The Reluctant Fundamentalist Page #3

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in Lahore.

Hey, Underwood's worth it.

I hear his brownstone's worth

$16 million.

Well, mozzarella stick,

when I'm CEO

and you're my butler,

you're gonna wear tails.

- Gentlemen.

- All right, all right.

So shall we, gentlemen?

- Thank you, good sir.

- You're welcome.

I hear he has a Monet

over the pisser

in the master bathroom.

Interesting piece, isn't it?

Hello, Mr. Underwood.

Thank you for having me.

Changez.

The artist is having her

first solo show very soon.

I advise getting in early.

Yes, it's impressive.

Oh, my God.

You've got to be kidding me.

Actually, Erica,

this discerning young man

was just admiring your work.

Oh.

You know him already.

My William Tell.

Yes.

He's very courageous.

Well, if my niece

is vouching for you,

I think Jim Cross

better watch out

for his corner office.

You drink, Changez?

- Yes, I do.

- Good!

I had a Pakistani once.

He didn't drink.

Oh, Jesus, Uncle Max...

What?

You got something

for this fellow?

Matter of fact, we do.

I was just about to talk to him

about our project

in the Philippines...

auto business.

Interested?

- Yes, definitely.

- Good.

Well, let me know

about Sunday

at the Greenwich house,

my darling.

Okay.

Bring your friend if you like.

Mm.

Can I borrow you

for a moment?

You clean up very nicely.

Thank you.

I'm sorry about being related

to that knucklehead

of an uncle.

Oh, go easy on him.

It's not easy to grow up

in the slums of Connecticut,

right?

No.

Erica, darling!

Oh!

You know,

I knew a Pakistani once,

and he saved me from small talk

at a Wall Street party.

Really?

Did he drink, though?

Because I hear they don't drink.

# I want you to be #

# I want you #

# So this is... #

Your father is a poet.

- Yes.

- I don't believe you.

- Why would I make that up?

- Unbelievable.

You know how often I dream

of having a family full of poets?

What?

No, I'm serious.

Is he published?

Yeah.

His laser-sharp words

and his inadequate salary

are well known

throughout the Dehli.

Wow.

Who was that guy jumping

in your painting?

My boyfriend, Chris.

Is he... is that your

current boyfriend?

He died 23 weeks ago.

We grew up together.

Wow.

I'm sorry.

My friends keep saying,

you know, "Turn the page. "

"Lift the black veil. "

And it's just...

I wish it was that easy.

People back home have

this thing called iddat.

It's like, um... it's like the period

that a woman is allowed

to mourn her husband.

But she's only allowed

to mourn him

for four months

and ten days.

And then it's over?

Mm-hmm.

Right.

That'd be nice.

It's okay to turn the corner.

You're already two months

into overtime.

I don't mean to be flippant.

No, no, no, no, no.

It's good.

It helps.

# I want you to be #

# I want you #

# Come on now,

so sure #

# I want you to be #

# I want you to be #

# I want you to be #

# I want you to be #

# I want you to be #

No, no.

Blues originated in West Africa.

Okay, you can say it as

many times as you like...

The blues originated

in West Africa.

Actually, I don't really know

what I'm talking about.

Look at this.

Okay, so all these pictures of me...

you've got to have

a little crush on me.

You have a very

healthy self-esteem.

That's good to see.

You know what this says to me?

This is saying,

"Changez, throw a burka on me

"and confiscate

my college degree

and take me home to Mama. "

Would I have to wear a burka?

You look so serious.

Oh, my God.

Get out.

- What?

- Don't do that.

Don't make fun of me.

- "Do I have to wear a burka?"

How am I making fun of you?

What?

You know...

After you told me stories

about Lahore,

I kept hearing your voice

afterwards.

You know, I don't recognize

my own voice anymore.

It sounds all tinny and fake,

like someone who doesn't

come from anywhere.

You sound real to me.

Oh, God...

I feel like I'm cheating.

Should we stop?

Oh, I want to.

I want to, but I can't.

Pretend I'm him.

Oh, Manila, Manila.

Hide your virgins

and your extra layers

of middle management,

'cause we're not here

to play.

- Welcome.

- Good morning.

Changez Khan from New York.

We had one goal:

to figure out

how much profit

this company

could really throw off.

How do you squeeze

more productivity

out of a company that pays

its workers 5 bucks a day?

I think the fat is there.

Let me get this straight.

You're saying that they

can effectively lose

1/4 of their workforce?

- 1/3.

- 1/3 is a big chunk.

I'd feel more comfortable

shooting for a 15% reduction.

May I?

Please.

Okay, so this entire sector

is devoted to fixing mistakes

that they make

on the assembly line.

I say, let's get in a team

from Japan

and fix the line.

Then we can get the

current error rate of 11%

down to industry standard,

which is 4% to 5%.

Then this entire crew

becomes completely superfluous.

Boy, that's brutal.

That's too aggressive.

That line is already

at capacity.

I want to put together

a team of consultants...

the best, ex-Toyota maybe.

I want them here soon...

like tomorrow.

Done.

You have a gift for this,

a very lucrative gift.

Please.

I have a theory about those

who have the gift.

They're outsiders.

You and I have a lot more

in common than you think.

I was the first in my family

to go to college.

My father was a car salesman.

He would come visit me at Harvard

with his cheap haircut

and his Payless shoes,

and it would make me hungry,

hungry to be the best.

You're hungry like that too.

So...

Where do you see yourself

in the next ten years?

I'd like to be a managing director

at Underwood Samson by 30.

Why not 27?

The first step to becoming

a managing director

is to be made an associate.

We'll start laying down

the groundwork

as soon as we get home.

Until then,

consider this a down payment.

You're a long way

from Lahore, kid.

Let's eat.

Um, I... I don't know

which tower it hit,

but it hit directly in the middle

of one of the World

Trade Center towers.

Sean, what kind of plane?

Was it a small plane, a jet?

It was a jet.

It looked a two-engine jet,

you know, maybe a 737.

We are talking about

a large passenger jet.

A large passenger commercial jet,

that's right.

And where were...

Oh, my God!

- Oh...

- Oh, my God.

That looks like

a second plane.

Now it's obvious,

I think...

Right now, we can recap

and tell you

that two planes have hit

the towers.

It looks like there's

a lot of smoke.

We're still trying

to get information.

Police are telling us,

if you're in the area,

please get out of the area ASAP.

Stay with us as we get

more information.

There was a huge explosion.

I can't really see very well

right now,

so what I'm trying to do

is just head out...

head over to the

Hudson River, so...

In that moment, I should have

felt sorrow or anger,

but all I felt was awe.

What audacity.

The ruthlessness of the act

was surpassed

only by its genius,

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