I talked to him yesterday, again... the woman had had another outburst at me when I tried to ask her about the task she was gonna do.

I thought she was about to do a job that was no longer needed, and she was also gonna involve another coworker. Because I had mixed information and kept asking her to make things clear, she took it the wrong way and snapped at me, like she would any other coworker.

I had it and I told him this had to stop. It seems like they haven't put me in charge officially because of some issues they (owners) have about delegating authority. I don't really give a damn...

He was essentially expecting me to lead them without telling them anything and wanted things to "settle" on their own. Like a fucking jungle, I thought to myself... I explained to him how she's trouble and I cannot lead her if she can tell me to fuck off each time she doesn't like something.

I promptly explained to him how she's the only one acting like this, while also being the only one with professional problems, clearly showing how I'm not the problem here.

Finally, after a long discussion he kind of got my meaning when I told him how she usually says "why do I have to waste 4 hours doing this if you can do it in 10 minutes?", as a justification before asking someone for help.

He himself pointed out how I cannot be responsible for a project's outcome if I'm not given any kind of authority over my "team"... He wants dialogue and team work but also wants me to make the final decision when it comes to a disagreement.

Again, I explained to him how this is not fucking possible if my coworker thinks she can toss me away anytime she wants. What am I suppose to do, start acting aggressively towards a coworker?

Bottom line, I think he got the point. Maybe he doesn't think I'm ready to take charge because he knows I'm less inclined to let shit like this pass, and he cares about morale a lot. But I also pointed out how the other guy this woman used and exploited for months is constantly edgy and stressed out, so don't talk to me about office morale.

Will he talk to her? I'm not sure. I hope he understands this, especially if he wishes his company to grow, for which he can't have one owner and 15-20 employees with no middle level.

Jesus, I have people doing what I say and calling me "boss" without nobody questioning that I know what I'm doing, who know I have the job's best interest in mind. However, one bad apple who doesn't give a fuck and prefers to call me an unhelpful, unbearable asshole because I hold her accountable for her own work, has to be dealt with.