I'm Yours

Crush

Y/N POV

Stunned and utterly speechless by Toto's comment, you stood still. You were indeed left with no words for someone who does a lot of talking and wants to go into a profession that consists of only talking and is people-facing. Toto pulls away to see your face bright like a cherry tomato; he bites his lip, almost necessary because he can't help but adore your facial expressions, being lost and flustered all from his doing. He takes this moment to walk off toward the lecture hall. You weren't sure how long you stood there, but when you turned your head to see that he was no longer there, and wondering what would happen next. Your mind was spinning with the number of possibilities that could occur: after this lecture, the fact he said he would be watching you, how are you going to focus, and this was only a 2-hour lecture, what about dinner and most of all the interaction on a never-ending loop. Not wanting to jump too far into the future of your thoughts, you take a second to compose yourself in the place where you and Toto stood.

Once feeling like you have regained some judgment, you head to the door, pulling the wooden rod to open the door; your assumption was correct - the lecture hall wasn't busy. You could say there were at most 50 people present. Putting you at ease a bit because Toto couldn't possibly direct his attention towards you with this many people in the room; it would be obvious. As you walk across the hall to the section that faces the podium, glancing across the room, you suddenly realize that he may put you on the spot because most of the audience members are male. You stick out like a sore thumb. Making your way up the stairs to sit near the back of the hall and in the first-row seat, dropping your bag on the seat next to yours, not wanting to be bothered by anyone else. You shake the thoughts away of your racing mind, with the only intention to focus on the lecture's content, so it will be over before you even know it. As you grab your laptop from your backpack, you see the professor enter the room with Toto trailing slightly behind him; they are both engrossed in a conversation, probably catching up and agreeing on last-minute points, until he looks up to you and gives you a wink. You can't help but bite your lip to stop your face from turning red and immediately set up your laptop to avoid eye contact with him.

The room falls into a dead silence, mainly instigated by Toto's presence. Something about him, the money, power, dominance, and demeanour, provoked people around him to fall hush. It wasn't an eerie silence, but it was shocking to some; no one expected the guest lecturer to be Toto Wolff, so the audience reacted as you did when initially bumping into him. Just as that moment fell upon everyone, it quickly vanished, and everyone resumed their conversation. Taking your phone out of your pocket is the perfect opportunity to text your parents that you will be home late. You didn't want to scare or keep them worried. Finishing informing them, you again glanced around the room; a little sigh of relief washed over you as you saw a few more females, but they sat closer to the front. You could tell they hoped to get his attention from how they sat close to the podium and their demeanour toward him. You had some relief that you weren't the only female in the lecture, but it brought on a slight smile to see their demeanour in hopes that Toto gave them the slightest bit of attention.

Your attention now turned to the podium; the professor gave a brief overview of today's topic and some of the concepts in the initial material - only lasting for roughly 15 minutes - until he started introducing the guest lecturer. You noticed Toto get up from his seat; his jacket was off, and you took a minute to eye him up and down without being shamefully exposed from your previous interaction in the coffee shop. He wore a pair of black loafers that showed just a bit of his pale ankles, a pair of well-fitted black chinos, and a crisp white button-up shirt that revealed he was in good shape for someone his age. As you made your way up to his face, he now had his notable circular framed glasses to read off some of the notes he prepared until you recognized that he was making eye contact with you for a split second before moving his attention to everyone. You smiled this time. After all, Toto couldn't keep eye contact with you for long because he was in a room full of people who also had their complete and undivided attention on him.