Chapter 37

When the contract announcement was made during an intermission at the fashion show, everyone in the VIP lounge caught the live reaction. Naturally, they also noticed Nelson leaving in the middle of it. "So Debbie's made up her mind not to renew with the Coopers? Maybe we should think it over one more time?" Peter raised the idea, calmly going over the pros and cons. From a business standpoint, continuing with the Coopers wasn't a bad move. Nelson had no clue Vera Quinn was actually his wife, the very one he'd sent overseas. That alone made the situation less complicated. Given fair terms, Peter figured Nelson would likely jump on board again. But Claire simply shook her head, her stance firm. "Uncle Peter, I get where you're coming from. But I just can't separate personal feelings from work. If I like someone, I'll naturally lean that way. And same goes for resentment—I won't pretend it's not there. Even if the Coopers offered ten times what they did before, I'm done." She didn't want