I, um - [He pulls a slight face, embarrassed over that um - ] I will...see if it can be arranged. [A quick moment of hesitation - ] I'll warn you, though, that he can be very...brusque. He might come off as being quite unkind to you. I do assure you that it won't be that he'll dislike you; he'll just have other things on his mind.

[And then he clears his throat. Playing on the ego did work rather nicely.]

In any case...I do see what you're saying. But I was trying to help him. There is nothing that can keep someone sane here like having direction, and I was trying to provide that.