know Indian families are often large. For your information, I’m not married, nor have I ever been. I have no children, not even a pet. Be careful of the assumptions you make, Mr. Marshall. They say far more about you and your biases than they do about me.”
Derek spluttered in indignation with absolutely no idea how to counter Sambit’s argument. “Just leave me the fuck alone, okay? You don’t know anything about my life.”
“You are correct,” Sambit said, “but I do know something about you. I know you are not a bad man. That dog adores you, and despite what you said about the time you have had him, the feeling is obviously mutual. You may hide behind your anger and bravado and bad language, but there is a gentle heart underneath it all or Fido wouldn’t trust you the way he does.”
“I have the food,” Derek reminded Sambit, not at all comfortable with the other man’s assessment of his character.
Sambit shook his head. “That’s not why he follows you with his eyes the way he does. You saved him, and you’ve stayed by him when you could have abandoned him again. That says something far more powerful about your character than the façade you put on for the world. You should let people see that side of you too, not just show it to your dog. You might be surprised what you would receive in return.”
“Nothing but heartbreak and derision,” Derek replied. Sambit’s words held more than a little seduction. Derek got tired sometimes of putting up the front that kept the world at a safe distance, but he’d learned the hard way not to trust anyone not related to him by blood. His parents didn’t understand him, but they supported him. The rest of the world had done nothing more than knock him down and try to keep him there.
“We have a saying in my country,” Sambit said with a sad smile. “Karma is a bitch, Mr. Marshall. Perhaps you should think about that.”
“I don’t go around doing bad things to people,” Derek protested.
“Karma isn’t only about action,” Sambit explained. “It is about everything you put out into the world. I have only known you a few hours, but I have seen very little to foster good karma other than what you have done for your dog. It’s not about what the world gives you, Mr. Marshall, but about what you put out into the world. Maybe it will give you back heartbreak and derision, as you put it, but if all you send out is that same negativity, you will miss the chance at more. Do you think Fido would have reacted the same way he did if you had come at him with your anger and cursing?”
“Leave me alone,” Derek said again.
“As you wish.” Sambit took his tea and left Derek alone in the break room with his pinups, his dog, and his doubts.
Chapter 3
S AMBIT stood at the door of the power plant, sipping his tea and wishing for milk, but he had learned to drink black tea almost as a defense mechanism when he had first arrived in America. While he could usually find hot tea instead of the iced tea most Texans seemed to prefer, he rarely found milk to put in it. His colleagues who drank coffee all used the powdered creamer, which tasted like chemicals to Sambit. Black tea was better than polluting his body with that mess.
Taking another sip, Sambit thought back over his conversation with Derek. He could not decide what to make of the man. On the one hand, he was foul-mouthed, abrasive, and otherwise difficult to get along with. On the other hand, Sambit had stood and watched him with his dog for several long moments before interrupting, and the man sitting there stroking that mutt’s head bore no resemblance to the angry man who had reappeared the moment Sambit spoke. Sambit had no explanation for the dichotomy, but he already recognized the fascination that came from his need to understand. In his experience, people acted predictably for the most part if one knew enough about them and their situations, and that meant Sambit still had things to
Derek spluttered in indignation with absolutely no idea how to counter Sambit’s argument. “Just leave me the fuck alone, okay? You don’t know anything about my life.”
“You are correct,” Sambit said, “but I do know something about you. I know you are not a bad man. That dog adores you, and despite what you said about the time you have had him, the feeling is obviously mutual. You may hide behind your anger and bravado and bad language, but there is a gentle heart underneath it all or Fido wouldn’t trust you the way he does.”
“I have the food,” Derek reminded Sambit, not at all comfortable with the other man’s assessment of his character.
Sambit shook his head. “That’s not why he follows you with his eyes the way he does. You saved him, and you’ve stayed by him when you could have abandoned him again. That says something far more powerful about your character than the façade you put on for the world. You should let people see that side of you too, not just show it to your dog. You might be surprised what you would receive in return.”
“Nothing but heartbreak and derision,” Derek replied. Sambit’s words held more than a little seduction. Derek got tired sometimes of putting up the front that kept the world at a safe distance, but he’d learned the hard way not to trust anyone not related to him by blood. His parents didn’t understand him, but they supported him. The rest of the world had done nothing more than knock him down and try to keep him there.
“We have a saying in my country,” Sambit said with a sad smile. “Karma is a bitch, Mr. Marshall. Perhaps you should think about that.”
“I don’t go around doing bad things to people,” Derek protested.
“Karma isn’t only about action,” Sambit explained. “It is about everything you put out into the world. I have only known you a few hours, but I have seen very little to foster good karma other than what you have done for your dog. It’s not about what the world gives you, Mr. Marshall, but about what you put out into the world. Maybe it will give you back heartbreak and derision, as you put it, but if all you send out is that same negativity, you will miss the chance at more. Do you think Fido would have reacted the same way he did if you had come at him with your anger and cursing?”
“Leave me alone,” Derek said again.
“As you wish.” Sambit took his tea and left Derek alone in the break room with his pinups, his dog, and his doubts.
Chapter 3
S AMBIT stood at the door of the power plant, sipping his tea and wishing for milk, but he had learned to drink black tea almost as a defense mechanism when he had first arrived in America. While he could usually find hot tea instead of the iced tea most Texans seemed to prefer, he rarely found milk to put in it. His colleagues who drank coffee all used the powdered creamer, which tasted like chemicals to Sambit. Black tea was better than polluting his body with that mess.
Taking another sip, Sambit thought back over his conversation with Derek. He could not decide what to make of the man. On the one hand, he was foul-mouthed, abrasive, and otherwise difficult to get along with. On the other hand, Sambit had stood and watched him with his dog for several long moments before interrupting, and the man sitting there stroking that mutt’s head bore no resemblance to the angry man who had reappeared the moment Sambit spoke. Sambit had no explanation for the dichotomy, but he already recognized the fascination that came from his need to understand. In his experience, people acted predictably for the most part if one knew enough about them and their situations, and that meant Sambit still had things to
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