68

The next morning, Luana packed her things for the trip while, at the same time, Karine also organized her bags.

Finally, with everything ready, it was time to board. There they went, heading to the beach.

The hotel was incredible and the landscape was simply perfect. Luana was enchanted by so much beauty in one place.

The couples each arrived in a different car and met in front of the hotel: Luana and Fred, Karine and Lucas, and Ítalo and Luísa.

The atmosphere became tense, couples exchanged glances and no one spoke. The silence was awkward, until Luana decided to speak.

"I can't get used to the way you dress," said Luana, looking from Karine to Luísa, who were wearing long dresses and high heels. She thought, without saying anything, "who wears heels on the beach?" and laughed wryly at his thoughts. "Mine is like this, simple and basic," she concluded. When she finished, she left hand in hand with Fred, who was smiling at what Luana had just said, and they headed towards the hotel lobby, leaving Luísa and Karine in shock at what they had just heard.

The others followed Fred and Luana to the hotel lobby, where Fred's partner was waiting for them.

"Welcome," said the partner, extending his hand to shake Fred.

"What a beautiful hotel," said Italo, looking around.

"I'm glad you liked it," replied the partner.

"Fred, welcome. You are our honored guest for the ceremony," said the partner, now turning back to Fred.

"Members, you are also welcome," he said to the rest of the staff, who also greeted him.

"Your rooms are ready, you can make yourself comfortable," said the partner before saying goodbye and leaving.

As soon as the partner left, Fred asked for a meeting with everyone before they went to their rooms.

"Wouldn't it be better if we sat down and rested for about 5 minutes? We'll have the meeting later," asked Lucas.

"We don't like rest because it makes us slower. Let's go," replied Luísa in her authoritarian way.

Everyone followed her, except Lucas and Karine.

"Please, Lucas, don't say anything," asked Karine as soon as the others walked away, before Lucas could say anything else. But, before Lucas could speak or Karine could continue, they were interrupted by Fred, who turned around as soon as he saw that the couple stayed still and didn't follow the rest of the group.

"Karine, aren't you coming?" Fred asked.

"Of course," said Karine, letting go of Lucas's hand. "I'm going with Fred," she said, looking at Lucas, who stood there, watching as Karine joined Fred and the others.

"We're going to take a few days off. The presentation is ready. After our partner signs the contract, we're going to enjoy this paradise. We need it," said Ítalo, all excited.

"Want me to write your acceptance speech for the induction ceremony?" offered Karine, interrupting Ítalo.

"No need, I'll improvise," replied Fred.

"Don't forget to thank me too," asked Luana.

"What?" asked Fred, intrigued.

"When men win a prize, they thank the woman they are in love with," replied Luana, sarcastic.

"I thank you every minute of my life," replied Fred, embarrassed.

"You are the love of my life," said Luana, smiling at Fred, while the others followed, watching that romantic scene.

Meanwhile, still in the lobby, Lucas was pacing back and forth, irritated because Karine followed along with the rest of the group and left him there alone. In the midst of his thoughts, his cell phone started ringing. As soon as he answered, he saw that it was his friend Ricardo, Fred's arch-enemy.

"Hello," said Lucas.

"Hello, Lucas, how are you? How are things over there?" asked Ricardo.

"What can I do? You know, I'm surrounded by Fred Oliver's nonsense."

"What happened? Did he become the center of attention?" asked Ricardo.

"Look, I'm glad Luana is here. She's a very special girl."

"It's good to know that Luana is there. And Fred's interest in her, even more so," said Ricardo.

"Friend, they made a betrothal contract. That kind of thing doesn't even exist," said Lucas.

"What's it like? What are you talking about?" asked Ricardo, intrigued.

"Yeah. The guy is drooling over her. Listen, he promised to buy chocolate every time she asked. And he wasn't even ashamed to put it on paper," said Lucas.

"How do you know about this contract?" asked Ricardo, more curious.

"Yesterday, when we went to dinner at Fred's house, a page of the contract accidentally got in front of me. I even took a photo to take a look later," said Lucas.

"Damn, I'm dying of curiosity right now. Send me this photo," asked Ricardo, taking advantage of the situation.

"Of course. Hang in there and I'll tell you," Lucas replied.

"Of course, let me know when you get back," Ricardo asked.

"Of course, we'll see you when I get back," said Lucas, saying goodbye to Ricardo and sending the photo of the contract. Ricardo received the photo with a big smile on his face.

"Don't forget to stop by the construction site today and get the documents, okay?" asked Ítalo to his assistant on the phone.

Ítalo's room was next to Luísa's room, and a small balcony separated the two.

"What it was?" Italo asked Luísa, who was looking at him from the balcony of her room.

"Nothing," replied Luísa.

"Look, it's no coincidence that our rooms are side by side," said Ítalo to Luísa.

"Lucas booked it like this. We are from the same company. It's normal for our rooms to be neighbors, it's not a coincidence. I think it's a logical decision," replied Luísa, a little awkwardly.

"Luísa, is it difficult for you to be a little more positive? You have a beautiful smile, how about using it? Is it very difficult for you?" asked Italo, while Luísa maintained her serious air.

Without responding, Luísa turned her back and walked into her room, leaving Italo there alone, without understanding anything at all, looking at her as she left.

Meanwhile, Luana and Fred knew her room. The room was gigantic, it looked like a house. Luana was delighted. As soon as she entered, she saw that the room had doors that faced the sea.

"Oh, look at that sea, Fred," said Luana, heading to the door, opening it and running to look at the sea.

"What a beautiful view," she continued, as she opened the door and went out onto the balcony.

"You can even smell the sea air from here. Look, there's a boat far away. I'd give anything to be on it right now," said Luana as she looked at the distant boat.

Fred walked over, looked at where Luana was pointing and asked, "Is it over?"

"What?" asked Luana, without understanding.

"Is it over yet?" Fred repeated it again.

"I think so," said Luana, sadly.

"Good," replied Fred, in a serious tone.

Luana, irritated, went back into the room, followed by Fred.

"So, are we going to sleep in the same room?" asked Luana, noticing that there was only one bed.

"Are you kidding me?" Fred asked.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" replied Luana.

"I wasn't the one who decided the rooms, so if it's a problem for you, talk to Lucas," replied Fred, sitting down opposite Luana, who was still standing.

"Okay then, I'm going to sleep on the couch," said Luana.

Meanwhile, Fred noticed that Luana had only taken one small suitcase and asked: "Where's your other suitcase?"

"I didn't bring another suitcase, I just brought one," replied Luana.

"And what's in the suitcase?" Fred asked.

"Short jeans, bikini, t-shirt, very comfortable flip-flops," replied Luana.

"You know why we came here, right? There's going to be a big awards ceremony, with very important guests. And I'm going to sign a contract. And you want to show up there in flip-flops? Is that right?" Fred asked.

"You said beach. You said we were coming to the beach, what did I understand? Of course I brought shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. And you don't like anything I wear. You and your little crew... Well, I need to take a shower," replied Luana.

"Well, go ahead," replied Fred, with his hand on his chin.

"Can you wait for me on the porch?" asked Luana.

"Can you wait on the porch?" Luana insisted, seeing that Fred wasn't moving.

Fred, irritated, got up and headed to the balcony, while Luana headed to the bathroom. Fred took advantage of his exit to the porch to call his father.

"Did you hire Lucas as a consultant?" asked Fred as soon as his father answered the phone.

"Not me, Karine asked and I signed," replied her father.

"Ah, of course, and you didn't think about me for a minute, did you? You didn't even consult me? You decided to teach me a little lesson, right? But that's not how it works. Don't play games with me," said Fred, making it very clear to his father.

"Of course, Karine was having difficulties and decided to ask her fiancé for help. She said you're not interested in the company, so she asked her fiancé for help, simple as that," said Fred's father.

"Lucas is Ricardo's best friend. Understand? They can do business together? And you allowed this guy to join our company," said Fred.

"You have the wrong image of Ricardo. He's just like his father," replied Fred's father.

"No, his father lost his way due to immorality. And you, because of your ego? But whatever. I just don't want him to look for me when Lucas sinks the company," said Fred, hanging up the phone, without giving his father a chance to say more. anything.

From the balcony, Fred saw that Lucas was downstairs on the phone and also saw when Karine joined him. However, that scene didn't move him one bit. For him, it was a normal couple like any other.

Meanwhile, Izadora snooped around her son's house from afar. André, seeing that scene, took binoculars so she could get a better look.

"Thank you so much, how kind, I'm André. I'm looking at my own son's house with binoculars. It's all that woman's fault. The doors and windows are closed. That woman spent the night there, right?" Izadora asked André.

"Mr. Fred traveled early. So, if you want to see him, just look at the sky," replied André, being ironic.

"My son traveled early and why didn't I know about it?" asked Izadora. "Did that flower girl go with him by any chance?"

"Probably," replied André.

"Nights on the beach seduce people," said Izadora. "I don't trust this girl at all, André. I never said anything, but I know that you are also in love with her. That lessens my sympathy for you, it's a close call," continued Izadora.

"It's too early to want to call and be a little disruptive," said André, showing Izadora his cell phone.

"Good idea," replied Izadora, quickly taking the cell phone from André's hand.

"I can't be without this cell phone. She keeps refusing my calls," recalled Izadora.

Meanwhile, Luana had already left the bathroom, showered and changed.

"Your mother is a very kind, very sensible woman. I'm not accepting her call, but she keeps calling. I decline the call and she calls again. Why so much obsession in me?" said Luana, as she approached Fred, who was drinking coffee on the balcony.

"Is it because she likes you?" replied Fred.

"It seems like it. Does your mother like me? Anyway, I'm ready, let's go," said Luana, between smiles.

"You have a job to do," Fred replied, standing up.

"What do you mean I have work to do?" asked Luana, without understanding. "Is this serious?"

"Yes," replied Fred.

"You don't have a job here? But I do, it's not fair," said Luana, getting angry.

As she spoke, someone knocked on the door and Fred asked to come in. As soon as the door opened, two women came in with some clothes and accessories for Luana to choose from. Fred gave the excuse that it was from the sponsor so that Luana could choose some pieces and not suspect that he was paying for everything. Luana didn't think twice and decided to choose the pieces of clothing that she liked the most.