“What does he want, Pollyanna?” Josias asks, very curious.“Want to talk about some vandalism at Crystal Blue.” Pollyanna grimaces as if she doesn’t understand, “Was there another power outage at the restaurant?”“Not that I know of, but let the sergeant pass.” Josias gestures.Pollyanna makes room and Ivan enters.“Good morning, Sergeant! How is the son?”Ivan smiles fatherly, “He’s already saying ‘daddy’, ‘mommy’, and ‘freeze’.”Josias’s smile freezes. Was Ivan trolling him?“Can I seat?” Ivan doesn’t wait and sits down on the sofa, “I need to have a chat with you, Josias.”“It’s not ‘Mr. Rocha’?” Josias quips, “We’re getting intimate here.”“It seems that we’re going to strengthen camaraderie and coexistence as soon as you are present at the police station,” Ivan speaks with a cocky smile.Josias knits his brow, “I beg your pardon?”“What is this talk that you, in addition to building, decided to dedicate yourself to destroying? I received a visit from Daryl Mountain wanting to inv
Josias talks to Tiago while having lunch at Crystal Blue.“Can you believe that Sergeant Moraes showed up in my office wanting to talk about the vandalism of this restaurant?” Josias asks with a puzzled face as he cuts the grilled salmon.Tiago shakes his head, “Master, the sergeant has always been against you. He will most likely support the Mountain family in this war and only investigate our side.”“This cannot happen.” Josias shakes his head, “The commissioner will notice the predilection and will scold him. And he doesn’t want anyone to bother us.”“We’re not doing too much, right?” Tiago wryly asks, “We just want Melissa back as the Lady of Lagoon City. Why can’t Daryl understand that Melissa is yours?”Josias sighs, “I can imagine how she’s feeling. Daryl has probably already told Kelvin, and the imbecile might be freaking out, emotionally blackmailing Melissa, using the twins as a guilt trap, or even marital rape...”Josias grips the wine glass so tightly that Tiago holds him,
Josias takes out his electronic organizer and starts checking his appointments for the afternoon.Cláudio doesn’t give up, “You mean Gabriela Alves moved out of town by ‘coincidence’, huh? Now a blond gorilla lives in her place.”“If you were interested in the gorilla—”“GET OUT!” Claudio gets outraged, “People are saying I’m sleeping with Miss Lafayette. Don’t let the rumor die, idiot!”Josias frowns, staring at the electronic organizer, “Don’t you have a job to look for, Claudio?”“I already have a job!” Cláudio asserts, “I’m a warehouse supervisor at Lafayette Supermarket. What, did your informants make you out of date?”Josias finally raises his head, “They didn’t inform me as I asked Jacques Lafayette for your resignation.”“And will you hire me as a mason?” Claudio laughs bitterly, “Josias, you don’t have the power to demand such a thing. Who do you think you are? Is that what you want to leave as an example for your children?”“Leave my children out of this meaningless conversa
07:00 p.m., Crystal Blue.Cláudio was wearing a gray suit and matching tie, waiting at one of the tables for the partner of the night that will never come.He rushed to make the reservation as soon as he had ‘confirmation’ from Nadia. Daryl chose the best available table and even discounted the price of the grilled salmon.Now he was at the reception desk acting as maître d’. But to his surprise, Claudio’s lady still hasn’t shown up...Jacques and Ingrid walk in, talking excitedly.“Good evening, Mr. Mountain!” Jacques greets him, “Please arrange a table for two.”“We know you have free tables,” Ingrid says.Daryl is uncomfortable. Was Ingrid mocking the fact that the number of patrons had dropped because of the rumors? “Yes, we have vacant tables. Ehr...” Daryl lowers his voice, “I was waiting for Nadia Lafayette.”“Our
In Rodrigo’s apartment, he and Nadia are having the time of their lives, having a romantic dinner.Rodrigo wasn’t 100% sure that Nadia would accept the invitation, so he had to speed up certain preparations. For example, the song he picked up on the radio, “If Tomorrow Never Comes” by Ronan Keating, while beautiful, was not necessarily a message of love. He had also asked Isabel to help cook something Italian while she prepared her clothes.When Nadia arrived at the apartment wearing a beautiful dark green dress with an accentuated waist, she knocked on the door and was answered by an elegant Rodrigo in a black suit and gelled hair. He held out one hand, handing her a red rose with no thorns.“Awn, thanks.”“Welcome.” Rodrigo smiles at her and invites her inside.Now, dinner was winding down and the couple got to know each other better.“I would love to meet your sister.” Nadia says
The next day, Josias is having breakfast with Alan.“Dad, I was elected the valedictorian of my high school graduation. Would I be able to deliver a good speech? I’m gonna ask Hector to write something nice for me.”Josias chokes on the latte he was drinking, “Cough, cough! What is it, son? No, don’t order any of that! Sit down at my desk and put your gray matter to work!”Alan is fearful, “I wouldn’t know how to tell my colleagues. Obviously, Principal Fernandez expects me to give a speech like the President of the Republic because I’m your son.”Josias smiles and strokes his head, “First you write, and then you pass the outline to me. I’ll help you with the details, but the central idea has to come from your head. Say what you hope for the future and motivate your colleagues to succeed in life.”“Would it be the same thing?” Alan wonders, “I’ll g
Daryl Mountain and Josias Rocha meet face-to-face after several weeks of avoiding confrontation. But something inside Daryl said it was better to settle this peacefully.“Daryl, thanks for coming.” Josias smiles and extends his hand to him, “I thought you weren’t serious.”“I’ve been speaking frankly.” Daryl shakes Josias’s hand, “We need to speak urgently, Josias.”“Sit down.” Josias points to an upholstered armchair for him.Daryl sits down. Josias sits facing each other. The armchairs were moved by him precisely for this meaningful conversation.Josias admired Daryl’s English-cut suit. He was also in a navy blue suit, thinking of leaving for work after talking to the owner of Crystal Blue.“Josias, I think you know why I came here.” Daryl starts.“I suggest you speak.” Josias smiles slightly.Daryl sighs. He will force
At Rocha Mansion, the controversial chat between Daryl and Josias continues.Daryl was surprised by Josias mentioning some secret of his.“Josias... what secret are you talking about? And even if there was a secret, how did you find out about it?”Josias smirks, “His second question cancels out the first. You just confirmed that you do have a secret.”Daryl breaks into a sweat, “OK, what do you know about me?”Josias leans forward, “I know why you had to adopt Felipe.”Daryl starts to get puzzled, “Josias, have you been researching my heir?”“No, that’s not it.” Josias nods, “I managed to get in touch with Dr. Antenor, a former lab colleague of Dr. Silvana.”“OK!” Daryl gestures, “I got it! You figured it out, huh? And now you’re going to use that to keep me on a leash while you snatch Melissa away from my little br