Bella showed up to work at Jorge Nunes’ podcast studio, her new boss. Jorge didn’t waste time: he looked closely at the new assistant, checking if she had any bruises on her face. “What’s wrong?” Bella smiled nonchalantly. “Only now are you noticing how beautiful I am?” “Cut the crap. I’m really worried about you, Bella Alvares.” Jorge crossed his arms, continuing to analyze her. “Good thing I won’t need to call the police — today.” Upon hearing the phrase “call the police,” Bella seized the opportunity to complain, “Listen here, Mr. Nunes, you acted really poorly by calling my house! Now everyone is throwing this in my face as if I were the guilty one!” Jorge’s eyes widened. “But how could this be your fault?” “Everyone in that house is against me,” Bella explained, exasperated. “What I need to do is keep working here, get my paycheck, and look for a place to rent or buy on installments. I’m leaving that house.” “At least you have plans,” Jorge replied. “You think I LIKE livi
Silva Oil Company, docks, morning. Gustavo and Ernesto react awkwardly when Patricia informs them that the police are present. Some dockworkers who witnessed Ernesto stumbling on the forklift laughed heartily. “What’s up, Ernie? Are you scared of the police?” “Get lost!” Ernesto exclaimed, feeling intimidated by the presence of the Diva of Silva Oil Company. Patricia smiled gently. “I’m sorry, Mr. Alvares. I didn’t mean to scare anyone. But it’s quite likely that the police will want to speak with you.” Gustavo asked anxiously, “Do you think Kirk has woken up? His family has been through too much.” “I still don’t know, but it’s likely that the police will ask questions about his drug use.” Patricia sighed. “What a shame, folks. We who come from the favela can’t perpetuate the stereotype of involvement in drug dealing. My family and I have never been involved in anything wrong, and I believe all of you are innocent citizens as well.” “Thank you, Miss Borges!” The dockworkers ch
Ronaldo is worried about Patricia’s appearance alongside Ernesto. Is it a good idea to get involved with suspicious characters linked to drug sales? Patricia, on the other hand, was calm. “Hello, gentlemen. Sergeant Carvalho, I believe you were involved in that mess at Zachary Loss’s nightclub, correct?” “Yes, and your boyfriend at the time, Matthew Sterling, helped quite a bit.” Ronaldo grimaced at the mention of Matt; only Fernando noticed. Ernesto spread his hands, smiling. “Well, gentlemen, since you were going to call me anyway, here I am voluntarily.” “I informed the dockworkers downstairs to be on standby and not to hide anything,” Patricia replied. “Thank you, dear.” Ronaldo stands up. “It’s best to let the police do their job now.” Ronaldo led Patricia out. Carvalho nodded in agreement: the fewer people, the better. With only Fernando present, Carvalho pointed to an empty chair where Ernesto sat. “How long have you known Kirk Camargo, Mr. Alvares?” “Since he started
As the Diva of Silva Oil Company, Gustavo promptly obeyed Patricia and headed to Ronaldo’s office. Ronaldo was standing, flipping through a binder. Upon noticing the presence of Gustavo and Patricia, he looked up. “Oh, here we are, Gustavo. Thank you for coming to speak with me.” Gustavo’s sharp gaze discerned that Ronaldo was looking at his file. “What are you doing with that?” Gustavo asked, his tone expressing caution and distrust. “What’s wrong? Can’t the boss look at his employees’ credentials?” Ronaldo raised an eyebrow mockingly. Patricia wasn’t naive and felt the storm brewing. “Ron, why did you call Gustavo?” “I called him to ask him to tell me everything he knows before he lies to Sergeant Carvalho.” “I don’t want to lie!” Gustavo shouted. “Gustavo Alvares, as you can see, I requested documentation from everyone who lives in Lion’s Den,” Ronaldo gestured to the desk full of files. “But it’s my file you’re flipping through,” Gustavo thought of an idea. “Mr. Silva,
“Two Cheeseburgers to go, please!”“Matt, two cheeseburgers!”Matthew was in a corner of the kiosk trying to read an Economics book, but with the order given by his superior, he patiently left the book with the marker on the page where he stopped and got up to go to the hot plate.Grabbing cheese and hamburger meats, Matthew began the preparation. After cooking so much, Matthew could make snacks with his eyes closed.While preparing the order, Matthew began to reflect on his life so far.The customers who eagerly awaited the order were university students, attending the famous and private Sterling University, the most popular and referenced Higher Education institution in the state of Espírito Santo. The two-story university was built with the same appearance and architecture seen in the world’s most famous universities.For someone to say they would study at Sterling was the same as saying they would study at Harvard or Oxford.The building was erected by the famous Rocha Constructio
“ARGH!” Matthew screamed in pain.Matthew was not a weak man. The difficult life he led made him endure a lot. He never shied away from hard work, causing him to gain stamina and physical strength.But being completely taken by surprise by David, it was inevitable that he wouldn’t feel some pain. Still, David’s friends laugh thinking that Matthew was nothing more than a useless weakling.“A light kick like that, and he screams like a little girl!”“For a moment, I thought I was going to witness a real fight.”“The waitress is lost if she really needed the grill cook!”“Come on, man, get up!” David bellows imperially, “You asked, and now you’ve got trouble!”But Clayton appeared from inside the kiosk, rubbing his hands on his apron, “Hey, you guys, stop it or I’ll call campus security!”David looks arrogantly at Clayton, “Are you also going to call my father to teach this worm who dared to defy me a lesson?”Patricia doesn’t remain silent, “Mr. Saldanha, that’s not what—”“You know wha
Matthew felt a mixture of surprise and disappointment. Cindy was reacting as if they were strangers or as if they had broken up years ago. He observed Ricardo and saw how he smiled mockingly.“What’s going on here?” Matthew asks, not so sure he wants to know the answer.Ricardo steps in front of Cindy and responds on her behalf, “Look, my friend, I don’t know what Cindy said – or what she didn’t say – the point is that we’ve been dating for months. I think we should dissolve any misunderstanding before the situation becomes more embarrassing than it already is.”Matthew’s eyes widen. He tries all the time to face Cindy, but she doesn’t have the guts to face him.“Ricardo, allow me to resolve this...” Cindy asks in a low voice.“No, darling. As a gentleman, I can’t let you expose yourself.”Matthew finally says, “Cindy, is this the journalist who is investigating a corrupt politician? What if he puts you in danger?”“Matt, I already told you that’s not going to happen!” Cindy speaks in
Walter stands up abruptly, his brow furrowed, eager to defend his friend, “Excuse me, there’s an injustice happening here. Who are you, the new university inspector?” Another colleague comments, “If Matt got into trouble with David Rocha, then that’s not an injustice, Walter!” A girl says dismissively, “Yes, yesterday’s fight was spread on the campus social media, Walter. Haven’t you seen it yet?” “I don’t have time for this nonsense!” Walter exclaims. “Is that you Matthew Silva?” The fifty-year-old man slightly narrows his eyes, as if he already knew that whoever was speaking was a friend of the person he was looking for. “No, I’m Walter Andrade.” Walter speaks boldly. The surname Andrade should spark some interest in the middle-aged man, given that the Andrade family has a network of private clinics famous for serving people of all ages and social classes. But the man didn’t change his stance, “I just came here to take Matthew Silva.” The professor also notices that the man