Or maybe the angry partner only listened to John because he is also a partner. There was probably nothing the author could have said to placate him, being a low

Or maybe the angry partner only listened to John because he is also a partner. There was probably nothing the author could have said to placate him, being a lowly tech in the unfortunate position of having to tell a partner something they didn’t want to hear. But hearing the same explanation from someone he considered a peer was apparently enough to satisfy him. In other words, this shows the importance of titles.