They’d made requests in the past and he’d done his best to satisfy them. They weren’t always so happy with the outcome, but, eventually, had seen what he was getting at.
Usually he could respond without thinking about it too much, but this one felt different. If he got it wrong, the whole interaction might be compromised.
He really couldn’t delay it any longer. That was the point. Just to do it. But where to start? How to put it? One hundred words...