The next day, Evan cautiously entered Matthew’s suite. Last night, neither he nor Elaine came down for dinner, which meant they... But upon entering the suite, there were no creaking noises or the incessant rhythmic banging of the bed against the wall. Evan identified the sound of a shower running in the bathroom. He took the liberty of opening the door and entering. Inside, Matthew was showering as if the marathon of love had been just a casual jog for him. “Good morning, Young Matthew. How are you?” “Fine.” Matthew’s voice was firm and clear. Evan frowned. His boss’s stamina is relentless! “I came to check on how things are between you and your girlfriend. Now that she’s living here, will she handle the wedding preparations?” Matthew turned off the shower with a contemplative expression. What to do? “It’s better if you handle that for me, Evan.” Matthew decided. Poor Elaine won’t even be able to open her eyes today. “OK. I’ll be available for anything. Ah, the articles b
Matthew was now having breakfast in the dining room, dressed and with his hair styled, still damp from gel. Evan entered the kitchen, unsure whether to mention this to him. “Any problem, Evan?” Matthew asked with a smile. “Young Matthew, Miss Andrade wants to speak with you.” Evan cleared his throat unnecessarily. Matthew remained calm. “Call her in. If she hasn’t had breakfast yet, we have a place for her.” “It won’t be necessary, Matt.” Jacqueline was nearby and entered, sitting in the chair next to him. Evan withdrew, confident that Matthew would handle this situation as well. “What did you want to say to me, Jacque?” Matthew asked as he cut his toast. “Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” “No, thank you. I’ve already had breakfast.” Jacqueline continued to smile gracefully. “I came to tell you that I’ve made a serious decision.” Matthew smiled sympathetically. “You don’t need to tell me, Jacque.” Jacqueline lost some of her composure. “Huh... Have they already
Nathan woke up in the bed of a girl he met in the dark streets of Blue Cove. At first, his eyes had to adjust to the new environment. His vision slowly cleared from blurry to sharp. Nathan frowned and squeezed his eyes, unable to recognize or remember how he ended up in this place. “Where am I?” he asked in a groggy voice. Beside him in the bed was the girl he had spent the night with. The room was not a luxury suite in some hotel where he intended to hide. On the contrary, it looked like a shabby place in Lion’s Den! Nathan struggled to get up, feeling aches all over his body, and realizing he was missing clothes. “What happened?” he tried to speak faster, but his voice came out sluggishly. The girl started to stir, showing signs of being disturbed in her sleep. “Argh... Who’s speaking so loudly?” Nathan finally leaned against the headboard and rubbed his eyes. Ugh! How tired he was! Usually, when something like this happened, he didn’t feel so wrecked... “You overdid it
Nathan waited for the girl with the sorceress look to explain how they met or what really happened. “So, girl, tell me what happened,” Nathan insisted with irritation in his voice. “Well, we met on the street and you took me to a cool restaurant. Siren, that’s the name. Then we drank more wine than we had for dinner,” the girl replied, seemingly amused. “And what kind of place is this? Lion’s Den?” Nathan looked around the shabby room with disgust. “What’s wrong with being in Lion’s Den?” The girl teased him. “I take you to dinner at the Siren restaurant, and you still ask why it’s strange to be in the slums?” Nathan decided to get up and pick up the clothes on the floor. “Don’t be so prejudiced against the slums.” The girl lost some of her cheer. “Didn’t we have the grand opening of the water and sewage treatment yesterday? The lovely Patty Borges gave a speech—” The girl stopped as she saw Nathan hurriedly getting dressed, as if he wanted to escape from a war zone! “I can’t
At Casa Borges, the conversation between Matthew, Hélio, and Jackson continued, although the two younger men were somewhat conflicted without Hélio noticing."Don't you think Elaine is going to be jealous of a picture frame of Patty on your dresser, Matt?" Jackson asks, narrowing his eyes slightly."Eh... maybe. But we're working on it. At least she doesn't have any more reason to be jealous of Jacqueline." Matt smiles, relieved."Jacque doesn’t deserve that." Jackson asserts firmly. "My mom shouldn't have to endure this."Matthew gestures. "Don’t worry. She’ll now be directly advised by our PR."Hélio snaps his fingers, recalling this detail. "Oh! That is where they went!""Patty?" Matthew asks, surprised."Yes, Lawrence called her in for a chat and offered her a job."Jackson smiles, pretending to be misled. "I thought I’d be the one called in for a modeling job.""Son, women already know you from the cover of your mom’s first novel." Hélio turns to Matthew and widens his smile. "Sh
At Golden Letters, Karl once again closed the door to discuss something outside the character of 'Lawrence' that he had created.If anyone overheard the conversation, his disguise would be blown!He picks up his cell phone and dials a number.At the beach house, Vicente is snacking from the fridge instead of waiting for lunch. Hearing the ringtone (he set a classic Mozart piece), he answered with his mouth still full of shrimp pie."Hello?""Swallow first; it’s rude to talk with your mouth full!" Karl retorts with a disgusted grimace.Instead of swallowing, Vicente spat out and choked."PFFF... Cough, cough... COUGH!" Taking a deep breath, "What the hell is this?""So much drama for answering a phone call..." Karl shakes his head."What do you want?" Vicente frowns, irritated by the interruption of his snack."I’ve heard your son has finally been kicked out of my father’s domain." Karl comments in a somber tone."‘Kicked out’ might not be the best choice of words, but I know you don’t
At the Andrade Clinic, Jacqueline collapses into the chair in front of Walter’s desk. Her expression shows defeat but resignation.“What happened, sis?” Walter asks with concern.“You can imagine. I made things very clear to Matt.” Jacqueline informs him without smiling.“That was necessary, Jacque.” Walter comforts her. “So, how about you study for college? Which university do you want to attend, Yale, Harvard, Oxford, UFES…?”Jacqueline is taken aback for a few seconds and then bursts into loud laughter with great pleasure.“HA, HA, HA, HA! What’s that, big bro? I’m not going that far!”“What do you have in mind?” Walter smiles slightly, seeing that his younger sister has returned to her normal self.“I plan to study here, in the city, at Sterling University.” Jacqueline responds firmly and clearly. “I’m not running away from things. Yes, I have the money and means to study somewhere that wouldn’t remind me of Matt, but… No. I have nothing to run from.”“That’s my girl.” Walter give
At the Sterling Empire headquarters, Evan looks extremely suspicious when he sees Matthew grinning like a child at the frame that Hélio presented of Patricia.There’s Patricia, firm, brave, inspiring, delivering the inauguration speech for the Lion's Den water and sewage treatment system, motivating the slum dwellers to continue fighting for a dignified life.“How much do I owe you, Seu Hélio?” Matthew asks with a hoarse voice, making Evan wonder if Matthew is holding back tears.“No need, Matt.” Hélio waves his hand, dismissing the financial support. “You’ve helped us so much, given us so much… consider this a gift from the Borges family.”“OK, but I’m going to make a PIX payment to you when you least expect it.” Matthew jokes, holding the frame with emotion.Hélio laughs heartily and asks, “Where are you going to hang it? Here?”“I was thinking of the living room at Sterling Mansion.” Matthew responds, somewhat mesmerized by the framed photograph. “Grandma Alice will love finding th