Howard's Charm Saves the Day on the Chicagolicious Premiere

Niki is like a mother figure. She thinks she's the spiritual mom of the salon and that I'm one of her children. So at times, she tries to micro-manage me. She needs to let me do my thing.

Niki is a sweetheart, but I'm in the department of keeping the ladies happy, and Niki should be giving me a promotion. I don't consider myself a flirt. What I do is I just respond. If I see one of our clients isn't in a good mood and needs some attention, I have no problem accommodating that. Therefore, I don't see what I do as flirting. I think Niki wants my attention, so that's why she focuses on my flirting so much. She's actually wishing she was on the receiving end of that affection.

I thought the society gala was really well-done and well-produced! The models were beautiful, the fashions were progressive and fresh, but once again, I felt I didn't have any room for responsibility. I couldn't make any contributions that would be looked upon as valuable. I was just in the background since the event was all about hair, makeup, fashion and the ladies.

I thought it was a success, but at the end of the day, I felt I didn't get my chance to shine. AJ takes on a lot of projects that focus on women and not enough that focus on men's grooming and men's fashion. The issue is he does things that surround his personal interest in the industry, but I know there are some fun things we can do to emphasize the men too.

I wasn't surprised about the fight between Katrell and Valincia. I've seen it all before. They're catty, and it's no secret they have a rivalry in the salon. Katrell is the new face, while Valincia is the veteran. They both have their insecurities, and they are both contributing to the antagonism. Valincia doesn't want to be bumped out of the picture, but Katrell doesn't want to be overshadowed.

At the end of the gala, my so-called "excessive flirting" ended up saving the situation. I hope this causes the staff to see my value, so they'll just let me do my thing. I'm not hurting anyone. I felt validated when Candance gave me a shout-out in her blog. I hope it caused AJ to stop and take notice.

Be sure to catch Howard in episodes of Chicagolicious every Monday, at 9/8c, only on Style!