Chapter 12 - THE MAN WHO LEARNED TO ASK
Dante attended Mira's lecture.
He sat near the back.
No bodyguards beside him.
No expensive entourage.
Just a man in a dark jacket listening carefully.
When the applause ended, he waited until the crowd thinned.
Mira spotted him.
“You came.”
He smiled.
“You invited me.”
She laughed.
“I didn't think you'd actually sit through a ninety-minute lecture on sociolinguistics.”
Dante shrugged.
“I learned several things.”
“Such as?”
He considered.
“That I've spent most of my life underestimating people.”
Mira smiled.
“That's a good start.”
They walked outside together.
The evening was cool.
The city lights shimmered against the pavement.
Dante stopped.
“Mira.”
She turned.
“Yes?”
He looked unusually nervous.
“I'd like to take you to dinner.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“As a business meeting?”
“No.”
“As a security consultation?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“Then what?”
Dante took a breath.
“As a date.”
Mira stared.
For months, she'd watched him change.
Not perfectly.
Not without setbacks.
But genuinely.
He had stopped ordering her around.
He had respected her boundaries.
He had supported her career without trying to own it.
She smiled.
“One date.”
Dante's expression softened.
“One date.”
“And no private rooms full of Russians.”
He laughed.
“Agreed.”
May you like
They walked into the evening together.
For the first time, neither was pretending to be someone else.
