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.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHoYJvsZWN
And I came back to find the entire rhythm of my org chart quietly rearranged.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQZN6thZd4
Not by me. Not by anyone who reports to me.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAxLbkxIgk
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.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhH6mbNhUy
He didn't even consult me. Not a message. Not a call.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8niVwGrZ7
Just a silent maneuver that stripped me of one of my best men.
Ayub wasn't just good.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xPAEk5LPo
He was my stabilizer.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNE5hJbIZ9K
The one I trusted when everything was on fire.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8tPe4UhoT
Precise, unshakable, loyal to the bone.
I didn't have many of those.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQNxpvXgUM
And Babo just handed him off like a spare part.
It was strategic. Sure.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2liLeK5UW
Babo saw a storm in Lamija and thought Ayub would be the anchor. That made sense.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUD9q77sYoz
But what grated was how quietly it happened—no discussion, no warning.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMDrpakL5u
Just a line moved from one chart to another, as if it meant nothing.
To me, it did.
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 but tension radiating off him.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdtqS9VfNQ
Calm on the surface, panic humming underneath.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jANqWKf0S
I knew the look. He wore it when his father died. When Babo first offered him a role.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncXdE3SHn8
When he thought too much of himself was at risk to speak.
"Morning," I said, motioning to the chair.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKXmtYjMXg
"Jet lagged and already three fires deep, so just say it."
He sat.
"I need to be reassigned," he said.
There it was.
I raised an eyebrow. "Thought so."
He shifted.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdB9xjLqJha
"I just... I don't think I'm a good fit for Lamija's team. She works differently. Pushes hard. I don't know if I—"
"Ayub," I cut in, not angry, just sharp.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYoQMKpWow
"You don't want to work with Lamija. Just say that. Don't dress it up in performance talk."
He exhaled through his nose, gaze dropping.
"You saw the update last night?"
He nodded. "Thought it was a mistake."
"It wasn't. Babo moved you.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSplx8BZpd6
And we both know his decisions don't come with feedback forms."
I leaned back, studying him.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHkmJTIjYE
"You think you're not cut out for her team? That's garbage.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwm2QLMe2nh
You're one of the best assets in this building.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8NAeopF4r
You execute without fanfare, without ego, and you get it done."
His jaw flexed.
"But the reason she doesn't know that—the reason no one outside my team knows that—is because you don't let anyone see you.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZYW6CD5rz
You do the job, then vanish.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQLJOY0n32
You stay safe in the background and act surprised when no one hands you a stage."
Still quiet. That was always his move.
I leaned forward, voice lower.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkXgmpRagf
"This isn't about the job. This is about her."
He tensed.
"You've avoided her for years. I watched it happen.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTaS6LTqxe
Switching shifts, avoiding meetings, never once volunteering on anything tied to her division.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhNDgXRRBk
I let it go. Figured you had your reasons.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEjrhJJOMy
But now you're finally in her space and you want to retreat."
He said nothing, but his silence cracked louder than any words.
"She's not going to break you, Ayub."
He looked up, finally.
"You think she's this impossible standard, and maybe she is.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRW7EsMyqqu
She's sharp, relentless, and doesn't bend for anyone.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCdXxuxY7A
But that doesn't mean you don't belong beside her.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWslaPK2Zd
You don't need to compete with her.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Jrmh3AvGb
You need to stop disappearing."
He ran a hand over his face.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYTlSgYlGB
He looked tired. Frayed.
"I don't belong in her world."
I shook my head.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYNGfW9Nk6
"Don't give me that. You lived in our house. You ate at our table. My mother calls you her son.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6dqi6dHSn
You belong here more than half the clowns drawing a paycheck off our name."
Still nothing.
"You want me to go to Babo and reverse it? Can't. Wouldn't, even if I could."
His brow creased.
"Because you're not running this time. You're going to show up. Show her who you really are. And if she doesn't like it? That's her problem. At least she'll finally see you."
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."
Ayub gave me the driest look I'd ever seen.
"I mean it," I added with a smirk.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFCQrYlooH
"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.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIUx7Z6nAZ
"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.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8NG4Wa2cl
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.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcKx0oBQkW
Respectfully, he's tired.
Ayub wants to disappear.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtDm2Lv7Y3
Lamija wants control.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YjAhORtz8
And Imran just wants a functioning org chart and one (1) peaceful morning.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dAgsDbt2i
He's not getting it.
Let me know if you're starting to pick a favorite.80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qTmrrYPxs
(And if it's not Imran by now, you're lying.)80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIdDWEzo3R
80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVANuyvkSA
- Ash&Olive
80Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfnbVIG6kA
