1. The AutoConnect open-plan office stretches before Stefan — developers hunched over keyboards, whiteboards covered in frustrated diagrams, tropical plants struggling near windows that look out on the São Paulo skyline. The Floor AutoConnect Brasil occupied floors eight through twelve of a mid-rise tower on Avenida Paulista. The lobby was all glass and chrome, designed to impress investors. The development floor was something else entirely.

    The Floor

    The AutoConnect open-plan office stretches before Stefan — developers hunched over keyboards, whiteboards covered in frustrated diagrams, tropical plants struggling near windows that look out on the São Paulo skyline.
  2. Leonardo Ferreira sits across from Stefan at a small café table, coffee cups between them, morning light streaming through the window as São Paulo traffic crawls past outside. The Bridge Leo Ferreira was waiting at a café two blocks from the AutoConnect office, a small espresso cup already empty in front of him. He stood as Stefan approached — lean, relaxed, dressed in the Valley-casual uniform of hoodie and sneakers that looked slightly wrong against São Paulo’s more formal business district.

    The Bridge

    Leonardo Ferreira sits across from Stefan at a small café table, coffee cups between them, morning light streaming through the window as São Paulo traffic crawls past outside.