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.

head. “Nah, it wasn’t a client but our

our company’s director?”

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

of our company then?” Wren pressed on with

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

heard high heels creaking on the floor from a distance as Wren curled up and stepped away timidly. When Josephine turned around, she was met

now.” Josephine grabbed the files

Katrina threatened Josephine. Then, she bent over and leaned closer to Katrina’s ear. “I’m going to tell everyone

man.” Josephine blushed in her cheeks while trying to

it then.” Katrina stood up with an unhappy look on her face. She then walked

more and more annoyed the longer she glared at

“Why

ago, huh? Did you get

do with it. Don’t drag my family into this.” Josephine responded angrily, warning Katrina not to involve her family

grandpa, how did 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 Ethan was not an ordinary tycoon. After all, his family owned a logistics company that was ranked first in the country, which was what made

Katrina was especially agitated because she was expecting to change her life for the better by sponging off him. Even if she couldn’t be his wife in the end, she was hoping to secure a huge sum of money that would keep her

know each other indeed. So, what are you going to do about it?” Josephine

look may fool the others, Josephine, but I know what you’re up to. You

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 suspicion. “Let

didn’t. He took me home instead,” Josephine replied while

person. It’s hard not to think that you were luring Ethan into taking the opportunity.” Katrina could still remember what she

Josephine intentionally raised her wrist and

because I have 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.” Katrina was confident in herself due to her good looks, as well as her wealthy upbringing. Furthermore, the fact that

a strange feeling that Ethan was not a man who 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

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

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

reporter.” One of the female colleagues added, “This news is getting more than a million views, so

she didn’t 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

multimedia department doing? Am

Luke. Take it easy,

Otherwise, I’m going to make a scene in your office.” Luke took advantage of the incident to make Josephine treat

was responsible for losing earlier that day. “All right, but I’m a little busy in the afternoon.

tonight,” Luke said

upon the news that got him curious and tapped into it. The next thing that came into view was the familiar building of the Department of Multimedia and Communication along with two blurred faces of a man and a woman. With a pair of furrowed eyebrows on his face, Ethan could tell that the lady was Josephine without even seeing her face. At the same time, he also figured out that the man who wanted to give Josephine a car was Luke with ease. Not long after that, he

it! Is he still trying to hold me responsible for that kiss or something?

sports car as a gift this morning?” the

embarrassment because she didn’t expect Ethan to learn

it on

even though my face

of getting a new car?” The question came

fine,” Josephine answered. Just then, her team leader beckoned her over for a meeting, so she said, “I have to go, Mr. Quarles. My team leader needs me to

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

“Yes, Mr. Quarles.”

Josephine 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

not long after her meeting ended. “Hello, this is Josephine speaking from the

office,” Ethan

Quarles?” Josephine widened her eyes in

on the 18th

working here… already?” Josephine didn’t expect Ethan

the call as

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 to go until

here.” Ethan walked toward Josephine, who quickly scurried in his way. Seeing her hilarious reaction, the

can

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

started heating up. “I’m at

Ethan brought up with his eyebrows

froze for a few seconds. Is he okay? Why would he buy me

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

I supposed to do with the

upon hearing that. Eventually, she bit her lip

“Nope!”

should have asked for my opinion before you

it whenever you want.” Being the high-and-mighty person he

Josephine might have seen her fair share of domineering people in her life, but she had never met

fine. I don’t need a sports car,” she muttered while continuing to chew

and gracefully shrugged. “It’s fine. A sports car is just a normal gift to me. If you don’t want it, just leave it there in the car

she looked at his rows of pearly whites. He sure

she saw that it was a call from Luke, she quickly went to the

I booked a table at a restaurant for us tonight. I’ll come to pick you up after work.” Luke’s

replied. She couldn’t just bail on him when she was the one who agreed to

Luke could only be friends. She wanted him to stop wasting his time on

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

was more outstanding, handsome, and wealthier

before she walked over. “Mr. Quarles,

“Mhm.”

a little something, please?”

Ethan was more than

like to have you pretend to be my boyfriend and reject

as a humorous glint

help. She

tonight,” Josephine

go.” Meanwhile, Ethan didn’t want to get in the way of her

there was a sudden commotion in the work group chat. Someone was sending some pictures taken in the underground parking lot. The pictures were of a red Ferrari sports car parked under the lights. Everyone was shocked by

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

It’s probably worth

in the group know which rich lady this

who was beside her, “Joey,

explode as she stared at the sports car on the screen of the iPad. It can’t be the sports car Ethan gave me, can it? It’s parked at

gift it is. I’m guessing it is Tori’s car! She has tons of suitors recently, and I heard that they are all wealthy

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

woman in question suddenly chimed in, ‘It’s

then, if it’s not Tori’s?” Wren immediately grew more interested in

face felt warm. At this exact moment, an assistant came over and put a purse on her desk. “Josephine, someone told me to

outside, she couldn’t help but pick it up, only to be surprised by what she saw. It turned out to be a box with a Ferrari logo on it. After she

gave me the car! She 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 surely think that

it?” Wren narrowed her eyes

palms, feeling her mind a mess. There were only five minutes left before working hours ended. After she hurriedly took care of the documents on her desk, she decided to

she instructed directly, “Josephine, you’re

the other woman. “But it’s after work hours now. Why didn’t you

your job. Anyway, these are the materials that will be needed tomorrow morning. You’ll be held responsible if

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

Go tell

in front of her. Right then, Wren poked her head in Josephine’s direction and

reason Katrina is acting hostile toward me is probably

to receive a message from Luke. ‘I booked us a table at a restaurant, Joey.

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

be waiting at the restaurant,

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

to send the documents back here tonight,

bring the documents here before 9.00PM.” Since these were real-time news,

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

“When are we leaving?”

all fuzzy in her chest when she heard the deep, magnetic male voice. Quickly cupping the

with a chuckle, “Are we going there in your

be using my car. Surely, you’re not

“Of course not.”

the documents in the bag, Josephine tidied up the table and bid Wren goodbye. Without anyone noticing, she picked up the

so bored in the office that she dialed the director’s office

uttered after picking

will Mr. Quarles come

in

Does he need an

he didn’t request

office is he