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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWk9hcuF8u9
And I came back to find the entire rhythm of my org chart quietly rearranged.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPJ4Nt97ji
Not by me. Not by anyone who reports to me.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiu0NZJdRb
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMSxmvDOAt
He didn't even consult me. Not a message. Not a call.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdW0Mhu9X2
Just a silent maneuver that stripped me of one of my best men.
Ayub wasn't just good.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUV8osFNlit
He was my stabilizer.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDSPppTZFE
The one I trusted when everything was on fire.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVtASeGu6m
Precise, unshakable, loyal to the bone.
I didn't have many of those.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mUdn5BG6z
And Babo just handed him off like a spare part.
It was strategic. Sure.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCnAiEeHM6
Babo saw a storm in Lamija and thought Ayub would be the anchor. That made sense.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6Iu8hmv5T
But what grated was how quietly it happened—no discussion, no warning.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxJ8F22y0Z
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0PmGxywKI
Calm on the surface, panic humming underneath.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mPBwIGp3Z
I knew the look. He wore it when his father died. When Babo first offered him a role.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLldo9nYh5Y
When he thought too much of himself was at risk to speak.
"Morning," I said, motioning to the chair.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCuPXmndEO
"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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHtIiVTcKV
"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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt15Hsn25Yk
"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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HjU9Iamja
And we both know his decisions don't come with feedback forms."
I leaned back, studying him.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfcZL1babr
"You think you're not cut out for her team? That's garbage.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiXnAWdbYn
You're one of the best assets in this building.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcf7mOUpit
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUfXqOrmgA
You do the job, then vanish.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMBEZtfwUS
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsG7bD8YcSP
"This isn't about the job. This is about her."
He tensed.
"You've avoided her for years. I watched it happen.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpBnYsW1tI
Switching shifts, avoiding meetings, never once volunteering on anything tied to her division.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5v7OcAlTg8
I let it go. Figured you had your reasons.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkQQFBpylN
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5Tdyd2qCQ
She's sharp, relentless, and doesn't bend for anyone.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtd29xMpN5l
But that doesn't mean you don't belong beside her.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGfGdiPnRv
You don't need to compete with her.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aXds6XffP
You need to stop disappearing."
He ran a hand over his face.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZigF7GyU4A
He looked tired. Frayed.
"I don't belong in her world."
I shook my head.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZkWAs3cTx
"Don't give me that. You lived in our house. You ate at our table. My mother calls you her son.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZGe7pV20B
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PiDVzc9IT
"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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIGHacCcKw
"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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFBjZP529e
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.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCx9YrH454n
Respectfully, he's tired.
Ayub wants to disappear.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMnp34bKwC
Lamija wants control.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRmgamPhJR
And Imran just wants a functioning org chart and one (1) peaceful morning.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHjzScdJCt
He's not getting it.
Let me know if you're starting to pick a favorite.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYBMVj68tR
(And if it's not Imran by now, you're lying.)67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4gVGApmg8
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCiyIbiQ14
- Ash&Olive
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn7VmUXbhC
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