Chapter 10 - THE CONSULTING FEE
Garnet had not taken $5,000 out of Amber’s business.
The accounting entry was noncash.
When he helped build:
budget templates,
vendor tracking sheets,
cash-flow forecasts,
and pricing calculators,
Peter Long suggested recording founder-support services as:
contributed professional services
for internal management reporting.
But the bookkeeping software categorized it poorly:
Consulting Expense — Garnet Carter.
Offset:
Owner Contribution.
No cash moved.
Amber had forgotten.
Another suspicious line became ordinary accounting.
Then Peter corrected the presentation.
The family almost laughed from exhaustion.
Not every clue was a betrayal.
That mattered.
Then the real business problem remained.
Amber wanted growth.
Garnet wanted safety.
Neither had said so plainly.
Then Walter asked Amber:
“Why did Hazel bother you so much?”
Amber’s eyes hardened.
Hazel had questioned:
the studio,
the florist,
the business line,
the wedding upgrades.
Not cruelly.
But repeatedly.
Amber heard:
You’re playing business.
Hazel said:
“I asked because you were using numbers I didn’t understand.”
Amber answered:
“You made me feel small.”
Hazel paused.
“I can believe that.”
Then:
“That did not make gluing my chair funny.”
Amber looked down.
“No.”
It was the first clean acknowledgment.
Then Hazel asked:
“Did Garnet know you were going to do it?”
“Yes.”
“Did he stop you?”
“No.”
“Did he help?”
“He watched.”
Garnet said:
“I laughed.”
Hazel looked at her son.
“That was enough.”
Then Amber apologized.
Hazel did not accept immediately.
She said:
“I heard you.”
No forced forgiveness at wedding midnight.
Then Walter returned to the settlement.
Could Garnet and Amber pay $24,870?
Yes.
Options:
brokerage account,
cancel part of honeymoon,
use existing cash,
payment plan.
Then Amber surprised Garnet.
“Cancel the honeymoon upgrade.”
They had booked:
an overwater bungalow add-on
for $8,400 beyond the base trip.
Refund before departure:
$6,900.
Why was Amber willing to give that up but not wedding upgrades?
Because the wedding was public.
The honeymoon was private.
Walter noticed.
Amber’s business and identity had merged with how the wedding looked to others.
Then Hazel asked:
“If nobody had photographed this wedding, would you have spent this much?”
Amber went quiet.
Probably not.
Then the photographer Neil said:
“There’s another issue.”
The couple had signed an album package for:
full commercial portfolio licensing.
Price:
discounted by $4,500
in exchange for broad promotional rights to décor and couple imagery.
Could Walter/Hazel appear?
Only if released.
No problem.
Then Neil said:
“Amber asked me yesterday to add the parent table to the commercial shot list.”
Why?
Because Maribel wanted multigenerational luxury imagery.
Again.
Hazel had never consented.
Then Amber said:
“I was going to ask.”
Walter replied:
“After the camera was in front of her?”
Amber stopped.
Future consent again.
Then Neil added:
“I also have a message from Garnet.”
Garnet’s face changed.
Message:
May you like
If Mom says no, shoot wide. She won’t know.
Hazel stared at her son.
