He showed up.
I was already at my desk when I heard the firm click of his shoes in the hallway.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgivA6IT122
7:58 AM. Two minutes early.
Of course he was.
Ayub Selimović was too stubborn to back down and too proud to arrive late.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lJxRzhZdP
After the way I pushed him yesterday—in front of Emir, in front of the whole team—I expected frost.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreAV7cZLpS
Maybe clipped words.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlGuWu64lv
Maybe a little fire.
But when he stepped through the door, all I got was calm.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHpN1stxaT
Polished.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeASYpAV23
Composed.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSsPiiLG3G
Too composed.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjdp81V4Ey
Like a man who’d spent the morning rebuilding the walls I cracked yesterday—only thicker.
He closed the door behind him with one clean motion.
The air in my office was always still—deliberately so.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbdGea84JX
No clutter. No noise. No framed degrees or trophies on the walls, just a single photograph near the bookshelf: my grandfather standing outside the original Begović textile mill, sleeves rolled, arms folded. The reminder wasn’t for visitors. It was for me.
The desk was matte walnut—clean lines, no shine. A single glass of water sat to the left of my laptop, untouched. I never kept coffee cups on my desk. Never left files out overnight. No one should be able to read me by the mess I left behind.
The windows were tall but tinted, facing the east side of the city. Morning light filtered through soft linen blinds, enough to see each other clearly—but never enough to feel fully lit. The walls were a deep slate gray, interrupted only by a quiet black-and-gold clock and a row of clean shelving behind me. Everything had a place. Everything stayed where I put it.
Except him.
Ayub stepped inside like he belonged in the space. Like he’d already mapped the geometry of it—how far he could lean back without touching the wall, how much silence he could stretch before I’d speak first.
I hated how well he fit into the quiet.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYev1KXPbcb
And maybe, just a little, I liked it too.
I didn't look up right away.
Let the moment breathe.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgIxTPvlkZ
Let him wait.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6JUGzpHlU
Let him wonder if I was doing it on purpose.
Because I was.
When I finally lifted my gaze, he was already watching me.
Not like a subordinate.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6rCbI57qt
Not even like a man who'd been humiliated the day before.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAF5sK2dcG
He was studying me.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhW7GDsKAG
Like he was trying to solve a problem he was getting too close to enjoying.
"Asalaam Aleykum," he said, voice even.
"Aleykum Selaam."
Just that.
No smile.
But something in the air shifted.
I gestured toward the chair across from me.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ofxZT76H9
"Sit. Let's get started."
No small talk. No apologies. No mention of yesterday.
Let it hang.
He sat, tugging his sleeve just enough to reveal the edge of his watch.
His suit was charcoal—slim fit, sharp lapels, clean lines. The shirt was crisp white, top button open, no tie. Everything about him looked intentional. Efficient. Like he dressed the way he moved: precise, focused, with just enough edge to keep you guessing.
He dressed well. Better than most.
But not well enough for me.
The cut was clean, but off by a breath—jacket half an inch too long, sleeves not quite breaking where they should. His shoes were solid. Safe. The watch was understated, but didn’t match the belt buckle. Little things. Easily fixed.
It wasn’t wrong. It just wasn’t perfect.
Still, there was something about the way he wore it all—like he didn’t care how he looked, but knew he had to carry it right. And he did.
That, I respected.
The man had presence. Stillness. Heat he didn’t waste.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvGcmRS450
He didn’t fidget. Didn’t posture. Just took up space like it was owed to him.
And—God help me—he was beautiful.
Rough around the edges, quiet in all the right ways.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxwpK492NJ
The kind of man you could dress in anything and make look dangerous.
If he were mine, I’d start with the tailoring.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90jZnD6JVc
Nothing drastic—just sharp enough to cut.
He wouldn’t fight me on it.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwuphMBis7X
I could see it. A cleaner cut, sharper detail. A tie in slate or navy. Not for him—he didn’t need it. But because I wouldn’t be able to help myself.
He was always the picture of quiet discipline.
Even when I tore him open in front of his peers, he didn't crumble.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY20zwnVjKY
He cracked, maybe. But he didn't fall.
And now he was here.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Kn8MFMgN8
Two hours before the client briefing that could make or break this quarter’s regional numbers. And he was here—because I told him to be.
I slid the printed deck toward him.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPDmvlb5R3
"Your pacing is off by five minutes. You're overloaded in the second section, and the numbers on slide eleven contradict the Q2 client brief. Fix them. We'll run through it twice before 8:45."
He didn't reach for the deck right away.
Instead, he looked at me.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVjWDMYlbH
Not just eye contact—held it.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiY2Uq1em7q
Steady. Sharp. Like he was reading the spaces between my words.
“You think I can’t handle it.”39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHuMTw4yvx
He paused. “Insha’Allah, I can.”
I tilted my head. Didn't blink.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIkP5IZD4j
"I think you haven't had to handle this before."
"That's not an answer."
I smiled. Slow. Deliberate.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFeiMFFfeY
Not flirtatious. But not harmless, either.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIoggyi4yc
I wanted him to feel it. Just a little.
"It wasn't meant to be."
That earned me something.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifBtkiK5Um
A flicker behind his eyes—not quite irritation, not quite challenge.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wxIFqAFPT
Something hotter.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfO9hpRjX1z
And just like that, I wasn’t sure who was holding the line anymore.
He covered it well, but it was there.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSqe5K84J4
And it made my spine straighten. My pulse tick upward.
"Slide eleven," I said again, quieter now.
“You always talk softer when you’re about to rip something apart.”
He took the deck.
I let that sit between us. Let him have it.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZv5Vmb714R
Didn’t flinch. Didn’t smile.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHto32B8opG
But I didn’t correct him either.
There was a rhythm to the way he moved.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwVMWl4ZKF
Precise. Economical. Like a man who knew Allah was watching, even when no one else was.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjoFEL9iVz
No wasted energy. No distraction.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLm6AjOj3a
Except maybe me.
I watched the furrow form between his brows as he scanned the numbers.
"The Q2 brief used forecasted figures," he said, voice low. Thoughtful.
"And your slide uses reported. Pick one. Don't confuse the client. They hate feeling stupid."
He nodded once.
Didn't write anything down.
Because he already remembered it.
And for a reason I didn't care to name, I liked that more than I should have.
I watched his hands.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yqz58Ccgw
Broad palms. Calloused fingers.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSAjGyqBs4
The kind of hands that didn’t belong in boardrooms—but somehow fit the suit anyway.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Qkmr319cB
Hands that could hold you in place without ever raising their voice.
It always struck me how much of Ayub didn't match the rest.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfJAJRZgg4
The roughness under the polish.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WojBRlT21
The fight under the control.
I liked watching him recalibrate.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6PKgfUcWp
Liked that he never pushed back out of ego—only when it made sense.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUS0I1C9f7j
Liked that he listened. Really listened.
"Your tone's a mess," I added, leaning back slightly.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliCGMURgaC
"You sound like a man reporting findings, not leading a client team. If you don't believe what you're saying, why should they?"
He looked up.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuziSudFSaW
Met my gaze head-on.
No flinching. No ego.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoUP8ec4Rp
Just that same stillness that reminded me he prayed Fajr before most of this city even opened its eyes.
"Maybe because I earned the data."
"Earning it isn't enough," I said.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnncSfp6vgL
"You have to sell it."
His jaw tensed.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4mhisYCbK
"So I should be more like you."
I let my lips curve.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMbXJVksJS
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
He didn't smile.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JYTOvPAwu
But he didn't look away, either.
That was the thing about Ayub.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoK2XCizRn
He never blinked first.
"Again," I said, lifting my hand toward the screen.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXw3PGHEPd
"Start from the top. Don't read the script. Speak."
He exhaled through his nose. Sat up straighter.
And then he did.
I listened—not just to his words, but the way he formed them.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsplWNNpUqA
He still stumbled on the third section. Still rushed the close.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDd6FbNSGK1
But something had shifted.
Less distance.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkVrwtePqJ
More presence.
Like he'd stopped trying to impress me and started trying to lead.
"Again," I said when he finished.
He blinked.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDTJze2nbM
"Already?"
"You think the client only listens once?"
He didn't argue.
He just went again.
I watched the line of tension in his shoulders stretch thinner with each round.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqP1l3tsXq
Watched his jaw tighten. Watched him fight the part of himself that didn't like being molded.
Good.
He shouldn't like it.
Growth never came easy.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5B6a0XwFR5
Not for men like him.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvF1HE8fW2
And I didn't want him easy.
I leaned forward. Cut him off mid-sentence.
"What does that figure mean?"
He barely paused.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKrlWB5ZVa
"It reflects—"
"No. Not what it reflects."39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpuj5xT55c
I tilted my head.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMjB5BpAwD
"What does it mean?"
His brow twitched.
"To them," I clarified.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaLw44FPeN
"The clients. The men in suits. The ones who measure success in margin and control. Why should they care?"
The silence stretched.
I didn't fill it.
Finally, he said,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOQ6bNjv2B
"Because if they don't, they'll cut the next quarter's budget."
"Better."39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8FjGqFRYc
I sat back. Let it land.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPJ9AGDOHP
"Now say it like you mean it."
He did.
This time, he meant it.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLs9lWD7AJ
You could hear it.
I caught myself nodding.
"How much sleep did you get?" I asked, voice lighter now.
“Enough.”
“Uh-huh. Qiyam or anxiety?”
He smirked. Just barely. But it was there. "Bit of both."
The tension wasn't gone.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kXgwoYT9f
Just... changed.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrxWryLeSL
Warmer.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkQinx2f4I
Thicker.
Like we'd stopped circling and started facing each other.
I let my tone soften.
“Wallahi, you’re sharper than most of them already. You just don’t see it yet.”
He looked up—genuinely surprised.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfR0u7HidN
Not by the words.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jfdY8Zb6y
But that I meant them.
"Could've fooled me yesterday."
"Yesterday," I said, steady, "was necessary."
"For who?"
"Both of us."
That stopped him.
I saw it in the way his hands stilled on the deck.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnZt3WQQ1x
The way his eyes narrowed—not in anger, but thought.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60zpDgQOp2
Like something had just clicked into place.
"I need you sharp," I continued.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWqZd4hbge
"If I push you hard, it's because I know you can take it. Rise above it. That's more than I can say for most of the men around here."
His lips parted.
The first real crack in his armor.
"I'm not here to break you," I said.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDUNixJMyG
"I'm here to build you. If you can survive me, you can survive anyone."
His gaze dropped to the deck for a beat.
Then returned to me.
Not gratitude.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnC3RJWi45
Not quite admiration.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBdouc3BIW
Something quieter—respect, maybe. Or the start of it.
“You're dangerous,” he said quietly.
“Alhamdulillah,” I said. “You’re finally catching on.”
His mouth twitched.
He didn't smile.
But he wanted to.
Good.
Let him.
The clock on the wall ticked over to 8:42.
I stood. Walked around the desk. Took the deck from his hand without asking.
"You're ready," I said.
He blinked.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fDBq8KhVR
"You sure?"
"No," I replied, handing it back.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBt6KaZ78JZ
"But you're as close as you're going to get. Go get a coffee. Come back at 9 sharp. And drink water before you speak."
He stood slowly. Rolled his shoulders once—casual, but I could see the tension still living in the line of his back.
He looked like he wanted to say something else.
But he didn't.
He just nodded.
And walked out.
The door clicked shut behind him.
And the second it did,39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgN1uJfcaMX
I let myself smile.
May Allah protect him, I thought.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkt12AArVF
I wasn’t sure from what. Me, maybe.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Look, I didn’t mean for this chapter to feel like a corporate hostage negotiation with bonus eye contact—but here we are.
Lamija is terrifying. Ayub is unbothered. They’re both in denial.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73H2aYxSAe
Meanwhile, the rest of us are just trying to survive the tension in that office.
No one blinked.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBq6WJEwAYD
No one smiled.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdJmAzitHG
And yet somehow, everyone’s a little flustered.
Thanks for reading.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMKpUSlcHQ
Next time: will someone finally crack? (Spoiler: probably not.)39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgQ8pXlCX0
They’ve got five more meetings, six more power struggles, and at least one coordinated outfit to get through first.
Pray for them.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCB4XMhJFOK
And maybe for me.
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