Chapter 28 – Making It Official
Monday morning hit different.
There was no school bag by the door, no cartoons humming in the background—just the scent of fresh coffee, the rustle of legal printouts, and the quiet hum of a ten-year-old building an empire.
Jake sat at the breakfast table with a notepad, a printed diagram of FaceWorld's backend system, and a red folder labeled "Ownership Structure – DRAFT." Judith, dressed sharper than usual, tapped the car keys on the counter.
"You ready?" she asked.
Jake nodded. "Let's go lawyer up."
---
Downtown L.A. – Law Offices of Maynard, Givens & Drake
Their meeting was with Ellen Givens, a startup attorney with a reputation for getting young tech founders through the jungle of early-stage business deals. She wasn't flashy—no power suits, no legalese monologues. She just got to the point.
"So," Ellen said, glancing at Jake, "you're the prodigy with 800,000 users and no company paperwork."
Jake smirked. "Working on that."
Ellen leaned forward. "We need to get this locked down before someone tries to run off with your code or your company. That includes the investor—Pierce."
She walked them through everything:
– Corporation vs LLC
– Founder's equity
– IP assignment
– Advisory agreements
– Control protections
Judith asked sharp questions. Jake asked sharper ones.
By the end of the meeting, Ellen looked at Jake and smiled for real this time. "You're sharp. Paranoid in the right way. I like that."
Jake nodded. "I just want the deal to reflect who built this."
Ellen replied, "I'll make sure it does."
---
Two Days Later – Sherman Oaks
Nolan Pierce returned to the Harper home Wednesday afternoon. This time, he wasn't walking into a kid's side project.
He was walking into a real negotiation.
Judith greeted him at the door with a cool, polite smile. Jake was already seated at the kitchen table, a neat manila folder in front of him. Inside were Ellen's clean, founder-friendly documents.
Nolan took a seat and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. I see someone's been busy."
Jake slid the folder across the table. "That's our terms. C-corp filed in Delaware. I retain full voting rights and 100% IP ownership. You get 8% equity for $2 million, non-voting. No board seat."
Nolan opened the folder, scanned the term sheet, and let out a low whistle. "You're ten."
Jake didn't blink. "I'm also not stupid."
Judith added, "And we have counsel. So if you're thinking of trying anything sneaky—don't."
Nolan grinned. "I wasn't. This… is actually cleaner than most seed deals I see." He closed the folder. "You've got yourself a deal."
Jake extended his hand.
Nolan shook it.
It was done.
FaceWorld wasn't just a website anymore.
It was a company—with capital, control, and a kid at the helm who knew exactly what he was doing.