x
He showed up.
I was already at my desk when I heard the firm click of his shoes in the hallway.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡda5PiYCX9j
7:58 AM. Two minutes early.
Of course he was.
Ayub Selimović was too stubborn to back down and too proud to arrive late.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjeYOZ8nZs
After the way I pushed him yesterday—in front of Emir, in front of the whole team—I expected frost.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0yBz0BZmm
Maybe clipped words.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzitU4rx1i
Maybe a little fire.
But when he stepped through the door, all I got was calm.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjKZHmw6RL
Polished.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3ynvUc5Oq
Composed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQesBetFXg
Too composed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYzO6iXR0f
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr39UUzwHXZ
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk54uasLbLn
And maybe, just a little, I liked it too.
I didn't look up right away.
Let the moment breathe.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4PBDVKkJ8
Let him wait.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2QNV43CMo
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHcL2VcjU7
Not even like a man who'd been humiliated the day before.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNYMo7r6KB
He was studying me.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsrFY5VFa3
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAg2W3kl7QT
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAx1djmHs4K
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0S3oKBlwA
The kind of man you could dress in anything and make look dangerous.
If he were mine, I’d start with the tailoring.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd18KYRFAUx
Nothing drastic—just sharp enough to cut.
He wouldn’t fight me on it.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIl1SBdll1
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFunXyC31l
He cracked, maybe. But he didn't fall.
And now he was here.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX65mxPIZXm
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2JFLufuBJ
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw323gONZGS
Not just eye contact—held it.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl57Feowwky
Steady. Sharp. Like he was reading the spaces between my words.
“You think I can’t handle it.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsHxwXn6iJ
He paused. “Insha’Allah, I can.”
I tilted my head. Didn't blink.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gIzjhfaV1
"I think you haven't had to handle this before."
"That's not an answer."
I smiled. Slow. Deliberate.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ORA2A0v85
Not flirtatious. But not harmless, either.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0APJJ1hoMJ
I wanted him to feel it. Just a little.
"It wasn't meant to be."
That earned me something.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtz0zaxr9f
A flicker behind his eyes—not quite irritation, not quite challenge.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61brJq2dgO
Something hotter.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZ5PRiPedB
And just like that, I wasn’t sure who was holding the line anymore.
He covered it well, but it was there.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AxGt2d41Q
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyOkiYXYEh
Didn’t flinch. Didn’t smile.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKk1YQN5W6k
But I didn’t correct him either.
There was a rhythm to the way he moved.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaaTAsUTda
Precise. Economical. Like a man who knew Allah was watching, even when no one else was.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfglNQM7jYy
No wasted energy. No distraction.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrssMwpOW3
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07C18gk8h4
Broad palms. Calloused fingers.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdniBX9lWtl
The kind of hands that didn’t belong in boardrooms—but somehow fit the suit anyway.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2s9cwn5qgq
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXh7910OKDB
The roughness under the polish.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79nmIzr5Xe
The fight under the control.
I liked watching him recalibrate.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrcTYlNie7
Liked that he never pushed back out of ego—only when it made sense.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASKH2uwEgU
Liked that he listened. Really listened.
"Your tone's a mess," I added, leaning back slightly.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdYin9k2bV
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLmte6LIeS
Met my gaze head-on.
No flinching. No ego.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnihpacofVC
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04qNjdnaOo
"You have to sell it."
His jaw tensed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGQGnwUWhg
"So I should be more like you."
I let my lips curve.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkRdUX4IaT
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
He didn't smile.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODcOpoWuL0
But he didn't look away, either.
That was the thing about Ayub.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLbYv5aRKj
He never blinked first.
"Again," I said, lifting my hand toward the screen.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7Z28wXXCG
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIGiMagYMv
He still stumbled on the third section. Still rushed the close.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGPYTyb2Ge
But something had shifted.
Less distance.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJr7etjZ8fN
More presence.
Like he'd stopped trying to impress me and started trying to lead.
"Again," I said when he finished.
He blinked.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayt7pgHTQ7
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8IpBpaaV3
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNhJhwv7M4
Not for men like him.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcC0oZsZCj
And I didn't want him easy.
I leaned forward. Cut him off mid-sentence.
"What does that figure mean?"
He barely paused.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45dwVvuSWL
"It reflects—"
"No. Not what it reflects."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxfQEWgy2a
I tilted my head.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7WSRSoTwS
"What does it mean?"
His brow twitched.
"To them," I clarified.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMR0x91hWpT
"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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGj24XM2nwO
"Because if they don't, they'll cut the next quarter's budget."
"Better."14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSbAQ8FQ4z
I sat back. Let it land.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE14B8ISVcQ
"Now say it like you mean it."
He did.
This time, he meant it.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpZPPhkU1S
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQA43ydYEQA
Just... changed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrr1f3CbU2
Warmer.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmx7eBNXVQR
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbazmJ2BCeg
Not by the words.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZnwC55C7d
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0COCFnxIL
The way his eyes narrowed—not in anger, but thought.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyafEeIbyu
Like something had just clicked into place.
"I need you sharp," I continued.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGGTyFUzPX
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumv2C8Ym9C
"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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MdmThBifF
Not quite admiration.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXaq72rXDw
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBOK2oEyVN
"You sure?"
"No," I replied, handing it back.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ154jY7q352
"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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ01IN7rqCi
I let myself smile.
May Allah protect him, I thought.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuz2kWX4DEw
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvH8xNsjDv
Meanwhile, the rest of us are just trying to survive the tension in that office.
No one blinked.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgaPqnmo9e
No one smiled.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRM8Y1uLFu
And yet somehow, everyone’s a little flustered.
Thanks for reading.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZx1yB2KBK
Next time: will someone finally crack? (Spoiler: probably not.)14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXf50rXPXL
They’ve got five more meetings, six more power struggles, and at least one coordinated outfit to get through first.
Pray for them.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovYCrgfLKY
And maybe for me.
