I read it as they already had the compromise in place, since he said they agreed the AC closest to him would be off and the AC farthest from him would remain on

I read it as they already had the compromise in place, since he said they agreed the AC closest to him would be off and the AC farthest from him would remain on, and the other party eventually demanded the close AC be on as well. In this scenario, where a compromise was reached and then breached by the other party, how exactly would you arrive at a "compromise"?