The office was quieter than usual that afternoon. A strange lull had settled over the floor, the kind that made every sound sharper, every movement slower. My inbox was full, reports still half-read, and I hadn't moved from the same spreadsheet in twenty minutes.
Because I was staring at my phone.
Talha had posted a photo. He never posted.
But today, apparently, he made an exception.
It was a photo of him and Lamija. Taken at the restaurant across the river—her favorite. She was laughing. Head tilted, eyes warm. Not posed. She hadn't even noticed the camera. I could tell by the way she looked at him.
The caption read:10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCXG5TdYdV
Lunch with the boss.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9WaZNjARl
@ayubselimovic you good bro? 😂
I stared at it longer than I should have.
I knew nothing was going on. Talha was my best friend. He would've told me.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHwXYBR7Ms
But right below the caption, there it was.
One red heart.
From her.
A joke? Maybe.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFVoCQv0cb
But it burned anyway.
Because how could she laugh like that with him, smile like that with him—and keep me at such a distance?
My phone buzzed again.
Lamija Begović: Conference room in ten. Bring the weekly. Emir and Jasmina will be there.
I locked my screen. Stood up. Straightened my collar and grabbed the folder I'd been pretending to review. My chest was tight with something I couldn't name. Not jealousy. I wasn't allowed that.
But something close.
When I walked into the conference room, Lamija was already there. Emir stood beside her, leaning casually against the windowsill. Jasmina sat at the far end of the table, clicking her pen like she couldn't wait to be anywhere else.
"We're waiting on Ayub," Lamija said without looking up from her tablet.
"I'm here," I said, sliding into the seat across from her.
She glanced at me once. Neutral. Focused. Not the woman from the photo. Not the woman who laughed by the river.
"Let's begin," she said.
The meeting started with a review of operational KPIs, department reshuffles, and next month's investor notes. I was supposed to present the second half—team analytics and budget structure.
I barely heard a word Emir said.
Lamija looked good today. Hijab wrapped clean, not a fold out of place. That red lipstick she only wore when she wanted to remind everyone who they were dealing with. Black blouse, tailored blazer—sharp lines, sharper posture. Professional. Composed. Unbothered. The version of her the world always saw. The version I was still trying not to stare at.
I wanted to rip the phone out of Talha's hand for catching the version she hid from the rest of us.
"Ayub," Lamija said sharply.
I blinked. "Sorry?"
She gestured at me with the tablet. "Team analytics. You're up."
I cleared my throat and started. My voice was steady, but my mind was ten paces behind. I stumbled over the numbers, skipped a slide, had to backtrack twice. Jasmina gave me a look.
Lamija didn't say anything.
But her silence was louder than Jasmina's sigh.
She didn't interrupt. Didn't cover for me. Just watched—cool, composed, and quietly brutal.
God, she was beautiful when she was like that.
Fierce.
Unapologetic.
Not mine.
The meeting dragged. My focus didn't come back. I messed up another figure in the budget sheet. Emir asked me to clarify. I fumbled the answer. Jasmina didn't bother hiding her smirk.
Finally, Lamija ended it. "That's enough for today. Jasmina, Emir, give us the room."
They filed out. Jasmina threw me one last glance. Emir gave me a polite nod.
The door clicked shut.
Lamija stood by the screen. Arms folded. Silent.
I didn't speak.
She turned to face me.
"What the hell was that?"
I looked at her. The heels. The lipstick. The steady, unreadable gaze.
"You were sloppy, Ayub. You missed three figures, two slides, and nearly lost us a week's worth of credibility. That's not like you."
I stayed seated. Grounded.
"You want the truth?" I asked.
"Always."
I met her eyes. "I was distracted."
"By what?"
I looked at her. "Don't make me say it."
She stared at me.
I stood. Closed the space between us by two steps. Not close enough to be inappropriate. Just close enough to make my point.
"By you."
Her lips parted slightly. But she didn't back away.
"By you and Talha. " I said. "You give him the benefit of the doubt. Your time. Your patience. Your loyalty. And I've been here this whole time—trying. And you never once looked at me like I could be anything more than useful."
"Talha and I are friends," she said, calm but clipped.
"I know."
"Then what exactly are you accusing me of?"
I looked at her. Really looked.
"Nothing," I said. "Except maybe of never letting me in the way you let him in."
She said nothing.
"He gets the part of you that laughs," I said. "I get the part that commands."
Lamija took a step back. Just one. "This isn't professional."
I held her gaze. "Neither was that photo."
Her expression tightened. "That photo wasn't about you."
"Then why tag me?"
That stopped her.
"Talha knew exactly what he was doing. You knew exactly what it would look like and you still hit the heart."
Her lips pressed together, just slightly. A flicker.
"Yea," I said, voice low. "It was about me. And the way it gutted me—that was all you."
The silence between us turned sharp. Searing.
She turned first.
"You need to pull yourself together, Ayub," she said. "Whatever this is—whatever you think this is—compartmentalize it. Or it's going to cost you more than just a meeting."
She paused—just long enough to make it count.
"And next time you want to show initiative, don't override my timelines behind my back. Fixing Kovač was the right call, and I saw it. But you don't get to trade one correction for a blind spot that could've cost us his contract."
I blinked. Just once.
She turned away again. "We're done here."
I nodded. "Understood."
I left before I said something I couldn't take back.
But the picture stayed in my head.
Her smile.
That stupid heart.
And the fire it lit in my chest hadn't gone out. Just sank lower. Burned quieter. But it was still there.
Still hers.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ayub really thought they were building something.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEq5rEk7RJw
Turns out she was just building a wall—and now he's on the wrong side of it.
This chapter was brought to you by:10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdSrU7EcU0
✔ Office tension hot enough to melt a KPI deck10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCF2pZU8LI2
✔ An Instagram post with real consequences10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJhS3aJLEu
✔ And the phrase "pull yourself together," said with corporate venom
Thanks for reading.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMl5mTAlmGO
Talha lit the match.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lkACT3wOl
Lamija brought the fire extinguisher.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVitHFbmkA
Ayub? He's still burning.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfdphxbq9z
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