Who is Mr. Battis from The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and what is their importance? The_Secret_Diary_of_Laura_Palmer English & Literature Mr. Battis | The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer

Mr. Battis is the manager of Horne's Department store where Laura gets a job working at the makeup counter. Laura describes him in terms that portray him as being somewhat creepy and as someone to be avoided. Later, however, when he offers her a job as a "hostess" in another business owned by Benjamin Horne, she finds him and his offer impossible to resist.