Sofia was at Café Montanha, slowly sipping a cup of coffee with milk, and unaware of the scheduled meeting because Erasmo was unable to get the message to her in time.Isabel meets Alan’s girlfriend and has a displeased reaction.“Was she attended to?” She asks Francisco.“Sure, honey. And Neil didn’t spit in the cup.” Francisco responds seriously.“Oh, I can’t be happy about that.” Isabel snorts, “That girl is throwing away a golden opportunity. Any girl who was hoping to be the next Mrs. Rocha would treat the family with respect.”“Looks like the wedding is still going to happen, darling.” Francisco opines.“Let’s find out.” Isabel goes to Sofia’s table, “Excuse me, Miss Vasquez...”“Mrs. Mountain, hello.” Sofia smiles angelically.Isabel doesn’t buy the angelic smile. “Excuse me, but I need to ask about something that was discussed here. Yesterday, your boyfriend came desperate to tell his mother that you were trying to harm Carol and Reuben’s relationship.”Sofia puts the cup on t
Melissa visits Rodrigo and Nadia’s apartment. Nadia was working. Rodrigo, wearing sweatpants and a gray tank top, comes from the kitchen with two cups of coffee.The way the sweatpants and tank top were crooked made Melissa suspect that Rodrigo was missing those pieces and hurriedly put them on, “Did I wake you up, Rodrigo?”“It’s time to wake up.” Rodrigo responds mysteriously, “How can I help you, Melissa?”“Well, Rod, you know that Josias is going to get involved with Cardozo Perfumes, you know?” Melissa takes her cup.“I heard something about it.” Rodrigo sips his coffee.“Well, Josias and Mrs. Cardozo finally talked and he authorized me to put the action plan into practice. You are being invited to be our model for men’s perfumes, what do you think?”Rodrigo smiles gently, “I think that’s wonderful, Melissa. I just wanted a recommendation.”“Yes?” Melissa stays alert.“I had a little talk with my Dad.” Rodrigo explains to her, “And he brought to my attention the fact that I’ll be
At the Vasquez mansion, the decorator didn’t know how to tell Helen that the owner of the house was in continuous intimate activity with her hubby.“Ehr... Who do I talk to?”“Mrs. Queiroz,” Helen responds in an intimidating tone.“Mrs. Queiroz, unfortunately, Mrs. Vasquez—”“Mrs. Vasquez will be able to answer her.” Olivia suddenly appears from the top of the stairs, wearing a discreet robe and her hair still damp from the shower.Helen raises her eyebrows and half-guesses what Olivia is doing. “Did you take time for lunch?”Olivia walks down the stairs as she asks back, “What are you doing here, Helen? I’m busy, as you can see.”“Yes, I see you’re busy redoing the whole house! Why?” Helen smiles mockingly, “Don’t I deserve to have a fancier dresser than yours?”Olivia waves to the kitchen, indicating that the conversation will continue there. The decorator and other workers focus on what is their business.“No, you don’t deserve it.” Olivia responds sternly, still with her back to H
At the Lafayette supermarket, Nadia is in the management office with countless matters to attend to, but she is smiling, sitting at the desk, massaging her belly as if she were six months pregnant.Rodrigo opens the door and finds her like this. He smiles, “Calm down, anxious mommy.”“Hello, future daddy.” Nadia smiles back, “I can only imagine the moment. I have so many things to resolve and authorize, but I...”“Honey, don’t you want your Dad to take control for now, until you have our baby?” Rodrigo pulls out another chair and sits next to her, “I believe it will become more difficult for you as the pregnancy progresses.”“Perhaps. Let’s think about it later.” Nadia straightens up in her chair, “You look like you came to tell me something.”“Yes!” Rodrigo grins, “Melissa wants me to model for the Cardozo Perfumes advertising campaign. Josias will get involved in the company as a form of support, just as he did with Vasconcelos Fabrics.”“I wasn’t here during the history of Vasconce
Olivia turns to the decorator, “We’ll continue tomorrow. Thank you very much.”The decorator nods and leaves, almost bumping into Sofia. The daughter of the Vasquez family burst into the kitchen like a hurricane.“I don’t even need to guess what happened.”“Where’s my father?” Sofia asks furiously.Olivia swallows hard. “Ehr... He’s resting, daughter.”“OK, when he’s done resting, tell him that Caroline and I are still enemies!”“But that can’t be!” Olivia grabs the decorator’s catalog and slams it on the top of the kitchen island, “You should try to make amends! And now?”“I don’t know! Mom, let’s cancel this whole thing. As much as I love Alan, there’s no point in rowing against the current that sinks us! Even if Josias doesn’t say anything, he’ll say later that his little princess is right! I suggested that Alan and I elope and he told me no!”Olivia wrinkles her nose. “Elope? I want to help you with your wedding dress, daughter.”“Well, now we don’t know if we will have a wedding.
“An investigation into Miguel Damascene.” Dylan responds urgently, “Brigitte passed the job interview. She’ll work at Damascene Lawyers!”“Oh, but this is very good!” Amoreira smiles like every proud father, “Send me my congratulations for her.”“Dad, this isn’t funny.” Dylan complains, “Have you forgotten who I want you to investigate? Or will I have to act like a police officer?”Amoreira gets out of the chair and sits next to his girlfriend, “What do you plan to do as a police officer?”“As a man who executes the Law, I can warn him that he will be condemned the very second I hear my dear sister complain about being molested,” Dylan responds threateningly.Amoreira, however, chuckles. “He, he... No, my son. Don’t warn the lion. He would be more interested and tempted to bang your sister precisely because you warned him. That’s how these perverted scoundrels act.”“The problem is that Brigitte introduced herself as Caio’s girlfriend.” Dylan is discouraged, “Do you think she did the
The day of the photoshoot for Cardozo Perfumes has arrived.The shoot was carried out inside the Quantium agency because Rodrigo was still their model. But the photography team was delighted to welcome other unusual models such as Rosemary and Alan.Thierry was excited about the sets being put together. As Rodrigo wanted something more formal, the photos would be taken in a business setting. Couriers carried a desk and swivel chair while Rodrigo wore a gray suit.Nadia watched her husband. He said, “Anyone who sees me like this thinks I’m working at Rocha Constructions.”“He, he...” Nadia approves of the look with her eyes, “You’ll do great, darling.”“You think? I used the perfume they have.” Rodrigo sniffs pleasantly, “It’s very good and striking.”“I’ll buy some after the campaign.” Nadia assures, “If it doesn’t harm our baby.&rdquo
At Crystal Blue, Caroline and Reuben see Felipe’s dilemma.“Poor Felipe.” Caroline laments, “He still can’t mix drinks with the same mastery as his mother.”“That proves he’s adopted.” Reuben scoffs, “He didn’t naturally inherit Diane Mountain’s talent.”“Reuben, that was uncalled.” Caroline rolls her eyes.“Let’s go. Suddenly I felt thirsty...” Reuben directs Caroline to the bar.Felipe trembles in his thighs as he sees the couple approaching. “Reuben, what are you doing here? Caroline is not of legal drinking age yet!”Reuben scowls, “And how do you know my girlfriend’s age?”Caroline shakes her head, “Reuben, please. The date of my birth is highlighted all over the Internet. It’s not something people don’t know about.”Felipe smiles ironically and continues preparin
Josias visits the Rocha Hotel since he didn’t have a day off for the staff. In the management room, Eugenio gathered David, Benjamin, and Sybil. “Why is that mere cook present at this meeting?” David asked disparagingly. “Because that’s how our boss ordered it,” Eugenio replied dryly. “I didn’t say anything and didn’t call this meeting, so if you’ll excuse me...” Benjamin and Sybil were horrified to see David leaving the meeting just like that. However, when he opened the door, David came face to face with his father. “David, where do you think you’re going?” “DAD!” David exclaimed, extremely surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming!” “Didn’t Eugenio tell you I was coming?” Josias asked with a scowl. David understood who the ‘boss’ was. Benjamin and Sybil felt vindicated. Josias sat down at the desk, taking Eugenio’s seat, while the manager remained humbly standing. “Very well,” Josias began the meeting in a formal tone, “I’m here just to make things crystal clear. First
Melissa and Mary visit the Mountain Café.“A guava juice for me, Mr. Mountain!” Mary requested, smiling sweetly.“Of course, my princess!” Rodrigo replied, thinking Mary was very adorable. “Neil will make a delicious cup for you.”“Thank you. But the princess is Carol,” Mary responded, striking a serious pose.Melissa and Rodrigo laughed heartily. Mary is something else...“Rod, how has it been managing the café in your father’s absence?” Melissa asked seriously.Rodrigo served a baked chicken pastry with ketchup to Mary. “I'm getting by, Melissa. Josias was here earlier, more concerned about my loss than his own, as always. Isn’t he supposed to be resting?”Melissa nodded. “My husband is like that: he only relaxes when all of us are relaxed.”“An impossible mission because of certain people.”Neilton approached with the glass. “Who ordered a guava juice?”“I DID!” Mary grabbed the glass and went to a table.Melissa leaned forward, “Neil, Rod, how are Daryl and Diane? Behaving?”“Cont
At João Paulo’s house, he and Josias were about to have a significant conversation.“Walter, do you want to go with your mom to the kitchen?” João Paulo asked, looking at Helen. “I think she made some walnut cake.”“It was carrot cake,” Sandra replied, already getting up from the couch.“You got it.” Helen appeared and picked up Walter in her arms. “Let’s let Dad and Uncle Josias talk.”“Bye, Uncle!” Walter waved goodbye to Josias.“Bye-bye, I want a piece later!” Josias chuckled.Once alone with João Paulo, Josias became serious. “Don’t let anything or anyone ruin this family scenario, little brother.”“I’m fine. No one wants to ruin anything,” João Paulo replied casually.“Well, I hope David hasn’t caused you any trouble.”“He probably doesn’t even know I exist, man.” João Paulo shrugged.“But I stopped by Café Montanha and found out that the Vasquez family has replaced the Mountain family as the ‘annoying people.’”João Paulo sighed in disappointment. “Yeah. They—”The doorbell ran
Josias visits Café Montanha for a coffee and finds Rodrigo there. “Rod, how have you been?” Rodrigo is taken aback. “How am I? You’re the one who suffered a horrific loss recently!” “But you also lost your father. We’re in the same situation,” Josias explained as he sat down on a stool. “I’m okay, Josias. Life has a way of cheering me up. For example, I’m back at the diner after Thierry decided to take his place at the supermarket.” Rodrigo smiled. “What about the photography studio?” Josias smiled back. “It’s still going to operate, and Thierry will make periodic visits. But he’s going to appoint one of the staff to manage the studio.” Rodrigo served a pizza pastry to Josias. “Thank you. Well, I hope everything is alright between you two. I need to visit Rosemary and meet Jean Luc — is that the name of the baby?” “Yes, the name of the supermarket heir. Meanwhile, Frank will be here or somewhere else.” Josias interjected, “If Frank wants to work at Rocha Constructions, count
At the Rocha Mansion, Josias receives a visit from Benjamin. “How have you been, Ben? Any news about your parents?” The two embrace. “Actually, that’s what I want to talk about.” Benjamin scratches the back of his neck. The embrace breaks. “Let’s go to my office.” The two gentlemen enter Josias’s imposing office. “Any problems with Adolfo?” Josias asks, becoming serious. “Not yet, but I hope not to have any,” Benjamin replies with some sadness. “You know, Josias, what happened with your father made me think about my family, about how important it is for all of us to be together in the final moments.” “That’s true. João Paulo can tell you that better than I can.” “I think you can say it too. Vernon was the father you never had.” Benjamin clears his throat. “So, I’ve been looking into some hotels and realized there’s a demand at the Rocha Hotel in Victoria.” Josias looks at Benjamin, understanding where he’s going with this. “You want to go to Victoria to be close to your pare
Someone rings the doorbell at João Paulo’s house. The homeowner goes to answer after taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. But when he opened the door, João Paulo felt like slamming it in the visitor’s face. “Don’t be rude!” Erasmo exclaimed. “What do you want, you old bore?” João Paulo shot back. Erasmo barged into João Paulo’s foyer. “The mourning is over. Let’s pick up where we left off.” “Are you crazy? Who decides how long mourning lasts? We just got back from the trip!” “Not exactly, it’s been a day. Life goes on, my friend!” Erasmo replied mockingly. João Paulo remained serious. “But I don’t want to continue living this way, where fights and intrigues are the order of the day. Mr. Vasquez, you have a business to run, and I have a family to raise.” “But you found time to slap my son-in-law when he was here defending his family, didn’t you?” “Alan was extremely rude, but that was some time ago.” João Paulo frowned. “I don’t feel the same anger as before.” “So a
At the Vasquez Mansion, Alan could hardly believe that the people were thinking about more intrigues and disputes. “Guys, don’t you understand that I even forgot the reason I slapped Uncle João Paulo?” “Ridiculous!” Erasmo gestured. “You just maintained respect because it was a difficult occasion. But now, the mourning is OVER!” “Do you think João Paulo will rest, dear?” Sofia asked, sitting next to him. Alan shook his head. “If Uncle João Paulo doesn’t want to rest, then he is truly despicable. But my dad is back in town. He wouldn’t dare to do that.” The news should have been uplifting, but the members of the Vasquez family merely exchanged silent glances. With Josias present, it’s quite likely that he will put a stop to their fighting. Alan turned to Olivia. “In the meantime, we should celebrate the recovery of my dear mother-in-law!” Olivia and Sofia smiled awkwardly because of the secret they were keeping. “That’s right, let’s celebrate life!” Erasmo wrapped his arm arou
Josias Rocha and his family returned to Lagoon City. Those who were waiting for them stayed in the mansion and greeted them cheerfully in the foyer. “WELCOME BACK!” Melissa, crying, embraced her parents, William, and the twins fervently. Josias greeted them with a light smile. “Where’s João Paulo?” William asked. “He went straight to his house. His kids needed to rest from the trip.” Melissa wiped her tears with her fingers. “Alan went straight to his mansion. Especially now that his mother-in-law has woken up from the coma.” “That was a scare; I thought we’d have two funerals,” Simeon commented. Everyone headed to the living room. “Is Paris very beautiful, Mom?” Mary asked. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s stunning. We’ll go shopping together another time, okay?” “Do you have pictures?” Ignacio asked anxiously. “Yes, son, we took some pictures.” Melissa sat on the couch, pulling out a package from her bag. Josias sat in the armchair, taking a deep breath. William approached him.
At Café Montanha, Daryl walks in for a coffee and finds Rodrigo at the counter while Neilton serves the others. “Hey, are we back to the old tradition?” “Don’t be a clown, man.” Rodrigo laughs. “Yes, Thierry is at the supermarket, as we agreed.” “Hi, Neil. Can you make me a cappuccino while I enjoy a natural sandwich?” Daryl places his order. “Sure thing, Mr. Mountain.” Neilton heads to the back. Daryl sits on the stool. “So, how do you feel after getting back to your element?” “I don’t regret at all helping my dear wife at the supermarket, Daryl,” Rodrigo admitted while preparing the natural sandwich. “I’m not talking about regrets.” Daryl joked. “But it’s undeniable that after Uncle Francisco’s passing, you prefer to stay here, carrying on the legacy he left.” “Just like Crystal Blue.” Rodrigo smiled. “Hey, I’m aware that you’re looking to open another restaurant in Sunset Village. Do you think you can manage it? How’s the prospecting going?” Daryl picks up the sandwich but