At the Angel store, Josias and Angela meet again after many years. But Angela felt that she wouldn’t be pleased with this reunion when she saw how the great love of her life was frowning and indifferent.Josias closed the door and began, “Well, Angela, here I am just as you wanted. We need to talk honestly.”“And since when did we talk dishonestly?” Angela smiles at him.Josias keeps serious, not in the mood for clowning. He spots a chair and sits down. “I hope today isn’t the first time. You’ve been sending me a bunch of emails, not to mention the ones that have been deleted.”Angela clenches her fists. “The secretary was erasing them...”“Don’t blame Reuben. He is an excellent secretary to me.” Josias warns her.But Angela didn’t get the warning. “You only employ him as a secretary and allow him to date your daughter because he is your best friend’s son.”“And where is the crime?” Josias raised an eyebrow.“Reuben Freire is mentally retarded. The sooner you accept this, the better f
The next day, Josias talked to Melissa about it. The couple was about to go down for breakfast. Josias was on the sofa in the master suite wearing his genuine leather shoes while Melissa was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed.“What did you say?” Melissa questioned him, “Are you going to contact David?”“Not the way you’re thinking.” Josias was staring at his shoes as he responded, “I want to give him an opportunity. Can’t I?”“Not inside Rocha Constructions.” Melissa protested.“Luckily, I don’t have Rocha Constructions as my only company. In fact, I was thinking in a long run.” Josias straightened up, smiling at her.“What’s the reason for the smile?” Melissa wasn’t convinced by her husband’s beautiful smile.“We have our eldest son who will take over Rocha Constructions, and our daughter will be involved in Marçal Publishing. You’re taking care of the charity works. I don’t know what Ignacio intends, but I still have three more options so David doesn’t complain empty-handed.”
Francisco and Isabel visit Café Montanha to find out if their replacements are doing the job properly. They’re happy to see Rodrigo in a good mood for another day of work.“Son, are you no longer receiving proposals for advertising campaigns?”“Not yet, Dad,” Rodrigo responded with a smile, “I’m still enjoying being a first-time father. Today, Nadia took Frank to his maternal grandparents’ house.”“Cool.” Isabel replied with a wink, “If you need it, there are always vacancies in the soap opera.”“Look, if things continue like this, maybe I’ll put in my resume, huh?” Rodrigo jokes. “While I don’t receive or refuse proposals, Quantium Agency will continue to groom and launch new talents on the market. One fine day, I’ll become expendable to them.”Francisco was worried. “Are you sure you’re not upset about this, son? I remember I suggested you slow down with modeling because of your son, but modeling was your main career.”“Dad, long before I was a model, the two of us built this coffee
Caroline found Cláudio coming out from behind the chestnut trees trying to go to his car, covering himself with his hands. He turned pale when he found precisely the person he least expected.“Carol! I... Don’t look!”“I’m not looking at anything.” Caroline grimaces in displeasure.“But... I...” Cláudio can’t even say it properly.“You’re very lucky.” Caroline said, “The police are right there, approaching kinky couples who have disturbed those who live near the beach.”“That’s why I need to leave. The girl I spent the night with left and took my swim trunks. She must have done it on purpose.” Cláudio didn’t seem to be angry with Karen.“What about your car keys?” Caroline was worried.“They stayed in the car. So I need to go before someone steals it.” Cláudio hid behind a chestnut tree when he heard footsteps.Indeed, the same police officers as before were approaching. “Good morning, Miss Rocha! Please, be careful. We’re approaching indecent people who are violating the Law. Did you
Josias was in his office communicating the decision he made to Alan. He was in his son’s adjoining office.“Alan, if you want, you can put a drinks table right there.” Josias opines with a fatherly smile.Alan smiles back. “Look, Dad, I didn’t mean to be rude. But sometimes I think you drink a little too much.”“How come?” Josias finds this funny.“I can’t explain properly.” Alan scratches the back of his head, “But when anyone visits you, or after any good news you hear from our company, you’re having a drink to celebrate. Careful.”Josias feels touched. “Thank you, son. Your father will remember this advice.”“I truly care about you, old man.” Alan gets up. “Well, if you mentioned the drinks table, it means you have good news to share with me.”Josias is cautious. “Actually, it’s not really good news for you. It has to do with David.”“What does that idiot want again? The Presidency of Rocha Constructions?” Alan has a violent reaction, letting documents fall to the floor.Josias cro
Alan was frightened by Kelvin confessing an intimate conversation he had with Melissa last year to him. On top of that, Kelvin is eager to confess to JOSIAS, knowing he could die for it!Alan holds Kelvin as if to stop him from going to Josias’s office. “Wait a minute, Kelvin! This story is too fantastic!”“I know it sounds like I’m lying. But it’s the truth, Alan! Well, rest assured that your mother and I have decided not to harbor any loving feelings for the sake of the others involved.” Kelvin sighed in relief.“Well, I know you and Mom were happy while the marriage lasted.” Alan admits, “And you were part of my adolescence, helping me with many things. Kelvin Mountain, no matter how the rest of the family acts, I’ll always be grateful for the time you took to help my sister and me.”“Thank you, Alan.” Kelvin smiled movedly.Alan continued seriously, “That’s why I don’t want you to say something like that to my father. Even though he knows that nothing happened between you and Mom,
At the LCN office, João Paulo spoke calmly with Felipe.“Mr. Mountain...”“You can call me Felipe.”“OK... Felipe, I understand your exasperation.” João Paulo sat at his desk, “But I simply cannot write an article reporting on the indecent misadventures of Cláudio Guzman without proof. By the way, what would be the big surprise? All of Lagoon City knows the man is a sex addict.”“And that gives the right to bang my uncle’s girlfriend?” Felipe crosses his arms.João Paulo is embarrassed. “Huh... That’s troublesome.”Felipe sits down and leans over the desk, “Mr. Rocha, I ask you to please help me in this crusade. Cláudio Guzman doesn’t have the slightest moral condition to run something as chic and respectable as Crystal Blue. If I can get the restaurant back, the Mountain family will be avenged and vindicated.”“But it was my brother who passed the restaurant on to Mr. Guzman.” João Paulo reminds him.“Yes, but if he reads an article of yours showing how his ‘protégé’ is a hardened pe
João Paulo and Helen talk at Café Montanha, having an afternoon snack.“What’s up, darling? How sales are?” João Paulo takes a fried cheese ball and puts it in his wife’s mouth.Helen chews, enjoying the appetizer, and answers after swallowing, “Well, sales are great. Rosemary became a gold mine for Cardozo Perfumes. May Adelaide never lose sight of her.”“If this continues, Rosemary will reach greater heights.” João Paulo frowns, “I’m even worried if Thierry will want to fly along.”“Why’d you say that?” Helen takes her cup of coffee.“It’s because he opened a photography studio here in the city. If one day Rosemary has to work in Paris, how will they deal with the distance?”Helen nodded. That would be a problem.Caroline approached and declared in a loud voice, “Neilton, are you sure you don’t sell cachaça here?”Neilton’s eyes widened. “What the hell is this? Cachaça is not a drink fit for the Princess of Lagoon City!”“Oh, if you only knew...” Caroline lamented.João Paulo turns
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