Dallas is bored. No, she’s beyond bored – she’s dying a slow, miserable death at the hands of the most annoying, self-involved man on the planet. Dallas isn’t the only one suffering, it seems, as most of the room is stuck in a hazy fog of polite nods and tight smiles. The meeting was only supposed to run for an hour at most, but Morgan Edge, one of National City’s biggest economic contributors, just won’t stop talking.

The rest of the meeting drags worse than before. Thankfully, Edge is no longer talking about anything Dallas needs for her school essay, and Lena slides Dallas’s notebook away from her, signalling it’s no longer necessary for her to take notes. Edge is essentially just gloating over a recent, big-money business deal. Dallas has no idea why she still has to be here.

She catches her mama’s attention and subtly jerks her head toward the door, but Lena glares at her and shakes her head. Dallas frowns and turns her attention back to Edge, realizing that he has noticed her attempts to leave.

“I’m not boring you, Mini Luthor, am I?” he asks, smirking at her in a way that makes her skin crawl. He’s a creep, that much she knows for sure.

“Of course not, sir,” Dallas politely responds, blushing her way through the blatant lie. She squirms as Edge watches her for a long moment before continuing with his bragging. Dallas can feel Lena watching her for the rest of the afternoon, and she doesn’t look at all impressed.

She wants to rush back home as soon as Edge finishes, but a stern look from Lena keeps Dallas’s butt firmly planted on the seat. Dallas watches her shake hands with Edge and the other associates, emerald eyes flicking toward her every few seconds. One of her mama’s employees shows everyone out, but Lena hangs back. She walks across to Dallas and leans her hip against the edge of the conference table, her arms crossed and her lips pursed.

“This is part of my job, Dallas,” Lena begins, her voice stern. “Entertaining and listening to middle-aged men who all look and sound the same is boring, but it’s the job. I don’t like it. I have a million and one things that I’d much rather be doing than listening to him drone on, but this is business. As my first and only child, you represent me and my company. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Dallas murmurs. It hurts her neck to look up at her from the chair, but Lena hasn’t asked her to stand so she stays put.

“I have to work twice as hard to even gain half of the respect Morgan Edge has,” Lena states. “They’re all watching me, waiting for me to screw up. I don’t care if he is talking about the most boring subject on the planet, you will show him respect, because that’s how you show me respect when you are representing my company.”

Dallas’s face burns from the scolding and she bows her head, thoroughly chastised. She wasn’t thinking. She was just bored and desperate to be anywhere but in front of Edge. Lena leans down, her lips so close that they almost brush against Dallas’s ear.

“If I have to reprimand you on the issue again, you will feel the hairbrush that I warned you about,” she murmurs into Dallas’s ear. Dallas’s blush deepens, the tips of her ears turning a fiery red. “Do you understand me, little girl?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I’m sorry.” Dallas squirms in her seat and Lena shoots her a knowing look.

“Good girl. Grab your things and meet me in my office,” Lena orders. “I have a couple of things I need to check on, but then we can leave.” She breezes out of the office and Dallas can’t stop herself from watching her leave.