Never Too Far Novel

Angela then moved as if to reach down his pants.

Immediately, Richard grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She then slipped down to place her head on his lap. With a tug at the elastic holding her hair together, the long strands sprawled out across his thighs.

Her beautiful slanted eyes softly shimmered up at him. She looked so enticing, yet her gaze looked so clean and innocent.

Sunlight shining in through the window made her skin appear as fair as snow. Her cheeks were gently dusted with an embarrassed blush, and she looked so charming that he was mesmerized.

There was a slight hitch in his breathing. His hand was still wrapped around her wrist, but he did not know what to do next.

Angela was a woman, after all! She knew just how to make a man happy with her pretty looks.

She smiled as her bright eyes shone with pride. “Am I beautiful, Mr. Richard?”

Richard looked back at her with eyes so deep that there was no way to tell what emotions were hiding in them.

“Get up,” he coldly commanded.

Realizing how boring he was being, she moved to stand up. Just then, there was a sharp tug on her hair.

“Ouch!” she cried out in pain, instinctively moving her head closer to where the stuck tendrils of her hair were. Without thinking, she moved to fiddle with the object that her hair was stuck on—his belt buckle.

“Don’t move,” he rasped out. Still, he was too late. Angela had touched something she should not have.

Her hands immediately shot back as if she had been zapped. Her blush extended up to her ears.

He was…

With brows tightly knitted together, he moved to untangle her hair from his belt.

It was at that moment someone pushed open the door. Four pairs of eyes were immediately greeted with the shocking sight of the two in a compromising position.

The men cursed themselves for their bad timing.

Moreover, when were Richard and Angela so close? They were even making out now!

“We will be back later, sir. Please, continue,” Will said, pushing the other three out of the room before swiftly closing it behind him.

The other three men had wanted to spend a few more seconds looking at the couple. It was rare for them to see Richard acting all friendly with a girl. How they wished they could have kept staring.

Angela was so embarrassed. It was clear the four men had misunderstood the situation.

Richard did not care about what his subordinates thought though. His broad hands were gently untangling her hair from his belt. As the strands were wrapped tightly around the belt, one mistake and she would be hurt.

“Are you done yet?” she awkwardly asked.

“Soon.” His fingers were unraveling her hair, one strand at a time.

She buried her face in her palms from the embarrassment. How could she look the others in the eye now?

Finally, her hair was free. As soon as she could move, she shot to her feet. Her hair tumbled wildly across her back, emphasizing the innocent beauty of her demure face.

“Trevor and the others must have mistaken what we were doing for something else. Can you clarify things to them?” she asked.

“Clarify what?” he said with a huff.

“Do you not want to clarify what happened?” She pursed her red lips together. She did not care what they thought, but she did not want his image and reputation to be ruined. He stood up and grabbed his laptop. “You were reading here.”

He then walked out of the room, leaving her all alone.

Watching him leave, her heart stopped pounding with anxiety the moment the door closed behind him. She felt like crying and laughing at the same time while a strange and sweet sort of giddy joy rose in her.

At that moment, all she wanted to know was if he found her annoying.

The moment Richard stepped into the meeting room, questions began flying his way. “How far have you and Miss Angela gone, Mr. Richard?” asked Trevor.

“Is she going to be your wife?” Jared asked.

Richard calmly looked at them and answered, “Mind your own business.”

“Stop asking. We will be the first to know if he has any happy news to share,” said Willy.

“Yeah, we are waiting for Richard’s wedding invitation.”

While listening to his subordinates, Richard did not intend to explain much. However, work-related matters were not occupying his brain right now. Instead, he kept rewinding what had happened on the couch earlier. He wondered if she always took the initiative to flirt with a man whenever she met one.

Just then, his phone rang. When he glanced at the number, he reached out to answer it, “Hello!”

“Richard, it’s me, Annie.” A shy girl’s voice sounded on the other end. “I miss you so much, so I asked your grandfather for your personal number. Did I disturb you?”

Richard stood up and walked toward the door of the conference room. When he got out, he responded, “I’m sorry, Miss Meyers. I’m currently on a mission. Let’s talk once I get back.”

“Why do you keep calling me Miss Meyers?! I’m your fiancée now! You can call me Ann or Annie.”

“It’s not a convenient time for me to talk now.”

“Oh! Is it? Are you very busy? Can I text you later? You don’t have to reply right away. You just have to reply to me when you have time. I really want to talk to you. This is my number. Please remember to save it!” Once Annie blurted out a string of sentences in her lovely voice, she confessed, “Richard, I like you and miss you very much.”

After that, she hung up the phone shyly.

Richard sighed. His marriage with Annie was not what he wanted. It was just that he did not manage to refuse the marriage in front of his grandfather the last time. He knew that once his current mission was over, he would return and cancel the engagement with Annie.

Besides, Annie was also Angela’s cousin.

Meanwhile, Angela did not sleep well last night. After reading a book for a while, she passed out on the couch.

Richard did not return to the conference room. He stood outside the door for a while, recalling that there was a document he forgot to take.

When he returned to the room and reached out to open the door, he saw the figure of a woman sleeping on the couch. She had nothing to keep her body warm. Since it was now the start of fall, it was very easy to catch a cold.

Richard grabbed a small blanket from his bed and draped it on top of her. Walking to the bookshelf, he tried looking for a file that had been placed there the night before.

After he picked up the file and was about to leave, he heard the groaning of a suffering woman.

Richard glanced at Angela, who was lying flat on the couch, only to see her frowning and a thin layer of sweat oozing from her forehead.

Was she having nightmares?

Richard crouched beside her and squinted his eyes to check on her.

At this moment, Angela fell into a nightmare. After her mother’s car accident, she started having nightmares frequently. Even during the day, nightmares would break into her dreams after she fell asleep.

Presently, she was running in a forest. There were gunshots from time to time. The drone hovering above her head gave her an infinite sense of oppression, as if there was this ardent killing intent that was entangled with her. Though she had run with all her might and panted violently, the murderous aura was still looming over her.

She ran and ran.

Just as she thought she was about to escape the fate of being hunted down and was out of the woods, she saw a row of men with their faces covered in front of her. They were pinning a man down with their hands. The man was wounded and pressed to the ground, and then she saw Richard’s face.

He was trampled on the back by a man with a gun pointed at his head. At the same time, the killer was laughing sinisterly at her.

The scene in the dream made Angela’s face cringe in pain while asleep. Her hands were clenched into fists, and she began to mumble, “Don’t kill him… Don’t kill him…”

Richard felt a strong tug at his heartstrings. What could she be dreaming about? She trembled as if she was suffering some kind of intense torture.

“Angela, wake up,” he called her gently, trying to wake her up from her dream.

At this moment, however, Angela’s trembling red lips called out a name, “Richard… Run! Run!”

After she was done speaking, her hands struggled to grasp onto something.

Richard’s big palm grabbed her hand in the next second, and his handsome face froze. Was he in her dreams?

Why would she tell him to run away? Was her pain caused by him?

At this moment, tears started pouring out of Angela’s eyes. She panted and pleaded, “Richard, please don’t die… I can’t let you die…”

Angela almost cried in her dream. She watched as the masked man held the gun at Richard, as if he was about to end the latter’s life at any moment. Angela stood there in pain and felt so helpless that she could only call out for help and cry.

However, she was not aware that in the real world, her painful appearance was being watched by a man on the spot. She grabbed his hand tightly and cried so much in the nightmare that she could not extricate herself.

Richard could not stand to see her being haunted by nightmares anymore, so he stretched out his other hand and patted her face. “Angela, wake up.”

There was a hint of coolness on the back of his hand, and it was her tears. Richard continued to pat her face until she finally woke up in pain.

The last scene before she woke up was a bloody one. She heard the gunshot, and even though she dared not open her eyes to see it, it was petrifying for her.

When she opened her eyes and saw the man beside the couch with tears in her eyes, she could hardly tell whether it was reality or a dream. Nevertheless, the first thing she did was wrap her arms around the man’s neck tightly, burying her whole face in his chest.

make sure that

her hug him for a while. When he recalled that she cried because of him in the nightmare, he

nightmare,” he comforted her

back to her senses now. It turned out to be just a

She closed her eyes and simply rubbed her tears

neck, lowered his head, and tried to decipher her expression. Angela turned away and covered

funny at all. All he wanted to know was if he was that weak in

and… you were shot with a gun on your head…” Angela consciously explained what happened in the dream

thin lips curled slightly after hearing that. Did she worry about him so

not even want

urge to laugh, but he pursed his thin lips

hit his arm with her fist out of anger and scolded, “Do you have any conscience? I’ve

a deep voice, he reassured her, “Don’t

“Why?” Angela blinked.

self-confidence was

The confidence in his eyes was by no means false. It was a

gaze. She believed that he would never turn her

made her face pale, and her eyes lost the luster of the past. She was

your work?” Angela

her a

I’m scared of having nightmares.

without her noticing and nodded, “Okay, I’ll stay here and finish my work. Get

your bed? The couch is too small.” Angela was getting greedy

to occupy his time, but she

not refuse her request.

getting up, she felt light-headed and fell into Richard’s arms. Seeing that, he quickly embraced her, causing her head to slam

is your body so hard?!” Angela

helped her to get up. Angela walked over to his huge and tidy bed that

couch. Although it was merely the back of his head, she thought he was good-looking. No man had ever attracted

few more glances at him, she felt her eyelids

earlier and noticed that she

then turned his head to look at Angela, who was sleeping on her side. She was probably so exhausted that

number and ordered, in a low voice, “Bring my laptop into

he pushed the door and intended to step in, he saw

tip-toed into the room and

warned, “Don’t talk nonsense after you leave

admit it? Anyway, he was happy for him because both of them looked

on the bed. She slept

Angela woke up feeling recharged. She opened her eyes to find that

side. She

eyes and deliberately pretended to have a nightmare. She

direction of the couch and the sounds of footsteps scooting over to her bed. Now, she felt that a man was standing beside

held her tightly. She immediately leaned

she could not help but open her eyes slightly. Soon, a triumphant smile appeared on

To be frank, he already found out that she was awake after she made grabby movements earlier. He knew that

of her acting skills, he uttered, “Get up already if you’re awake. Stop fooling

her act, she opened her eyes and whined like a child. “Captain Lloyd, my legs are numb.

and charming girl on the bed. He could have ignored her, but involuntarily, he stretched out his hand to hold

and her beautiful eyes sparkled. She looked

eating around this time. Richard sat at the table with perfect posture while his

Meyers, this way!” Trevor happily waved to

after choosing her menu. Suddenly, she felt something off from the four pairs of eyes currently staring at her. After blinking her eyes, she

They were just admiring

dinner? I’ll take you to a place that’s

him, thinking he was digging his own grave! How dare he flirt with Miss Meyers in front of their

and was worried that she had nothing to do at night,

there.” Sean was not

ate the food on his plate gracefully,

go together?” Angela thought it would be more fun if there was a crowd, so she invited the other

each other and

Let’s go together!” Trevor quickly understood that Sean was deliberately asking Angela out, and at the same time, he was also looking for an opportunity to invite their captain

go together!” Jared

busy.” Richard raised his head

afternoon. Just come and unwind with us!” Angela

Captain, you always remind us that work-life balance is important! Come with us!” Willy even joined

this time. “Okay! Let’s meet at the door in

had hoped that Richard would come

everyone gathered at the door and set off with a flashlight. Trevor also prepared some

forest at night, so she was excited. While her long hair hung loosely on her shoulders, she wore light-gray sportswear with long sleeves and trousers, as well as hiking

her walk in front of Richard, while Trevor and Jared explored

fireflies and swaying shadows of trees could be

who was behind her, immediately grabbed her

him, Sean and Willy looked at each other knowingly and smiled. They

was also a little fountain nearby, accompanied by the lively sound of frogs. Eventually, they arrived at the top of the hill. The tiled stones were suitable for lying down and gazing at the starry sky. At that moment, the starry sky in fall was clear and cloudless, as if

stretched out his hand to pull her up, while the others lay down on the other rocks

her legs, looked up at the starry sky, and listened to their interesting stories. Compared with their colorful lives, Angela’s life had been a regular growth process

she became the only child in the family. She had worked hard to attend various expensive cram schools since she was a child. She was not a pianist, but she passed the eighth grade; she was not a dancer, but she had great dance skills. Her mother wanted her to take over the family business, so she went abroad to study

her redemption. However, he turned out to be

was life so tiring? Doing what she wanted was the best

program to write,” Sean suddenly

have some work

let Captain accompany Miss Meyers to watch the stars!” Jared pulled Willy up as they all

want to look at the stars?” Angela shouted

let the Captain accompany you! It’s time for us to get

blink of an eye, the four people disappeared at the corner of the downhill stone, and the

fell silent as the

rest weren’t trying to stargaze at all! They were just deliberately creating an opportunity for her and Richard

enough, they had misunderstood. They thought the two of them were together, so they arranged

at the man beside her and noticed that he seemed unconcerned about this matter at all as he stared at the

help but smile when she saw this. Why should she bother?

and looking up at the stars,

she looked at the vast starry sky, it seemed like all the worries in her mind had disappeared,

straight back, wild thoughts popped

her, even a

Richard glanced at his watch and said

She asked in surprise; she still wanted to enjoy

not want her to catch a cold, so

Angela hurriedly answered; she liked the feeling of being alone with him under

stood up and waited for her below the stone. She had no choice but to stand on the rock reluctantly. At this moment, she was half a body taller than him. It was a rare opportunity

to do anything but stand there to make people’s hearts skip a beat. Richard was such a

of manliness; instead of having a pair of upturned eyes that would make

about him was that he exuded a sexy ascetic aura. The more serious he was, the more women desired to

abstinence and see how wild he

but fall onto his lips; the feeling she had the last time she touched it was still lingering in her

wasn’t it more reasonable if a man

that she was the one having

opened her arms, and an idea

his gaze when he heard her; there was no hint of impatience in his eyes. Then, he reached out

meant…carry…” She pursed her red lips and looked at him expectantly

was dim, so it was hard to see Richard’s expression, but Angela felt that his handsome face was covered by shadows, making it challenging to

a little as she figured she would

long time, she tried

she began to look around for somewhere to place her feet. After all, the

a large palm wrapped around her waist tightly,

out a small yelp after being caught off guard. Then, her thin arms instinctively wrapped around his neck as

the man’s neck,

because of the uneven ground, she stepped directly onto a protruding stone, and her entire

and wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from hitting the

distance between the two closed; when he lowered his head as she raised hers, their faces were no more than

as she thought about how unreal this was. She was reluctant to push him away but did not dare to grab the opportunity

a hint of anticipation hung in the air. Of course,

was considering whether she should pick up the courage

cold wind blew mercilessly at this time, messing up her long

sharp gaze fell onto her face. “You’re

couldn’t let this opportunity go and wrapped her arms around his neck before pressing her lips to his. Almost instantly, she removed herself, took off, and ran, looking like a runaway

out a cry

over to her side to check on her. Angela was so embarrassed that she wanted

run?” He scolded in a

“If I don’t, won’t I

he moved on to check her foot with a flashlight. Luckily, she wore protective sports

him again. She was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even look at him. It was said that

be that it was the other way around for them? Did she have to chase him across

walk?” Richard asked seriously. Then, he noticed that her

about her and took care of her in everything he did, but why did he

everything he

had received a text. Then, he stretched out his hand and took his phone to

to this phone was considered

message, it was a series of texts

the texts with a stern face and stretched out her neck curiously to take a look. She wanted to know who had texted him and if it