“Oh, my goodness. How dare I forget.” It was said in the sort of dry tone that people who didn't know Cornelius Hayes assumed was annoyance, but which was not meant with any ill will whatsoever. Because the thing was, no matter how much Michael said it jokingly, she was in fact the night manager. And she did in fact pull a lot of strings. And even if she didn't, she had the sort of personality that screamed I am important and you will recognise it anyway.
The most obvious part to Hayes was the fact that she flirted with him so often. Sometimes, he was in the right frame of mind and it didn't bother him so much. But others, it made him freeze up and get a bit sharp. It wasn't that he didn't like girls, really. He just got distracted. And flirting was hard for him.
Tonight was a middle of the road night. “I ain't usually the kind of person who brightens days.” He refrained from eating, waiting for Michael to have food, too. It wasn't polite, you see. “I usually hear it's that I bring the mood down. Something about being depressing.”