Suddenly, this wasn’t about an “old carpenter” who wasn’t worth taking seriously.
It was about paperwork.
Contracts.
Money.
And a property they were about to try to sell.
Their plan had apparently been simple.
Keep the improvements.
Keep the increased value they added to the property.
And refuse to pay the person who had created those improvements.
But Frank had made sure there was a record of everything.
And now that record mattered.
The real estate agent looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Eventually, she pulled Grant aside.
She explained that it would be far better to resolve the contractor dispute before the house was listed.
Grant finally offered to pay the original $6,200.
But by then, the situation had already required legal preparation and collection work.
The total had risen to $6,814.
Grant wasn’t happy.
But he had little room left to argue.
He arranged the wire transfer.
Frank didn’t celebrate.
