CHAPTER TWELVE
IT IS LOVE AGAIN!
“Gravity is not responsible
for people falling in love”
Albert Einstein
September, 2002 – Tony called Anna Paola and told her that he had a proposal to her; she was working at a local event in Sao Paulo and agreed to meet him later at night after her work. Tony already had decided to bring her with him on his next trip to Hong Kong, and here we have the “Casanova” again. He bought her a dress and a pair of shoes (he already knew all her sizes from the event in Jaguariuna) and sent it to her. That’s one of the things that I believe makes women love Tony: his good taste to shop; he really knows how to make women feel sensual. It’s unbelievable!
Later on that day he met Anna Paola at this Japanese restaurant, and she really had no idea what Tony was about to propose her. She was thinking that was about another job and future events. And Tony said:
“I would like to invite you to come with me on my next trip to Hong Kong. You know my status, I am married and I do not intend to separate and I am happy like this. What I would like to propose to you is two weeks of fun, beginning, middle and an end. After that we can be at the most friends. While you are with me I will make you to feel like a princess, like was never done before. So, do you accept it?”
Anna Paola felt very uncomfortable with the proposal, as she felt she was being bought, like you buy a gift at the store, but very politely she thanked him and told him that she will think it over.
The following day she called Tony and thanked him and told him that she had no interest in going on the trip. But as we know by now, saying “no” to Tony is not quite easy because when he wants something and has the desire, “no” is not acceptable!
So, he persisted until he persuaded her to come. Everything was set, he bought her a plane ticket, sent it to her, and since he was in Miami, they planned to meet in Paris, and from there they would join together in Hong Kong.
About this time Tony sent Robert Johnson to Brazil to understand the financial software recently installed, and Blacker manipulated Robert all the way. Robert came back to Miami later on, thinking that they were selling the goods in Brazil under FOB (value of the goods at the port); in other words, Blacker made Robert believe that Exbrus was buying for 100, paying all transportation costs, all taxes and duties (another 100%) and selling it for 80. That was so unbelievable that when Tony heard this from Robert, he had no idea of anything. Is this Blacker guy good or what?
In addition to that Robert also reported that Blacker was placing payments directly to suppliers from Chile. Tony asks Blacker what is going on. Those payments were supposed to be done from Miami, why was it done from Chile? And Blacker replied that there were some urgent payments that had to be done right away, and some other absurd excuses, and started to cry saying that he was hurt because Tony did not trust him, and Tony said that this had nothing to do about trust, and he only wanted to know what was going on. I believe that on this day Blacker thought Tony had discovered his imposture (Frauds). But Tony was so blind and could see nothing! He never for a minute suspected that Blacker was taking money away!
Few days before the trip to Hong Kong, in the Miami office Tony received a call from Anna Paola’s father’s telling him: I want to thank you for the opportunity you have offered my daughter but she has decided no to go! When Tony heard that, he froze! Man, that was the last thing I wanted, getting myself in a mess again. Why her father is calling me? Why did she not call me? He thought.
Once more Tony’s determination goes on. He called a girl friend in Sao Paulo who had also met Anna Paola and she talked to her and finally after telling all the good things about Tony, and that he would never push her to do anything, that she was not willing to do, she agreed to come! And Tony called that “YES I got it!”
You need to understand Tony’s mind about this time. He had read several books about spirituality by now, and learned that there is no coincidence, that when you desire something the universe conspires to help you, that there is no wrong or right, that everything is a learning experience and many other things as well. In addition to that, on his last trip to Hong Kong alone, before he met Anna Paola, he had had a perfect synchronized day in Bangkok and found a Thai old lady at this shopping mall, and while reading his palm told Tony that a new love would come into his life. At the time he had not idea about what she was talking about it. Now, all of a sudden it all started to make sense!
October, 2002 - Saturday – Tony flew to Paris and everything seemed to get in to this perfect symphony. He met Anna Paola at the airport in Paris. He had planned nothing, Tony knew by now that if you just let it flow, everything will get in place, in a perfect synchronism. It was like that since he gets on the plane in Miami beginning with the movie that was played until the end, as follows…
Tony found a small hotel in Paris and told the front desk clerk that they wanted to have dinner at the Eiffel Tower. The clerk said: “Impossible, you must make a reservation at least 90 days prior!” But he says that to the wrong guy. Tony started to phone several places until he found a guy who said, “OK, I will pick you up at 8:00 P.M. sharp.” They got ready and as promised the guy arrived on time, picked them up and stop at another hotel and got an Italian couple as well. When they arrived at the Eiffel Tower, the guy told them to wait and went to talk to a doorman; from a distance you could not tell what they were talking about, but it was obvious that they were arguing with each other. After a few minutes he came back and said everything was OK, and since the package included the dinner Tony asked how much he had to pay, but he replied: “You pay me when you come back, I will be waiting for you at 10:00 P.M. on your return.” Tony said OK, and they got up to the restaurant. When they arrived the hostess told them, “I have no idea what this guy has done, but I will get a table for you.” They sat at this perfect table, with an incredible view of Paris in the autumn; the food was fantastic followed with a dessert. They were really having a good time, there was such synchronism in the air – it’s hard to describe it. When they left of the restaurant, they looked for the guy and he was not there. Tony said to Anna Paola: “This is amazing, they guy brings us here, seems like we have no reservation, we don’t pay anything! This is not normal!” So they walked to the square in front, to get a taxi and Paris was crazy this night! There were lots of people in the streets, and taxis were hard to get but finally they managed to get one, and Tony wanted to see the “Lido Paris Show.” The taxi driver, this Portuguese guy, told Tony that tonight is “nuit blanche” the white night, promoted by the mayor of Paris to increase business, where most of museums and business would be open, and all buses and subways were free, so he said, “You’re in luck to find someone to drive to that part of the city, because of the traffic, but I will take you there.” Tony smiled at Anna Paola. “You see, everything is conspiring together for us!”
When they got to “Lido” they faced this long line, Tony tried unsuccessfully to get someone to buy the tickets for them. So they waited and when a French host greeted them Tony asked him: “Could you please get us a table at the center?” The French guy replied with cynicism: “You would like a table in the center?” Tony said yes and he took them to the best possible table right in the middle of the theater! So again Tony looked at Anna Paola and said, “You see it!”
After the show they went to few dance clubs, and on the way back they could not get a taxi, so they took the first bus that came, and by an amazing coincidence the bus drove right to the front of their hotel. They got out at the next stop. It was about 5:00A.M. and they decided to grab something to eat at this coffee shop. They sat next to a French couple that later on sent two glasses of sweet liqueur to their table and said to them: “You are the most loving couple we ever saw, so please celebrate the love!” Anna Paola and Tony did not understand what was happening!
The world had stopped for them!
They got to the hotel very tired after this long and wonderful night, and they had to take a plane that afternoon. Anna Paola gave Tony a goodnight kiss and they slept in separate beds.
While waiting at the airport Tony made a reservation at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong (one of the best hotels in that city), but of course Anna Paola had no idea of anything. She later asked him, how is the hotel in Hong Kong and Tony replied that is not as good as the hotel in Paris. Now this is Tony’s special talent: he wants to see happiness through the eyes of the people he loves. And naturally Anna Paola is in this category!
When they arrived in Hong Kong early in the morning, the hotel sent a Rolls Royce Limousine to pick them up. Anna Paola had no idea what a limousine was; much less what was Rolls Royce! Hong Kong is Tony’s favorite city now. This is the place he renews his energies and releases all his stress. Tony knows Hong Kong like it was his hometown.
As they entered the hotel and walked into this beautiful hall, with ornate English style decoration, it really made them feel good to be there. Anna Paola started to cry and asked Tony: “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because I promised to make you the happiest person for the next two weeks,” replied Tony.
At the check-in counter, out of the blue, the hotel clerk decided to upgrade their room. It was already a bay view suite with a beautiful view of the island of Hong Kong, but now they provided a bigger suite, even better!
Anna Paola could not believe or understand what was going on. She never had seen anything like it in her life, and would continue to cry. Tony hugged her and calmed her down.
Tony went to the Exbrus office, and on his way he sent her a beautiful red roses bouquet, and asked room service to provide a bottle of champagne with strawberries on his return.
By now Tony had the taste of victory on his mind! Yes I got it! I will get late tonight! He thought. When he returned Anna Paola was still sleeping, and it was almost night. The view of Hong Kong this time of the day is incredible; you must be there to see it! No pictures can describe it! Tony took a shower and was so happy. Mr. Casanova did again! It is amazing what a man can do for a woman. The desire for sex is one of the strongest forces on this planet. So after, he woke up Anna Paola, gave her a really nice kiss, and no time to lose, let’s do the macho man job! Only to his surprise Anna Paola, got completely off and told him: “No, no, no and no. I do not want to have sex with you! You told me that you would not do anything that I don’t want to do it.” She insisted.
Tony got really mad! Rejection was not part of the plan! But he calmed down and took her out for dinner at this beautiful restaurant by the ocean. And, of course, he would never give up, and a few days went by and the same answer from her: No, no, no and no!
So one day Tony got really fuming and decided to send her back to Brazil, but since her ticket was a mileage award, he could not change the date for an early return. And they kept going on.
They say if you have lemons, why not make lemonade! So Tony kept planning new adventures. They went to Macau. Macau is the opposite of Hong Kong, although it is a casino city, it is a much more laid back type of town, a nice place to stay over a weekend and relax. They rented a motorcycle and rode all around the island. They had lunch at this famous Portuguese restaurant Fernando’s (a must) and on the way back they visited several churches and Buddhist temples. Tony took lots of pictures of Anna Paola, who seemed to be the happiest woman on this earth! Always enjoying everything and with a big smile on her face. There was no dull moment with her; she really made Tony happy, with the exception of the no, no, no and no.
By this time they really got to know each other and even though they were really involved by now, Tony learned that he is the kind of guy Anna Paola always wanted to stay away from, married with no expectation of any future for her. Not to forget no, no, no and no!
Tony started to imagine all kinds of things and started to think that maybe she was looking for money, and he did not care (he thought); if that was the case he would pay for it. So, he made a scene to see if he could buy her by giving her a car (Mercedes Class A) a popular car in Brazil that she had told him that she liked very much - if she would agree, but again, to his surprise: no, no, no and no.
Another coincidence: Between one of the disagreements with Anna Paola in Macau, Tony went for a walk and met with a person whom he had met before. When they had last met, this fellow had been telling Tony that he had separated from his girlfriend and when he saw Tony now he said: “How wonderful to see you here, I got back with my girlfriend and we are celebrating here!”
To Tony those events were very important, he was much more aware of everything now. Everything had special meaning, things that a few years ago had no meaning at all. So that gave him additional strength to go on with Anna Paola, and every day: no, no, no and no.
With the exception you of know what, everything was perfect! The synchronism was everywhere! Everything followed in place, which is when the universe really conspires to make it right! They took a helicopter from Macau to Shenzhen (China) and stayed at this brand new hotel, Italian style. Tony made some business contacts and Anna Paola came with him to a few meetings.
They came back to Hong Kong and later they flew to Shanghai. Tony had a meeting with the president of the Port of Arica that was on a business mission at that city.
His favorite song (“My Way,” by Frank Sinatra) was playing everywhere, and it was beautiful what they felt for each other. On the way back they stopped over Bangkok, Thailand for a day and they lived another perfect day. They had dinner over the river with a full moon; there was nothing you could ask more! They had it all! But even with all those wonderful moments Anna Paola would persist in saying: no, no, no and no!
It is amazing how much time flies when you are in perfect synchronism. The two weeks had gone by so fast and now they were returning back. As they flew back to Frankfurt, they took different routes, Anna Paola returned to Sao Paulo and Tony got back to Miami. At the airport Tony looked into Anna Paola’s eyes and said:
“I am sorry you could not see what I saw, we could have enjoyed even more if you wanted, but I am happy anyway, I had a wonderful time with you and I will keep my promise. We have a beginning, middle and this is the end!”
Anna Paola replied:
“So, is this the end?”
And Tony confirmed it and both went back to their lives.
Tony still had to wait for his flight until the following morning. At the hotel he took all of her pictures and threw them away and said to himself, “It is finished!” And life went on.
Getting back to Miami he found that Blacker and his wife Valeria had come to Miami, with some excuses, and Sharon learned that they are looking to buy a house in the same condominium complex. Tony didn’t understand what was going on, (is this guy a dummy or what?) so he asked Blacker: “Do you want to purchase a house here?”
“No, this is all an invention of Valeria, I just told her to do it so she doesn’t get on my case,” answered Blacker. Tony stopped for a minute and started to think that maybe Blacker wanted to get a house here as well. Tony loved Blacker like a brother. As matter of fact, after Tony’s brother passed way, he always would tell Blacker that he was his brother now, and Tony really wanted to do anything to please Blacker. Remember Tony’s rule: to see happiness in the eyes of the people he loves.
Tony made a suggestion to Blacker. “I know according to your reports the company still owes you money, and we need to get more money into the business, so we can continue business.” (Tony had believed in everything that Blacker would inform him, and by Blacker’s notes, the company owed him over one hundred thousand dollars).
“Let’s do this, since I will have to finance one of the old houses to get the money we need, why don’t you get the title of the house, you can use money the company owes you as a down payment, and the mortgage payments will be covered by rental payments, as the house is leased at the moment. That way you have a house here and we can solve some of the debts of the corporation,” said Tony.
And, of course, Blacker would accept it. That was how he manipulated the people around him, he would fake that he wanted nothing, and would leave the decision to the other person. So Tony did what he promised and paid all the bills for the corporation. What Tony did not know was by now Blacker had taken out of the business over two million dollars using the offshore corporation established in Chile.
Tony did not want to be part of the business; he only wanted to solve the problems and would leave everything in Blacker’s hands.
Anna Paola called Tony now and said she wanted to talk to him and Tony replied: “To say what?” And Anna Paola, unsure of what she really wanted, did not say what Tony perhaps wanted to hear. So Tony told her: “It is over, Anna Paola!”
Marcos Paz suggested that Tony participate at this conference in London called “Trade Finance”, where all international banks were, exactly the type of partner that Exbrus needed would be there and since Tony wanted to stay away from home and the business, he decided to go to the conference in London.
Try to understand Tony’s feelings by now. He first lost his love for his parents and sister, later on he lost his brother, business was falling apart and after he realized that he lost Sharon as well. The only thing that seemed to be OK was Anna Paola, but she was afraid.
On his trip to London he realized that he was in love with Anna Paola, and it was this feeling almost uncontrollable! He went to the conference, but could not hear a word of what they were saying; he was so connected with Anna Paola. It seemed like that they were attached together.
He received an e-mail from Anna Paola his first evening in London. Anna Paola sent this long message saying that he had not given her a chance and she was heartbroken because of it. So Tony took a day before he answer and told her that she should forget him, he was not the person she wanted, and for sure she had no trouble in finding many potentials boyfriends. The truth was that Tony wanted to see her as much as she wanted to see him. But he wanted to make sure that she would step up and make up her mind. He could not go on with this in her way! It had to be yes, yes, yes and yes!
Anna Paola was so in love with Tony, and now she started to understand what was going on. As she read the e-mail from Tony, she was working at an event in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, all of a sudden they start to play “My Way” and now she had no doubt she must see him again! And she wrote back to Tony: “I want to see you!”
After London, Tony came to Brazil, and boy I tell you, he saw his world in flames, he had no idea how to handle this situation. He had affairs before, but not a steady relationship - he could not manage two women at the same time! And all his prior relationships flashed in his mind! He went crazy thinking about everything, about Sharon, his children, etc. He also realized how much happier he was with Anna Paola and how bad was his faked marriage.
So, Anna Paola really seemed to be the door to happiness, but he did not want to mess it up. He remembered the experience of his relationship with Sophia. He did not want to go through the same thing, as their family expelled her out of their house. Could you imagine this happening again? No way, he thought. He wanted to cover all of his bases, and he wanted no trouble! He knew that, if he saw Anna Paola again, he would start a relationship with her.
So, when he arrived in Brazil, the first thing he did was to call Anna Paola’s mother. During their trip Anna Paola had talked to him, and said that she had no secret with her parents, and they would have to know everything. Tony never believed that, so he wanted to make sure, her parents would be OK with their relationship. So her mother agreed to meet him, and as Anna Paola was in Florianopolis, he asked not to tell her about their meeting. To Tony’s surprise her mother reaffirmed that she knew everything, and that it was Anna Paola’s decision, and they (parents) would be behind any decision she wanted to take. And personally she really liked him from what Anna Paola had told her, and wanted to meet him as well. “We will pray to God to seek the best for both of you,” she says.
I believe that Tony did not expect this attitude from her mother; actually, he wanted to have hundreds of confirmations before he could go on with it. The fear of making a mistake was big. So, Tony called Anna Paola and they met again, but even now that she had decided to stay with Tony, she has this belief of seeing sex as a ritual, it only can happen if everything is perfect, and without this it is no, no, no and no. There were several disagreements until the magical day arrived!
Tony had taken her to dinner in this very fine restaurant in Sao Paulo with live music. They dined, had champagne, dance and finally, finally, Anna Paola agrees to make love to Tony. This was the magical moment! The Gods must have stopped to celebrate that wonderful night! Finally their love was at its fullest!
They went to see the “Beauty and the Beast” that was playing in Sao Paulo and Tony nicknamed Anna Paola after the main character of the play: Bella! And from this day on he would call her Bella.
Tony decided to divorce Sharon, his plan was to move to Hong Kong with Bella, and he had already set plans to live there, and now would be the perfect time.
Tony’s concern now was Sharon and the children, he did not want to make any decision in Miami, because he knew that Sharon would never accept this, because she always believed that you marry once in your life time and stick with it, for good or bad. No way will she accept it.
Following Blacker’s suggestions, Tony told Sharon they needed to move back to Jaguariuna, to reduce costs. Sharon up to this time hated Miami. All of a sudden, now that she has to leave, she loved Miami and did not want to go back to Jaguariuna. She would consider Sao Paulo, but Tony did not want to go there because of the high rate of violence in that city. So later she agreed to move to Campinas, a city nearby.
And just as usual Tony went to Campinas to find the best houses and apartments available, and then brought Sharon and asked her to choose what she wanted. He rented them this penthouse over 4,500 sq ft, with all possible comforts, setup the apartment, hired maids, a personal driver for the family and everything you could possibly imagine.
Tony had everything planned in his mind. He would bring Sharon and the children to Campinas, he would wait the holidays and would go to Hong Kong with Anna Paola and later on he would tell Sharon about the divorce.
Now an interesting fact happened right around the holidays, some new business appeared to Exbrus Hong Kong. It was a contract with a furniture company that would need to close before the end of the year and since the Chinese new years is in January; everything works as normal in Hong Kong.
Tony, Sharon and the children were spending the holidays at Blacker’s house in Itacu, he had done a renovation as well and his house was so impressive and bigger than Tony’s home in Miami. And Tony did not notice anything wrong. Blacker had all of these excuses for how he got everything done so cheap. So Tony asked Sharon and Blacker about the business opportunity in Hong Kong and their opinion. Blacker immediately said he must go, because the company needs all the business possible at the moment; however, what Blacker wanted was Tony as far away as possible, so Tony would not mess up his plans. Sharon agreed as well after hearing all that, and she got sad because Tony had to travel. Tony was heartbroken as well, and did not want to go, he wanted to spend the holidays with the kids, but the business opportunities seemed to be real and Blacker advised that to go. So he went.
Well, since he had to go Tony called Anna Paola and asked if she would like to go with him, and instantly she most happily accepted the invitation. For Tony it would be their first travel since their relationship got serious. He really wanted to know how Anna Paola’s behavior would be now. He still had memories of the old trip with her.
Furthermore, Tony would have to stop in Miami for the closing of a mortgage on his house to cover the company debts. They had made an agreement to pay by the end of the year, so they would not get additional penalties.
Tony stopped in Miami to sign all the contracts and make all the payments, and then went on his trip to Hong Kong with Anna Paola. As soon as he arrived in Hong Kong he set a meeting to get the contract signed, but the Chinese at the last minute decided to cancel - in other words, he traveled to Hong Kong for nothing. Even so, Tony took his time to make some business contacts and tried to enjoy the trip with Bella as much as possible.
Anna Paola changed her birth control pills and lost one of her packages on the trip. Those pills had different colors, and according to the day she has to take a different pill, so she got a new package. She started from the beginning and she got this terrible bleeding right on New Year’s Day. Tony without knowing those things took her to a clinic and she had to rest for three days at the hotel. What a holiday!
On their way back Tony took Anna Paola to Las Vegas, and he had so much fun seeing her emotions through her eyes in all those places. Bella without a doubt it is great company, thought Tony!
They came back to Brazil and Tony was so sure about what he wanted, he wanted to stay with Bella, to be happy at her side, he really enjoyed her company and he did not want to hide it anymore from anyone.
He set a meeting with Sharon’s psychologist and explained to her the situation, because he wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted Sharon to know from him, believing that if he would tell her the truth he may not lose her trust. After all, they had three children and he did not want to lose her trust. He asked the psychologist her advice and she told him to set an appointment at her office so the three of them could talk. Tony wanted to get out of this relationship!