Help interpret 遅れてもよければ、大丈夫だ in a sentence


Here's the full context:  
A: 鈴木さん、今日来られるっていっていた?  
B: ちょっと遅れてもよければ、だいじょうぶだって。

What I understand roughly

_A: Did Suzuki say that he can come today?  
B: He said that if it's okay to be a bit late, he can come_

**But I was wondering if I misinterpret B.**

遅れてもよければ, 大丈夫だ

遅れても: even if it's late  
よければ: if it's okay  
大丈夫だ: It's okay/all is good

A. Was Suzuki san asking permission if it's okay to be late? (asking
questions/permissions)  

B. Or is it that he said he can come but will be a bit late and he hopes that
it's okay? (A statement)

_Update: I just realised that there is no か in the end of the sentence so B is
the only logical explanation..._




> ちょっと遅れてもよければ、だいじょうぶだ

I imagine something like the following having taken place before B reported to
A:

**B:** 鈴木さん、今日、仕事終わったら飲みに行けそう？  
**鈴木:** う～ん、行くんだったらちょっと遅くなりそうな予感なんだけど… それでもよければ、はい、大丈夫です。

(Addressing someone by family name sounds overly formal in English; let's
pretend his name is Bob)  
  
**B:** Hey Bob, you think you're going to be able to grab some drinks with us
after work today?  
**Bob:** Hmm, well if I do go, I have a feeling I'll be a bit late... but if
that's alright, yeah, I'm in.

So your original understanding is basically right on target. This is just a
conjugated form of the ～してもいい pattern.




> ちょっと遅れてもよければ、だいじょうぶだ

I imagine something like the following having taken place before B reported to
A:

**B:** 鈴木さん、今日、仕事終わったら飲みに行けそう？  
**鈴木:** う～ん、行くんだったらちょっと遅くなりそうな予感なんだけど… それでもよければ、はい、大丈夫です。

(Addressing someone by family name sounds overly formal in English; let's
pretend his name is Bob)  
  
**B:** Hey Bob, you think you're going to be able to grab some drinks with us
after work today?  
**Bob:** Hmm, well if I do go, I have a feeling I'll be a bit late... but if
that's alright, yeah, I'm in.

So your original understanding is basically right on target. This is just a
conjugated form of the ～してもいい pattern.

