I'd only been back twelve hours, and already my inbox looked like a war zone.
One week. One summit in Vienna. A few brutal layovers.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfqm8oqJmy
And I came back to find the entire rhythm of my org chart quietly rearranged.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC011HYl7pl
Not by me. Not by anyone who reports to me.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4fswMp9Re
But by the man at the top.
Husine Begović didn't ask for opinions. He gave orders.
Still, when I saw Ayub's name missing from my leadership circle, I had to reread it three times.
Transferred. Reassigned.
To Lamija's division.
I sat back in my chair, jaw tight.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPo2HKBA4Ec
He didn't even consult me. Not a message. Not a call.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5NwlW7wQL
Just a quiet move that pulled one of my sharpest weapons off the board.
Ayub wasn't just good.
He was my stabilizer.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRX1X6TPW0
The one I trusted when everything was on fire.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBf9s8KeiU
Precise, unshakable, loyal to the bone.
I didn't have many of those.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrX88T0IzfY
And Babo just handed him off like a spare part.
It was strategic. Sure.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBANMCFh3K1
Babo saw a storm in Lamija and thought Ayub would be the anchor. That made sense.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuVrweZSKe
But what grated was how quietly it happened—no discussion, no warning.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtP1HY8KEO
Just a line moved from one chart to another, as if it meant nothing.
To me, it did.
Ayub wasn't built for presentation.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTYTQPgelb
He was built for precision.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDmEw8M6PW
He's not a team player. He's a weapon.
And Lamija—God help her—I love her, but she doesn't even know what she's been handed.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeklVoy2vjL
Doesn't know what he is.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BviOuseZ4
What he's done.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqvZTSmZNe
What he's capable of when no one's watching.
She's going to try to manage him. Pull him out of the shadows.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSBObzWtsa
And she doesn't even know he's a loaded weapon—no trigger lock, no fucking safety.
I was still working through my flagged emails when the knock came.
Right on time.
Didn't even have to check the clock.
"Come in."
Ayub stepped inside. Shoulders squared. Jaw locked.
Too calm. The kind of calm that only means something’s already burning.
Then he sat.
Didn’t fidget. Didn’t posture.
But everything about him said exactly what he didn’t.
He didn’t want this.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1jsdi7pJs
And he was here to ask me to fix it.
"Morning," I said, motioning to the chair.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdazutO4D30
"Jet lagged and already three fires deep, so just say it."
"I need to be reassigned," he said.
There it was.
I raised an eyebrow. "Thought so."
He shifted.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18xfDHSDwK
"She's used to watching her team. I'm not used to being watched."
I leaned back, smirk already forming.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSLxdYCVhP
“Oh, I bet you’d love for her to watch you.”
His eyes flicked up—sharp, unreadable.
Didn’t bite. Didn’t blink.
I nodded, satisfied. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
I let the silence hang a second longer.
“You saw the update last night?”
He gave a short nod. “Thought it was a mistake.”
"It wasn't. Babo moved you. And we both know his decisions don't come with feedback forms."
I leaned back, waiting.
I knew what this was about.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ccDvJ7M8d
I just wanted to watch him lie to me.
“You don’t want to be on her team because you don’t want her to see the dirt on your hands?”
His jaw twitched. Barely.
“Every quiet threat. Every backchannel deal. Every mess you cleaned for me or Babo. You told me to keep her out of it. And I did.”
He didn’t answer.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYe5sw0RHM2
Ayub’s silence wasn’t passive—it was a tell.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnbKOKeuAz
When it mattered, he shut down.
“I get it. You’ve got a thing for her. You always have. It’d be sweet—if it weren’t so fucking pathetic.”
I let it land. Then kept going.
“But now you’re on her team. In her space. Under her eyes.” I leaned in slightly. “And you know damn well she’s gonna see it. She’s sharp. Too sharp. She’ll figure out you’re not the quiet, good little boy scout you pretend to be.”
That finally earned me a look.
Controlled. Measured.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GHe8rPZNQ
And just shy of murderous.
I smiled, slow.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvbrdIIl3f
“Oh, and let’s not pretend proximity doesn’t mess with you. You’ve been dodging her for a decade. Now you’re expected to sit across from her in meetings like she doesn’t rattle something in you that nothing else ever has.”
His stare darkened.
Still didn’t speak.
But I saw it—just beneath the stillness.
This wasn’t about logistics.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OQwajDw7r
It was about exposure.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJ7IM1EeZo
And Ayub doesn’t like being seen.
Especially not by her.
His jaw flexed.
Still nothing.
"You want me to go to Babo and reverse it? Can't. Wouldn't, even if I could."
His brow creased.
“You’re Babo’s sniper, Ayub. She works with you every day. She should know.”
Ayub’s jaw flexed.
“I don’t want her to know.”
His voice was low. Firm.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbdEqofSsN
Like the words hurt to say—but not enough to lie.
I looked at him.
“Why?”
He didn’t blink.
“Because I’ve done awful shit, Imran. For you. For your father. For her.” He paused. “And if she knew what I’ve done—what I’m still capable of—she’d never look at me the same.”
I exhaled, slow.
“Do you regret it?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“No.”
I nodded once.
“Would you do it again?”
He met my eyes. Steady.
“Tomorrow.”
I leaned back in my chair.
“Then she deserves to know exactly what just landed in her lap.”
I let the words land. Let the silence sit.
Then I added, lighter, "You know what might actually help though? We get her married off."
He blinked. Just blinked.
"I'm serious," I said, straight-faced. "Set her up. Vet the prospects. Do background checks, call their mothers, screen their blood type. Maybe get psychological evaluations done ahead of time."
I tapped my tablet. "You could run the whole operation. Set up interviews. Coffee tastings. Prayer compatibility tests."
His jaw locked, just slightly.
"I mean it," I added with a smirk.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvQ4LFUd66
"It'd be good for the company. Imagine the morale boost."
As he stood, he didn't say a word—just flicked me off on the way to the door.
I grinned.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwGE1DVSB6
"That's more like it."
He walked out, shoulders still tight, but not shrinking.
I watched the door click shut behind him.
Maybe Babo knew what he was doing.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfss8vrMpg
But it still felt like a warning shot.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And now we meet Imran — eldest son, CEO-in-training, corporate firefighter, part-time therapist, full-time older brother who absolutely did not sign up for any of this.
He's trying to keep the entire empire from imploding while his father plays chess with people's careers and his sister sharpens her metaphorical sword before breakfast.
Also, yes — his solution to workplace tension is matchmaking.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsX939iyeW
Respectfully, he's tired.
Ayub just wants to stay in the shadows and ruin lives quietly. 100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTKVpJd9AY
Lamija wants control.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSRlaWmMd0
And Imran just wants a functioning org chart and one (1) peaceful morning.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6OZYozFq7
He's not getting it.
Let me know if you're starting to pick a favorite.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWQd08o2Lb
(And if it's not Imran by now, you're lying.)100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2q41ABHlJ
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqtNgpOytX
- Ash&Olive
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKqVhag0Qn
