At Rocha Constructions, Octavio was talking to Caio about the news.“Son, Josias is going to open a new office in Rio de Janeiro. At the moment, he’ll want to hire professionals from there, but have you thought about a promotion when the opportunity arises?”Caio’s eyes are shining, but he responds modestly, “I need to graduate first, Octavio.”“But your first drawings are good.” Octavio holds out a floor plan, “This model you created for practice could very well be used for a client.”Caio laughs embarrassedly, “You’re trying to cheer me up.”“I’m trying to make you aware of your talent and potential.” Octavio puts his hand on his shoulder, “In the future, if Augusto so wishes, I’ll pass on everything I know to him.”“You have been in the profession for twenty-two years, correct?” Caio is surprised.“Yes, I’ve been here since the company operated in a decrepit building that has since been demolished.” Octavio laughs as he remembers the 80s, “And to think that the second building was
The next day, Erasmo is the most embarrassed person in the world at the breakfast table. He looks at Olivia calmly enjoying papaya yogurt, and can only imagine her getting romantically involved with Cláudio at a candlelit dinner... And then... Paparazzi caught the two of them and the extramarital affair was exposed by all the media, causing Josias and Melissa to cancel Sofia and Alan’s wedding! No!There has to be someone else!When Erasmo was about to speak, Sofia appeared smiling and jumping with happiness, “Good morning, people! How happy I am!”“Yes, you could fool me.” Olivia jokes, “Did everything go well with your mother-in-law yesterday?”“Yes, I am closer and closer to them.” Sofia looks at her father, “Yesterday, Mr. Campos asked if I was pregnant.”Erasmo does ‘PFFF’ and spits out the sip of coffee he was drinking, “Cough, cough! Are you pregnant, my princess?”“Of course not, Dad. Respect me, and respect your future son-in-law.” Sofia pretends to be offended, but she wants
Sofia leaves after eating breakfast.“Guys, I’m going to stop by Happiness Slum to get to know my boyfriend’s friends better and see how they’re doing with the minibus.”“Take advantage and let them know that they will have another one running on line 118. The interval between trips will be reduced from an hour and a half to an hour, at least from Monday to Friday.”“Thanks, Dad. They’ll love hearing that.” Sofia leaves satisfied.Olivia takes advantage of the fact that she is alone with her husband to talk, “Now you can tell me, husband.”Erasmo choked on the last sip of coffee, “Cough, cough, cough! Tell you what, woman?”“What’s been bothering you since we started breakfast?” Olivia leans forward.Erasmo swallows hard, clears his throat, and takes a deep breath.After making sure Sofia isn’t spying, he reveals, “Daryl asked me for a favor. He wants you to seduce Cláudio Guzman so that he is demoralized and thus loses the restaurant’s prestige.”Olivia vibrates with passion on the i
Sofia enters the Teodoro Building and is welcomed by Pedro at the counter.“Good morning, Miss Vasquez. Did you come to see my father?”Sofia jolts, “What? No, I didn’t come to see anyone in particular. I came to talk about the minibus.”Pedro smiles, pleased to see that Sofia didn’t come with immoral intentions like her mother, “Then I can assist you. You know, I’ll be managing the building soon.”“I hope you can. And is that radio still on?”Sofia points to the stereo playing “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day.“Yes, this radio is part of the tradition. If we turn it off, my grandfather’s ghost pulls our feet at night.”Sofia bursts into laughter. She didn’t mean to be disrespectful, but the story is funny.Pedro laughs with her, “You still haven’t told me the reason for your visit, Miss Vasquez.”“I wanted to get to know my boyfriend’s friends better.” Sofia stops laughing, “And I also wanted to announce that my father is going to add another minibus on line 118.”“Oh, t
Ulysses starts thinking about what to do to help his sister-in-law’s family.“Does your sister know about the two of us?” He asks suddenly.Shirley shakes as if she’s been shocked. Wide-eyed, she responds, “No, and I never want her to know! I’d have to kill her first!”“Stop it, honey, you’re not a murderer. And I wouldn’t allow you to kill my wife.” Ulysses drops his smile.Shirley smiles evilly, “You talk as if you still love her.”“Just because we’re lovers doesn’t mean I want her dead.” Ulysses remains serious and threatening, “Besides, if anything happens to her, the police will first keep us as suspects. I don’t want that kind of media attention. It’s enough what happened to Daryl.”“Do you believe what these people say?” Shirley tries to disguise the truth.Ulysses tugs on his sister-in-law’s hair, “Shirley, don’t be smart with me. I know Daryl shot that gun. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the dexterity of a professional assassin. He must have seen too many American films and b
João Paulo puts Helen in Vernon’s empty office. He slams the door shut and turns to her with his eyes burning in wrath.Helen mocks João Paulo, “Now do you want to talk alone? Wasn’t Mrs. Freire a trustworthy person?”“SHUT UP!” João Paulo fiercely commands, “I’ll never believe that lie!”Helen smiles defiantly, “What is it, dear? Would you rather wait for my belly to grow?”“Yes, would be the immediate answer.” João Paulo crosses his arms, “Still, your growing belly doesn’t prove much. This baby could be anyone’s!”“I’m glad there’s DNA testing now!” Helen laughs, “Dear João Paulo, you have nowhere to escape. Your parents kept suggesting that we get married to continue sleeping together. I suggest that we do what they asked so everyone can be at peace.”João Paulo starts to walk in circles around the room, “That can’t be, I don’t believe it! What will Josias think of me?”“I think your brother is too busy managing his company, and with his family’s problems.” Helen responds wryly, “H
In Elza’s office in Hotel Rocha, she is working on the computer when she receives a call from her husband on her cell phone. She continues to type intently.“Wait just a little longer, my dear...”The cell phone keeps ringing. Elza finishes typing what she wants and hurriedly answers her cell phone, “Hello, Vernon?”Vernon narrows his eyes in his office, “Honey, for a moment, I thought you didn’t want to answer me!”“It’s not that I didn’t want to, I couldn’t.” Elza smiles, “I was in a very important section.”“OK, I believe.” Vernon calms down, “Are you ready for good news?”“Yes, tell me!” Elza gets excited.“Helen came here and João Paulo told me that you fired her. Did that really happen?”Elza drops her smile, “Oh, the shameless woman showed up to complain? Yes, honey, I said I would take care of her.”“‘Taking care of her’ wasn’t what I understood as ‘firing her,’ darling.” Vernon chuckles, “But that’s okay. The important thing is that she came here to LCN to talk to our son and
It’s Josias’s turn to go to Café Montanha for a snack after the meeting with Vasconcelos Fabrics shareholders. The place is busier and he looks for an empty table. Some patrons recognize him and greet him respectfully. Josias nods and smiles at them, always kind and charismatic.As he sits down, he observes Isabel and Flávia talking in a reserved posture.“Oh, it looks like the ladies are sharing some hot gossip.” Josias chuckles.His cell phone rings and he answers it, “Hello, Dad?”“Hello, son, it’s good to hear your voice. How was the meeting?” Vernon leans back in his chair as if he owned LCN.“The meeting was wonderful. We also had a profit of 15% at Vasconcelos Fabrics and set goals for 2005.” Josias beams.“Wow, God and Everaldo are giving you a helping hand, huh? None of your companies reported losses!” Vernon exclaims, “Will LCN also have some extra money? That way they can give me a pay raise.”Josias laughs, “Dad, did you call me for anything other than making jokes?”“Yes,