Flash Back Friday- The time I worked for an Indian boss

They say hindsight is 20/20. Haven't you ever looked back on certain life events and asked yourself, What the hell was I thinking?

Here is one such tale. About 6 years ago, I was doing mortgage loans. This was during the subprime frenzy when credit was cheap and home values were increasing at an incredible rate; just before the housing bubble collapsed.

I was sort of new to the industry and I ran with a crew of people that did loans. Here was the crew. Steve, a short, chubby, black dude from Watts that had more ups and downs than JJ from Good Times. He was always on chat lines with names like "Latinas seeking brothas". He was married. Eric, a suave, latin-lover type who was smooth with the ladies. David, my Korean friend who was high strung and VERY opinionated. In fact one time, he grilled an Asian girl on why she died her hair blonde? "She's a self hater!" David was the unofficial leader. Then there was me.

One day David tells us that there is an Indian guy named "Sam" that had a real estate business and he wanted to add a mortgage division-Hence the crew.

MEETING SAM
On the first day of our meeting. Sam decided to talk business by taking us out for breakfast. On the way to the deli his phone rings and he picks up. This is what we heard.

"Hello Sam How arrrr jah"
"Hello"
"a Gun!"
"What do you mean a gun. You mean a real gun?"
"Don't worry I take care of it."

Then he hung up and drove to our business "meeting" like nothing happened.

He was cheap. He wanted to pay us crap but we figured, we'd prove ourselves and then use our leverage to get our way. We didn't even have real desks. He put together plastic party tables- one on each side. Instant desks.

Word got to us that his wife had the deeper pockets and she therefore wanted to be super involved because she was paying us. Sam didn't really want her there but had to kiss her ass. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, he had recently been having an affair with another lady and was still seeing her. Her BMW would pass by the office. "There goes his mistress"

One day we enter our office and the place is a mess. It was as if a tornado had hit the place. It turns out that Sam used to sneak into our office and call his mistress. The day before the mess, he was sweet talking with the mistress when his wife walked in on him and tried to snag his phone to catch him in the act. The phone drops and they both struggle to get it like the hero and the villain try to get the out of reach gun on the floor.

Another tenant in the building who had a DJ wedding business casually told us, "
I walked into your office and Sam had his hands wrapped around his wife choking her on the floor."

Recently, I looked up Sam to see if he was still in the business and he is, although he has changed locations and perhaps lovers as well.