The CEO's Addiction ⚣ ✓

Bonus Chapter: Brad & Joan

Bradford Ivanov

"Oh my gosh that Lobster Frittata was incomparable. Like I think it may have just transcended my soul." Joan moaned with content as we walked hand in hand down a trail path that led away from the restaurant.

She was practically skipping with delight after our meal, and it made me smile seeing how happy the food had made her. I hadn't ordered nearly as much myself, but that just allowed me more time to watch Joan enjoy herself. Every bite evoked a new expression from her. When she got a mouthful of the linguini, I swear her eyes rolled back. My eyes darted to my plate as I quickly became interested in my salad... the moans and groans she was making were starting to sound slightly sexual.

It was turning me on a little too much.

She speared one of the roasted potatoes with her fork and leant slightly across the table to offer me a bite. I could feel my cheeks burning up when her eyes made direct contact mine, but I leant forward myself and accepted the bite.

For most of the evening, Joan entertained me with all types of conversation. She had this thing about her... I couldn't really place it, but she always created such a comfortable environment for me to speak in. I was indisputably a quiet one by nature, and that was mostly because a lot of the things I was passionate about weren't anywhere near exciting for most people... but Joan seemed genuinely interested in all of my passions.

"Okay I think I'm following here. So with that case, most of the affidavit was thrown out due to enormous amounts of hearsay and non-credible sources, but the jury was hung because of the prosecution's inability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt? You mentioned that that burden lays entirely on the prosecution, right?" She asked me as we walked.

My feet slowed to a stop to look her way.

"Y-Yeah that's right. You got it." I gave Joan a nod.

The amount of information Joan had paid attention to and retained from my rambling during dinner, had surprised the completely hell out of me.

"Shit, I fucking nailed that." Her mouth twitched up into a large smile. "You know, this stuff is actually pretty interesting. Sounds like there's a ton more rules in law than Judge Judy and Judge Brown led me to believe all those years ago."

That one made me openly laugh.

It was cute that she thought any part of those law shows resembled even a shred of accuracy.

"I'm not sure if it's allowed, but I would love to sit in for one of your court cases." Joan added. My head whipped back in her direction.

I couldn't help having this feeling of discomfort. It wasn't that I wouldn't have loved to see this gorgeous woman seated in the audience, watching me work... because I most definitely would. It was just difficult for me to comprehend why Joan would wish to spend her time in a courtroom.

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly. "Usually um-" I stopped myself short, unsure of how to put this. "Well usually most women I've met really weren't into that sort of thing. I just- I don't want to bore you."

And I didn't.

My mind traveled back to what Christian had said to me earlier this morning. It was some cheesy bullshit about being my genuine self and all that. I wasn't sure if I was even ready to start a conversation such as this one, but then I thought back to Christian's very real threat about Ms. Anderson's parrot, Mr. Twigs... and I decided tonight was just going to have to be the night.

I took another deep sigh.

"In comparison to you, Joan, I have the personality of a rock." I admitted. "I mean you just- you light up the room. Every room. You know a little bit about everything, and watching you strike up a conversation with someone just showcases your real charm and vast levels of knowledge. You talk about the universe. You talk about psychology. You talk about conspiracy theories, and cults, and damn near everything in between. I can safely say I don't know any other grown adult who still owns a Furby, but you do."