The Entrepreneur and the Passionate

Lorena is a strong, independent woman. She works as an entrepreneur in the confectionery sector in the city of Conde - Paraíba.

The mother of a six-year-old daughter called Aurora, Lorena stands out in her work environment, doing everything to perfection and always receiving praise from her boss - Mr. Reinaldo.

She lives in her own house in the Jardim Recreio neighborhood on Rua Agripino de Lima with only her daughter. Her ex-husband - Dimitri - was a good spouse to her, but differences separated them and he now lives with another family - but has no other children.

Lorena has brown skin, medium brown wavy hair and brown eyes. Her daughter looks like her, but her hair is curly - like her father's gene.

Lorena: Daughter, let's go because Mom has to go to work.

Aurora: I'm going, Mom, I just need my sneakers.

Aurora goes to school in the morning at Ilza Ribeiro State School from 7.30am to 11.30am. In the afternoon she goes to swimming class from 1pm to 3pm. Lorena picks Aurora up from school during her work break - but only to take her daughter to swimming and picks her up at 3.30pm - when she is released again.

After that, Aurora stays at work with her mother - sometimes helping her by delivering empty boxes to her.

That morning, Lorena and Aurora walked ten minutes to the school and, after dropping her off at the school gate, she said to her daughter:

Lorena: good class my child. Take care and respect your teacher.

Aurora: OK, Mom. I love you - she hugs her - will you pick me up so I can go swimming?

Lorena: Yes, but if I can't get there in time, I'll ask Luana's mother to take you with your little friend.

Aurora: Okay, Mom.

Lorena leaves her daughter - as the child enters the classroom - and walks back to her job at Confeitaria Conde das Flores.

Lorena is wearing her work uniform and walks calmly - since her job is seven minutes away from the school where her little one goes to school.

On the other side of the neighborhood in Cicerolandia lives Victor, a light-skinned young man with a medium build and straight hair. He works in the same bakery as Lorena, but in a higher-level area - he is in charge of making the more sophisticated cakes and pastries and Lorena is in charge of making the smaller pastries and packaging them for orders.

The place is large, with three floors and each function is on a different floor. Lorena works with Victor, but he gets paid more - R$800 a month - for his more complex role. However, he always tries to single out Lorena to show her his hidden feelings for her - who doesn't even suspect his intentions.

They exchange a few words throughout the working day, but there is no friendship between them - at least not yet.

Victor was already at the company when he spotted Lorena. He picks up a cup of coffee and hands it to her:

Victor: Good morning Lorena.

Lorena: good morning Victor - she gives him a little smile, making his heart race - um, is that coffee?

Victor: yes, I've prepared it for you.

Lorena: thank you Victor - she widens her smile and takes the cup from his hand - has our boss arrived yet?

Victor: Not yet. He usually shows up after eight. Come on, we have several orders for this morning.

Lorena puts on her hat and gloves and starts another day's work. Feeling at ease, Lorena starts preparing the dough for the brigadeiro, coconut, pineapple and the best-seller - ninho with Nutella.

After removing the dough from the pan, Lorena separates everything and wraps it in plastic wrap to let it cool naturally outside the fridge.

While she's not ready to roll them out, she takes the opportunity to pack the sweets she had prepared the previous afternoon to be placed in the order box.

In the first box, she adds traditional brigadeiros with a few coconut pieces; in the second box, she puts some ninho-flavored ones and in the third, interspersed flavors - because some customers like variety.

The sweets she puts in the box are taken to the smaller stores and put in the windows for sale. Her dream is to be able to work directly with cakes - making and baking them - and to do this she takes a course every Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Her daughter stays with a nanny while she attends the course, but Lorena knows that every effort will be worth it and in that work environment, she is treated the same as everyone else - highly respected and always encouraged to improve her level of performance.

When it's time for Aurora to leave school, Mr. Reginaldo sends her a message:

"Mr. Reginaldo: you can pick up your daughter. I know you have to take her to swimming and I also know that you've certainly finished your morning homework. Remember that lunchtime is only for one hour - 11:24."

"Lorena: thanks boss, I won't be late and yes, I've already finished my work for the morning - 11.24."

Lorena takes off her hat and leaves the office to pick up her daughter from school. The girl was sitting in the corridor of the institution and when she heard her name announced by the inspector, she immediately ran towards her mother:

Aurora: MOM! - she exclaims excitedly - you really came to pick me up.

Lorena: I got an early lunch. Come on, I'll take you to lunch and then we'll go swimming. I'll have to drop you off early, but I'll pick you up at 3:30.

Aurora: OK, Mom. I'm hungry.

Lorena: OK, let's go.

................

Lorena's working day was about to end and Aurora was already with her mother, when Mr. Reginaldo called Lorena into his office for a chat.

Mr. Reginaldo: I have a proposal to make to you.

Lorena: What is it about, Mr. Reginaldo?

Mr. Reginaldo: I've heard that you're about to finish your advanced pastry course and I want to offer you a supervised internship to make our company's cakes. It'll be for two months and, of course, you'll get an extra R$200 every end of the month. If you pass the internship, you'll move up.

Lorena: That's wonderful, Mr. Reginaldo, I accept. Who will be my supervisor?

Mr. Reginaldo: I'll call you now.

The boss sends Victor a text message:

"Mr. Reginaldo: Victor, I want you in my office now. We need to take care of business - 17:47."

Victor - who had just finished arranging the cakes in the fridge - reads his boss's message and replies:

"Victor: ok boss, I'll be there - 5:47 p.m."

Mr. Reginaldo explains the proposal to his employee and he is delighted, because this way he can be close to Lorena and perhaps win her over.

Lorena, for her part, was surprised that he wanted to help her with her internship because she thought Victor thought she was strange - because they hardly spoke to each other.

Lorena is released from her job and goes home with her daughter, but Victor calls her to talk.

Victor: Lorena, wait! - she turns around and he flashes her a beautiful smile.

Lorena: Do you want to talk to me?

Victor: Yes, I wanted to sort out the details of your internship.

Lorena: I'll give you my contact and you can send me the details, OK? I have to take Aurora home because she's already tired.

Victor: Sure, all right - he picks up his cell phone and she writes down his number - I'll send you a message.

****************

At home, Lorena prepares a snack for her daughter while she finishes tidying the house. Victor has already sent her a message, telling her what the internship will be like.

Victor: you'll start in the morning because I know you need to pick up your daughter and in the afternoon you'll continue to learn, but only by observing my work. We'll bake the order cake together, which is a pizza-shaped cake - 7:12 p.m."

"Lorena: OK, thanks for the information. Will I be at the company at the usual time or do I need to arrive earlier? - 19h12."

"Victor: it can be the same time - 19h12."

"Lorena: ok, I'll see you tomorrow - 19h12."

Lorena continues with her housework while her daughter eats something - Sucrillos with warm milk.

****************

Before going to bed, Lorena reviews what she has learned in the course to put it into practice the next day, but she had no idea that her life was about to change.

Victor, for his part, is excited about finally spending more time with Lorena and being able to try to win her over or at least start a solid friendship.

****************

Lorena goes to sleep at 11pm, feeling tired, but at least she has managed to finish the housework and put her daughter to bed.

The next morning, Lorena wakes up feeling ready to start her new internship at the company. She wakes Aurora up and gets her ready for class.

(This is just to find out her school uniform. I couldn't find one with the character's features).

Lorena is wearing a long-sleeved beige T-shirt with dark-colored linen pants. She wears white sneakers on her feet and ties her hair up in a high bun.

Lorena: Aurora, brush those teeth well, huh - warns her mother - and don't be late because Mom has to go to work.

Aurora: I've already brushed them - she appears in the living room and smiles, showing off her clean teeth - can I play in the playground today?

Lorena: After I get off work, I'll take you. You don't have swimming today, so I'll pick you up from school and take you to work with me. So choose a toy to take.

Aurora: can it be two? I want to take my reborn baby and my coloring book.

Lorena: yes. Put them in your backpack and make sure you don't lose them at school. Can we go?

Aurora: Yes, Mom.

Lorena checked the messages on her cell phone and there was one from her mother:

"Letícia: good morning daughter, I miss you. When are you coming to visit? - 06h03."

Lorena replies to the message:

"Lorena: good morning mom. You're up early. We miss you too. We can come next weekend - 06h42."

"Letícia: I went for a walk with your father. He needs it because of his diabetes. I'll send a car to pick you up on Saturday morning. I know you work a lot on Friday - 06h43."

"Lorena: no need, Mom, we'll go by bus. We'll be at your house in two hours. Send Dad a kiss. Now I have to take Aurora to school and go to work - 06h43."

"Leticia: OK, child. I'd rather you came by car, but you know what's best for you. I'll see you on Saturday. A kiss for my granddaughter- 06h44."

****************

With Aurora at school, Lorena heads off for another day's work, thinking about what this first day of her internship will be like. Even though she already worked in the confectionery business, Lorena knew it would be a big challenge, with more complex orders that would require a lot of effort and dedication, which she has plenty of.

When she arrived at the company, Victor was already waiting for her, again with a cup of coffee in his hands, ready to hand it over.

Lorena: I'll get used to this, Victor.

Victor: it's okay, I like to please women - he smiles and she shyly returns the smile - finish your coffee and then we can start your new shift.

After a few minutes, the two of them began the process of making the pizza-shaped cake - which had been requested by a client who was going to have a birthday the following day.

Lorena was excited to learn how to make it and Victor took the opportunity to stay very close to her, making eye contact with her and holding her hand with the excuse that he needed to better instruct her to get her hands dirty.

----------------

The first part of the shift was over and Lorena went to the school to pick up her daughter, when she saw someone she knew in the distance. She squints and recognizes him immediately - it's her ex-husband, Dimitri.

Dimitri sees Lorena in the distance and approaches her to say hello:

Dimitri: Long time no see Lorena- he hugs her, taking her by surprise- How is our daughter?

Lorena: she's fine, since you last saw her three months ago - she doesn't hide her disappointment - why haven't you sent any news? She misses you.

Dimitri: I've lost my cell phone because my wife's burned out and I left it with her. Can I visit her at the weekend?

Lorena: No, because we're going to my mother's house, but you can see her now. I'm picking her up from school.

Dimitri: sure, I have some time before I go back to work.

Lorena: You could spend the afternoon with her. I have to work in the afternoon and if she goes with me, she'll stay with me until the end of the working day, which is between 5pm and 6pm.

Dimitri: That's fine. I'll let the company know that I'll be taking a day off today - he picks up his cell phone and sends a quick message to his partner - that's it, we're going to pick her up.

Aurora is very excited to see her father again and says:

Aurora: Daddy! - she hugs him - I miss you.

Dimitri: Hello my child, I'm sorry I've been missing. And to make it up to you, we're going to spend the day together.

Aurora: Really? - she turns to her mother: Can I, Mom?

Lorena: Yes, child. Just don't forget that you don't have a swimming lesson today, so you can have lunch out, but bring her back at 7pm.

Dimitri: OK, I'll take good care of our little girl. Let's go, child.

Aurora: bye mom - she hugs her happily.

Lorena says goodbye to her daughter and returns to work for the afternoon shift - but first she goes home to heat up her lunch - rice, beans and grilled chicken with lettuce, tomato and watercress salad. For drinks, she opts for water - and this time she doesn't eat desserts because she knows that too many sweets are bad for your health.

She puts her uniform back on - because she had taken it off so she wouldn't smell of food - and leaves the house, heading back to work. When she arrives, Lorena continues with her work, while Victor watches her, feeling his heart racing.

With some trepidation, Victor approaches Lorena and says:

Victor: I want to ask you something.

She watches him, stops what she's doing and says:

Lorena: I can hear you.

Victor: there's going to be a party in my street this weekend and I'd like to invite you, if you want, of course.

Lorena: thanks for the invitation Victor, but I'm going to my parents' house.

Victor: that's fine - his voice changes, but he disguises it.

Lorena realizes that he's upset by the situation and gives him an unexpected invitation:

Lorena: what do you say we grab a bite to eat after work? There's a burger joint nearby.

Victor is delighted and nods positively. They continue their service without touching on the subject, but Victor finds it difficult to organize his thoughts - which are on the fact that he wants to win her over gradually.

Victor: the cake is incredible!" he exclaims excitedly, "I hope the customer likes it.

Lorena: There's no way they won't, you're very talented.

Victor: thank you. Well, that's it for today. Is the snack still on?

Lorena: Sure, I'll just take off my hat and uniform, I'll be right back.

Mr. Reginaldo was leaving his office when he saw Lorena passing by. He stopped her and asked:

Mr. Reginaldo: Lorena! How was your first day at the internship? Is Victor helping you?

Lorena: Hello boss - she says hello - yes, we made an amazing cake today. Victor is a good teacher.

Mr. Reginaldo: Good, I'm glad to hear that. Did you ask him to sign your form? You need it for your computer internship here at the company.

Lorena: I forgot, but I'll ask him. Excuse me, sir.

Lorena goes to the bathroom, removes her work clothes and remains in only the clothes she put on before leaving the house on her break - black leggings and a beige short-sleeved jacket with no prints.

Victor has been waiting for her anxiously, but disguises it as soon as he sees her:

Victor: can we go?

Lorena: not yet, I need you to sign this for me - she hands him the declaration - it's for the internship the boss offered me here.

Victor: Of course and I'm sorry I forgot to sign it.

Lorena: It's okay, I understand it's been a tiring day - she smiles shyly - now we can go.

Victor and Lorena walk side by side until they reach the company parking lot, where he deactivates the alarm and then opens the door for her to enter.

Lorena: Thank you.

His car is a black BMW XM - which amazes Lorena because she didn't know that a shy guy like him drove a car of this style, but that's not what attracted her attention, it's the affectionate way he treats her.

Victor: I have a motorcycle too.

Lorena: Victor, if you want to please a woman, whoever she is, don't show off. You're a wonderful person.

Victor: I'm sorry, I want to impress a girl, but I think I've ruined everything.

Lorena holds his hand and smiles - partly because she feels he did it for her and also because she realizes that something inside her ignited when she touched his hand.

Lorena decided to take a chance, hoping she hadn't misunderstood - even if it could put her job at risk.

She caressed his face, held his chin and kissed him.

Victor blinked, not understanding if this was really happening to him, and had to ask if he could believe it:

Victor: what happened?

Lorena: probably something you didn't like - she lowered her head, but he smiled - I don't know if you'll complain about my attitude, but...- he interrupted her, kissing her.

Their kiss intensified, leaving both of their hearts racing.