I think the modest fee allowed him to comment on perhaps being let off lightly in this case. Like, he paid 15 more than he'd expected, and while his partner was

I think the modest fee allowed him to comment on perhaps being let off lightly in this case. Like, he paid 15 more than he'd expected, and while his partner was fuming, he was sorta thinking "well, coulda' been worse!" So it might have been a reasonable device to use for expressing this dynamic.