Ellis had initially intended for dinner to consist of the French onion soup along with open faced grilled cheese sandwiches. During his conversation with Russ, the men managed to annihilate the soup and inhale the sandwiches; leaving Nita and Jada starving with a desperate need for nourishment. When she invited him to stay in response to the lopsided boyish grin on his face she didn't know there was nothing for them to share awkwardly over dinner. She quickly went to work, retrieving beef consommé and rice from the pantry, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and butter from the fridge in order to prep one of her favorite comfort foods. In little time she had a steaming bowl of mushroom rice in her lap and a large glass of Chardonnay in her hand. One bite and two swigs and she heard the shuffle of unfamiliar footsteps behind her.

"Truce?"

Russ should have been thankful her belly was near full and she was on the verge of a buzz. She caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. He was nervously tugging at the sleeve of his shirt while he struggled to maintain his hold on the dish in his hand. She continued to make him sweat, slinking lower into the chaise and studying him over the rim of her glass, "Maybe." She shifted her legs, clearing a space for him, "Sit."

He squeezed into the spot and tore into his food. There was something comfortable about the silence between them. Since the first day they met, the two had been engaged in a mini battle; Nita with her bitterness and Russ with his resentment towards his father. They were just casualties in one another's senseless wars. He was funny and cute, even if he was three inches beneath the height she preferred in a man. He had done her a favor by safely seeing her youngest child home, "Oh, I almost forgot." Nita turned her attention to the man beside her and the cell phone that materialized from his back pocket, "Your phone."

Nita smiled and nodded, "Thank you." She toyed with the device in her hand, keeping her eyes locked on the screen and virtual keyboard while she tried her best to form the words she so rarely spoke, "I'm sorry." She raised her head in time enough to see the look of awe of her guest's face, "I was a real bitch to you when we first met." He tried to interrupt, "No, there's no excuse for my behavior." She placed her food on the table beside the lounger and folded her legs under her, "My priorities have been beyond skewed and I took my frustration out on you." She took a breath, "I'm sorry."

Russ countered with an apology of his own, "I'm a brat, in case you can't tell." His brutal honesty made her giggle into her shoulder, "My father gave me everything and then tossed me on my ass the moment my fuck ups stopped being cute."

She interjected, "But you kept fucking up, like it would be cute again." His mouth opened, no words came, but ear curdling laugh was emitted from his lips. "Seriously who laughs like that?" Russ raised his hand and Nita shook her head, "Never do that again."

~`~

Somewhere between Nita's introduction to his displeasing laugh and his third glass of fruit laced wine, Russ found himself on cruise control. He managed to score more space on the chaise. His leg connected with hers as his body shifted and a spark of chemistry coursed through his veins, "Sorry." For a second he swore she purposely moved to increase the chances of more bodily contact. He nervously stroked his hair and tried to force the idea from his mind. There was no way she was interested, "Why are you still working for the ungrateful bastard I call dad?"

Nita rubbed two fingers together and casually sipped her wine, "Money is the root of all evil."

He didn't want to come across pretentious but he had issues with her stance and decision to remain employed with his father's organization despite constantly being overlooked and the detrimental effect her dedication had on her personal life. One marriage lost to divorce, a short lived second ended by death, and a very tense relationship with two beautiful children, "I thought it was the love of money that proved to be the root of all evil."

She didn't deliver the blow to the side of his head he anticipated, instead, she slowly opened up and began to share, "Work is an escape, always has been," Her eyes grew distant, "In high school it was excessive studying for AP courses to compensate for not being cute enough for anyone other than Steven ‘Jackass' Floyd," He laughed and she whirled what was left her wine around in the glass, "In college I spent obscene hours in the library on work study to take my mind off the thongs I kept finding under Steven ‘Jackass' Floyd's bed," She faced him and a soft smile curved her lips, "Now its all about living and drowning the sorrows of my regrets."

"Please don't tell me Steven ‘Jackass' Floyd is one of those regrets," His quip earned him a playful nudge to the shoulder. He waited for his answer and when her mouth slowly began to form the three letter word, yes, Russ clinked his glass against hers and offered a toast, "To no regrets."

She met his glass and echoed his words, "To no regrets."

~`~

Nita had a hang over. Every time she thought about moving her stomach went in the opposite direction. Tea made her gag, ginger ale didn't stay on her stomach, and the scent of every funky tailed heifer who worked in a five foot vicinity of her desk threatened to send her praying to the porcelain god. She tried her best to focus on the screen on her desk. Just how many bottles of wine had she killed the night before and why was there a blue Volvo still in her driveway five o'clock that morning.

She heard Russ when he entered the office; a tune on his lips and a spring in his step. He was acting like he had gotten laid, "Shit," she tried to recall the previous night's events; the heart to heart with Jada, the near panic with Jackson, the dinner, the wine, and a two o'clock wake up call from her brother nudging her and Russ from the couch. Nothing had happened, except for overindulgence in alcohol and diarrhea of the mouth.

Papers crumbled and shuffled as a behind settled a top her desk, "Morning ladybug," Nita cringed with Russ' use of her brother's pet name for her. He handed her a recycled cup, "This will kill the hangover and settle your stomach." She frowned at the piping hot beverage, "Its chocolate chai," He carefully brought his cup to his lips, "Guaranteed to cure what ails you."

The scent was inviting.

The concept promising, two of her favorite things in one drink, but she had to right her wrong from the night before. She lifted the cup from his hand and tossed it in the trash, "We're not friends," She aimed a pointed look in his direction, "Get your ass off my desk."

Slowly he stood, taken aback by the sudden change in the dynamics between them. She occupied her limbs with correcting the mess he had made but her mind remained on the features of his heartbroken face. Guilt encased her as Russ, dejected and defeated walked towards his office.