Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 325: The Contract

Nancy’s clear voice cut through the room, halting the process before it could begin.

Ginnie stopped mid-motion, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Nancy. Every alarm bell in her head was ringing.

A shareholder groaned, his patience finally snapping. "What now? Five million plus a percentage of the sales isn't enough for you?"

"It isn't that," Nancy said with a casual smile. "I’m just adding a few supplemental clauses to protect my interests. Just a precaution."

Right on cue, the doors opened. An employee pushed a cart full of documents into the room and began handing out thick stacks of paper to every shareholder.

One man weighed the stack in his hand and let out a dry laugh. "This is at least fifty pages. Nancy, you can't be serious. You expect us to digest this legal jargon right now?"

Nancy met their glares with a calm, steady look. "Given how often Ginnie has targeted me, and the damage Summers Corp has done to my interests in the past, I’m being thorough."

Her tone was polite, but she wasn't budging. "I’m making sure I don't walk into the same trap twice. My demands are simple." She looked directly at Ginnie. "First, Ginnie must be involved in every step of the project as an assistant. Any issues that arise during production are her personal responsibility."

She turned back to the room. "Second, my job ends once the formula is successfully tested and hits the production line. Marketing and sales performance have nothing to do with me. You can’t use them as an excuse to withhold my pay. The final balance of my fee must be paid in full within three business days of the final product approval."

Nancy stood up and tapped the top page of the document. "It’s all here in black and white. My legal team drafted this specifically to make sure no one sabotages the project or tries to shift the blame onto me later."

Ginnie’s face went white with rage. She turned to Yvonne, her voice trembling. "Do you see this? She’s…"

"It’s thorough. I like it," Yvonne interrupted.

After letting her lawyers do a quick scan of the fifty pages, Yvonne pushed the contract back toward Nancy with an elegant gesture. "We’ll include everything and draft a formal version. Does that put your mind at ease?"

Yvonne knew exactly what she was doing. Chandler had been an idiot to make Nancy an enemy; his obsession with destroying her had only paved the way for Yvonne to take over. She had spent years maintaining her image as the kind aunt who looked out for Nancy in secret, and that investment was finally paying off. For five million and a few harmless clauses, she could turn Nancy into a sharp tool. Turning an enemy into a profit center was the best deal she had ever made.

"The three-million-dollar down payment will be in your account by the end of the day." Yvonne stood up and reached across the table. "Nancy, welcome back to Summers Corp."

She then turned to Ginnie, who looked like she was about to faint. "Since everything here is under control, I’m heading back to Bellwood. Ginnie, make sure you cooperate with Nancy."

The order was light, but it pinned Ginnie into the role of a glorified assistant. Ginnie lowered her head, her nails digging into her palms. "...Fine."

As soon as the meeting broke, Nancy cornered Ginnie.

"I’m restructuring my own R&D and marketing teams," Nancy said, slapping a list into Ginnie’s hand. "Go poach these people for me."

Ginnie looked at the names and felt her vision swim. Half the people on the list worked for their direct competitors. They weren't top-level execs, but getting them to move would cost a fortune.

"Also," Nancy continued, not giving her a chance to argue, "I need to inspect the raw material sources. I'm also attending the international pet food expo next month and visiting a few top animal nutrition labs. You handle the travel arrangements."

Every item on Nancy’s list was a massive expense. The travel, the entry fees for elite expos, and the costs to open doors at high-end labs would bleed Summers Corp for millions more. More importantly, the network Nancy was building with their money would eventually belong to her alone.