The Fine Print Novels & Stories

I thought for a moment, then asked, "What if Mom doesn't agree?" Matt grew even more annoyed. "Don't you know how to drug her? You were so good at drugging me last time. Can't you do it again?" He hung up. I tapped to end the recording. I might be a little slow, but after hearing my situation, the lawyer felt very sorry for me. Because I'm missing a screw and only ever hear half of what's said, the lawyer was worried I wouldn't remember things. He told me to record every call with Matt.

THE RED FINANCE Frowning at the title, she looked at the other files. None were named as such. Taking a deep breath, she opens it and was instantly bombed with new information. It wasn’t like the others she went through since morning. It wasn’t printed but handwritten. It lacked graphs and spreadsheets. It didn’t carry any annual report or contract details. Like many others, it was a black and white copy of the original ones. Lauren was 100% sure it was Stefan’s penmanship. The ‘F’ of the finance was reverse. Only he wrote F that way. She licked her lips as she squinted her eyes to read and her face contorted to disbelief.

For a second, I almost thought, "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's just a normal arrangement." But then, my eyes caught it. Below the main body of text, tucked right at the bottom of the last page, was a separate section. It was handwritten, in the same neat, flowing script as the rest of the document, but clearly set apart. "What is this?" I breathed. It was titled: 'Supplemental Understanding Between Principals Only.' I leaned closer, my brow furrowed. "A side agreement? Why would they need a side agreement? And only between the leaders?" My stomach dropped a little. This was it.

But as the hours passed, subtle inconsistencies began to emerge. Petra leaned closer to one of the files, her brows tightening slightly. “This one,” she said quietly. Oscar shifted to look at it. “What about it?” he asked. “The terms are too precise,” Petra replied slowly, “not in a legal sense, but in a way that feels… deliberately shaped.” Oscar studied the document carefully. “It’s compliant,” he said after a moment, “but I see what you mean. It funnels benefit toward a very specific category of external partners.”

𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒏! 𝑼𝑵𝑲𝑵𝑶𝑾𝑵 𝑵𝑼𝑴𝑩𝑬𝑹: 𝑹𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒅� � 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏.

I read the line, over and over again to make sure my eyes weren’t malfunctioning. They weren’t. No. No way. This can’t be happening. I read this contract before I signed it! I was well aware of the terms! How did I miss this?! A new message from Charles pops in. “Next time, read the fine print.”

Whispering you'll be fine all along ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Nothing more, nothing less. ******************************************

"What's wrong? Haven't I always filled them out this way? Everything worked fine before—why is it suddenly wrong now?" Naomi rolled her eyes, poking at the papers. "I gave you leeway before, but not anymore!" I forced my frustration down and said, "Please show me exactly how it should be done. I'll fix it according to the rules." She went over it like a strict inspector. "This pen won't do! The finance department requires a black 0.5 gel pen, neat block letters, and no cursive. Don't let the glue cross the dividing line, or it'll ruin everything else. Mind the folds, and the paper must be flawless!"