He asked if there would be a way for me to come back in some capacity. Not full-time. A consulting arrangement. Help them get the Alder account stable.
I asked what this would look like practically.
He described something informal: a few hours a week, working with Luke on the remediation plan.
I asked if this was a paid arrangement.
A pause.
I said: “Dad, what you’re describing is operations management consulting. It has a market rate. If Morgan Freight wants to engage a consultant to stabilize the Alder account and develop a transition plan, I can give you a rate and we can talk about scope. That’s a real professional arrangement.”
He said he understood. He said that was fair.
I told him I’d send a scope and rate by end of week.
The scope was six weeks, eight sessions, focused on the Alder account remediation plan and preparation for the next service review. The rate was standard for logistics consulting in our region. Not punitive. Not inflated. The rate that a competent logistics consultant with my background and specific account knowledge would charge.
Victor said the rate was higher than he expected.
I said it was the rate.
He came back two days later and said they’d like to proceed.
I want to be transparent about something that complicated this decision. I had the Pinnacle Logistics recruiter call the morning after my father’s Wednesday call. The timeline of the hiring process and the consulting timeline were going to overlap. I was careful, in the consulting agreement, to specify my available sessions and to write in that my obligations under the consulting agreement would not extend past its defined end date.