After the carnival, Kate returned to New York to continue her fashion empire.
Luca still had some unfinished work and needed to stay in Rio a little longer.
In the morning, after finishing his workout, Luca drove to Toucan Films.
The company was located in a high-rise office building on Atlantic Business Street, not far from Kate's small café.
The company wasn't large, with only ten people in total, including Luca as the boss.
Their main tasks were managing the investment, budgeting, and production of two new projects.
The first project, Saving Ronaldo, had entered the production stage.
It was a small production, with no big-name stars, and the total budget was only $1.2 million.
The film had three producers: Marcel's VOD Films, Paragua Films, and Luca's Toucan Films.
Luca was cautious about this collaboration and only invested $400,000.
Currently, the company was focusing on producing the Brazilian version of Infernal Affairs.
"Mr. Kelly, the budget for Infernal Affairs has been completed," said the production manager as he walked into the office holding a document.
Luca took it and flipped through the pages. The film had three producers: Toucan Films, Rio Pictures, and the Brazilian branch of Columbia Pictures. The total budget was $3.5 million, or about 15 million reals.
It was a big investment, and the film needed to make at least 50 million reals at the box office to break even.
But Brazil, like China, had a major issue with rampant piracy, which made it difficult for Brazilian films to perform well at the box office.
Currently, Brazil's highest box office record was held by Titanic with 78.9 million reals.
Last year's top-grossing film, Bruce Almighty starring Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston, only made 33.3 million reals.
Reaching 50 million reals would not be easy.
In the budget, the biggest expense was actor salaries. They were hiring big-name stars, which meant higher salaries.
The budget for actor salaries alone was $1 million.
In addition to the salaries, there were several special expenses.
One was insurance for the cast and crew, which exceeded $200,000.
Another was consultation fees for the police department, which came to $300,000.
Along with other expenses, this part of the budget was nearly $800,000.
These extra costs, along with the actor salaries, made up half of the budget.
Even though it seemed wasteful, the money had to be spent. Without these expenses, the film wouldn't be completed smoothly, and even if it were, there was no guarantee it would be released.
This was the reality of the country. To make money in Rio, you had to accept these facts.
Luca reviewed everything and signed the document.
"Mr. Kelly, Director Jose is asking when you'll be available. He'd like to discuss the script with you," Luca's assistant asked.
"Tell him to meet me at Kate's café at 2 PM for coffee."
"Got it!"
After the assistant left, Luca poured himself a cup of coffee and continued working.
In the afternoon, Kate's café was bustling, with Aunt Regina hard at work.
Since Luca and Kate returned, business at the café had been booming. Where once only a few people would visit daily, now hundreds, even thousands, crowded the small shop, packing it to the brim.
There were fans, movie enthusiasts, tourists, and some who came looking for opportunities.
There were even a few instances where women would intentionally spill coffee on Luca and pretend to clean it up, forcing him to stop visiting the café as frequently.
But Regina's cooking was great, so after Kate left, Luca still came to the café daily for meals.
"Regina, is lunch ready?" Luca asked at the counter.
"Luca, you're here. Here's the barbecue meal you ordered," Regina said, handing over a few lunch boxes.
"Thank you, Regina. I can't live without your cooking!" Luca joked as he smelled the food.
"Haha, as long as you enjoy it," Regina replied happily. "Oh, Mrs. Ambrosio is here. She's upstairs having coffee."
"Oh, is she alone?"
"Yes, she just arrived. It was too crowded downstairs, so I seated her upstairs."
Luca nodded, greeted her, and carried his lunch up to the second-floor office.
He knocked on the door and saw Mrs. Ambrosio sitting by the window, legs crossed, playing on her phone with a frown on her face.
"Anan, what brings you to the café today?" Luca asked curiously.
In the Brazilian modeling world, Ambrosio was one of the top five most popular models and was constantly busy, traveling between the U.S. and Brazil.
"I just had a fight with Jamie, so I came here to chill," Ambrosio shrugged and tossed her phone onto the table.
Earlier, when they were out, she went to the bathroom, only to return and find a lipstick mark on Jamie Mazur's face, along with another woman's perfume on him.
Jamie claimed he had been taken advantage of and had no idea where the lipstick mark came from, looking completely innocent.
Ambrosio didn't bother arguing, storming off and ending up here to avoid him.
"Didn't you two make up?" Luca asked, puzzled.
"Of course not. He said he was willing to accept punishment, but before I break his legs, he wants to walk around a bit more. You know, because he might not get another chance," Ambrosio said with a smirk.
"Fair point!" Luca grinned as he rolled up his shirt sleeves and sat down to start lunch.
Just as he was about to dig in, he noticed Ambrosio staring longingly at the food.
"Anan, if you don't mind, we can share," Luca offered as he opened the lunch boxes, the smell wafting through the room.
"Thanks, I won't hold back then," Ambrosio said, picking up a fork and taking a bite of the steak.
"Mmm~ this is delicious!" she exclaimed.
Lunch consisted of four dishes: two meats, two vegetables, a large serving of rice, and a pomegranate juice — more than enough for two people.
"Anan, are you really going to break Jamie's legs this time?" Luca asked between bites.
"Of course. I was going to do it in the U.S., but the bastard said he wanted to come to Rio first. Now, after two days here, he's saying he's not ready. Do you think he's having second thoughts?" Ambrosio pouted.
"Probably," Luca smiled. It was a classic stalling tactic, but who knew if Jamie could pull it off?
"I knew it!" Ambrosio huffed. "Luca, you haven't been involved in any scandals for a while. Has Lima cured your cheating habits?"
"I never had that problem!" Luca protested.
"Yeah, sure," Ambrosio chuckled, clearly not buying it.
"Okay, fine, I've been cured," Luca said, resigned.
Ambrosio smirked, "Care to explain how?"
Luca thought for a moment and then asked with a grin, "Anan, how do you think I look?"
Ambrosio studied him. His sharp features, clean-cut smile, and the mature, confident aura he exuded made him more attractive than ever.
She blinked and smiled, "Not bad. You're still Brazil's number one heartthrob, haha."
"Exactly! I'm the number one heartthrob in Brazil. I used to feel like I was winning whenever I slept with a woman. But now, if I sleep with another woman, I feel like I'm losing."
Before he could finish, Ambrosio burst into laughter.
"I'm serious!" Luca said, his expression serious. "I used to feel like a hunter with a shotgun, shooting at whatever I could hit. But now, I'm the prey. The women around me are all predators. I'm a man of principles; I can't just let myself get caught so easily."
"You, you're unbelievable!" Ambrosio doubled over, laughing uncontrollably.
Knock, knock—
Regina knocked on the door.
"Luca, Mr. Jose is here!"
"Got it!"
Luca took a sip of juice and stood up.
"Are you discussing work?" Ambrosio asked.
"It's just a casual chat, no worries. Keep eating!" Luca replied.
"Alright then!"
(End of Chapter)