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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMApKzkuTcl
And I came back to find the entire rhythm of my org chart quietly rearranged.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIBfDqsZ9E
Not by me. Not by anyone who reports to me.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNSLKmGB6h
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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyf8TdfzUXl
He didn't even consult me. Not a message. Not a call.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4n8nyLXqC
Just a silent maneuver that stripped me of one of my best men.
Ayub wasn't just good.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wEa3LizeQ
He was my stabilizer.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWnYVFeQZ9
The one I trusted when everything was on fire.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxhOZ53Jqn
Precise, unshakable, loyal to the bone.
I didn't have many of those.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KCaJx33oQ
And Babo just handed him off like a spare part.
It was strategic. Sure.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQETd1Nu79
Babo saw a storm in Lamija and thought Ayub would be the anchor. That made sense.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡporoHBEqCh
But what grated was how quietly it happened—no discussion, no warning.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiI2UrYwQ9D
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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iN0Bq5wOT
Calm on the surface, panic humming underneath.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTo82WHo8ee
I knew the look. He wore it when his father died. When Babo first offered him a role.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6H61C3Bxj
When he thought too much of himself was at risk to speak.
"Morning," I said, motioning to the chair.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMHfGdHIwW
"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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zcaZa4RAb
"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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpIkZUlLbg
"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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfUVG0SEVE
And we both know his decisions don't come with feedback forms."
I leaned back, studying him.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYs4dq9WQo
"You think you're not cut out for her team? That's garbage.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDgqymjCdj
You're one of the best assets in this building.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZ5snaTUjQ
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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbDbLf8bYV
You do the job, then vanish.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ECugtpBS9
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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPrJN9A9pD
"This isn't about the job. This is about her."
He tensed.
"You've avoided her for years. I watched it happen.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYNSDe5KDu
Switching shifts, avoiding meetings, never once volunteering on anything tied to her division.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFSNJakJ3Q
I let it go. Figured you had your reasons.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdUqiDYbPQ
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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJTN7FHYpH
She's sharp, relentless, and doesn't bend for anyone.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVxWYMc4XK
But that doesn't mean you don't belong beside her.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVi6ZpyoAU2
You don't need to compete with her.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqHAaZeTnI
You need to stop disappearing."
He ran a hand over his face.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPKGJqa5KG
He looked tired. Frayed.
"I don't belong in her world."
I shook my head.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6VDYNBC3a
"Don't give me that. You lived in our house. You ate at our table. My mother calls you her son.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aaINyXOkQ
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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY89K3GMKsI
"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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vibK8UyuR
"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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3IxVIUDVN
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.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WtOwbOQGE
Respectfully, he's tired.
Ayub wants to disappear.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eM6MnSniX
Lamija wants control.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMu2My4iHw
And Imran just wants a functioning org chart and one (1) peaceful morning.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyxANahhci
He's not getting it.
Let me know if you're starting to pick a favorite.86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcemhNuYGr
(And if it's not Imran by now, you're lying.)86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8z7Hg4ebE5
86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKBlSqZPyr
- Ash&Olive
86Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0nt6BYVIV
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