Never Too Far Novel

However, Josephine didn’t seem to react. Ethan grabbed a blanket and draped it across her. As he knelt on the carpet and looked at her beautiful face, he would be lying if he said he had nothing on his mind. Any man would want to take advantage of Josephine’s vulnerability, and Ethan was no exception.

Looking at her, he thought, I’m sure she won’t notice if I secretly kiss her. Then, he decided to take action!

Just as Ethan leaned down and was just inches away from Josephine’s face, he saw her open her eyes and look at him.

“What are you doing?” she asked. Josephine was a light sleeper. When Ethan draped the blanket on her, she was waking up. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Ethan’s face was close to her.

“I…” Ethan had never felt so embarrassed in his life.

However, Josephine knew what he was trying to do. At that moment, she blinked her eyes and asked, “Are you trying to kiss me?”

“Can I?” Ethan squinted his eyes and asked.

Looking at his handsome face, Josephine replied without hesitation, “Well, it will be a waste if I let go of this opportunity.”

When Ethan heard her words, he was stunned. Before he could react, Josephine wrapped her arms around him and kissed him first. Her actions startled Ethan since he had never expected her to be so bold. Meanwhile, Josephine had been dying to kiss him since they kissed on the cruise ship. From that day onward, she had been reminiscing about the kiss. Truthfully, she knew what she was getting into when she entered his room. She wasn’t an innocent girl anymore. After all, she had never allowed Luke to hold her hands, even when he had courted her for over a year. Yet, she allowed Ethan to be alone with her because she also had feelings for him.

As the saying went, “Hunters often appear as prey.” Josephine was the representative of this quote.

As the duo kissed inseparably on the couch, Ethan grabbed the back of her head and deepened the kiss. Suddenly, Josephine’s phone rang. After the call had died down, it rang again, seemingly as if the caller was persistent in getting Josephine to answer.

Ethan pulled apart from Josephine and panted. Then, he leaned his forehead against her and asked, “We can continue after you answer the call?”

Josephine was also panting. Never had she expected that a kiss would make her breathless. When she looked at the caller ID, her mind went clear instantly. Then, she looked at the time and saw that it was 9.30PM.

Oh my! What a pity that it is already this late!

As she thought about it, she took a deep breath and redialed the number. “Hey, Mom. I’m heading home right now,” she said casually.

“You have to be home by 10.00PM. You’re making me worry! There was just news about a woman getting murdered late at night,” said Heidi.

“Alright, Mom. I’m safe. I’m coming back.” Josephine promised. After that, she hung up the phone and looked at Ethan, who was reluctant. “I have to head home.”

Then, she was going to get up. However, Ethan pulled her into his embrace without hesitation and kissed her again. “Give me a few more minutes,” he said in a raspy tone.

Hearing his words, Josephine could feel her heart beating rapidly. She had to admit that Ethan looked goddamn sexy when he was being dominant.

The second kiss was bringing out their lust. Josephine was suppressing herself, and she knew that Ethan was the same. Hence, she wanted to end this kiss as soon as possible.

“Let’s just stop for today!” she said.

Ethan chuckled and asked, “Do I need to make an appointment for the next time we kiss?”

Hearing his words, Josephine couldn’t help but laugh. Why does he take kissing like a date?

“I’ll think about it! Anyway, I need to head home now.”

“I’ll drive you.” Ethan tugged on his tie and slightly raised his jawline. His sexy posture made Josephine’s eyes widen. Noticing her gaze, he asked her deeply, “Are you lusting over me, Miss Jacobson?”

In the split second, Josephine’s face was flushed red. She realized that she couldn’t hide her emotions in front of him.

After the duo had left the room and entered the elevator, Josephine felt Ethan hold her hand casually. She didn’t take her hand out. Now that she had sobered up, she was in disbelief and dared not to look at him.

After they got into the car, Ethan turned on some music for her to relax. As Josephine looked at the lively night street, she felt something different. It felt like… They were in love.

After some time, Ethan arrived at Josephine’s home. Just as Josephine was about to exit the car, Ethan suddenly leaned toward her and held her hand. “Are you in need of a boyfriend, Miss Jacobson?”

Josephine was shocked. At that moment, she recalled their kiss just now and thought, Is he taking advantage of the kiss to court me? Thinking about it, she quickly said, “I’m still dizzy from the alcohol, Mr. Quarles. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

Ethan knew what she was planning. “Is this a hit and run, Miss Jacobson?”

Josephine was embarrassed. After all, he seemed to be implying that she was a playgirl. She wasn’t, though! She was unprepared as she had never expected such a thing to happen tonight!

“I’m dizzy, Mr. Quarles. I need to get home now. Goodbye, and drive safe.” As Josephine spoke, she quickly exited the car and closed the door. Then, she hurried into her house and stood by the bushes, looking at the car from the gaps as it slowly drove away. She sighed and rubbed her lips. God, it must have been swollen, she thought. When she entered the living room, she quickly said to Heidi, who was watching the television, “I’m exhausted, Mom. I’m going to go upstairs.”

“You should have come home sooner if you are exhausted,” replied Heidi. However, she didn’t ask anything more and continued watching the TV.

After Josephine entered her room, she quickly rushed to the bathroom. Looking at the mirror, she saw that her face was flushed, and her lips were rosy red even though she had no lipstick on. It was obvious that it was because of the kiss.

“This is so embarrassing.” Josephine buried her face in her hands. Ethan would be her boss, and they would encounter each other in the company. Yet, she did such intimate things with him.

Josephine was indeed exhausted. After taking a bath, she went to sleep and had a dreamless night.

The following day, she went to the company as usual. However, before stepping into the building, she heard someone call out to her. “It’s me, Joey.”

Josephine turned around and saw Luke waving at her by the entrance. There was also a cardboard box by his side, seemingly to have something expensive inside. “Come over here and open it, Joey. You’ll be surprised,” said Luke.

“What is it?” asked Josephine.

“You’ll know once you open it! I’m going to take a call. Hurry up and open it.”

Josephine felt speechless when she saw that Luke had told his assistant to record the moment of her being touched by his gift. “Not now. I need to clock in,” she said to him.

“No, no, no. Just open it, Josephine. I put so much effort into this.” Luke pleaded. He reached out and stopped her from entering the company.

Josephine had seen how clingy he would get. If she refused to open this present, she knew he would bring it to her office and ask her to open it. Thus, she decided to open the gift immediately to stop him from disturbing her colleagues.

“You’ll let me go to work as long as I open it, right?” she asked.

“Yes. As long as you open it, I will not disturb you,” Luke said confidently.

After thinking momentarily, Josephine walked toward the purple box while Luke stood aside and made a phone call.

Josephine crouched and untied the ribbon. When she opened the box, she saw that it was filled with balloons. Moreover, they seemed to be helium balloons.

After she had opened the box, she allowed the balloons to fly toward the sky. Beside her, the assistant quickly shouted, “Miss Jacobson! Grab the balloon! Grab it!”

Josephine was stunned, wondering how she was going to catch the balloons. They’re already about two meters above my head!

At that moment, Luke turned around as soon as he finished his phone call. Upon taking a quick stride, he charged at one of the balloons with lightning speed in an attempt to grab it, only to fail in embarrassment due to his short height. Nonetheless, he still did his best attempts to grab the balloon with his assistant, unknowingly presenting a hilarious and amusing sight.

On the other hand, Josephine was still dumbfounded by that sight until she saw a truck parked in a hidden spot. On the truck, there was a sports car that contained many colorful balloons. In that instant, something seemed to dawn on her as she looked up. To her surprise, there was a set of keys dangling on the balloon that was floating in the air.

Luke, who did everything he could but still failed to retrieve the balloon, came complaining to Josephine with a bitter look on his face. “I thought you would get the balloons. Do you know what’s on them?”

Josephine gulped and rhetorically asked, “Your car keys, I guess?”

“Yup, both sets of them.” Luke smiled awkwardly in response.

“I’m sorry.” Josephine apologized.

“No worries. I can always duplicate a new set. It’s not a big deal.” Luke said and stuck out his fingers. “This car is a gift for you. Do you like it? I specially bought a pink one for you.”

Josephine was speechless in response to Luke’s words. A sports car? What is he thinking? She shook her head and waved her hand. “No need for that, Luke. I’m happy with our friendship, so let’s just keep it that way. Give this car to someone else who deserves you, perhaps. Anyway, my work starts soon, so I need to get going.” Josephine ran through the entrance of her company like she was a refugee who was escaping from her captor.

Nonetheless, their interaction was secretly recorded by the paparazzi and was later made the headline with a title that read, ‘The love that flew away with the balloons.’ While there was a paragraph that detailed the story of the incident, it was accompanied by two pictures in which Luke and his assistant were seen trying hard to retrieve the balloons hilariously.

In the meantime, Josephine had been suffering from a headache so severe that she couldn’t focus on her work at all since the morning, although she expected the after-effects of her hangover.

“Are you alright, Joey?” Wren asked in a concerned manner.

“My head hurts.”

“Oh, come on. Is your age catching up to you? You’re not that old as far as I remember.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m having a hangover.”

“Who’s the client you were busy entertaining?” Wren asked curiously.

her head. “Nah, it wasn’t a client

our

her head and replied, “Our boss is someone else now. The director is no

of our company then?” Wren pressed

soon enough, so I’m not going to ruin the surprise.”

timidly. When Josephine turned around, she was met with an angry look on Katrina’s face. “Step outside with me, Josephine. I want to have a word with

now.” Josephine grabbed

you afraid I’d go loud about what happened last night?” Katrina threatened Josephine. Then, she bent over and leaned closer to Katrina’s ear. “I’m going to tell everyone in

your mouth, man.” Josephine blushed in her cheeks

face. She then walked out the door with Josephine following right behind her until they found themselves in a corner

more annoyed the longer she glared at her. “Now, tell me about you and Mr. Quarles.” She demanded an

“Why

have known each other a long time ago, huh? Did you get to know him through your grandpa?” Katrina

grandpa has nothing to do with it. Don’t drag my family into this.” Josephine responded angrily,

you get to know a tycoon like Ethan? It’s not like you have a wide network connection.” Katrina couldn’t believe her ears. In fact, she just confirmed with her brother-in-law that

in the end, she was hoping to secure a huge

each other indeed. So, what are you going to do about

did you both go last night? Did you two spend the night at the hotel? Your innocent look may fool the

a terrible liar. Thus, when she heard Katrina’s words, her face and ears blushed in embarrassment, not to mention her reluctance in answering her question. Nevertheless, Katrina was observant enough to notice her blushed cheeks, which confirmed her

we didn’t. He took me home

You were so drunk that you lay on the table like a dead person. It’s hard not to think that you were luring Ethan into taking the opportunity.”

I go back to my desk now?” Josephine intentionally raised her wrist and looked at her

feelings for him too.” Katrina made her point understood as she flicked her hair to flaunt her elegance. “I believe I’m a match for you in every aspect.”

could resist temptation, recalling how he was turned on by her kiss almost right away when she pecked his lips the night before. Because of that, she was sure a man like Ethan would surely succumb to temptations. I’m not that good-looking, but if Ethan had eyes for me, he would definitely fall for a

angrily and walked off shortly after. Then, Josephine returned to her desk, but as

that, whereupon she immediately shifted her gaze to the phone screen to take a closer look at the pictures. Wait, what? The balloon confession is now on the headline?! Although her face and Luke’s were blurred, she still couldn’t help but feel a little pissed off. After that, she rose from her seat and made her way from the Department of Multimedia and Communication to another. As soon as she entered the workplace, she instantly became the center of attention with everyone fixing their envious gazes on her. “Who posted the

didn’t mention your name either. We just said the woman is a reporter.” One of the female colleagues added, “This news is getting more than a million views, so would you please stop complaining over something so trivial,

expect herself to go viral one day. Hope Luke will be fine with getting on the news. As soon as she returned to her seat, her phone rang, whereupon she checked it out

what are your colleagues in the multimedia department doing? Am I a

Luke. Take it easy,

mad right now unless you treat me to a meal. Otherwise, I’m going to make a scene in your office.” Luke

the thought of Luke’s car keys that she was responsible for losing earlier that day. “All right, but I’m a little busy in the afternoon.

you tonight,” Luke said

man and a woman. With a pair of furrowed eyebrows on his face,

race like a jackhammer. Damn it! Is he still trying to hold me responsible for that kiss or

as

Ethan to learn about the news. She asked, “How did

saw it on

you could recognize me even though my face was

car?” The question

go, Mr. Quarles. My

who was in the hotel, summoned his assistant and said, “Get me a feminine-looking sports car. I’m giving it to someone

“Yes, Mr. Quarles.”

was in the meeting room where murmurs of gossip were ongoing. Everyone envied Josephine because she would own a sports car as soon as she accepted Luke’s gift, but to their surprise and bewilderment, she rejected him and turned down an expensive sports car as a gift. Everyone thought, Come on, what’s Josephine thinking? She has no intention of accepting Luke as her boyfriend, does she? Soon, Ethan exited the hotel and made his way to Tribus TV. As the biggest shareholder of the company, he was given a spacious office with a good view, but to

her phone ringing not long after her meeting ended. “Hello, this is Josephine speaking from the Department of Multimedia and Communication. How may

office,” Ethan spoke in

Josephine widened her

speaking. Now, meet me on the 18th

working here… already?” Josephine didn’t expect

hung up the

surroundings to make sure she was alone, she pushed the button and headed to the 18th floor on which the management office was. When she got there, she had no idea where

Josephine, who quickly scurried in his way. Seeing her hilarious reaction, the man chuckled in amusement. “What’s wrong? Why are

I can help you with?” Josephine

closed the door behind him. Then, he sat on the couch sluggishly and said, “Nothing, actually. I

started heating up. “I’m at

a sports car,” Ethan brought

froze for a few seconds. Is

it. You mustn’t send it to me either!” Josephine immediately rejected

I supposed to do with the car if you don’t take it?” Ethan threw the

few times upon hearing that. Eventually, she bit her lip and asked, “Can

“Nope!”

for my opinion before

parking space in the underground parking lot. You can drive it whenever you want.” Being the high-and-mighty person he was, Ethan

Josephine might have seen her fair share of domineering people in her life,

need a sports car,” she muttered while continuing

A sports car is just a normal gift to me. If you don’t want it, just leave

herself getting flustered as she looked at his rows of pearly whites. He sure was a sight

it was a call from

a table at a restaurant for us tonight. I’ll come to pick you up after

she was the one who agreed to treat

make clear to him tonight—she and Luke could only be friends. She wanted him to stop wasting his time

great lengths he went to pursue her this year, she was sure that he wouldn’t give up just like that if she only rejected him verbally. That being said, there was a possibility he would if she let him know that she had

was more outstanding, handsome, and wealthier than Luke

walked over.

“Mhm.”

with a

Ethan was more

would like to have you pretend to be my boyfriend and

high spirits as a humorous glint

help. She only hoped that Luke would come to

to work, Mr. Quarles. I’ll contact you when I get off work tonight,” Josephine stated. After all, she couldn’t neglect her work when she was in front of the

go.” Meanwhile, Ethan didn’t want

in the underground parking lot. The pictures were of a red Ferrari sports car parked

goodness! Whose car is it? It’s parked in the VIP parking

so cool! It’s probably

it?! Does anyone in the group know which rich lady this

beside her, “Joey,

sports car on the screen of the iPad. It can’t be the sports

I wonder which big shot’s gift it is. I’m guessing it is Tori’s car! She has tons of suitors recently, and I

company and she was unattached, on top of possessing both beauty and talent. At this moment, everyone was guessing

yet, the woman in question suddenly chimed in,

it’s not Tori’s?” Wren immediately grew more

this exact moment, an assistant came over and put a purse on her desk. “Josephine, someone

pick it up, only to be surprised by what she saw. It turned out to be a box with a Ferrari logo

could feel a headache coming. What should I do now? The whole office is talking about this now. If she admitted it, everyone here would

eyes like a detective and wondered

Josephine secretly put the bag under the table. She rested her head in her palms, feeling her mind a mess. There were only five minutes left before working hours ended. After she hurriedly took

directly, “Josephine, you’re not leaving work so soon! I need these documents to be ready

at the other woman. “But it’s after work hours now. Why didn’t you bring them to me

It’s your job. Anyway, these are the materials that will be needed tomorrow morning. You’ll be held responsible if they’re not done.” Katrina intentionally kept these documents until now before bringing them to Josephine.

a dinner date with my friend. I can’t work

why are you telling me that? Go tell the team leader.” After

she took a look at the four or five different sets of documents in front of her. Right then, Wren poked her head in Josephine’s direction and commented, “She’s

herself, The only reason Katrina is acting hostile toward me

from Luke. ‘I booked us a table at a

she replied. ‘I can get there myself. Just wait for

works. I’ll be waiting at the restaurant, then!’ came

she turned to Wren. “Wren, can I borrow a bag? I’m going to work overtime

documents back here tonight, or you

nod. “Got it. I’ll bring the documents here before 9.00PM.” Since these were real-time news, the production and writing of news releases must be completed quickly without any

began to ring, she reached out and took the call. “You’ve reached the reporters’ office,” she

“When are we leaving?”

voice. Quickly cupping the phone receiver, she whispered, “I’ll see

on the other end of the call asked with a chuckle, “Are we going there in

we will be using my car. Surely, you’re not

“Of course not.”

bid Wren goodbye. Without anyone noticing, she picked up the bag with the car

the office that she

Atticus uttered after picking

Mr. Quarles

in

here? Does he need an

he didn’t request

office is he at,