The Man Who Always Won Lost at Love Chapter 08
That afternoon, I had just stepped out of the office to pick up my food order when someone suddenly
grabbed my wrist.
“Leona.”
Dante stood in front of me, dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn’t slept in days.
“I’m not here to cause trouble. I just brought you lunch.” He held up the food he’d brought. “I used to make your lunches all the time.”
I stepped back and pulled my wrist free. “But I don’t need you to anymore. Dante, we’re not together.”
His expression changed instantly. “Not together? Leona, I know I was wrong. Whatever you don’t like, I can
change.”
I looked at him. “But now, it’s you I don’t like.”
That finally silenced him.
I picked up my own lunch. “Don’t come here again, and don’t interfere with my work.”
Dante stood there for a long time without moving.
For a while after that, he still showed up.
Sometimes he appeared outside the office. Other times, he turned up on a street corner.
But after a formal warning from Westerlin, he stopped coming into the building.
I didn’t ask about him.
Life kept moving.
Three months later, I was promoted to team lead again.
Six months after that, Westerlin was invited to bid on a major new account: a strategic procurement contract
for Halcyon Grand Hotel Group.
Our final competitor was Orsatti; when I saw the name, I paused for just a second, then went right back to
preparing.
When Dante was involved, everyone used to assume Orsatti would win.
Dante never lost a major pitch.
But on the day of the final meeting, Orsatti was late.
One minute passed.
Ten minutes passed.
By the time thirty–one minutes had passed, the Halcyon representative had finally lost patience and signed
the contract containing the final terms we’d submitted.
I had just closed the folder when the glass conference–room door finally opened.
Dante stood on the other side, smelling strongly of whiskey. His hair was a mess, and his suit was wrinkled.
The Halcyon representative looked visibly displeased.
Dante barely seemed to notice anyone else. He stared only at me until his gaze landed on the signed
contract on the table.
He managed a strained smile. “You won.”
I said nothing.
He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Just this once, I’m willing to lose to you.”
I slowly capped my pen. “Dante, you still don’t get it.”
He looked at me.
I stood. “This isn’t me beating you. You don’t get to compete with me anymore.”
The color drained from his face.
“I stopped competing with you a long time ago,” I continued. “You’re the one who’s still stuck in that
competition.”
Dante lowered his head. After a long silence, he suddenly said, “Mireya left Orsatti.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“Without my help, she couldn’t even handle the most basic analysis.” He smiled faintly. “Why did I ever think it
was my job to protect her?”
I didn’t answer.
That question had nothing to do with me anymore.
Dante looked at me. “Leona, is there really no way back for us?”
“Of course not.”
He sank into a chair as if all the strength had gone out of him. “Not even the slightest chance?”
I looked at him calmly.
Every time we used to fight, I was the one who broke down while he stood there like the winner, waiting for
me to give in.
Now the roles were completely reversed.
But I felt no sense of triumph.
I had walked away a long time ago.
“Dante, I used to think I wanted to beat you. Then I realized all I ever wanted was for you to stop making a
competition out of loving me.”
His eyes turned red.
I simply picked up the file. “But you never did. So it’s over.”
With that, I walked out of the conference room.
Paige was already waiting outside. “Did we get it?”
“Yeah.” I handed her the signed contract.
Her face lit up. “So coffee’s on you?”
“Of course.”
We headed back toward the office together.
Sunlight streamed in at the end of the hallway, and the trees outside had grown much taller than when I first
joined Westerlin.
Everything was finally falling back into place–work, friends, life, and the part of me that no longer let
someone else decide my worth.
For years, I had wanted to beat Dante just once.
Only later did I realize that being number one was never about being ahead of someone else or making them
admit defeat.
It was about finally learning to choose myself before anyone else.
From then on, I would never again take part in a competition disguised as love.
I never needed to beat anyone to prove I was worth something.
I would work hard, live well, and put myself first.
And this time, no one could give that place to anyone else.
