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.

Chapter 242

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.

Chapter 243

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.”

boy around here sometime soon. I

isn’t the right time, but give me a month

Anastasia about this and have her come by house whenever she’s free.” She

design sketches on the table when

have to go to

aside and grabbed the relevant folder off her desk before

in the middle of the hallway, they turned to make their way to the lounge. Felicia knocked on the door before entering, and when she saw the girl seated on the couch, she was

hand, Anastasia fell in step behind her. When she saw the customer, her eyes widened in surprise as well, for the girl who was seated on the couch was

a few seconds of hesitation, and she

unraveled a great mystery. As it turned out, Hayley had asked someone to place the order for two necklaces specifically designed by her. It would be of no surprise now if Hayley were

and glanced at Hayley, only to meet the girl’s

necklaces, Anastasia. I’m very pleased with them,” Hayley

Felicia interjected politely, “We’re glad to hear that, Miss Seymour. You’re a really important client of ours, and we know that Anastasia has the impressive ability to create something

viciously. “How about you personally give me your blessings, Miss Tillman? Just a few nice words for my boyfriend and me for sentiment’s

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

don’t I help you start it off? You can never go wrong with wishing us everlasting happiness,

of Miss Tillman and all the employees here, I wish you and President Presgrave all the

pointed out, “I don’t want you to

grew stiff in her seat, evidently flustered. Beside her, Anastasia knew how wicked Hayley could get. Since she didn’t want to humiliate Felicia, she said begrudgingly, “Hayley, for the sake of getting you

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 necklaces to him later and tell him that you designed these for the

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nonchalantly, “Sure, that won’t be a problem at all. I’ll personally drop these

unsettled after hearing this, so she turned to address Felicia curtly, “Director Evans, could you give me a few moments alone with

courteously and rose to

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 the bottom of his shoe. You wouldn’t want me to bring a certain gigolo around

instead of responding to Hayley’s threat. The man had even

him. Do you know how miserable he is right now? He’s completely broke, and he has neither family nor children of his own. He has nothing in this world to live for, 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, right?” The smirk on her lips grew even

character anyway, and she could give him whatever tragic backstory

“Why must you go out of your way to put me through hell all those years ago, Hayley? I saw you as my own sister, but you stabbed me in the back and left me

in disgust, and there was unmistakable resentment in her 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

associating herself with Hayley during their school days. Some people in this world simply didn’t deserve kindness

people like Hayley—she had to stay away from her and hope that they would never

you were. I finally got my wish five years ago,” Hayley

up abruptly and shrieked, “How dare you

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 you’ve done. He might have slept with you, but that won’t be enough to make him put up

rippled through Hayley when she heard this. As droplets of tea rolled down her cheeks, she looked as pathetic as a wet

Then,

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 rage, just

would you like me to have these delivered to President Presgrave on your behalf

up, but she would not rise to the bait. She would execute it personally just to show that she was better than that. As such, she said, “No, I can do it. Has President Presgrave

she told

all,

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

put so much thought and effort into 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 a symbol

Chapter 245

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

Anastasia grabbed the jewelry case from her desk and walked out of

according to the investigation, Lawrence will be actively acquiring Tillman Constructions within a week. As of now, he has

his report when a knock came from the door, and it was followed by a woman’s voice. “President Presgrave, it’s me, Anastasia. May

meaningful look. “Keep an eye on Tillman Constructions and let me know if

Rey replied. Then, he hurried over to open the door and flashed a smile at Anastasia as he greeted, “Good afternoon,

as well, Mr.

said before stepping to the side. “This way,

saw the man at the desk. He was wearing

about what happened last night, her clear and determined gaze

straight for his desk, and she

do for you?” Elliot asked

passed him the jewelry case and said

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

that he 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.

as he asked, “Why are you giving it to

I have

just spun on her heels when a low male voice

Do you want me to help you put

was not even the slightest bit jealous. He raised a brow and said, “I have

back to Hayley yourself,” Anastasia

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

out 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

few seconds for her to ponder on this, and a smile

like he was joking as he

take up any order as long as I get paid

expected, the woman

gesture was lost on the likes of Elliot, who had not only

Chapter 246

things were, Anastasia was rather pleased with

call from a customer who specifically asked Anastasia to design a men’s necklace for him, and he was willing

Anastasia’s office and said, “Anastasia, make sure you give this project your all. Forget about the other regular designs you’ve been working on and focus on this order. Don’t hesitate to come to me

call the man’s extension line. A low

believe you actually placed

now that I have, I expect you to work hard

the style of the necklace?”

he said. He had to stop himself from adding, I know

“Why don’t I come up with a rough sketch and you can tell me what

replied easily. After a pause, he continued,

other designs, she thought dryly. “That’s sort of like an entry-level requirement for a designer,

picture me as your husband or boyfriend and really throw your heart and soul into the design. Think of the necklace as a token

speechless by this, but she pretended to be serious as she countered, “Don’t worry, President Presgrave, you are the center of my universe, which

cute with me,” he warned darkly on

Jared up from school now. It looked like she was going to have to dig

picked up Jared from school that afternoon, he asked if Elliot would be dropping by the apartment later. She took the chance to tell him solemnly that the man would no longer be visiting them, and

of the necklace. However, she found herself thinking about Elliot’s handsome face and his domineering expression from time to time. As night fell, she no longer had to keep all her emotions bottled up, and the lights above brought

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

like Hayley. She adamantly

did not spend too much time thinking up complicated designs for the necklace. Knowing Elliot, he preferred something understated and disliked anything gaudy. With that in mind, she decided that the necklace would

flatter the man’s chiseled and alluring collarbone, which, if left

offered her great flexibility given that she was in charge of picking out the materials for the necklace. As for the design, it was up to her to imbue her personal flair into it. She gave a rough sketch and

pencil gently sketched over the paper as she drew the man’s broad shoulders and the curve of his neck. She then added the chains, which nestled just slightly above the dip in

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

Chapter 247

without thinking about him. She even had a wet dream that involved him doing several unspeakable, yet sinfully pleasurable

other work had been set aside while she focused on designing Elliot’s necklace, she decided that it would do her some good to go out and get some air. As such, she asked Felicia for the rest of the day off and headed over to

by warehouse after warehouse where all the inventory for their building materials was kept. While the area was

business. He had poured all his blood, sweat, and tears into building up the company from scratch, and he had a trove of

doors and was immediately stopped

I’m Anastasia, and I’m here to look

in shock as he pressed, “You’re President Tillman’s daughter? How come I’ve

been abroad for the last few years.” Anastasia smiled. Since she didn’t want to put the security guard in a hard place, she added, “How about I give my dad a call and have him send his assistant down

believe her, and he wasted no time in opening the door for her as he said, “Pardon me, Miss Tillman. I didn’t mean to

nodded and strode through the door before coming to a stop at the front desk. The company building had only been set up not too long ago, and she wasn’t sure which floor Francis’ office was on. After

even say he was laissez-faire. Since Alex had seen Anastasia before at the banquet, he approached her enthusiastically and told her that Francis was in a meeting, informing her that he would be done

office and sat down on the chair behind his desk. She had long since outgrown

office suddenly swung open, and the female assistant who had escorted her up earlier came rushing in. “Miss Tillman, something terrible has happened!

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

being carried over to the couch by a few of his employees. Anastasia frantically ran over to him and crouched down next to the couch, urging, “Dad? Dad, what happened?” She was beside herself with panic as she demanded, “Has anyone called 911? What in the world happened

President Tillman looked fine earlier before he

that the company is getting acquired and he couldn’t take the news,”

do you mean the company is getting acquired?

just now weren’t here to talk about business; they were the representatives for the acquiring party, and they were here

Anastasia was stunned. The news of the acquisition must have been too much for Francis, and he had collapsed out of shock. Is there no way

be just fine,” said a young man.