Claire ran the revised numbers in her head, then opened the calculator on her phone to confirm them. She was not going to accept a larger stake simply because the offer felt generous. She examined the effect on future distributions, voting rights, tax obligations, and the three-year buy-up option. “The formula stays the same,” she said at last. “And the responsibilities are clearly stated. I don't want either of us later pretending the terms were understood if we never wrote them down.”
“Agreed.”
She extended her hand across the desk. He shook it, remembering the cold rain on her fingers the first time they made an agreement in that room. Her hand was warm now. The handshake meant they had agreed to pursue the partnership, not that a verbal exchange could replace the legal documents, tax work, and independent review needed to establish it. Ethan said so aloud, and Claire nodded with visible satisfaction. It was one of the things she most liked about him: he had learned that carefulness could be another form of respect.
They spent two hours working through the proposal. They marked questions for the accountant, outlined how personal relationships would remain separate from employment decisions, and agreed that each should obtain independent advice before signing ownership documents. Claire insisted on a clear provision describing what happened if either partner wanted to leave the business. Ethan insisted that Mason's future and the family's existing ownership interests be considered properly before any changes were finalized. Neither regarded those protections as distrust. The point was to build something that wouldn't require blind faith to function.
At eleven thirty, the front door opened and Mason came in from a sleepover with a backpack hanging off one shoulder. He looked exhausted in the satisfied way of a child who had stayed awake too late playing games and then been fed more popcorn than any sensible adult should have allowed. He stopped when he saw both of them seated at Claire's desk, papers spread between their cups. “Are we in trouble?” he asked.
“Why would we be in trouble?” Ethan replied.
“You have your serious faces.”
“Business meeting,” Claire said.
Mason examined the documents, then the old wooden sign resting in the corner. “Is Claire getting a promotion?”
“Something like that,” Ethan said.
“Better than a promotion,” Claire added. “We're working on a plan for me to become a part owner of the shop.”
Mason's face brightened. “So you're the boss, too?”
“If the lawyers and accountants agree that we've done it properly, yes. Your dad and I would both have responsibilities.”
He considered this carefully. “Does that mean you're staying?”
“That's the plan.”
“Like permanently?”
Claire crouched slightly so she could meet his eyes without talking down to him. “I plan to keep working here and building this business. People can make plans without knowing everything that will happen, but I wouldn't make this one if I didn't mean it.”
Mason nodded once, slowly. “Cool.”