The CEO and the Student

A note from Lady: This was supposed to be less than 5K word count. It was just supposed to be a sexy and fast read but I fell in love with the story and the characters and just couldn't get it out for under 15K words. This story brings out my background in tech and big business. I do hope you like Thorin and Margaret's fairytale! I am struggling with slipping into 3rd person and have tried to edit it out!

~Lady xoxoxo

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Margaret

I was late. Shit...shit...shit...I said to myself. I can't believe I was late this morning. I was so looking forward to this seminar and after tossing and turning half the night and I finally fell asleep...I was groggy and slow trying to get around for the morning. I never cussed in public but inside my brain was free game.

Today's conference was over tech startups and even though I was just a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, I was an accomplished programmer. I was a late bloomer and didn't have much of a social life in junior high and high school. I was going to be a video game developer and I taught myself to code when I was a kid. Even though my passion was still video games and I wanted to work for Blizzard for such a long time, I was also interested in sales because my brother was an entrepreneur and had all kinds of ecomm going all the time. Instead of going to college, he had 3 successful websites before graduating high school.

Since I was aware of all his struggles and costs, I thought I could help and I had built an SaaS product for sales funnels that included customer relationship management without plugins and had framework for online courses, websites and online stores built right in. I know it isn't the only product of it's kind but mine is the best. I had spent 6 months coding it at night while going to school during the day. Jack was my tester for it and was now using it for all his business and it had consolidated his expenses and gave him back a couple of hours a day per business. I could keep the rate low and host in the cloud, the software was all-inclusive, no code customization that I could automatically update monthly and you don't need plugins or to purchase different modules to use it all. I knew it was great, I just needed to learn how to market it.

Silicon Valley CEO, Thorin Blackhill, was giving the lecture at today and I couldn't miss it. He had been in the news for the last two decades and launched 5 successful startups in the last 10 years and I needed to be part of that class. The knowledge in his head was invaluable and I needed it to adapt it to my own needs.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I looked acceptable. I had finally bloomed sophomore year after my housemate introduced me to pickle ball. He was my cousin and guilted me into being a partner but I ended up loving it after spending all my time in a dark room and behind a keyboard my whole life. I had gotten a tan and my body had thrived under the activity and sunlight. I was so impressed with a little sun that I went all in and started tanning a few times a week. My face sharpened up and I finally started to look like my mom. Big blue eyes from her and dad's full lips and eye lashes. I wouldn't kick myself out of bed anymore.

Laughing to myself, I was really astounded what a tan and several hours a week of pickle ball can do for the confidence. I was not going to complain that my good genes finally showed up in big breasts and a tight butt, a small waist, and well shaped legs from the pickle ball court. Running a brush through my wavy, dirty blonde locks and tugging my burnt orange mini-dress down and pushing my black cardigan sleeves to my elbows, I grabbed my bag and notebook and headed out the door.

Where I would have grabbed a cab to the conference center in the past, now I simply walked and chose to be more active. As I spent more time outside, the happier I felt. Today I was in a hurry though and wearing black stilettos, so an Uber it is. Hopping in the Uber, I pulled out my small mirror and lipgloss and applied it and a small roller of perfume I carried in my purse. I was ready. I never looked like the sharply polished business women in the news because I wasn't one. I felt like an imposter and I was pretending at being a player in a game where I don't belong.

I don't want to be those women though. I was a little more comfortable and I always looked a little lived in. I just didn't want to be the woman who was always hitching up her pantyhose all day and had aching feet and bunions at the end of everyday. No thank you.

I hurried into the conference hall and slid into an empty aisle seat in the back row by the doors. I had missed the introduction but Mr. Blackhill was just getting ready to speak and that was the important part. Tossing my bag to the floor by my feet, I silenced my phone and and got my pen and notebook ready. It was go time. I had been looking forward to this for a month. It better be good.

Watching Mr. Blackhill get mic'd up was interesting. He was even hotter in person. How did he do that anyway? How do you spend all your time in the press and at events and running a company while being a majority shareholder of 3 or 4 others and still have the time to look like that? His hair was black with touches of gray and neatly clipped. His sharply chiseled and unshaven jaw was black with some gray highlights. His body was covered in a suit that no doubt cost more than my mother's handbag...and that meant it was worth a lot. It was tailored to his body and showed off a large, hard, and masculine physique.

I huffed a little bit. My restless virginity was rearing it's ugly head. I had never had a boyfriend before so my innocence was firmly intact at the ripe old age of 21 except for my naughty romance novels and my right hand. Someday, I would work up the courage to buy a dildo...we would see. Maybe I could fantasize about Mr. CEO here. Younger men were stupid anyway, that's one of the reasons I didn't have a boyfriend. I didn't have anything in common with the guys my age or in my school except the nerds and I didn't especially want someone exactly like myself.

Doodling a few hearts and happy faces at the top of my notebook page, I waited for the most famous CEO in Silicon Valley to start the lecture.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thorin

I stood at the front of the full conference hall with my suit jacket open fumbling with the clumsy mic wiring that connects the ear piece to the battery and has to go in my inside suit pocket. I take my time knowing this is going to be a long seminar today. As I glance out of the corner of my eye at the doors to the hall opening, I see a little orange figure dart in through the doors and hop into the last empty seat in the back. Watching her closely, I can tell she's barely more than a kid. Dumping her bag on the floor, she alternately looks my direction at the front and arranges her notebook and pen in front of her for notes. I smiled because I realized I had an avid learner in front of me and that always made these seminars more appealing.

I outlined my agenda for the morning session and watched the young woman in orange as she took notes throughout each section I covered. From an introduction to tech startups, idea generation and validation, and an example of a solid business model, she never once took out her cell phone, her gaze never wandered around the room, and she stayed focused on me and her notebook the entire morning. The hall was large enough and she was seated in the back by the door so I could simply keep my eyes on her as my point of focus throughout the morning. I watched her openly as she listened intently to me.

I stopped the class for a mid-morning bathroom and coffee break, giving everyone 15 minutes. I saw her stuff her pen and notebook into her bag and leave the conference hall. While she was out, I spoke to some of the staff and ushers and drew their attention to her and I told them to find a seat closer to the center in the front. In just a few moments a staff member was able to rearrange a couple of students to free up a center aisle seat closer to the front only 5 rows back from the podium. When she re-entered the room just a few minutes later and headed back to the seat she had vacated, I approached her.

She wasn't really paying me any attention and simply smiled politely my direction until she realized I was actually coming to speak with her and the smile fell from her face. I stood casually in front of her and held out my hand for a handshake and introduction.

I held out my hand and she automatically reached out and shook it. "Hello, thank you for coming to my lecture today. What's your name?" Her handshake was firm and pleasant and her hand was soft in mine as I held it a moment longer than necessary.

She blushed and tripped over her tongue. "Margaret, sir. My name is Margaret Mitchell." She cast her gaze toward the floor as she said, "I'm sorry I was late and disrupted your introduction.

I knew immediately that she thought I was displeased and had come to call her out. In fact, it was quite the opposite. "Don't be concerned, Margaret. I have actually come to see if you would like to sit closer. I noticed you diligently taking notes and I wanted you to have the opportunity to sit closer for the second half of the morning."

She looked up and met his eyes in surprise. "Oh! Yes, I would love that. Thank you, Sir." She smiled brilliantly with her pretty tan and straight, white teeth and I smile back at her. Offering my arm, she took it and I escorted her up the aisle to a much better seat for the remainder of the morning session.

I stood beside her with my hands in my pockets as she sat down and pulled her notebook and pen back out. I chuckled inwardly as I saw some doodles along the top of her notebook but as I glanced at her notes, I realized she was writing down key points and then as much impactful information as she could under each heading.

Narrowing my eyes at her while I thought for a few moments, I said, "you didn't get any coffee during the break, are you not a coffee drinker?"

"Oh I love coffee. It makes up a large portion of my diet, I'm afraid." She giggled softly and I love to hear it. I normally hated giggling but hers was genuine, I guess, and hearing genuine giggles wasn't the same as the grating, fake, flattering giggles that I was exposed to at every corporate event.

I laughed softly with her and I am delighted at her wit and said, "what's your poison?"

Grinning up at me from her seat, she said, "Cafe latte."

"Cafe latte?" I was really surprised. "No pumpkin spice latte, chai latte, vanilla latte with coconut milk and monk fruit?"

She laughed a full belly laugh at my mildly sarcastic question. "Afraid not. Computer geek here. I am about as boring as it gets. Cream, heavy on the espresso shots, unsweet, a little fluff on top. That sums me up. Pretty standard."

"I'd call that classic," I grinned as I walked away to a staff member and ordered 2 cafe lattes.

Returning to Margaret's side I said, "I don't think boring sums you up at all, Miss Margaret. Can I invite you to lunch with me today?"

That caught her really off guard. She blushed again. "Um, I-, sure Mr. Blackhill."

We were momentarily interrupted by the staff member bringing over the cafe lattes. I thanked the staff member and took both of the lattes from him and handed one to Margaret.

"Great, I'll come collect you at the next break." I smiled at her as she took the latte and she smiled back at me, mouthing a thank you as I turned and headed down the aisle to the podium to resume the class.

There was a low roar in the hall after everyone returned to their seats but I patiently waited and everyone regained their silence quickly and I launched into the second half of the morning seminar about lean startup methodology and market analysis and the competition.

My mind wandered while I was giving this talk because it was a subject I could talk about in my sleep. At 45 years old, I had ate, drank, and slept tech startups for the last twenty years. So I took my time to watch Margaret now that she was just 20 feet away instead of 100. She was a knockout up close. She was little. As I showed her to her new seat, she had only come up to about the center of my chest but she was shapely in that orange mini-dress. It clung to her in all the right places and those black heels elongated her shapely legs.

I laughed at myself when I wished she would get hot in the conference hall and take off the black cardigan but a few minutes later I was rewarded as she shrugged it off and tossed it over the back of her chair as she continued to take notes. She had athletically toned shoulders and arms and her breasts were large and looked firm and fantastic under the tight little dress. After talking to her, I pegged her at early twenties but far more mature mentally. I loved her name. Margaret. Who named a 20-something Margaret? It was charming and it was lovely and it suited her.

I had a great view of her legs at this angle and they were primly positioned to be modest but my gaze traveled up from her small feet to her delicate ankles and knees to her tight, shapely thighs until they disappeared under the mini-dress. I so wished it were my hands trailing up her legs instead of my eyes as I felt a bolt of desire go through me as I considered her. My brain showed me an image of her straddling my lap with those black heels planted on each side of the seat beside me and that little orange mini-dress riding up to her hips while I trail kisses down her neck. I shut my thoughts down then and stood behind the podium as I willed my semi-erection into submission so I could walk around the platform again. Inwardly, I laughed at myself. I hadn't been this hot for a girl since college.

Typically, I ignore younger women and stick to women in their 30s but I'd never been serious about any of them. They were more of a personal toy to distract me when I wasn't working and a decoration for my arm at corporate and charity events. They were always beautiful but I have little interest in them personally because they are fake around me and never really genuine. Carefully curated outfits and coiffed hairstyles and painstakingly applied makeup. Everything they say or talk about was planned ahead of time. They are all style over substance. Like a beautiful dessert that tastes like cardboard.

I've no interest in women my own age at all. Women in their 40s were in a stage of life that I wasn't and I definitely am not attracted to pencil skirts, blazers, and pants suits or the personality of corporate ladder climbers. Love working with them and they make great colleagues and trusted managers but I have no desire at all to sleep with one. I haven't had a family yet and I spent all my life since college working instead of dabbling in romance. No woman had turned my head enough to make me have romantic feelings but I wasn't opposed to romance now since I am able to have a better work/life balance and still be successful by my own definition.

I continued lecturing as I watched her while she took notes and totally had no idea I was staring at her. Her big blue eyes, black lashes, and full lips called to me even though her face was totally devoid of makeup. She's probably the only woman in the seminar today without a full-face of makeup or a pants suit on. She was different and it was completely refreshing. I want to know more about her...a lot more.

~~~~~~~~~~

Margaret

He invited me to lunch. I was shocked and pleased. I am not sure why he's noticed me but I'm glad he has. I took detailed notes throughout the entire morning and listened carefully to him. I had a lot of ideas running through my head. Mr. CEO Thorin Blackhill was freaking sexy up there but his brain was so full of knowledge that I wasn't distracted by his looks but now that he was done talking and he would be taking me to lunch in just a few minutes, I was definitely distracted now.

He had come and introduced himself to me and no one else. He had gotten me a better seat in the seminar this morning, and he had bought me a coffee and invited me to lunch. Was he attracted to me? I was suddenly very nervous. I had never been on a date before...like, ever...and I had no idea what to do or say. I suppose I would just be myself and that would have to do. My mother was a socialite and I was raised with good manners even if I didn't wear fashionable clothes regularly or carry designer handbags.

He was worldly and experienced and I...was not either of those things. I was 21 years old and plenty able to go to lunch with whomever I wanted...and I wanted very much to go to lunch with Thorin Blackhill. Standing next to him for 5 minutes was enough to get my panties wet and I wanted to see where things went. I'm pretty sure if I wanted to lose my virginity, that Thorin Blackhill could do it right.

After chatting with some staff for a few moments, he headed toward her and she stood to meet him in the aisle. He said to her, "I already had a place picked out to have lunch privately. When I have a big seminar like this where I talk all day, I often eat alone. Is that okay?"

Margaret was relieved and smiled. "I am a bit of an introvert and I don't get out much. So something more private is right up my ally."

Thorin looked at her curiously and smiled. So he liked that she wasn't a social butterfly, huh? That was different. Most women like my mother were constantly wanting to go to some event or entertain and be the hostess. I was not one of them. I liked hosting for my best friends and family but not strangers. I bet he's obligated to make appearances at events and they make him mentally tired. I know my mom's events make me tired, I chuckled inwardly.

"We have a two hour break today. I always think an hour is too short on a full day of lecturing." Placing his hand on the small of her back he gently guided her toward the back.

"Let's go out the back, I have my car parked back there."

Sure enough, in the back lot reserved for professors, sat a Tesla Model S, a luxury electric sedan. Nice! Although he was a strange man, he was a famous CEO from Silicon Valley and I was pretty sure lunch was just a method to get to know each other better. I felt safe with him and besides, I hadn't been in a Tesla before and I wanted to ride in it.

After buckling in, I said, "So, where are we headed?". Oh goodness...these seats are like butter. Mmmmm. Whoa, this was a sexy car. I leaned back into the seat. It felt great after sitting in the conference room chairs for 4 hours.

I heard Mr. Blackhill laugh and I turned to look at his amused face. "Are you enjoying the car?" he smirked.

Oh no, I must have made that Mmmm sound out loud. I blushed but laughed too. "Um, yes, you did not have to sit in a conference hall seat for the last 4 hours."

He was still laughing as he peeled out of the parking lot and was down the block in a flash. "We are headed to Kyoto Fusion. It's just 3 blocks down."

I was griping the door handle with his aggressive driving in the heart of the college part of town. I never drive here because it was crazy and I simply walked everywhere. Today with only two hours though, he was definitely saving time with the way he was driving. I giggled softly but he caught it and looked over at me.

He grinned in response to my giggle. "Yes?"

"You are quite the-...skilled, er- driver." I stumbled over the right thing to say but it came out a little sarcastic, but that was okay because I meant it a little sarcastic. I smiled.

Thorin threw back his head and laughed loudly. "I have to say, I have never...a single time in a decade at least...had a woman call me out for my driving." It was a real and deep laugh that made me laugh too.

"Well, I aim to please." I was laughing so hard my eyes watered. I don't even know why it was funny, but it was.