You know he can only give compliments when they make you uncomfortable. Otherwise they make him uncomfortable. Think of the insults as his backward way of letting you know he thinks you're hot.

[All of that, and without gritted teeth. It wouldn't have been possible three years ago, or, really, for a certain period stretching from about a week before his return to the city until a few months in to this stay.]

Like acting as though I'm still working for him is his way of telling me he thinks I should.