the client was a valuable experience for me." Everyone will get the message, including him, and you're showing you know how deal with challenging situations while keeping everyone on side. Snappy comebacks are not the answer, because the larger goal isn't to put him in his place. The goal is to get him to recognize your worth to him and his own goals, and to get him working on your behalf to further your career. A boss who has fears about their own competence can become your biggest supporter if you show you forgive and accept them, and want to help them. As Abraham Lincoln put it, "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make friends of them?" One other thing: on the web we encounter a lot of snotty, wet-behind-the-ears high-fiving when a woman triumphs over a man. A woman who wants to succeed -- especially someone who wants to lead in an organization -- needs to drop that unworthy urge like a hot potato, and go read Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People". ========== Situation 2: You deliberately used your clothing to bait remarks, and now think you can complain when you get remarks? You were messing with them like they're props in your personal drama. Your sense of entitlement is showing there, and underscored by "My performance has nothing to do with how much leg I'm showing. Right?". Fascinating... you can do whatever you want, but everyone else has to be exquisitely careful