system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Game of Thrones] Own or Rent: How does a deal with the Golden Company work?

After payment, does Cersei now "own" these soldiers forever, or do they just work for for until some goal is reached? If you do own them, then it has got to be terribly expensive right? If you are only paying them to do a job, is there a point where her money runs out and the Golden Company leaves before the end of the mission? Could someone just wait out a battle until Cersei runs out of money and the Golden Company punches their card and heads home?
gpt
Two ways: You either pay a flat fee to accomplish a task, or you pay them an ongoing rate to keep them on retainer. We do not know which of these options she chose, but she does not "own" them forever.

There are pro's and con's to either type of contract.

If you pay them a one-time fee to accomplish a goal, you most likely are sacrificing direct management of their forces. That is, barring specific contractual obligations and restrictions, they are free to decide how and when and at what pace to accomplish that goal. This protects them as then Cersei can't just keep them around indefinitely under the guise that they haven't finished their "goal." An important protection for a company that prides itself on never breaking a contract.

If you pay them a recurring fee, then they will likely stick around and perform whatever tasks you want, but even this kind of contract likely has some sort of expiration date. Maybe she has paid them a lump sum to keep them on retainer for a month, or a year, then they are free to go. In this case, they are protected in the sense that they can just leave at the end of the contract and, again, just can't be kept around indefinitely.

For the second, you might think you can just wait them out until the money dries up, but in this particular situation, time is on Cersei's side.