NIKTO

3

The next day, in the office, Alessio confronts Gaetano. Initially Gaetano believes his affair with Alessio's wife has been discovered, then as soon as he is about to confess he realizes that Alessio is really only referring to the accusation of corruption on the supply of hardware to the Government bodies; for which Alessio is furious. The two partners raise their voices and start arguing strongly, until Gaetano reveals that he's been fiddling around with the administration bureaucracy to make some extra personal profit: he has in fact been bribing some suppliers and splitting the profit with another compliant corrupt government officer. He would have willingly split the profit with Alessio, but he knew Alessio would never have agreed because of his moral values and honesty. Gaetano adds that there is still time to share the money. Alessio at this point becomes outraged: it's not a question of morality but plain honesty. His company has built up a good reputation and its customers trust him and he will not sit there and watch it all go to waste! In such an altered state he proceeds by firing his partner and the excuse given by the other accomplice that everyone else in the world does it, serves no purpose. Alessio is an honest and morally sound person who will not accept the spreading of corruption as a mitigating factor or an excuse for Gaetano's illegal bribing.

Alessio and Gloria are on their way to their son's school Principal to discuss the bullying episode against their son, perpetrated by Gilberto, nicknamed Gil. Gloria looks upset and becomes aggressive, Alessio tries to calm her down, he explains the situation to the School Principal and is reassured by him who promises to adopt strict measures to resolve matters. While driving home, Gloria acts resentful toward her husband and complains about him: she begins by accusing him for not spending enough time with their son, then moves on to claim the same for herself. Gloria feels neglected by her husband and says that he is too involved in his work and spends his little free time going fishing on that boat he bought without even conferring with her, knowing that she suffers from sea sickness, which she insists was inconsiderate. Gloria ends the argument by calling him a selfish egotist. Alessio defends himself by saying that she too is often absent and never puts the family ahead of her professional career as a journalist (she is a reporter for a private TV ).