Hal inhaled deeply to try and focus himself. It was difficult, what with his ego on the verge of deflation, but he managed. "Next week?" he repeated. "Right. Fine. Next week. And until then, we'll say I won," he finished and was already moving towards the main office.
His mind was spinning with all the details of how he had actually tied with her. There were a few turns he could have cut harder, a throttle here or there he may have let go of too soon, but the run had been seamless. He should have had the victory. They were going to have to square away a winner by the end of the day somehow. He refused to leave on a tie.