Clasping my hands together, I placed them on the table. “I don’t need to hear the words you mutter or purposely speak too low to know that you have little to no respect for me.”

A flicker of surprise widened his eyes. “Excuse me?”

“You speak to me as if you don’t understand that I’m your boss.”

His lips thinned as he shifted in the seat. “Brock is my boss.”

“Yes and no. He’s your boss and I’m also your boss,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “Especially when he is not here. You don’t have to like me. Not at all, but you need to respect me.”

A faint shade of pink colored his cheekbones. “I don’t know where you’re getting that I don’t respect you. I think you’re being a little dramatic.”

He was about to see “dramatic,” because my head was seconds from spinning full circle. “Do not gaslight me, Paul.”

Part of me wondered if he even knew what that meant. He inhaled roughly, flaring his nostrils, and a tense moment passed. “Respect is earned. It’s not given.”

I forced my expression to remain blank. “And how have I not earned your respect?”

“Your father owns this Academy,” he shot back. “And you’re sleeping with the boss. Exactly how have you’ve earned this job?”

Whoa.

He did not just say that to me.

Anger whipped through me. My first response was to fire him on the spot, right then and there, because even though I did need to talk to Brock before I decided to end someone’s employment, I was one hundred percent sure that he would back me on this.

But firing him was too easy.

“Let me explain something to you, Paul. I was born and raised in the Lima Academy. There is not one thing you know about this place that I do not. This is not just a job to me, but it is a part of my legacy. The blood that runs through my veins built this facility. If you had no problem with my uncle running this Academy, then you should have no problem with me,” I said as my skin prickled. “I don’t need to address your second comment, but I’m going to. Yes, I am going out with Brock. So maybe you should take that into consideration the next time you open your month and speak to me.”

The pink faded from his cheeks, and Paul paled.