I'm curious if this is a chapter that makes more sense in a Japanese business culture context. I expected the senior editor to be much more critical up front given his previous comments. Although I suppose even in the US, we tend to sugar coat any negative feedback or be as indirect as possible. Or maybe this is just nuanced storytelling and the senior editor can be both a strong critic when considering business and highly deferential to a (literal) senior author when confronted. In any case, an interesting chapter!