read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

while working at an ice cream shop for the summer, paulina had to attend employee meetings. during her first meeting, her boss made the following remarks to the staff:

"you guys are really messy. every morning when i open the store, the floor is dirty, the counters need to be wiped, and the dishwasher hasn't been emptied."

paulina attempted to offer an explanation: "mr. smithers, i—"

mr. smithers talked over paulina: "i don't care what you have to say. we'll review the closing procedures again today. if you people mess it up again, we'll need to reconsider your employment here."

which of the following choices shows an assertive response that mr. smithers could have used when talking to paulina?
a.
mr. smithers stormed out of the meeting and decided to close the shop forever.
b.
mr. smithers allowed paulina to yell at him and then said to her, "we can do whatever you want to do."
c.
mr. smithers talked over paulina: "i don't care what you have to say. we'll review the closing procedures again today. if you people mess it up again, we'll need to reconsider your employment here."
d.
mr. smithers allowed paulina to finish her explanation before he said, " you, paulina, for your explanation. perhaps we can all discuss a better way to close the shop so that it's not as time-consuming yet still neat. what are your ideas? "