“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
At Café Montanha, Alan and Caroline notice Neilton’s mental confusion.“Oh, Neil...” Alan smiles in pity, “You don’t know the juicy details. Rosemary is the daughter of Roberto Reis’ first wife.”“Oh, yes.” Neilton is embarrassed, fearing he has made a mistake.“Don’t worry, you weren’t around.” Reuben comforts him, “In fact, it was a very complicated story. Caio knows how to answer.”Caroline adds, “Caio is the older brother. Rosemary’s mother had several children with different guys.”“How crazy.” Neilton whistles.“Yes, the late Shirley Mountain must have learned to be promiscuous from Pamela Chaves.” Alan comments, “When she became pregnant with Rosemary, she wanted everyone to believe that my father was her father too.”“OK, I get it. And your father was already rich at that time?” Neilton asks curiously.“No. He lived in the penthouse where Shirley fell from the balcony and my mother was pregnant with me. Rosemary and I were born in 1985 within months of each other. My father wa
Kelvin is shocked to see Felipe under the pool water.Without thinking twice, he runs, takes momentum, and dives into the pool to save his nephew, preventing him from committing the extreme act.However, upon emerging, Felipe reacts in surprise and even coughs up the pool water, “Cough, cough... Uncle Kelvin, what are you doing?”“You...” Kelvin narrows his gaze, “You were sinking into the pool...”“No!” Felipe starts laughing, “I was just diving!”Kelvin looks at Felipe suspiciously. Was he disguising it so his uncle wouldn’t think he wanted to kill himself?“Felipe, how was your day at work? Shouldn’t you be on night shift?”“I should.” Felipe gets out of the pool and sits on the edge, “But Reuben upset me with my making drinks skill and I stormed out.”Kelvin punches the water, “Damn! These people are crossing the line!”“Forget it, uncle.” Felipe shakes his head, “It’s not worth stressing over these people. I believe I’ll do everyone a great favor if I just resign.”“That’s what t
In the kitchen of Neilton’s apartment, Benjamin prepared an excellent breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bread with margarine, and orange juice. The eggs had slices of bacon and a sprinkle of oregano.“Hmm...” Reuben is delighted, “We’ll never go hungry here again!”“That is the intention.” Benjamin laughs, “What do you think, Neil?”“Approved. But it’s good for us to get our hands dirty too, Reuben.” Neilton remembers, “It’s not often our cook buddy will be around.”“Yes, I have my appointments at the hotel restaurant.” Benjamin looks at his wristwatch, “But there’s still time.”“Speaking of restaurants, Felipe Mountain is going from bad to worse acting as a bartender.” Reuben says mockingly, “Why did Cláudio Guzman promote him?”“Probably so no one would complain that the restaurant was stolen from the Mountain family.” Benjamin responds by shaking his head, “I remember hearing that absurd talk.”“Stolen? Josias Rocha took that establishment as compensation. The previous owner
At Crystal Blue, Cláudio is talking to Josias in the new owner’s office. Josias notices the new decoration.“When you return the restaurant, Felipe will want to redecorate it to the old style in honor of his father.” Josias jokingly comments, “Do you want to bet?”“No, I don’t want.” Cláudio responds dryly, “In fact, I wanted to talk about the incapable kid.”Josias becomes serious and sits vis-a-vis. “What happened?”“Felipe definitely doesn’t have the skills to prepare drinks. Customers complain, Felipe drops glasses, the ingredients aren’t checked in advance... the other day, he discovered that there was no lemon just when he went to prepare the caipirinha.”“Oh, he promised to be excellent at managing the bar.” Josias is surprised, “What do you intend to do?”“Josias, I thought about handing over the restaurant to him.” Cláudio falsely insinuates, “But now, with this situation, how can I leave the most famous restaurant in Lagoon City in the hands of the kid? I need to stay here.”
At Café Montanha, Kelvin continues his pilgrimage visiting the establishment. He coincides with meeting Isabel and Francisco. The radio sets the coffee shop with “SOS”, by Rihanna.They ask Neilton, “So, Neil? What’s it like living in the apartment with your roommates?”“It’s been cool, guys.” Neilton smiles. “Ben has already debuted the kitchen with an excellent breakfast.”“Hmm...” Isabel licks her lips, “I would like to eat breakfast prepared by a chef. They say he’ll take care of the food and drinks for Alan and Sofia’s engagement party.”Francisco looks at Kelvin approaching. “Hello, nephew.”“Uncle Francisco, I need to talk to you and Isabel. Shall we?”Isabel and Francisco are wary of Kelvin’s serious expression.Neilton takes the notebook and pen. “I’ll take care of the customers.”So, the three adults head to the kitchen.Inside, they talk about Felipe and Reuben.“Nephew, what’s the matter?” Francisco begins.“Uncle, I have a dilemma on my hands. I don’t know whether to call
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