The restaurant was closed for the day. Leverage Associates was between jobs at the moment and everyone was using the downtime to relax and recuperate. Nate and Sophie were enjoying drinks together in a corner booth. Hardison had taken his laptop and headset upstairs to the offices and was currently running a raid with his WoW guild. Eliot was in the back, fiddling around in the kitchens. And Parker was sitting at the counter, sipping some "Thief Juice" and contemplating the minimum requirements for the theft of the Mona Lisa.
At length, Parker was interrupted from her solitary reverie by a movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she saw Eliot approaching from the kitchen, holding a plate that he carefully placed in front of her. Parker perused the contents of the plate, before looking up at Eliot.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Just try it. I think you'll like it." He replied. Parker returned her gaze to the plate, eying the dish skeptically.
"It's green," she rather emphatically stated. "I don't like green." Eliot let out a growl of annoyance.
"It's good. I promise you. Just try it."
"What is it?" Parker asked again. Eliot sighed.
"It Eggs Benedict a la Spencer, a new variation on a classic: perfectly poached eggs with thinly sliced Prosciutto ham, served on a homemade English muffin, topped with a pesto hollandaise." Eliot couldn't help the smile of satisfaction that came over his face as he described the dish.
"Green eggs and ham? You expect me to eat green eggs and ham?" The smile quickly left Eliot's face to be replaced by his customary expression of irritation.
"It is not green eggs and ham. It is Eggs Benedict a la Spencer."
"It has ham, it has eggs, and it is green. I call it green eggs and ham." Parker affected a pout and crossed her arms at this statement.
"It is not green eggs and ham!" Eliot yelled, attracting the attention of Nate and Sophie in the corner, who looked around to see what the ruckus was all about.
"Whatever! I'm not eating it!"
"Parker! Just taste it. Please? For me?" Eliot was practically at his wits end. He and Parker stared at each other in a silent standoff for several minutes.
"Why do you want this so badly?" This question was sudden and asked in the quiet, pensive tone that Parker sometimes used when facing a situation she didn't quite understand. Eliot took a deep breath and called on his limited store of patience that he utilized for dealing with small children . . . and, occasionally, Parker.
"I'm experimenting for our St. Patrick's Day menu and you are by far the pickiest eater I know. If you like it, I know others will enjoy it. So, please, just do this for me."
"Fine." Parker began to cut a miniscule slice of the dish, but was quickly interrupted by Eliot who grabbed the knife and fork from her. He cut a much larger piece, being sure to get all the ingredients on the fork. He held the morsel out to her and Parker reluctantly leaned forward to take proffered bite. Eliot was extremely gratified to see a smile slowly start to wash over her face as she chewed and then swallowed the food. When Parker grabbed the fork and knife from his hands and began to energetically attack the dish, Eliot laughed out loud.
"See, I told you you'd like it."