Caray, Caray!

Whew, this was a really busy one, guys!


Luci, initially delighted to catch Lichicienta in the act of cheating on Alex with some gross old married dude, is horrified to see her smooching Beto! She snaps some photos for evidence and then indulges in some angry selfies!

Luci in shock!

She goes to her mom and whines: "Who knows what twisted and perverted tricks that Alicia used to ensnare Beto!?" Her mom points out that as of yesterday she was all aflutter for Alex and mad at Lichita for getting him. Luci explains that yeah, she liked Alex and was done with Beto, but when she saw him kiss Alicia so passionately, the ground shook beneath her. In the most brilliantly sarcastic line of the night, her mom, who's seen this all before, gasps: "another earthquake strikes Mexico!"

Val sarcastically noticing the tremors from when the ground moved beneath Luci's feet

Alicia is mad at her parents for not telling her Beto helped with their loan. But they talk and she reluctantly agrees that she probably would've done the same thing if it'd help Elsa achieve her dream and support the family.

Alex's blackmailer demands more money. He calls his dad and asks for another deposit for his "pending bills in the U.S."

Magos is certain that "her" "guero" is falling for her. Oh, and the clothes-smuggling operation is going strong (are they designer knockoffs or something, or are they just recognizing that it's unprofessional to sell clothes in the workplace?).

Braulio is pretty cute in his conversation with whats-his-name (Luciana's male flunky, Chchette's counterpart), shutting him down with facebook language when he claims Lichita got her position by unfair means and carries on with gossip: "I'm not giving you a 'follow.'" When the guy goes back to talking about work, Braulio says "ok, 'Like,'" and gives him a thumbs-up. They also "agree" to play fair in their competition for a new position that's opened up, but both cross their fingers.

Brisa the hippy just happens to be able to read auras, and she just has this sense that Alicia and Beto make a super couple, and it's visible from a great distance!

Augusto praises Chuchette for her good working getting Alex into the society magazines and reminds her to keep working on emphasizing his engagement with Alicia.  She makes a jaw-droppingly shameless display of flirting. She thanks him for his support and says "yo, más puesta que una pantimedia..." (what? better-positioned than panty hose? whatever it is, it sounds dirty) but he shoos her off.  BTW, did we see how her earrings wound up in his bag earlier? Were they having an affair?

What is Fátima's actual job?

I love how they've taken to calling Sandra "Godzilla." Elias even makes a big show of roaring and stomping around the office when Alicia gets called in to see her.

Godzilla herself

Mwahaha Luciana is prepared to forgive Chuchette, but only if she helps use the photo to ruin Alicia's reputation. Chuchette: "meh, I'm too busy to ruin anybody's life right now." Luci: don't make me "sulfurar," blow up at you (note the origin of the word, sulphur... I love the demonic alter-ego imagery here). Chuchette: "'Sorry,' you'll have to do it yourself!"

Augusto sets Beto on the confidential mission of following the money he's giving Alex and finding out exactly where it's going. Also, another mission: secretly get closer to Luciana so you can help me contain her. When Beto balks, Augusto offers him the best medical care in Mexico for his "sick brother." In typical menacing Augusto fashion, we can't tell whether he's being sincere with his bribe or he knows about Beto's deception and is making a veiled threat of exposing him.

Either he's terrified or they're about to kiss

Sandra tells Lichi she did a good job on the Oki Oki presentation (but don't get cocky) and has a new assignment for her, a shampoo company. But you'll have to deal with a very difficult person. "That's okay," Lichita says, "I'm already used to dealing with difficult people like you! I-I mean like you will clearly see..." Nice save, Lichita.

Now that Elsa's coffee business seems to be under way, Nacho is back to moping about not being the providing man of the house. Ugh.

Luciana is now fully aboard the Beto train. She must have him! Her mom advises her to just give up on the blackmail thing and delete the photos (because outing them would also get Beto in trouble), but she says NO! I MUST SINK ALICIA!! Valeria warns her that this is a bad idea; she might be assembling a "flor de quilombo." what the hell is a flor de quilombo???

Anyway, Luci ignores this wise advice and takes her photo of Alicia smooching Beto directly to Augusto (Alex's dad) and demands that he fire her immediately. He tells her he's not as hot-blooded as she is and needs to think about this for a bit. He asks that she lets him handle it and pretends to sob a bit... "Ay, how I suffer!"

Keeping his cool

Beto brings his bro along to observe Alex as he gives the cash to his blackmailer. After Alex leaves, they apprehend the guy! They take the blackmail money and seize his phone. Then they scare the crap out of him (Gumaro is particularly good at being scary) and chase him off. Beto asks his bro where he learned all that scary talk, and Gumaro says he picked it up from his cowboy movies.

They give Alex back his car, his dad's money,and his phone (I don't think they looked at it), telling him it's all done. "Does Alicia know that guy 'robbed' you? She deserves to know who you really are. Anyway, I won't tell anyone." I guess they did figure it out.

Alex meets with Alicia and tells her that Beto now knows he's gay.

Magos makes up her mind that she's gonna go seal the deal on her "guero," but enters his office with his cappuccino only to find him making out with his ultra-blonde girlfriend Vanesa. Vanesa "oh, you're the girl who gives free coffee! I'll take a a cherry chocolate cappuccino frappe to go, thanks!"

Oh man! At the API meeting to discuss Alex's candidacy, a dude shows up with two different photos of Alex in the gay club. He found them in a gay website... Everyone gasps, but Augusto stays cool! He laughs and says they're from when he was doing the car ad with the gay couple. He himself sent Alex to a club to gauge the impact of the ad on the gay community. He then goes on to insist that an API member must have had the photos taken and leaked intentionally to torpedo Alex's candidacy, as well as suggesting that "whoever did this" (he singles out that one dude who was anti-Alex) must already have some "interest" in the gay community to be on such websites in the first place.

In the car, leaving that meeting, Augusto drops a hint of exposition on us, about all that work he's put in filtering the agency's dirty dealings. No solid details, but be sure that the dirt is dirty. "Draco, plan B. It's time for drastic measures."

Marta turns up unannounced at the orphanage, gives Mateo some pasta, and promises to take him on a trip really soon. The kid lets slip that his dad is also planning on taking him for a trip soon. hmmm.

The health inspectors show up to close down Elsa's diner! Whoa!

Augusto calls Alicia into his office. He shows her the photo of her smooching Beto! "This could be the end of your career!" She keeps trying to apologize and ask what he wants and he keeps telling her to "ESTOP!" He really just wants her to marry Alex. He's got the leverage, and he wants the ultimate display in front of the press (and the API guys, I guess).

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Next: Episode 42

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