia and Felicia to get along so well, much less be on such friendly terms. She couldn’t put pressure on Anastasia now even if she wanted to, for Felicia would only nip it in the bud.

Alice knew that the only way for her to climb up the corporate ladder now was to have Felicia and Anastasia kicked out of Bourgeois. Otherwise, her career here would stagnate.

That afternoon, Anastasia and Felicia brought their assistants along with them to lunch. The whole affair was a lighthearted one as they exchanged funny anecdotes and enjoyed the reprieve from work.

Meanwhile, over at the luxurious villa, Hayley had already gotten a call from Bourgeois at 10.00AM telling her that her jewelry was ready to be collected. This was the moment that she had been waiting a whole month for, and now that she could finally gloat in Anastasia’s face, she was not going to let the chance go.

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Harriet had been waiting for days to have a meal together with her grandson, and he finally returned to Presgrave Residence to fulfill her wish.

They were both seated at the dining table when she asked hesitantly, “Elliot, did Anastasia really mean it when she said she would never marry?”

“Relax, Grandma,” Elliot consoled. “Things change all the time.”

“I’ve been speaking to Nigel on the phone over the past few days. I was hoping that he could put more effort into pursuing Anastasia romantically, and I told him not to give up just yet.”

Elliot’s spoon halted mid-way to his mouth as he sighed and said, “Grandma, Nigel and I both like the same girl, and you should be encouraging me now that he’s backed off so that I can go on to pursue her.”

Harriet’s eyes lit up when she heard this. “What? Are you pursuing Anastasia now? Does she reciprocate your feelings?”

“I’m still working on making that happen, but don’t worry, Grandma. I promise I’ll marry her,” Elliot said solemnly. For some reason, he was confident that he would make her his wife.

When Harriet saw how determined her grandson was about this, she chuckled. “Well, I know you’ll give it your best shot. Don’t let me down, Elliot.”

“Got it.”

sometime soon. I want to take a look at him too,” Harriet added

isn’t the right time, but give me a month and I’ll bring

free.” She nodded slowly. Knowing that her grandson would take care

was drinking coffee in her office while tweaking some design sketches on the table

the customer has arrived. We have

and grabbed the relevant folder off her desk before

Felicia met each other in the middle of the hallway, they turned to make their way to the lounge. Felicia knocked on the door before entering,

she saw the customer, her eyes widened in surprise as well, for the girl who was seated on the couch

after a few seconds of hesitation, and she walked up to the girl with a friendly smile in

someone to place the order for two necklaces specifically designed by her. It would be of no

down next to Felicia and glanced at Hayley, only to meet the girl’s triumphant gaze

these gorgeous his-and-hers necklaces, Anastasia. I’m very pleased with them,” Hayley said as she crossed

her. Next to her on the couch, Felicia interjected politely, “We’re glad to hear that, Miss Seymour. You’re a really important

me your blessings, Miss Tillman? Just a few nice words for my boyfriend and me for

been sucked out from her lungs, and she bit out icily, “I’m never one to give my

so frigid, Miss Tillman! Here, why don’t I help you start it off? You can never go wrong with wishing us everlasting

President Presgrave all the happiness in life, and that the both of you will stick by each other through thick and thin. May you guys find

and pointed out, “I don’t want you to give me your blessings,

didn’t want to humiliate Felicia, she said begrudgingly, “Hayley, for the sake of getting

“Seeing as you’ve given us your blessings, Miss Tillman, I will be ever so gracious and thank you for it. Elliot isn’t in the office now, so I’m going to need you to personally deliver these

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Anastasia on purpose now. However, the other woman didn’t shy away from agreeing to it as she said nonchalantly, “Sure, that won’t be a problem at all. I’ll personally drop

to address Felicia curtly, “Director Evans, could you

course. Excuse me,” Felicia replied courteously and rose to leave, but not before

just fallen shut when Hayley glowered at Anastasia viciously and snapped, “If you’ve taken my warning to heart, you ought to know better than clinging to Elliot like gum stuck to

threat. The man had even arranged for her to sleep with punters just to rake in some extra

so when he found out about his adorable and precious son, he was elated. I was the one who gave him money to stall him from coming after the both of you. Pretty charitable of me,

character anyway, and she could give

into her palms as she seethed, “Why must you go out of your way to put me through hell all those years ago, Hayley?

eyes. “You should have never been my best friend to begin with! You don’t know how invisible I felt next to you. You were beautiful, on the honor roll, and from a well-off family. When I finally summoned enough courage to confess my feelings to a boy I liked, he told me that he had a crush on you the entire time! Back then, my parents wouldn’t stop praising you either. You have no idea what it was like

associating herself with Hayley during their school days. Some people in this world simply didn’t deserve kindness and friendship. Needless to say, Hayley was so

one thing for Anastasia to do when it came to dealing with people like Hayley—she had to stay away from her and hope that they would never

and I can’t stand to see you any better off than I am. I’d like to see you writhe in misery and become a shell of the person that you were. I finally got my wish five years ago,” Hayley went on to say. She reached for her tea, but just as she was bringing her cup to her lips,

up abruptly and shrieked, “How dare you splash

but I dare,” Anastasia drawled defiantly. She rose to her feet and eyed the other girl menacingly. “I could even kill you if I wanted to. If you so much as mess with me again, I’m going to tell Elliot about all the despicable things

As droplets of tea

Then, she

her, Hayley was so angry she could combust on the spot. However, she could only bottle up her spite and resentment. She was used to it anyway, and all she had to do now was wait for the right time to unleash vengeance on Anastasia in a fit of maniacal

Felicia brought the necklaces into Anastasia’s office and offered empathetically, “Anastasia, would you like me to have these delivered

the bait. She would execute it personally just to show that she was better

extension line for the president’s office, and after hanging up, she told Anastasia, “He

head. After all, she wasn’t in a

case and gazed upon the necklaces she had so painstakingly designed and created. There was even a symbol engraved on the

this pair of necklaces. While she designed them, she had hoped that whoever received them would share an eternal love and that nothing would separate the lovers no matter what. However, the necklaces were nothing more than

Chapter 245

at around 3.00PM informing her that Elliot had come into work. From the

jewelry case from her desk and

the man in the white shirt who had just shrugged off his suit jacket. “President Presgrave, according to the investigation, Lawrence will be actively acquiring Tillman Constructions within a week. As of now, he has already bought up a huge number of shares in Tillman

the door, and it was followed by a woman’s voice. “President Presgrave, it’s me, Anastasia.

loosened up and gave Rey a meaningful look. “Keep

door and flashed a

as well,

he said before stepping to the side. “This way,

the man at the desk. He was wearing a simple white satin shirt, but for some reason, he looked imposing

thought about what happened last night, her clear and determined gaze suddenly wavered, and she felt flustered

and headed straight for his desk, and she

for you?” Elliot

the jewelry case and said casually, “Here you go.

across his face when he saw the box in her hand, for it looked like it contained jewelry. He took the box and opened it, and his eyes lit up at

had mistaken this as a gift from her. She crossed her arms and explained pointedly, “It’s a gift from a woman, but the woman isn’t me. It’s Hayley.” She ground out the name with

his hand drop as he asked, “Why are

but seeing as she specifically asked me to design the necklaces, I have no choice but to

had only just spun on her heels when a low male voice

look at him with narrowed eyes. “What? Do you want me to

He couldn’t understand why she was not even the slightest bit jealous. He raised

give it back to Hayley yourself,” Anastasia countered indifferently, though her heart gave a

I would like you to take my order for a necklace. You can come up with any design you think best,” he said smoothly as he stood up. His towering height seemed to put pressure on her as he took a few steps toward her. “Something close to around ten million,

of bed this morning and hit his head? She could come up with no other reason as to why he was making such a random proposition all of a sudden. He was the president of the company, and he could have all the jewelry he wanted. However, he chose to spend ten million on something designed by her. Then again, the commission that could come from this would be a handsome sum. All in all, she had nothing

seconds for her to ponder on this, and a smile

look like he was joking as he eyed

to take up any order as long as I get paid

the woman was highly motivated

amused at how the sentiment behind Hayley’s gesture was lost on the likes

Chapter 246

with how things had turned out in the

specifically asked Anastasia to design a men’s necklace for him, and he was willing to pay

enough to make anyone’s jaw drop. She went to Anastasia’s office and said, “Anastasia, make sure you give this project your all. Forget

Felicia had gone out of earshot before picking up the phone to call the man’s extension line. A low

you actually placed the order,” she said in

have, I expect

you have any specific designs in mind? What about the style of the necklace?” she asked further, treating him like how she would any

rein over this,” he said. He had to

a moment and suggested, “Why don’t I come up with a rough sketch and you can tell

easily. After a pause, he

sort of like an entry-level requirement for a designer, you know,” she

husband or boyfriend and really throw your heart and soul into the design. Think

this, but she pretended to be serious as she countered, “Don’t worry, President Presgrave, you are the center

darkly on the other end

to pick Jared up from school now. It looked like she was going to have to dig deep for inspiration for the rest of the night if she wanted to come up with the

chance to tell him solemnly that the man would

she started pondering on the design of the necklace. However, she found herself thinking about Elliot’s handsome face and his domineering expression from

she had suppressed during the day suddenly welled up in her, reminding her of their presence. She wondered why she had felt so uneasy when Hayley had given Elliot the necklaces and why that feeling disappeared when he declined the

see Elliot turn down the necklaces because she didn’t like Hayley. She

anything gaudy. With that in mind, she decided that

Anastasia inspiration for an elegant herringbone-chain necklace that would flatter the man’s chiseled and alluring collarbone, which, if left unadorned, would be a

for the design, it was up to her to imbue her personal flair into it. She gave a rough sketch and let inspiration take control. She imagined the way the chain would

drew the man’s broad shoulders and the curve of his neck. She then

so much like Elliot? Anastasia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. At that moment, she realized just how clearly she could picture every

Chapter 247

turned out that giving Elliot too much room in her headspace during the day was a bad idea because Anastasia was having a hard time falling asleep right now without thinking about him. She even had a wet dream that involved him doing several unspeakable, yet sinfully pleasurable things to her, and she

Elliot’s necklace, she decided that it would

where all the

the company building. At that moment, she suddenly understood why Francis could not bear to part with the business. He had poured all his blood, sweat, and tears into building up the company from scratch, and he had a trove of employees who depended on him for

pulled up outside the building entrance, she headed for the doors and was immediately

Anastasia, and I’m here to

he appraised her in shock as he pressed, “You’re President Tillman’s daughter?

for the last few years.” Anastasia smiled. Since she didn’t want to put the security guard in a hard place,

door for her as he said, “Pardon me, Miss Tillman. I didn’t mean to doubt you. Please

up not too long ago, and

he was laissez-faire. Since Alex had seen Anastasia before at the banquet, he

chair behind his desk. She had long since outgrown days where she whined, pestered, and vied for her

a sip of her tea, the door to the office suddenly swung open, and the female assistant who had escorted her up earlier came rushing in. “Miss Tillman, something terrible has happened! Your father collapsed in the conference room. Quick, go take a look at

up abruptly. “What?” Then, she hastened out the door after the assistant as the both of them made their way to the conference

employees. Anastasia frantically ran over to him and crouched down next

looked

heard that the company is getting acquired and he couldn’t

you mean the company is getting acquired? Who

about business; they were the representatives for the acquiring

The news of the acquisition must have been too much for Francis, and he had collapsed out of shock. Is there no way for Tillman Constructions to escape the acquisition

man. She looked up and saw