First blank:
"even if the views expressed did not necessarily ________ his own views" - this suggests the opinions might differ from his, but the key is "even if" - so whether they matched or not, they were still something negative to him.
We need a neutral phrase for "match" or "agree with."
- A. gel with - agree with - fits.
- B. countermand - revoke/override - not quite right for "views."
- C. clash with - conflict with - possible, but "even if they did not clash with" means they might agree, but still bad - that's odd, because if they agree, why would he dislike them? Actually, the sentence says "even if they did not necessarily __________ his own views" - meaning whether they agreed or not, they were still unwelcome. So the blank should be "conflict with" or "clash with" because if they didn't clash, you'd expect them to be welcome, but they're not.

Let's test:
If "even if they did not clash with his own views" $\rightarrow$ means even if they agreed, they were still unwelcome. That makes sense.
If "even if they did not gel with his own views" $\rightarrow$ means even if they disagreed, they were still unwelcome - but that's not surprising; disagreement being unwelcome is normal. The "even if" implies a surprising situation, so it must be "even if they did not clash" (i.e., even if they agreed) they were still unwelcome.

So C. clash with for Blank (i).

Second blank:
"were ________ " - clearly negative from his perspective.
- D. overt - open - not necessarily negative.
- E. nettlesome - irritating - fits.
- F. welcome - positive - opposite of what's needed.

So E. nettlesome.

Third blank:
Employees learned to be _______ lest they lose his good graces.
They would avoid giving unsolicited opinions $\rightarrow$ keep quiet.
- G. reticent - reserved in speech - fits.
- H. sycophantic - overly flattering - possible, but not directly implied; the issue is giving opinions, not lack of flattery.
- I. elusive - hard to catch - not fitting.

So G. reticent.

Final choices: $C, E, G$.