Caray, Caray!

First, an apology. I've been making so many jokes about the hotness of Juan Cristobal on Mundo de Fieras lately that I've completely neglected the handsome men of La Fea Más Bella. But tonight, I shall remedy that.

In the boardroom

Sanchez, the chatty hot lawyer, says they (meaning himself, the scorchingly taciturn Rosales, the flamingly competent Santamaria, the radioactively handsome Fernando, and Lety) should have breakfast together, including a little tequila to relax, before their meeting with the judge tomorrow morning at 9. Lety's eyebrows twitch, but she and Fern agree to 9 o'clock.

Fern starts to grin foolishly, but then starts coughing nervously when the door opens. It's Marcia and the blazingly distinguished Humberto, back from their little pep talk. Marcia is walking like she has a broomstick up her butt. She stands possessively behind Fernando's chair and literally looks down her nose at Lety. Humbo announces that Marcia won't quit. The HaHas clap joyously. Darth Fluffy ('cuz her helmet hair is looking a little pouffier this week) says it's good news. Marcia snottily says she's not doing this for Lety's benefit. This doesn't seem to surprise Lety, who simply says it's important for Marcia to be there.

The HaHas are delighted. Sanchez makes a big speech about how he and his friend are leaving in a great mood. He thanks them for lunch and I think he picks something out of his teeth and flicks it into the ashtray (or whatever that thing is in the middle of the table).

As he and Rosales stand up, Sanchez hurriedly assures the others that there's no need to get up. (Omar, who is emitting invisible white-hot particles of devastating charm, looks amused, as does Fern; Lety looks neutral; Ariel looks annoyed as if his super-hot muscleman thong is too tight; Ter and Marcia look pissy like they always do when confronted with a lighthearted moment.) The HaHas file out, followed by Santamaria.

In the executive lobby

Sanchez congratulates Santamaria on a job well done and suggests that they go out for a little tequila. Santamaria politely declines, saying he won't have time. Sanchez tells Santamaria that they (the HaHas) will be at his service - as lawyers, that is, not as waiters.

Santamaria then becomes distracted by the sight of his beloved Bic Banana and excuses himself. Concerned, Rosales follows, but Sanchez detains him (with difficulty). Just then, Lola shows up, wanting to talk to them about her case, so Sanchez tries to distract his colleague by saying "look who's here." With perfect timing, the homewrecker Yazmin shows up too (I guess Alicia wasn't completely successful in running her off), and complains to them about how Lola picked on her poor defenseless (but surely hot) Flaquito that morning, and now she won't let her have her severance check.

Sanchez starts to lecture Lola about the law, but doesn't get very far because his dear Sara has just arrived at the scene as well. She tells Lola that she and the HaHas can use Omar's office to talk privately. (Sanchez has to drag Rosales along; Rosales is still staring at the big crazy canary.) Sara gloats that Yazmin won't be able to bother Lola now.

Sanchez looks at the artwork on Omar's walls, impressed and/or amused. (Is that a Miró to the left? I like it. I like the black & white prints on the wall behind Omar's desk, too.) Lola asks the HaHas if they'll help her with her divorce. Sanchez says he'll help her because she's a friend of Sara's. He says he can surely get her some good alimony. This pleases her and she wants to know how soon will that wretch have to begin paying his obligations. (Sanchez is playing with the toys on Omar's desk.)

Rosales says they're seeing a judge tomorrow anyway, so perhaps they can get it started then. This delights Lola even more. She says she'll wait for their call and she supposes they already have all the information they need? Rosales assures her that they do. (I don't know if it's common or even legal for a lawyer to represent one spouse and then another in the same divorce case, but it sure makes a great story.) Lola exits Omar's office on cloud nine, leaving the HaHas unsupervised.

Meanwhile, out in the lobby, Alicia is pretending to be working hard when she's hardly working. Santamaria seems impressed and says it was wonderful to meet her. She says it was wonderful for her too, and wonders when he'll be returning to Conceptos? (Speak of the devil: having just used the familiar tú form, she corrects herself with the formal Ud. form. Nice to know she's just as confused as I am. No, really, I know that's just her way of flirting, but it's funny that it would come up tonight.)

The HaHas have found their way out of Omar's office. Rosales starts towards Alicia's desk. Juana also decides that this would be a great time to wipe down the wall behind Alicia. Santamaria says he doesn't know when he'll be coming back to Conceptos, but says he'll give her a call and they can go out sometime. Alicia coyly says her schedule's pretty full of dates. (She must be referring to the days of the week that are already printed in a datebook when you buy it.)

Rosales interrupts them and huskily tells Alicia he's leaving. "Great," she says absently, turning back to her "work." He says he'll call her and they'll go out sometime.

Santamaria seems faintly amused. Alicia does not. She says "what??" and gives a laugh of contempt. Rosales says they'll eat and converse. He asks if she liked the little present he brought her. She doesn't know what he's talking about. He reminds her of the candy. "Oh, that," she says sharply. "Thanks." Rosales excuses himself again, pushing past Santamaria on his way out.

Santamaria makes a crack about her schedule being filled with invitations of great refinement. Alicia gets up, indignantly denying that there's anything between her and Rosales. Santamaria chuckles and repeats that he'll call her one of these days.

Juana finishes wiping the wall and runs into the ladies' room at warp speed to report this conversation to PM. (Alicia can hear them laughing from her desk.) It takes a moment for Juana to catch her breath. Finally she says something about burning Alicia's liver (it's an idiom meaning that they fried her bacon, i.e., she's really mad).

Sara grills Sanchez for information about what's been going on in the boardroom. (Martha watches, munching on a snack.) Sanchez says it's business stuff, and this isn't the kind of place to discuss it, and in fact he shouldn't discuss it at all, except she inspires his trust, so, what time should they get together? She says no, her going-home time is a long way off, and please won't he tell just a little bit about what's going on with Lety? They don't know anything. She makes a sad face and says her spirits are low. He assures her ("my sweet enchantress") that all is well.

(He is groping her lightly. Martha moves in closer with her snacks for a better look.)

He presses her for a specific hour when he can see her to tell her the rest. Maybe six? Before she can answer, he grabs her hand and kisses it. She looks slightly ill. Then he kisses it again and nips it! They all laugh and she says "like little dogs." He leaves. Lola tells Sara that they may be like dogs, but they're competent dogs.

The three lawyers congregate around the elevator and Sanchez tries to make small talk about the slowness of the elevator. In front of Santamaria, he asks Rosales how it went with the "platinum blonde." He says at first it was a bit crowded because their counterpart/colleague was there too, but they left it that he would call her. And, Rosales asks, how'd it go with Sara? Sanchez reports that, by some miracle, they'll be having a hot ("high-voltage") date at six. (Santamaria stares at the ceiling.)

Fortunately, the elevator finally arrives. On it are Luigi and Irma, wearing matching colors. Luigi, who is so hot his clothes could just melt right off of him into a colorful little polyester puddle, is started and exclaims "holy mother of God!" (i.e., Santamaria!) at Santamaria. Then he turns to the HaHas and strikes the Crane pose, addressing Rosales as Mr. Miyagi (y'know, like from The Karate Kid). Bemused, the HaHaHas get on the elevator and make their escape.

Irma warns Luigi that those were Lety's lawyers. Luigi doesn't see why this is a problem. The Bic Banana rushes over and advises them that Humberto wants Luigi in the boardroom. He asks why, but she doesn't know. He comments on her cleavage and she is offended.

Meanwhile, the cuartel are hooting with laughter over the lawyers' hijinx. Lola tells Sara she'd better get out there and hustle because she wants to get good alimony for her kids. They crowd around Sara and push her out the door.

The lawyers are all gone now, but Alicia and Luigi are still trying to solve the great mystery of what might be going on in the boardroom. (One way to find out would be to go in there as Humberto requested.) Alicia warns him that the mustached corncake is in there. They puzzle over this too and she says she could have asked, but doesn't like to gossip. She says she is the most discreet person in the office (in addition to her other great qualities) and heads back to her desk.

Luigi starts toward the boardroom to receive his devastating news, but is then accosted by Yazmin, who has been lurking in the background. She tries to lay a sob story on him and he asks if she's been busy sleeping with married guys from the supermarket. She says Lola's been withholding her severance check. Lola complains that it never ends, it never ends. Yazmin says it's not fair, she's worked so many hours that her whole body was sore all over (that's just hilarious). Luigi asks if she's stopped working. Hasn't she been out destroying men?

Yazmin says no, she hasn't been working, and her poor Flaquito can't catch up on their expenses. She blames Lola and the lawyers, of course. "Look how skinny I'm getting," she adds to Luigi. (Lola, Juana, and Martha laugh at her.) Luigi has her turn around and says the bubble (her butt) is gone! Yazmin says that Lola also told her that Lopez isn't around.

Lopez, with a scalp that burns brighter than a thousand suns, shows up and tells Martha he'll be in the boardroom. Yazmin starts asking him for the check. Lola tries to prevent the conversation. Lopez gives her a hard time about not having been around that morning and creepily tells Yazmin he'll see her after the meeting. She flips her hair at him and says he's a great man in every sense of the word. Blech. He squeaks his head and goes to the meeting.

Luigi whispers something into Martha's ear. Martha whispers into Juana's ear. Juana shudders and repeats it into Lola's ear. Lola repeats it to Yazmin.

Whatever they said, Yazmin is mightily offended and screams at them. The feas scatter, and Luigi goes to the boardroom.

"So that's it, huh?" Yazmin mutters to herself with a spiteful smile.

In the boardroom again

Luigi announces himself and acts startled to see the "platypus." He asks where has she been, shut up in a cave, or what? She replies, "I'm very glad to see you too." Humberto orders him to sit, and Luigi must take the only seat available, right next to Lety! Humberto tells him that the committee has made a decision about the new president of Conceptos. Luigi assumes that it's him, and says he'll do it, but only on the condition that "this thing" (Lety) won't be his assistant. Because his retinas are very sensitive, his eyes are very delicate. (He is failing to notice all the concerned looks on everyone's faces.)

Humberto tells him that Lety is the new president of Conceptos. Lety grins broadly at him, showing off her many thousands of dollars' worth of orthodontia. Finally Luigi recovers from his shock and laughs. He says it was a mean joke, they're a bunch of clowns. But, seriously, he asks, who is the new president? Impatiently, Ariel tells him it really is Lety. No clowning. Luigi thinks this is one hell of a great joke. Where's the hidden camera? Is it Candid Camera? (LOL, the captions say "Candy Camera"!) Hi, hello, smile!, he sings. (For a moment there, I'm afraid he's going to do the whole song.) He is still not seeing the very grave looks that people are giving him.

"Luigi, even if it gives you all the palpitations in the world, I am the new president," she tells him. He says no, now it's triple palpitations, somebody call Irma for his valerian please. He says he's sorry, but he'll quit if this is true. Humberto says no, they've been working on this for days, it's been very difficult, and Luigi has to help. It's only temporary, but everyone must collaborate on this effort. As for himself, he needs to rest!

Ariel says he wants to know things like, will Lety have the authority to hire new people. Humbo says he doesn't see a problem with her having to make adjustments to the executive board, for example, and "we" should respect those. Fernando picks this moment to tell Lety that he's already been fired, and the only reason he's still around was to get to this stage, so now that everything's ironed out, he's going to leave.

Lety looks shocked and unhappy.

Elsewhere in The D. F.

Aldo, who in my opinion was a little hotter when he had the beard but is still hot enough to blow up a planet with lightning bolts shooting out of his teeth, is sitting on a bench outside his rented home, with his laptop in front of him. He's supposed to be working on something, but instead he's remembering Lety telling him how she left Conceptos on bad terms, and wonders what she decided. He shakes his head to clear it (sort of like you do with an Etch-A-Sketch) and turns back to his laptop, but his phone rings.

He reaches for it excitedly, but it's one of the restaurant people. But that's exciting too. It sounds like they're ready to lay the floors. (I wonder if the Mundo de Fieras people are involved in the construction. They're in construction, right? I wonder what would happen if Juan Cristobal, Aldo, Fern, and Omar had a battle of the hotness. Who would win? I'll tell you who would win - US, the viewers!)

The phone rings again. It's Don Johnson, calling from a time machine 20 years ago. He wants his jacket back.

Back in the boardroom

Lety still looks shocked. Fern gets up from the table (blue tie today with thin white stripes; what kind of crap is that? Come back here after you find your clownfish tie). Omar detains him, but only so Fern can hear him say that the same goes for him; he's leaving now too.

Teresita says nope, they can't. They're shareholders, so they need to stick around and make themselves useful. (Oh really? Then why doesn't Ana-Leticia have to be there too? Never mind.) Ariel sarcastically praises Teresita for her maternal concern, but asks, for what company are their shares? Ter says what little is left of Conceptos, of course! (I don't think she caught the irony.)

Lety tells Fern and Omar that they are still shareholders and legal representatives of Conceptos, and if they or anyone else present ever needs any information or reports, she'll be happy to pass those along. Humberto agrees to this.

The next question is the matter of salary. Humbo suggests that she be paid the same salary as the previous president of Conceptos. Marcia does not approve! Lety says that her old salary was unfair, and Fernando was always conscious of that. (If so, why didn't he improve it?) Fern might be nodding slightly - I can't tell. Luigi is still hyperventilating.

Marcia tells her to take into account that the company is in crisis, and so are they. What is Ana Leticia going to live on? (Heh, ask me if I care!) Or Ariel? Or Humbo and Darth Ter?

Luigi timidly asks about his own salary.

The return of RoboPop

RoboPop is so wheezy lately I can barely understand him. Perhaps he burned his own throat with the lavalike hotness of his great singing voice. Martha, Sara, and Lola greet him warmly, and Sara whistles for the Bic Banana and tells her that Erasmo is here to see Humbo. Alicia says too bad, he's in a meeting. She can't interrupt him.

He breathlessly tells her that Humberto is waiting for him. (He is clutching a newspaper to his chest like a movie gangster concealing a gun.) Alicia complains that people are whistling at her like she's in a corral. Sara says that's okay, she'll go tell Humbo herself that Erasmo is here, like Humbo asked. Not wanting to be upstaged, Alicia says she'll do it, and asks his name again. (For the record, it's Erasmo Padilla Galarza.)

Again in the boardroom

Lety tells them that she put aside some money long ago to cover all their monthly allowances. Instead of being grateful or relieved, Ariel is annoyed that Fernando will now be getting payments even though he's the one who burned up the company. Fern says, well, it's all at the company's disposal. This includes any dividends. He doesn't want the company to have any more problems because of him. Omar unhappily agrees to the same thing.

(I don't think they've resolved the question of Lety's salary. Did I miss something?)

The giant canary bursts in and, with much self-congratulatory fanfare, introduces RoboPop. Fernando stands to greet him; Omar follows suit. No one else does. Humberto explains that Erasmo is Lety's father. "Obviously," Luigi mutters. Humbo sternly informs Luigi and everyone else that Erasmo is an accountant and did an excellent job with Filmo-Imagen's records. He invites Erasmo to sit next to him and shakes his hand. He reminds everyone that F-I kept Conceptos afloat, and now he wants Erasmo to be in charge of accounting for both F-I and Conceptos!

Lety's face registers faint surprise. Teresita whines that they're getting Lety's father too. Luigi says it's nepotism. (That's a brilliant observation to make in the boardroom of a family-owned business!) Humbo says Erasmo won't be working for his daughter - he'll be working for him, Humberto. He'll be reporting to him regularly on the companies' financial status. They - Humbo and Erasmo - have both had plenty of experience with the harmful actions of their offspring. That's not going to happen again, is it, Erasmo? RoboPop nods decisively.

In the Garden of Aldo

Aldo is finally concentrating on his work again. He is giving himself an impassioned speech about how the traditions of Mexican cuisine are as vast and profound as those of Asia - China, Japan, and Tibet. Those foods are all about ritual, and Mexican food is too. And the preparation of food is a ritual as well.

He begins typing again, but his phone rings. It's Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet, calling from the grave. He wants credit for his musings on food=ritual. So does Charles Dickens, for that matter. (And I bet Dickens wasn't the first to write about that, either.)

Actually, no, it's his restaurant pal Guillermo, whose hotness is so intense that he probably needs to wrap his phone in asbestos. Aldo tells him that he's working on that idea about Mexican cuisine for the world, and agrees to meet with him that evening.

In the boardroom

RoboPop makes a slow, wheezy speech thanking Humbo for his trust and promising to report on any suspicious financial activity. (Luigi makes faces.) Humbo says he's going home now and wishes them luck. He says okay Lety, I'm leaving it all in your hands and I'm sure it will be fine. She thanks him. Humbo then asks Lopez to write up a memo informing all the employees of the change. (Fortunately, he doesn't tell Lopez to make everyone read Who Moved My Cheese.)

He leaves the room. Lety gets up and tells them she'll have her meeting with the judge at 9, after which they'll all meet and talk about the new plan. She wants it to begin as soon and as fast as possible. She says they can count on her, and she hopes she can count on them. "Ánimo," Luigi cheers sarcastically. RoboPop gets up to follow and assures them all that his daughter's work will be impeccable. The two of them leave the boardroom.

Luigi struggles to process all that he's just observed. Tomorrow, he's going to have to take orders from "that thing"? Hello? He'll quit. Marcia tells him no, he's not going to quit.

Lopez wants to know when should he inform the employees, and when should Lety get her new office. Marcia says tomorrow. Lopez asks if "la licenciada Padilla" should get Fern's old office. (Luigi gasps; Fern smirks.) Luigi says they should just put her back in her old cave, since that's already been contaminated. If they put her in the good office, they'll have to quarantine people and get them innoculations. And something about a smell...

Fern hops out of his chair and tells Luigi to stop being ridiculous. The president gets the president's office. So Lety will get the seat that he occupied; that his father occupied; and others (everyone stares at Ariel) wished to, but couldn't occupy.

Ariel whines, but Marcia says the president gets the president's office. Teresita vehemently disagrees that Lety should be so rewarded. Luigi says something about not wanting to be the platypus's secretary, and amused Fern says he'll probably only have to fetch her coffee once in a while.

In the executive lobby

Fresh out of the boardroom, Lety and her father say how surprised they were when Humberto asked Erasmo to work for him. (Seeing Lety, Martha and Lola get on the phone to assemble the cuartel.) She asks, sounding a little worried I think, if he'll be coming to the office every day. He says only when necessary, but he'd like to see where he's going to be working when he's there. She says no, she doesn't even have her own office yet. He doesn't understand why they can't get started right away.

Led by the cuartel, Sara tries to stop Lety from leaving. They beg her to stay and talk, but Lety wants to wait till tomorrow. They pelt her with affection and questions, scolding her gently for leaving so abruptly without warning or explanation. Alicia tells them all to get back to work, but Roller Derby Sara tells her they were talking to Lety and her father, not her, the waitress of Conceptos. (Can canaries be waitresses? I don't think they can.)

Trying to prevent a brawl, Lety says she's going to leave. Alicia says she can't deny that she's delighted to hear it, but she would have liked even better if Lety had said she was never ever coming back again, that mustached corncake.

RoboPop comes forward and says "listen to me, you faded old woman (vieja desteñida)" - this shocks and thrills the cuartel - "I'm telling you to respect my daughter." They applaud him vigorously. Alicia snidely says that Lety is the one who should respect Conceptos and her. "You know very well what I'm talking about," she insinuates. (Hmm, could she be talking about the way she slept with Lety's "boyfriend," but didn't get the half-million pesos she was expecting in return? Heh heh.)

RoboPop steps toward her, but Sara intervenes. "Let me," she requests. "Listen, airhead, and you better, because I'll make you swallow your tongue."

"You can't talk to me that way either," Alicia hisses. (I didn't know canaries could hiss.)

"I'll talk to you however I want to."

Lopez demands to know what is going on. Alicia says that Sara is threatening her. Sara says it's because Alicia is harassing Lety and her father.

To everyone's surprise, Lopez tells Alicia to behave herself with "licenciada Padilla." He adds that it's no way to treat... YOUR BOSS.

Everyone looks confused. "What are you talking about, Lopez?" Alicia asks.

Lopez paces the floor like... like... sort of like a runway model, I guess. No, maybe he's trying to look like an airplane. I can't figure it out. I've never seen a housefly walk that way. Anyway, he says he's been asked to spread the word that the illustrious and highly qualified licenciada Leticia Padilla Solis is the new president of Conceptos.

The cuartel applauds wildly. Alicia is impactada. Chaos ensues.

Aldo scene #3

We get a long shot of Aldo's rented home. It's ridiculously huge. Aldo is on the phone again, this time in the garden. I am trying, without success, to get a good luck at the emblem on Aldo's jacket. Can anyone tell what it is?

He's asking Carolina if she's heard from Lety. (Aldo, this would be a good time to ask for Lety's phone number!) He asks her to let him know if she hears anything. He tells her that the reason he called was to confirm their plans with Gillermo tonight.

It's good that we got these three scenes to keep up-to-date with what Aldo does in his spare time. Some people will argue that it's better than the way Fern spent his time, boozing it up and moaning about Lety. Others will argue that it's a feeble attempt to make him look appealing when he's just an unwelcome, non-Fernando interloper. Me, I'm okay with these scenes as long as I can make merciless fun of them.

The phone rings again. It's David Spade. He wants his phone call joke back.

Okay, back to the chaos; and, Lety is claimed again

Alicia asks Lopez to confirm that it's not true. He shouldn't joke with her about such a serious thing. He confirms that Señora (RoboPop corrects him: Señorita!) Padilla is the new president. He also informs "Señora Ferreira" that she is no longer Humberto's secretary.

"Lopez, please," Lety protests, but Lopez is on a roll. He tells Alicia she now reports to "the highly qualified and esteemed lic. Padilla. Right here."

Alicia is impactada all over again. Oh, the humanity!

Irma asks, "my Lety, is this true?" Lety reluctantly confirms that it is. Everyone cheers except Alicia, who rushes into the boardroom in tears. Irma excitedly tells "her Lety" it's like going from water to chocolate (or something like that); one day she leaves and then another day she comes back and she's president. They are all curious to hear the story of how this happened, but Lety says she can't tell them anything now. She promises to tell them everything... but won't say when.

In the boardroom, everyone is talking at once, except Marcia, who is sulking. Ter tells them all to hush; they hear the ruckus outside and wonder what it is. (Duh.) The Bic Banana asks about "this joke from Lopez." (Fern is quietly laughing in the corner.) Marcia says yep, it's true. Alicia asks if it's the Day of the Innocents (it's like April Fool's, but it's on Dec. 28 and commemorates King Herod's slaughter of the infants in Judea; this episode originally aired in Mexico in October, so there's no reason Alicia should be confused, especially if she's ever looked in her datebook that's full of dates.) She is convinced that they're all making fun of her.

Marcia tells her again that Lety is the new president of Conceptos. Alicia thinks it must be a dream, or a nightmare. She asks Luigi for a pinch; he obliges enthusiastically. She screams, but doesn't wake up. She asks how much power Lety has. (Fern's laughter has become audible.)

"All of it," Marcia shouts at her. "All you can imagine." "More than you?" Alicia asks, distraught. Marcia confirms this too and Omar shrugs.

"It can't be," Alicia moans. "That woman is going to run me off. Marcia, don't say that I will be her secretary because she will end up kicking me out of here. You can't leave me in her hands. I insulted her father out there."

Marcia tells her that tomorrow there will be a meeting, and Lety will decide who stays.

Al and Luigi huddle together like Want and Ignorance, those two allegorical kids who hid underneath the Ghost of Christmas Present's cloak. Fern waves at them happily. (I think he's waving good-bye!)

---

Next week
Marcia informs Lety that she and Fern have renewed their relationship. Then she gives Lety a "what do you say to THAT, eh?" look.

Let's just see how the shareholders of Conceptos do, now that the chunky, sensible shoe is on the other foot.

Labels: fea

Alicia tells the cuartel to get out of here. The ladies say they are waiting for Lety. They continue to bicker back and forth. Jasmin, who is still waiting to speak to someone, anyone, about her paycheck, smirks from the couch. As the bickerfest continues, Lety sneaks by and steps into the elevator.

In the boardroom, Humbo tells the rest of the gang that Lety needs time to think about their offer. The HaHAs want to take the opportunity to discuss some legal details which I didn’t understand. Then Mama Bear brings up a more pressing matter… lunch. HaHA 1 says he’d love roast beef, accompanied by a bit of tequila, of course. HaHA 2 agrees. Seeing the looks this provokes from the execs, HaHA1 says “okay, no tequila,” then he not-so discretely pulls his flask out of his jacket to show HaHA 2 that he’s got the beverage for their lunch order covered.

Fern says that if they don’t need him, he’d like to be excused. The lawyers all agree it’s okay since they don’t need him for their lawyerly discussions. Omar meanwhile has been reviewing Fern’s executive style notebook. He tells him not to forget his detailed notes (that is, the very nice drawing of Lety which he just spent all morning sketching instead of paying attention to the meeting). Fern snatches his notebook and walks out. Ariel calls to him, but Mama Bear tells him to leave Fern alone, as he is surely going to see Marcia.

Lety walks out of the building. She thinks she sees Aldo at other end of the driveway. She wonders if it’s him, then thinks that it can’t be. She gets on bus just as Aldo sees her. He runs to catch her. He bangs on the bus to stop it. Lety jumps off and they share a big fat hug. Aldo says she looks great and her inner strength is shining through. He says he has something very important to tell her. Lety says she’s having a bad day. Aldo says that’s okay, because he’s all ears. As they walk away from the building, Fern drives up in his sexy purple convertible. Luckily he just misses them because he’s on the phone.

Mama Bear goes to see how the love birds are doing in Marcia’s office [what, was she planning to watch them like the some mating ritual on the animal planet channel?]. She is disappointed that Fern is not there with Marcia. Marcia is slumped down in her chair, wallowing in her misery. She asks Mama Bear if she can be alone.

Fern meets the Physic Guy at a dark club. A mature woman in a strapless sequence dress is singing a torch song. PG is really enjoying the show. You can just see him swaying and moving his lips slightly to the song.

PG apologizes to Fern for asking him to meet there, but he had already arranged to come see Ariana the singer when Fern called [my closed captions failed me, so I may have gotten her name wrong]. The waiter asks Fern for his order. Fern asks for a whiskey. PG gives a disapproving look, and Fern changes his order to a tall refreshing glass of water. PG says that by looking at Fern, he can tell Fern has seen Lety. Fern responds that yes, he saw her and he couldn’t stop looking at her because she looks soooo pretty. PG remarks that that’s love. Fern goes on to explain how he’s screwed things up yet again. He says that things have gotten more complicated. He didn’t think he would ever see Lety again, so he went back to Marcia. He half-says, half-asks “Maybe it was a mistake?” [Gee Fern, ya think?]! PG cuts to the chase. He tells Fern he knows Fern is here because he wants to know if Lety will come back to him.

Lety and Aldo walk in a plaza garden. Lety says she doesn’t want to come back to Conceptos. Aldo asks if it’s because of Fern. Lety admits that, yes, because of him and Marcia. But on the other hand, she’ll feel guilty if she doesn’t return. Aldo says he loves that she can put herself in others’ shoes. He thinks Lety already knows exactly what she needs to do. Time for “Deep Thoughts by Aldo.” He reminds her how free she was at the ocean. He observes that one can be just as free by the ocean or in a tiny cubby hole of an office. All that matters is that one’s soul is free. Lety ponders the lesson as she looks at a fountain with a big sculpture in the background. Feeling much better now, Lety exclaims how gorgeous culture is. Aldo, not noticing the fountain at all because he is looking straight at Lety, replies “Yes, how gorgeous.”

Ariana sings a really gritty break up song that goes,“I’m starting over and the first thing on my to-do list is to forget your name!” Fern takes it to heart. He motions to PG how great she is. Fern gets pensive again. Maybe he’s listening to the song from Lety’s perspective. After the song, PG tells him to let go, to just let things happen. He says Fern and Lety’s story is not finished yet. They both still have a long road to travel. Fern is impatient and has many questions. What will happen with Conceptos? Will Lety accept the presidency? Will he have an opportunity to tell her everything that happened how he fell hopelessly in love with her? He needs to know because he will die, just die without her! PG gives Fern the skinny. He tells Fern he will quit Conceptos and remove himself from the life he knows in order to truly understand himself.

After her set, Ariana comes to greet PG. Fern tells her she got the lyrics wrong on that last song. The end of the song goes something like “The time I wasted with you, I have recuperated. I leave you without asking you for anything. As for you, you can go… wherever you want to.” He doesn’t clarify what it should be but it seems to me that the last line should be about sending the guy to hell! Ariana says she forgot the line and had to improvise. She goes on to tell him that he is lucky to be friends with PG. She was ready to throw her life away but PG saved her, and she’s now happy. She encourages Fern to do the same. PG adds that he must have patience. Fern admits he is lacking in the patience department. Then Fern suddenly is star struck and begins to act silly. He nervously asks for autograph. She obliges and he dictates to her, “To Fernando Mendiola, Thanks for last night… just kidding!” She is impactada and he cracks up before clarifying “Just write ‘with love and kisses.’”

Lety and Aldo return to Conceptos. She thanks him for showing up out of the blue. She suddenly remembers and asks him what his big news is. Aldo feels the treasure box in his pocket, but he leaves it there. He tells Lety they can talk later, right now it’s all about her! She thanks him again and makes him promise he will tell her about his news later. Aldo watches from the driveway as she walks back to the building. He suddenly remembers that he didn’t ask for her number. Just then Fern drives up. He tells Aldo that that the driveway is not for pedestrians. Aldo flashes back to Acapulco when Fern drove onto the beach in his car. He remembers that this is the guy who almost crashed into his boat.

In the office, Saimon shows off his strength by picking up empty boxes. Somehow the ladies are impressed. Lety walks in and the cuartel gushes all over her. Lety is happy to see them but she has to get back to the boardroom, where they are waiting for her. The ladies agree and Sarah says that everyone is there in the boardroom, except for Fern. Lety furrows her eyebrows. Meanwhile, Fern is tip-toeing up to the crowd of women. He walks right up behind Lety. I think he smells her hair. How he must miss the scent of her hair mousse. He surprises them when he says “Good Afternoon.” The ladies and Saimon scatter. Lety looks startled and isn’t sure which way to turn. Fern walks with her, staying right next to her, his hands clasped behind his back. They are this-close. My heart skips a beat…Lety’s probably does too. She says she has to call her parents and quickly walks away.

Tomas shows off is olfactory strength by correctly guessing everything that Julieta is making for dinner. She asks if he has heard from Lety. Tomas says no but she will probably have to continue to manage Conceptos. Just then Lety calls. She tells mom she has decided to take the job. Mom yells “What!?” Then follows by telling Lety how proud she is. Lety explains that she’ll feel worse if she doesn’t do it. But she’s hesitant because she’ll have to see Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb (i.e. Fern and Omar) everyday, plus now Marcia has quit over this mess. Mom tells her to take the opportunity. Tomas gets on the phone and gives her a pep talk about the great things ahead of her. Robopop overhears and grabs the phone. Lety tells him that Humbo asked her to become president of Conceptos. She advises that Don Humbo wants Robopop to call him. After the call, he beams with pride “My daughter the prez!” He says that she inherited his intelligence. Julieta thinks she might have had a hand in that trait as well. Tomas adds that she also inherited his beauty!

Lety returns to the board room and tells everyone that she accepts the presidency. Ariel sarcastically asks if they should thank her [I hope one day his face freezes in that cocky grin. It’ll become really painful after a day or two.] Humbo shuts him up. Lety doesn’t want their thanks. She’s doing it for her own tranquility.

Humbo asks Lety to name her demands. Lety says, first, she does not want to be there six months, she wants to be done with it as soon as possible. Second, she wants absolutely no orders from Fern. Ariel chimes in that of course Fern will not be giving orders anymore, since they (Fern and Lety) created this mess to begin with. Lety adds her third condition: no insults from Ariel! Fourth, she wants Tomas on board. The HaHAs are excited to hear their friend Tomas’s name. Santamaria recognizes Tomas as the manager of Filmo Imagen. He agrees, saying he did an excellent job at FI. Fifth, Lety says Marcia must stay. She says she respects her and her work there is valuable [uh… valuable? I’ve never seen her work]. Mama Bear asks about the agreement that Marcia referred to when she resigned in yesterday’s episode. Lety recalls the conversation where Lety told Marcia they will never have to see each other again. Marcia responded that if Lety doesn’t go, then she (Marcia) will. She snaps out of her flashback. She tells Mama Bear that this is not the time to go into details. Fern adamantly agrees.


Meanwhile, Marcia is in her office packing up. Humbo goes to Marcia’s office. He talks about the day she graduated and other special milestones. He reminds her of when she was a kid and played with the cameras and equipment. He says her father was so proud of Marcia’s ambition. They knew she would help run the family business someday.

Robopop calls the office. Alicia answers in her usual snippy tone. He says is returning Humbo’s call.

Marcia is crying but Humbo reminds her that she is a strong woman. Marcia says it very complicated and many things happened between her and Lety, though she can’t discuss the details. Humbo says he’s not interested in knowing those details. But he tells her that Lety will only take the presidency if Marcia stays. Marcia is sure Lety only wants to humiliate her. Humbo says that’s not the case. Besides, he wouldn’t let Lety stay and Marcia go. He lays on the guilt trip, saying Marcia’s father wouldn’t want that either.

Alicia is still giving Robopop a hard time when Humbo and Marcia walk back into the lobby. Alicia tells Humbo about the call, and asks if she should say that he’s not there. He responds “Como crees?” (literally “How do you believe?” but really means “what, are you crazy?”) He takes her headset to speak to Robopop and Alicia struggles to attach it to him correctly. Alicia says she can tell Marcia has been crying. She asks if Fern broke up with her again. Marcia tells Alicia to shove it.

As Humbo ends his talk with Robopop, Jasmin sees her chance and asks to speak with Humbo in private. He says he has no time for her now and walks off with Marcia. Alicia reiterates that no one will see her, and tells her she can leave now. In a rare and momentous show of solidarity, the cuartel applaud for Alicia. She bows and curtsies and strokes her hair.

Back in the boardroom, the HaHAs - who as someone mentioned turned out to be very smart after all - say they must meet with the judge tomorrow. They will represent Lety and Filmo Imagen. They advise that Santamaria and a Conceptos exec must also appear. Fern raises his hand to volunteer. Ariel says that it will have to be Fern, since the paperwork still lists him as the president. Fern grins like a little boy who just got picked to clean the chalkboard erasers [remember what an honor that was?]. They all agree to meet with the judge tomorrow at 9AM.

Humbo walks in with Marcia and announces that she has agreed to stay. Everyone claps. She promptly calls Fernando “mi amor” [if she had four legs, she would have pee’d on him to mark her territory -- would that make it okay to call her a bitch?]. She clarifies for everyone, especially Lety, that she has agreed to stay out of respect and reverence for Humbo and her parents, not because Lety asked her.

Labels: fea

Gabe makes Rogelio quite a sweet little deal—he’ll help Rog out and return his shares—as long as he gives up the strip club business. The deal is tempting to Rogelio, although you can see his little thought bubble with free T & A on one side of the scale and shares in his boring day job on the other. A tough choice.

Leonardo guides JC into his treatment. Obviously Leo doesn’t work for an HMO since he only sees like 3 patients a day.

The big D and MacJoselyn (nice skin-hugging kilt) have a little back and forth (words and kisses) in the office. Demian pries himself free and tells her that she won’t manipulate him. The kiss was meaningless to him and, he says, to her.

Nicolas asks MA how work is going, she thanks him for some boring business books he loaned her and finally they get to the point of the damn scene…he asks about Gabriel and she continues the same song and dance that she doesn’t want to get between Gabe and his other son, who really needs him and that her son is fine just with her. Nicolas reminds her how happy she was when she met Clemente and that her son might benefit from having a relationship with his father as well (awwwww…..).

Rogelio goes to Joselyn’s office and tries to ask for help. When that doesn’t work he resorts to semi-blackmail (hey I know a lot about all your dirty deeds). She’s having none of it.

Love blooms between Cortito & Mayeya—he steals a kiss. Then as he’s dusting maniacally, he finds an envelope hidden under a drawer (Clemente’s will) and starts reading it. Mayeya tells him to re-hide it.

MA arrives home and hears Alex screaming his head off (which he’s really doing and seems kind of like illegal and icky in terms of child labor). She picks him up and he quiets right down.

Dolores & JC are at the office. She tells him he should have rested more at the hospital. He says he can’t or people will find out. She reiterates that Paulina & Regina would prefer to know the truth. He says no, they can’t know that he has leukemia. The long-lost Karen is at the door and hears the news. He asks her to keep it a secret…she promises and tells him to count on her for whatever he needs.

MA visits the novela priest and describes the feeling she has when she hears and holds Alex…He says it’s just because Alex is the same age as Luis David. Then he asks about Gabe…she admits that she still loves him but has decided to give him up.

Paulina visits JC, notices something’s not right, but believes his stupid excuse. He has his typical voice over that he loves her so much and doesn’t want her to suffer blah blah blah.

Rogelio is now whining at Tiberio about the deal that Gabe offered him. Apparently the free T & A won, because he asks Tiberio to just make it seem like he gave up the business. Miriam calls like a pesky bill collector and demands her money.

Gabe confronts D about Rog & Tib’s little strip club. D tells him to pipe down, they’re not kids and it’s a business. Gabe asks for D’s support to tell them to close it down. D refuses, saying that he’s not as morally inclined as Gabe. Enter Regina who, when hearing the situation agrees with Gabe, but realizes that since Tiberio isn’t her kid she can’t really stop him. Then D drops the J-E bomb (junta extraordinaria—emergency meeting) and explains his reasoning to Gabe who isn’t all too keen on the idea of merging the two companies. D tries to sweet talk him but Gabe’s jaw looks pretty locked.

MacJoselyn is in her office hitting the rewind button (over and over and over) on her and Demian’s kiss. She says to herself that Demain knows how to treat a passionate woman like herself.

Tiberio’s whining at Dolores that he saw her hugging JC. There is a therapist somewhere in Mexico City who could be making a lot of money on him. Later he’s trapped in the same room with JC and Paulina making out….ugh….but that could be three more billable sessions right there! Cha-ching!

Demian calls Joselyn into his office and they discuss Operation Unite and Conquer. If Gabe doesn’t go along with it, they’ll have to vote at the meeting. D’s not too worried, since he already has several votes including stupid Rogelio’s. Jos says, don’t trust that dummy. Then D wins the best line of the night award with, “I don’t trust anybody.”

Tiberio and Rogelio take their show on the road and are in Gabe’s office trying to convince him that Rog isn’t in the biz anymore. It works.

D invites MA out to dinner to discuss the benefits of the merge. She’s not into talking about business outside the office, but he persists.

MacJoselyn plays her part and goes to Gabe, telling him that she doesn’t trust D’s intentions in the merging of the companies.

Silvestre picks up a (finally) smiling Elsa from work at Otilia’s. They go out to a little restaurant and Silvestre tells her AGAIN that he loves her and wants her to be his girlfriend. She accepts, but with the condition that she might not love him. He’s psyched!

Miriam kicks Rogelio out of the house.

In the strangest anniversary dinner in the history of marriage, Regina and Gabe take Paulina and JC out to dinner and are joined by MA and Demian. Good times. Well no, actually awkward times. Later JC & Pau are kissing back at home and JC runs off…he’s forgotten something…oh, he’s forgotten the mariachis. How sweet.

Back at Gabe’s bachelorpad, Gabe’s feeling sorry for himself and remembering his artful seduction of the once innocent MA. Back at the big house, Mariangela is remembering the same scene and telling herself that it can only be a distant memory.

The next morning, Gabe arrives at the big house and he and Mariangela do their usual verbal sparring. He’s remembering the woman he once knew, she tells him that she doesn’t exist, he says I don’t believe you. He asks why she’s speaking so harshly. She answers that it’s weird that if a man speaks like that it’s a sign of strength but when a woman does it’s a defect. Anyway, she’s doing it for her son’s and her own survivial. He says, don’t worry, I’ll always protect you guys. Mariangela says pshaw, do you really think I’ll trust you again, after you broke my heart and betrayed me—I’ll never let that happen again. Then she says, see, you don’t really know me and what I’m capable of. He’s bemused—which is probably not the effect she was going for.

Labels: mundo

Alina went into Maximo's house to look for Emilio. Maximo confronted her, called her a beggar, and ordered her out. Before leaving, Alina said, "You know perfectly well who I am." Maximo said, "Yes, I know. You are a thief, and besides, in rags!"

In the kitchen, the servants discussed Alina's plight, saying they felt sorry for her but were too afraid of her father to help her.

Jose and Arcadio, still working in the mine, discovered gold. Arcadio warned Jose not to tell the other miners, saying, "It is ours and no one else's."

Adela visited Alina at the cave and told her that Sergio would let her into the house that night to see Soledad. (I find it very farfetched that Alina can repeatedly sneak in to see Soledad, but Soledad can never leave.)

Alvaro (aka Don Loco), napping on a couch, dreamed that Soledad came into the room wearing a nightgown and kissed him. He woke up and said to himself, "In spite of her betrayal, I love her. I have to hate her as much as I hate her daughter."

Emilio asked his mustache-twirlingly evil Uncle Maximo if their neighbor Don Loco had a daughter named Alina. Maximo pretended not to know, saying only that Alvaro was a "strange guy" whose beautiful wife never left the hacienda.

Emilio (once again proving that he gives up very easily) mused that Alina had broken his heart, but "I am better this way. Free, without commitments, and with the women I want." Later he told Angel he would visit Alina's parents, "Not because I'm interested in the girl, but from pure curiosity."

Soledad thanked Adela for helping her and Alina. Adela said, "I believe in you. I know Alina is the boss's daughter."

Alina visited a priest who told her to come to church more often. (In all this time, with so much freedom and contact with sympathetic people, wouldn't she have found a way to send a letter to Emilio or Blanca?)

Elias and Blanca phoned Hugo, who claimed Alina was in Madrid with her parents.

Alvaro found Soledad drinking tea in the living room, dressed in black. He said, "Are you in mourning, or what?" She replied that she'd been in mourning for two years because he had turned her into "a sad woman, a bitter woman." The doorbell rang and Adela came to tell Alvaro he had a visitor: Emilio.

Alvaro ordered Soledad to pretend to Emilio that they were happily married. Soledad said, "I am fed up with your threats." Alvaro said, "Very well. Your daughter will pay the consequences."

When Alvaro came in, Alvaro sat beside Soledad with his arm around her. Emilio asked if they were in mourning and Alvaro said yes, "My wife has been in mourning for two years. Our dear daughter Alina died."

Emilio looked shocked and the word "died died died" echoed in his head. (Of course it never occurred to him before that there might be an actual reason behind Alina's disappearance -- duh.) He said, "Alina died?" Don Loco said, "Yes. A fatal accident snatched her from us."

Emilio said he had known Alina. Alvaro immediately asked Soledad suspiciously if she knew Emilio, too. (Pretty soon he'll be convinced that Emilio is Alina's father.) Soledad said no.

Outside the house, Santos told Alina and Rosita that Angel was "a good person, nothing like his brother." Alina wondered why Emilio had changed, saying he used to be so sweet and affectionate.

Rosita asked Alina if she would try to see Emilio that night. Alina said she didn't know; she would like to clean herself up and look pretty when she met him again. (I thought she seemed awfully lukewarm for someone who had supposedly been dreaming of Emilio for years.)

Santos then approached Adela and said Alina wanted to see Soledad. Adela said it wasn't a good time because Emilio was visiting. Rosita urged Alina, "Go ahead! This is the moment to talk to him!"

Inside the house, Emilio said goodbye to Don Loco and Soledad and offered his condolences. After he left, Don Loco said, "He seemed moved by the death of our daughter." Soledad tried to slap him, but he caught her hand and ordered her out of the room. Soledad said, "Damn you!" and stormed out.

Don Loco said to himself, "Yes, to her I am a cad, a miserable person. If only I could forget. If only I could forgive her. How am I going to uproot this love?"

Outside the house, Emilio spotted Alina lurking in the shadows. She tried to run away (um, why??) but stumbled. Emilio caught up to her and said, "Alina, it is Alina!" She ran away (again, why???) and he didn't follow her (why???)

As Emilio was staring after Alina, Sergio approached him and said, "This girl is nothing more than a vagabond, a thief." Emilio said to himself, "A thief? But she looked so much like Alina. No, no, no, Alina is dead."

Elsewhere: Marianita woke up and found her bedroom lights still on and her mother asleep nearby in a chair. She got out of bed and covered Mariana with a blanket. Mariana woke up and put her back to bed, saying Marianita needed to sleep. (But did Mariana turn the light off and leave the room? NO. No wonder the poor kid can't sleep.) Mariana then wondered again where Jose had been for the past two years.

Meanwhile, Jose and Arcadio walked through the woods in Central America, talking about their gold strike. They stopped to rest for the night. Jose said now he could go home to his woman and little girl in Mexico. Suddenly they were surrounded by men with shotguns.

The men took Jose and Arcadio into some building and debated whether to kill them. Jose said, "We don't have anything against you." One of the men, Jacinto (who seemed to be the leader), said everyone was against them because they were involved in drug trafficking.

Jose and Arcadio promised not to say anything about the men to anyone, but Jacinto didn't believe them. He said Jose and Arcadio would have to stay with them. Arcadio agreed, but Jose protested, "These men are criminals." Arcadio said, "If we don't do as they say, they will kill us." Jose insisted he wouldn't do their dirty work, saying he had other plans. Jacinto told Jose to think it over, then ordered one of his men to untie Arcadio.

Back at the hacienda, Sergio apparently told Don Loco that Alina was outside the house, because Don Loco tossed him a gun and said, "This bastard has not learned her lesson. You know what you have to do." Soledad ran into the room and warned Don Loco, "If anything happens to Alina, I swear I will kill you!"

She went to her room and sobbed to Adela, "He wants to kill my daughter!" Adela assured her, "He only wants to make her suffer. He's not capable of killing Senorita Alina." Soledad cried, "Alvaro is loco! He is capable of anything. If I could escape... If Emilio could help me..." She told Adela that Emilio was a good boy and had once been Alina's boyfriend.

Outside, Alina was sitting under a tree, watching Maximo arrive at her parents' house and wondering why he was there. Meanwhile, Emilio was standing under another tree, feeling guilty for believing Alina had abandoned him. He fell to his knees and cried, "Alina!" then sobbed.

Maximo informed Alvaro that Emilo had been asking about his daughter. Alvaro said he didn't want Emilio to meet Alina. Soledad came into the room and greeted Maximo, who said, "Always so beautiful!" which earned him a glare from Don Loco. (Hmm, maybe Maximo is Alina's father...)

Outside, Sergio spotted Alina and shouted something like, "The boss doesn't have to see you again!" then shot her in the leg.

Words from this episode:
limosnera = beggar
andrajosa = in rags
amargada = bitter woman
arrabatar = to snatch
tierno = affectionate
consejo = advice
canalla = scoundrel, cad
escarmentar = to learn a lesson

Labels: duelo

>> Ok, so we last left JC getting the horrible, but somewhat predictable news, that he has Leukemia. He is in shock… and as a side note, he actually does a pretty good acting job in this episode… all his scenes deal in some way with this ailment and for a novela actor he does a really good bit of acting, imho… anyway, I digress…

>>Rogelio’s Office<<

>> Tiberio, from here on out known as Tib, want’s to know where Rog got his money for the stocks he’s buying from Dam… He gives Tib some excuse about his salary, which Tib doesn’t buy and then says he’s got his secrets.

>> Desperate for money, Miriam tries sell off some more of her jewelry but to her shock and horror they are also fakes! The jeweler is p-o’d that she has come to him again with worthless junk… she just can’t believe it and is incredulous.

> JC cries, Dolores comforts him, he literally balls. He tells Dol and Leo that he doesn’t want his mom and Pau to find out about his illness. Leo says it’s better if they know but he won’t spill… Leo says a “medula” (bone marrow, I think) transplant from his mom is what JC needs but with her heart condition he thinks there would be complications. (I don’t know why they ruled out his Dad, Dam… I don’t even remember them bringing him up… anyway,) JC says NO WAY, he won’t let his mom risk her life for measly him

>> Joz, dressed in a school-girl getup (red-plaid skirt, white blouse with black fluffy tie) waltzes into Dam’s office and compliments him on his steps to making the company into one enterprise… apparently he must have a “plan,” I’m guessing to take over or something, wink-wink, just a guess… he laments about MA having to sign off on anything like that, Joz suggests running the idea by goody-goody Regina… he smiles, she smiles and they make evil-lusty goo-goo eyes at each other…

>> Dolores wipes off tears before she walks into MA & LD’s room in the mansion. MA notices Dol is teary and asks her about it… oh, nothing, you get to work and leave the little munchkin to me, she basically tells her… MA heads out… Dol thinks - what Regina will do when she finds out about JC’s Leukemia?

>> Meanwhile, JC is lying to Pau about his condition being anemia…. They hug and kiss in slow motion and he looks mournful.

>> Back at the office <<

>> Dam comes into MA’s office, he wants a cordial relationship, and she looks suspicious. He asks about little LD’s health… She is short with him, he says he just came by to give her a little visit, then he skeedattles. She thinks to herself that he’s up to more than just saying “hey.”

>> JC ruminates about his will to fight for his and Pau’s love as he watches her work. Leo calls – interrupting JC's thoughts- to tell him they want to start the radiation (?) treatment. He can’t talk, because Pau is there, but agrees quietly to meet him.

>> Gab remembers his last conversation with MA – she refusing to admit his paternity of LD… MA, in her office, also is remembering their conversation, que coinkidink…

>> Regina goes to see Dam – he shows Reg his “balance sheet” she says it looks good… He says he’d like to make the two constructoria’s into one big happy family constructoria… she loves the idea of a peaceful harmonious family business… (We’ll see about that!)

>> MA, Joz & Gab meet in his office. He says if they can talk some investors into financing the company they can be the leaders in their industry – he’s very happy and all excited. He wants all of them to meet with the prospective investors for a lunch meeting that afternoon. MA says she can’t possibly, he lecturers her about her responsibility working there… Joz says he shouldn’t make her… MA says she’ll go.

>> Silvestre goes to see Leo and tell him he and Elsa kissed and she didn’t reject him. Leo says she’s gonna work for Otilia, Silvestre thinks Gods been listening. They are all happy and smiley.

>> That was a nice segue so now we’re in Otilia’s office where she tells Elsa that, thanks to Candy, she has a job there… she’s very stern with her and sends her off to go learn her job.

>> MA thanks Candy (por telefono) for watching LD while she goes to this luncheon. Candy is happy to do it. After the phone call, MA does some thinking but I can’t read my notes, so I’m not sure what she was thinking about… maybe Dam letting her have it about her job responsibilities. Anyhoo…

>> Regina goes to see JC in his office, he gives her the lie that he has anemia. Some sort of sexto-sentido is going on and she can tell something more is up and lets him know she would do anything for him, even die. He tells her not to worry… she thanks God that she has him as a son. He has a pinched look on his face as they embrace.

>> Meanwhile, Miriam is fuming about her fake jewelry and has her four servants lined up. She tells them she’s been robbed, she thinks it’s them and she’s gonna have them sent to the big house for the rest of their lives. Some of them start crying… Mayaya steps up and says she saw Rogelio in Miriam’s bedroom getting jewelry out of her safe but she didn’t want to overstep her bounds and cause trouble by telling anyone… Chappito(she skinny boyfriend) steps up and says it’s true, Mayaya told him about it too… Miriam paces back and forth thinking, Rog is gonna PAY!!!

>> In the meanwhile, Rogelio is collecting his shares that he’s just bought from Dam with the money he collected from stealing and selling Miriams jewels. Dam hands them to him and he’s astonished to see how few all that money bought him. Dam reminds him that his stock is expensive, plus they’re rivals, and anyway, doesn’t Rog remember Raquel, that chick they were both having affairs with back at the beginning of the show. Dam’s mad that Rog was with his girl (which Dam had whacked btw, but he doesn’t mention that) Rog thinks they should just forget about that, it was a long time ago. Dam says “never.” Dolores just happens to walk up to the half open door to hear Dam let Rog know that no one messes with him, (Dam,) and if they do they pay a high price. Dolores scoots off realizing Dam is the same evil guy as ever. JC asks Dol to take him to his radiation therapy later. They hug just as Tib comes around the corner, still out of their sight but can see them embrace. He stomps off looking upset.

>> Miriam paces back and forth thinking about how Rog is gonna pay for stealing her jewels. She picks up the phone to call someone.

>> Rog has just told Tib about how little stock shares he got from Dam. Tib reminds him to forget about it and not mess with his dad (Dam) when Rog’s phone rings… it’s Miriam.

>> Dolores goes to Nick with the news that Dam is the same ol’ evil thing he always was; He says he knows it. Dam just appears to have changed his ways but his evilness knows no limit. Dol says same with Miriam and Joz and postulates that, hey, maybe they’re all in these unexplainable evil deeds together! Nick looks pensive.

>> JC has set up a romantic dinner for Pau, she’s thrilled and they make goo-goo eyes at each other. She says she hopes that life never separates them and he says that her love will give him the strength to confront anything life throws at him. The seriousness of his words worries Pau… He gets a little teary and says nothing is wrong, he just lives for her and she gives him life. They make out.

>> Miriam is sitting at her desk drinking when Rog comes in… Bouncing in merrily he butters her up by asking her what he can do for her? She looks so nice today… blah, blah. She just smiles fiera-like and heads toward him, her face changes to anger and tells him to knock it off, she knows him too well. Then she lays it on him that she knows it was him that stoll her jewels and replaced them with fakes… he’s stunned, she slaps him TWICE – bam, bam… he’s shocked and sore.

>> Gab, Joz, MA and the two investors are at their luncheon. Joz (still wearing her school girl outfit) brings up the health of little LD, a very business like thing to do, they talk about MA being a single mom. Just so happens that the cute investor’s mother was a single mom, too, and he’s got a ton of respect for MA going it alone. He didn’t have a father and a father doesn’t equal love. He can tell from her resilience that she’s gonna do great raising her son alone. Joz can’t stop herself and rubs it in that “her” son is healthy and has nothing in common whatsoever with MA’s son. They all toast, clinking glasses and MA looks upset.

>> Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Rogelio is panicking – Miriam wants her jewels back, PRONTO! She threatens him with prison for the rest of his life if he doesn’t cough them up right away!

>> Back at the restaurant with MA & everyone… The investors are about take off, the cute one with the single mom, heaps compliments on MA for taking on the responsibility of being a single mom. The investors leave then Joz rubs MA's single mother status in a bit more… MA says she accepts the compliment for single mothers everywhere and takes off. Gab watches her go looking admiringly… then he and Joz take off, too.

>> Rogelio barges into Dam’s office wanting his money back for the shares he just bought. Dam says no-way, that’s not how business words. He offers his part in the business he shares with Tibero just as Gab walks in, who promptly demands, “What business with Tiberio?” Rog looks lide he’s about to collapse from the stress of it all… the cat has got Rog’s toung so Gab tells Dam he just came to let him know how the meeting with the investors went and then orders Rog to the principles office, I mean, to his office… and takes off without telling Dam anything about the investor meeting. Rog sulks out of Dam’s office and Dam looks evilly pleased.

>> Miriam has just told Joz about Rog’s betrayal – Joz starts pacing and damning him because of him Miriam had to sell her, Joz’s jewels, she starts to head off to rip him a new you-know-what but Miriam stops her, says she has a plan. She wants to blackmail Gab by threatenng to put Rog in prison for the rest of his life unless Gab give them what they want. Joz smiles evilly.

>> In Gab’s office, Rog tells Gab that he and Tib have “un antro,” the best translation I could find for that is a whole in the wall… so a hole in the wall "what" I don’t know. So I’m not sure if Rog lied about the kind of business they had or not. I think so because usually they call it a “table dance” business. So if anyone knows I would love to find out what that means… but Gab tells him that he’ll give him, Rog, back all his shares if he gets rid of this business… Rog salivates.

>> Leo and JC go into the room where JC is getting his treatment… there are a lot of shots of JC getting his treatment.

>> [sexy music plays] Joz comes into Dam’s office. He looks “hungrily” at her. She has the same hungry fiera look. She asks if he’s talked with Regina (which you would think would sober him up, but doesn't) – he says she loved the idea of consolidating the two constructorias into one (hmmm metaphor here?) Anyway, they move close to each other – she circles him then grabs him… they kiss fiercely… she asks him if he likes her kisses, he grows (or groans or grunts, one of those) then pushes her down and they start kissing furiously, intimating that they… you know…

>> fin -- hasta mañana

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Labels: duelo

We open with Aldo inviting Carolina to go with him to his friend Guillermo’s restaurant. She jokes no then says yes.

Now Marcia is recalling the Trash Bag Inquisition. Alicia walks in and finds Marcia worrying about seeing Lety again and tells her she shouldn’t because if she decides to support Humb she can do it from her house and we won’t see her. Tere comes in begging Marcia to come back. Now the baby whining begins; Marci doesn’t want to go and see her even though Tere tells her Humb says she’s indispensable. M finally agrees and T leaves. Alicia tells M no matter how dressed up Lety is that she is still ugly etc. and Marcia says, however she is, Fer fell in love with her. Alicia trys to build up her esteem by telling her how superior she is and elegant and distinguished (you know all those empty shell adjectives); that she used to crawl over Persian rugs. But she does say that M should go in with force and look decisive and destroy Lety with her look. She demonstrates the look. Yeah, that might destroy a few things!

Outside the cuartel is trying to figure out why Lety is there. They speculate as to how they might find out more. They turn to discussing the look on Marcia’s face when Lety walked in and saying how awful, and upset etc. She catches them and they fake talking about Lola’s telenovela again. Marcia tells them to get to work.

Marcia walks in to the conference room and wants to know where “she” is. Humb says she’s making some calls. H- Lety will cooperate with us, but it was very difficult to convince her because she is anxious to get all this over with once and for all.
Marcia wants to know what she wants. Humb said right now nothing, but she’ll tell us.

Lety tells her Mom she accepted coming back. She tells her it’s partly her fault anyway. Mom asks her if she is going to sign anything and Lety says not until the lawyers arrive. She tells her to tell her Papa that everything is fine. Mom asks her if she is prepared to encounter Don Fer, she says no but she has to confront it and tolerate him. Mom is proud and tells her to march right in there. J - You are not the same as when you were secretary; now you are brave and sure of yourself. And she does…..

Fer watches her with a nervous but little boy smile like he can’t stand looking at the candy and not being able to eat it. Lety is quite reserved. Don't know about you, but this whole encounter was quite anti-climactic to me. What a bummer.

Ariel says she doesn’t know how much they were waiting for her. She flashes back to Aldo’s advice. Fer thinks “Mi Lety”

Aldo & Caro are with Guillermo. G asks A, “Do you remember you told me you were writing a book about a year ago. Have you finished it?” Aldo wonders if he thinks people will read it. He wonders if Guillermo wants him to edit for his restuarant association but he says no, he wants to put it into a package. He has an idea and wants Aldo to promote Mexican Cuisine at the international level. They smile "wow".


Everyone is looking very tense and stern. Except Fer. Fern seems like a 7 year old amusing himself as the only child at an all adult function. (Now go color in the corner little boy....) We see Fer sketching a doodle of Lety. It’s not too bad actually. Wonder if he really drew it or it’s a prop. Can’t figure out why he does this, but he leaves the room. I guess to compose. He excuses himself and goes to the rest room. He sighs and then takes out his fea picture of Lety and kisses it, then smiles. Why couldn’t he have the cajones to kiss the real thing!!! MI LETY. She is claimed again.

Humb also wonders why he left, but says they won’t wait for him.

Fer returns. Humb knows there have been problems, with what Lety and Fer did, but we need to put that all aside. Fer and Lety exchange knowing yet nervous looks. Humb asks for the next 6months that everyone works as hard as possible to get the business out of it’s mess. He expects their maximum cooperation.

Ariel asks Lety what her conditions are to save the business from the crisis that Fern, with her help got us into. Lety says we better wait for the lawyers to show up. Marcia asks then why isn’t their lawyer Santamaria there? Humb says the lawyers are on their way, but remember they are not here to resolve quarrels between us, only to advise us about legal implications. Everyone is a little impactado, but Teresita just pouts looking bored.

We go back outside of the court room where Lola and Cheque are parting and he tells her that he thinks they should get rid of the lawyers and put aside their differences and handle it between themselves. This pisses Yasmin off as she perceives him warming up to Lola. He shrugs her off. Lola notes how interested the husband stealer is in all this because she wants my house and all my money, and my children’s inheritance etc. Yasmin denies and says she just wants it over, so he can marry her. Cheque tells Lola she needs to at least give him time to find another lawyer. She offers him hers. Che says he’s good for nothing. She says she knows, that’s why he can have him. Lola then tells off her lawyer that he didn’t open his mouth the entire time and she’s going to get another one to solve all her problems. She takes his brief case away and then throws it back at him! Che calls her rude. Yasmin essentially yells at him for being a wuss.

The HHAs show up at Conceptos, HHA1 brings chocolates for Sara. Marta tries to take them. He tries to tell S they have a conversation pending. He gives Marta the empty gift bag. The HHAs comment on Sara's look during the gifting and then walk over to Oxi "bella dama" telling them they are here to see Lety and ask her if she will advise her that they are here. She tells them she works for the president and doesn’t have to advise Lety of anything. WWWWhhhhhaaattssssss wwwiiittthh all the sttttttttt udddderrring? He doesn’t always do that! Must be the “shoulder pads.”

Sara tells Oxi she better go because they are obviously here for something important so go and see. Oxi tells her not to order her around. Sara tells her fine stay there and keep painting herself pretty while she goes in to announce them. Oxi says go ahead, then when Sara does, she asks where S is going and she goes instead and announces them. She comes out to send them in and they have chocolates for Oxi too. The HHAs thoroughly enjoyed the cat fight and make observations about the two women. HHA 2 says he saw the passion with which Oxi took the chocolates from him! HHA 1 tells him chocolates never fail, take it from an expert. They discuss the crime of love. As they walk away Oxi calls him an impotent ualado?


Alicia banana fana bo banadana fallana (or whatever) enters to announce the HaHAs. The lawyers enter the conf. room. They begin confirming the telephone conversation. We hear essentially the same discussion as always about how they need to keep FI to avoid the banks calling in the debts of Conceptos. And that they expect to cure the debts after 6 mos. Tomorrow is the latest they should oppose the judicial decision, they decide.

Again the banana interrupts and announces Santamaria. The HHAs greet him enthusiastically. Again a rehash to him from Humb. The lawyers explain that legally Lety is responsible for FI, so how Conceptos is handled depends directly on her. Lety looks around nervously. Fern smiles.


Aldo says he’s a chef, not a publicist. He doesn’t see how he can promote Mexican Cuisine, but his friend convinces him that no one knows the cuisine better than he does and that he’s the best for it. He knows all the food origins etc. He wants Aldo’s perspective like he writes in his book. Aldo accepts, deciding he’d like people to know the meanings and the unity of natural ingredients, water, land etc. Of course something existential. The friend agrees and wants it to be about the flavor of life, which of course is Aldo’s restaurant idea.

Back at Conceptos, Tere’s little pea brain doesn’t quite comprehend what HHA 1 is saying. They explain it again. This time Santamaria does it again.

Ariel interrupts again, his brain is slightly larger, but he doesn’t quite get it either. He still thinks Lety is forcing them to let her manage the business for her own gain.

Fer continues his masterpiece unphased by the adult happenings around him.

Lety says on the contrary what she wants is to be as far away from all this as possible. The lawyers say again how much the business is wrapped around her and her good will, and that she is vital to keeping things going. Besides everything is registered in her name so she has every reason to be vigilant and on the up and up. Lety pipes up saying she doesn’t like this one bit and though she doesn't mind keeping FI in exsistence, she doesn’t want to have anything to do with all of them. So, Ari says then Conceptos will just be on paper again and we’ll just make up some reports to give to her every so often to keep her happy .

IT SPEAKS! Fer interrupts to clarify that it’s not just a sham company but that it gets the loans to support Conceptos and pay suppliers etc.. Ariel says ok, so then FI only needs a legal representative to keep Conc. functioning as it should. Fer mocks him and says that’s right and that he finally understands, and that so the president of FI is much more important than the Prez of Conceptos! Lety smiles then catches herself and stiffens up again. And he returns to drawing his princess. But I noticed there is already a signature at the bottom. Don’t most people sign it when they are done????


Aldo asks when he can see Lety, and Caro tells him she doesn’t know , but she has to fix all the things with Conceptos etc. She reminds him he needs to give her time to fix everything. Aldo can’t stand it he wants to tell her how much he loves her. Caro doesn’t know if Lety is prepared to deal with love again. He manages to convince her that even though he knows all this he needs to have an opportunity to pursue Lety. It never hurts someone to know that someone really loves them. He begs her for the address of Conceptos, she says she’ll give it to him but later, because she has an important meal, and she wants him to invite her to dinner later so they can discuss Gui’s tempting proposition.


Lola finally gets there, of course all out of sorts, mad she was late and she recounts the fact that Lety’s lawyer was Cheque’s and dumped him on the spot. She finds out Sanchez is there and wants to see if he’ll take her case.

Saimon walzes in singing and flirting with PM. He asks if there is any gossip of Lety. Out of nowhere Yasmin pops in and he drops PM's hand and she falls backwards. She gets up with hair in her face… Yasmin tries her femine charm to get Saimon to let her upstairs.

PM says she may not even be authorized to go upstairs, she calls Lola and tells her the witch is here asking about her severance. Lola says hell no, she can come another day her money’s not ready. She sneaks upstairs anyway when PM is yelling at Simon so PM calls back and tells Lola she’s coming anyway. When she gets up there, she snubs Oxi who comments that someone must have left the chicken coop door open. Lola tells her her check isn’t ready yet, didn’t she get that, no, of course not all she knows is how to steal husbands. Yasmin threatens to get Lopez, but Lola says no sorry, he ain’t here. She’ll speak with any of the officers, but Lola explains they are all in the meeting. Y says she’ll wait, but they say they’ll be really late.

Back at the meeting Ariel says well if she’s going to be responsible for both businesses then they need to elect a new president. Lety says she has the right to decide and she picks Humb. M agrees. Fer runs down what that means. Humb objects quite defiantly. Santamaria interjects that Conceptos should maintain the image it had under Fer, Ariels says the image of debt? Santamaria proposes Lety should be in charge. Lety protests. There is much discussion about why she should and finally Lety accepts. Marcia says then she will leave. Lety tells her not to, but Marcia says everyone needs you more than they need me so you need to stay, but I can’t hang around. Lety leaves too. Tere is mad about Lety being pres, Humb is mad at her and he tells her everyone needs to be right where they are.

So now Humb goes to talk to Lety. She doesn’t want to assume this position under such conditions, having to see Fer and Omar, and Marci has now resigned. He tells her that she was partly responsible for what happened and this is the price she has to pay to fix it, it’s not a reward. If she really wants to help them then she’ll do what he says. {Come on little girl, jump in my van….} He asks her if she hates Conceptos so much, she says no, she has friends etc. he says well then it’s more tolerable of a penance. She wants to think on it and he lets her off until tomorrow and thanks her. After he leaves, she asks herself why she is being tested so hard.

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