Erasmo, giving in to pressure, accepts that Daryl pays his share of the donation to charity on Josias’s account.Josias listens to Erasmo over the phone, “Oh, have you deposited yet? Then I’ll check with Melissa. Please, take a copy of the deposit slip and send it to her email, do you know which one?”Erasmo can’t stop sweating. His shirt is soaked, “OK, Mr. Rocha, OK... bye...!” Erasmo ends the phone call, “What the Hell! Because of you, I said I made the deposit! You should have left, but you stayed here on purpose!”Daryl continues to smirk, “Mr. Vasquez, if there’s one thing you should learn from me, it’s that I never pass up an opportunity.”Erasmo rolls his eyes and grabs another handkerchief to wipe away the sweat. The first one is extremely wet and doesn’t dry anything else, it just smears, “Don’t bother me with your memorized phrases from self-help books. Are you really going to deposit me?”“I’ll transfer the money to your account and you will transfer it to Josias,” Daryl s
Josias returns home and finds Melissa walking from the hall into the kitchen in casual clothes.“Honey, good evening!” Josias reaches her.Upon hearing her beloved’s voice, Melissa freezes her steps, smiles, waits for Josias to reach her, and receives a kiss from him on her cheek.“Good evening, my love. How was work after I left the company?”“Great!” Josias chirps, “Mr. Vasquez made the deposit. We have all the money for the donation, and on top of that, all the tickets are sold out.”Melissa jumps up and down with joy, “Oh, how exciting! Now all that’s left is the day.”“Exactly. Will William continue to encounter snags and problems?” Josias blinks.He goes upstairs to the second floor and Melissa follows him, “I don’t remember assigning Will to be prefect or enforcer. His lack of modality is a problem.”“That is true. But Caio could be that person. That way, there would be no scandals with the dressing room doors.” Josias comments.“Are you sure you want to handle this your way, J
One day before the fashion show, Isabel is at her house, thinking about Raymond Chaves’s visit.Francisco finds her standing in the middle of the living room.“Are you going to turn on the TV, honey?”“Oh, Frank, good morning. I thought you were still sleeping.”“It’s time to wake up.” Francisco hugs her from behind and kisses her on the neck, “What are you thinking about?”“On Ray’s visit.” Isabel confesses, “He made me excited but worried.”“Oh, Izzy...” Francisco chuckles, “He was a man from your past...”“Not that kind of ‘man’.” Isabel responds good-naturedly, “He was always married to Cristina and had that Abigail as a lover. Afterward, they divorced, and Cristina married Moacyr. Ray never got married again... I think he still hopes that Cristina will come back to him, but it’s impossible!”“From what I’ve seen of Cristina and Moacyr in Victoria, they are very much in love and together.” Francisco says, “It’s a pity that Raymond didn’t want to try a new love. Life goes by...”“W
In the lobby of the Teodoro building, Raymond decides to explain what is happening to a curious Beto.He leans back against the counter, “I came to talk to Isabel about Flavia’s return. She is living with her parents, and Adolfo tells me that she is doing very well. I had the opportunity to see her a few times, and she even asked me about Reuben.”The news should have been cause for joy, but Beto received it with caution and a suspicious look, “Hmm... Flávia left the asylum. And she wants to come back here?”“She hasn’t come up with the idea yet, but I want to know how things are doing here in detail,” Raymond says.“Reuben is growing up, becoming the exact copy of his father.” Beto sums up Reuben’s life perfectly, “And that’s what worries me.”“Do you think Flávia will have memories of Uélton when looking at her son?” Raymond asks, analyzing how Beto reacted, “Do you think what motivated Flavia to get better was precisely being away from here and Reuben?”“Well, I’m not a psychologis
The day of the festival arrived.To calm the nerves of those who bought tickets, Josias had to appear on Lisandro’s Show and earnestly ask everyone to think of the little children who would be disappointed if everyone asked for their money back.And with Ivan (loving the publicity) stating that police security would be tightened, the citizens of Lagoon City grew calmer and decided to attend. There is no reason to panic.The audience was calm, but the police did not have the same luxury. When the public started to show up at the arena, they had to queue and were surprised by the same metal detector booth found in Airports and Banks. Women had to open their purses and show that they weren’t carrying weapons. Teenagers who showed up dressed in rock or hip hop style were vigorously searched by tough police officers.“Hey, cop, you’re rubbing my ass!” One of them complains.“STILL!” The policeman barked in the same tone as the nearby German shepherd.Other officers walked German Shepherds,
When Josias arrived, he was similarly searched, causing further outrage from fans. Why would the event owner cause a terrorist attack? But Josias, as Isabel had explained, wanted to show the others that there would be no privileges when it came to public safety.Besides, if anything happened, the people who were NOT searched would be the first to be interrogated by a thirsty Ivan, and that, Josias wouldn’t give him the taste.So with Josias being publicly frisked in front of his fans, he would be exempt from blame and suspicion. Josias is, once again, smart and intelligent, two steps ahead of humanity and one step behind Everaldo.Speaking of Everaldo, behold, the so-called ‘guardian angel’ of Josias is heading to the auditorium, looking for his seat. Countless cameras photograph the movement of the public and the team backstage.People who are patiently in their seats waiting for the show to start can hardly imagine how frenetic the activity is behind the stage.Alan and Reuben (he c
Vernon should have been prepared, but he was still startled when he read CLAUDIO GUZMAN on the door of one of the dressing rooms. How does a guy who isn’t even a model get exclusivity while Rodrigo Mountain was left out?Disgusted, Vernon knocks insistently on the door, frowning. Elza approaches him at this time.“Dear? That’s not how you’re going to get interviews with—” She chokes on the words.“What did you say?” Vernon turns to her.“I can understand the source of your irritation.” Elza recovers, “This is truly outrageous. Did Josias let it go?”“Actually, he did.” Melissa appears from behind them.Vernon and Elza turn to them.“Melissa, fix this mistake now!” Vernon complains, “My son says Rodrigo is getting dressed with other unfortunates! This cannot happen. What’s going on at this festival?”Elza jokes, “Could it be that Rodrigo threatened to explode here because of this?”“I don’t think Rodrigo even knew about it before.” Melissa opines. She doesn’t know that Daryl spoke to R
Diane is surprised to find her husband smiling.“Honey, glad you enjoyed the show. Up until an hour ago, you were mumbling and making excuses not to come here.”Daryl shrugs, “Hats off to Josias. He and Melissa knew how to organize that.”Diane is happier. Perhaps this is the beginning of a truce... or peacemaking.And so, the fashion show continued. Models in different categories continued to come and go. Some of them were professionals and kept their faces straight. Others couldn’t resist and gave a slight smile for the cameras.When Benjamin and Caio walked the runway for casual wear, they fell into the latter category. The applause was bigger and the flashes too.William had tears streaming down his face as he applauded, and he would have gotten to his feet had it not been for his bad leg.“IT’S MY BOY! It’s my son, folks! What pride, who knew!”Raymond also applauded, “Your son is famous, Pamela. You could be here if you weren’t that damn promiscuous enemy of Josias and Melissa.”